https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61794798

--
mick

On 14/06/2022 17:01, mick wrote:
> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61794798
>
Beat m to it. I wondered if Roland was building an extension.

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

In message <t8abo2$h5n$1@dont-email.me>, at 17:07:30 on Tue, 14 Jun
2022, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:

>On 14/06/2022 17:01, mick wrote:

>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61794798
>>
>Beat m to it. I wondered if Roland was building an extension.

Already done that, and the blocks were delivered on an HGV. Which was
very likely insured.
--
Roland Perry

On Tue, 14 Jun 2022 17:01:45 +0100, mick <nospam@junk.mail> wrote:

>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61794798

New Barns Road. That figures.

Mark

"mick" <nospam@junk.mail> wrote in message
news:mn.73fd7e66cac3b0c8.143772@junk.mail...
> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61794798

I wonder if the car was actually uninsured, or whether it was insured but
the carrying of the dangerous load rendered the insurance invalid.

Everything about that car sounds alarm bells: dodgy paintwork on the bonnet;
black stripes on the bonnet, which could be masking tape to try to hold the
front bumper on; front number plate has fallen off and is in the front
windscreen; stickers all over the rear side windows; stickers on door mirror
(holding it together?) including the word "BITCH"; "One step up from the
gutter" and "Kinky, dirty and cheap" signs in front windscreen. And of
course the pallet of breezeblocks which has dented the roof.

It looks as if there was only the single strap holding the pallet of bricks
onto the roof: any sudden braking and they'd fall forward, probably bouncing
off the windscreen (rather than going through and injuring the driver) and
hitting the car in front; any show-off bat-out-of-hell acceleration and
they'd hit the car behind.

The car looks as if it's a modern-style registration, so it's 2001 or later;
my first thought was that the car might have even been older than that.

Can you imagine anywhere that sold bricks actually agreeing to load them
onto the roof of a car? I bet the supplier is dodgy as well.

How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860 suggests
1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of the four
layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on) then it's 32
blocks

NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>
> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
> https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860 suggests
> 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of the four
> layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on) then it's 32
> blocks

Each layer is 8x2 making 64, so just over a tonne.

Sam

--
The entity formerly known as Sam.Wilson@ed.ac.uk
Spit the dummy to reply

"Sam Wilson" <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:t8at0k$ka2$1@dont-email.me...
> NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
>> https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>> suggests
>> 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of the four
>> layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on) then it's 32
>> blocks
>
> Each layer is 8x2 making 64, so just over a tonne.

I'm surprised he was even able to set off with that extra weight - you'd
think the springs would be pressed down so far that the tyres would be
rubbing on the wheel arches.

I've done that: we were setting off on holiday and the car was full. And the
tyres were rubbing on the wheel arches. But that was due to the shock
absorbers being knackered - which I didn't know till I loaded up the car,
because it had passed its last MOT and the ride and handling were normal. I
had to unload everything and phone around to find a garage that could fit
new shocks "now", so we were a bit late setting off. And, no, I didn't have
a pallet of breezeblocks in the boot ;-)

NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
> Everything about that car sounds alarm bells: dodgy paintwork on the bonnet;
> black stripes on the bonnet, which could be masking tape to try to hold the
> front bumper on; front number plate has fallen off and is in the front
> windscreen; stickers all over the rear side windows; stickers on door mirror
> (holding it together?) including the word "BITCH"; "One step up from the
> gutter" and "Kinky, dirty and cheap" signs in front windscreen. And of
> course the pallet of breezeblocks which has dented the roof.

I think some of that is for effect - I don't think the bonnet is rusty, it's
just been painted that way. The 'ratmobile' decal suggests they're going
for a 'rat look', which is a thing. Of course the vehicle is, shall we say, a
natural recipient of such a treatment.

However, it seems like they've been playing fast and loose with more than
the paintjob...

> The car looks as if it's a modern-style registration, so it's 2001 or later;
> my first thought was that the car might have even been older than that.

It's a 1999-2005 Yaris, so that's about right. Most of them will be pretty
knackered by now.

> Can you imagine anywhere that sold bricks actually agreeing to load them
> onto the roof of a car? I bet the supplier is dodgy as well.

I wonder how they got up there? Presumably somebody put them there with a
forklift? I can't see how else you'd get an intact pallet up there.
I wonder if it's somebody's idea of a joke...

Theo

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
> NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>> Everything about that car sounds alarm bells: dodgy paintwork on the bonnet;
>> black stripes on the bonnet, which could be masking tape to try to hold the
>> front bumper on; front number plate has fallen off and is in the front
>> windscreen; stickers all over the rear side windows; stickers on door mirror
>> (holding it together?) including the word "BITCH"; "One step up from the
>> gutter" and "Kinky, dirty and cheap" signs in front windscreen. And of
>> course the pallet of breezeblocks which has dented the roof.
>
> I think some of that is for effect - I don't think the bonnet is rusty, it's
> just been painted that way. The 'ratmobile' decal suggests they're going
> for a 'rat look', which is a thing. Of course the vehicle is, shall we say, a
> natural recipient of such a treatment.
>
> However, it seems like they've been playing fast and loose with more than
> the paintjob...
>
>> The car looks as if it's a modern-style registration, so it's 2001 or later;
>> my first thought was that the car might have even been older than that.
>
> It's a 1999-2005 Yaris, so that's about right. Most of them will be pretty
> knackered by now.

It says a lot for Toyota's legendary build quality that a small, budget
20-year-old car was capable of carrying and moving a huge load like that!
I wonder how many other French-built small cars of that age would pass that
test?

On Tue, 14 Jun 2022 21:42:27 -0000 (UTC), Recliner
<recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:

>Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>> NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>>> Everything about that car sounds alarm bells: dodgy paintwork on the bonnet;
>>> black stripes on the bonnet, which could be masking tape to try to hold the
>>> front bumper on; front number plate has fallen off and is in the front
>>> windscreen; stickers all over the rear side windows; stickers on door mirror
>>> (holding it together?) including the word "BITCH"; "One step up from the
>>> gutter" and "Kinky, dirty and cheap" signs in front windscreen. And of
>>> course the pallet of breezeblocks which has dented the roof.
>>
>> I think some of that is for effect - I don't think the bonnet is rusty, it's
>> just been painted that way. The 'ratmobile' decal suggests they're going
>> for a 'rat look', which is a thing. Of course the vehicle is, shall we say, a
>> natural recipient of such a treatment.
>>
>> However, it seems like they've been playing fast and loose with more than
>> the paintjob...
>>
>>> The car looks as if it's a modern-style registration, so it's 2001 or later;
>>> my first thought was that the car might have even been older than that.
>>
>> It's a 1999-2005 Yaris, so that's about right. Most of them will be pretty
>> knackered by now.
>
>It says a lot for Toyota's legendary build quality that a small, budget
>20-year-old car was capable of carrying and moving a huge load like that!
>I wonder how many other French-built small cars of that age would pass that
>test?
>

There's one powered by two horses... and they sit in the engine
compartment without any bother.

<ducks>

In message <t8as0v$cu1$1@dont-email.me>, at 21:44:47 on Tue, 14 Jun
2022, NY <me@privacy.invalid> remarked:

>Can you imagine anywhere that sold bricks actually agreeing to load
>them onto the roof of a car? I bet the supplier is dodgy as well.

That's not a professionally stacked palette, the wrapping is ad-hoc and
doesn't cover them all (hence the lowest layer are weathered) and the
palette is actually a smaller one on top of a full-size one, and well
past both their use-by date. Also it's not a full palette (which would
be 72 according to the cite below, and I reckon it's 44).

>How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
>https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>suggests 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of
>the four layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on)
>then it's 32 blocks

I think there's eleven per layer, a row of nine in one direction,
plus two across the back. Again, a pattern you wouldn't get in a
professionally constructed palette, because the 'nine' ends up one
inch wider than the 'two'.

Finally, a proper palette would have the blocks laying down, not
upright, because then they stack into a pattern that exactly matches
(the long side is 17", the next 8.5")
--
Roland Perry

Theo wrote:

>I wonder how they got up there? Presumably somebody put them there with a
>forklift? I can't see how else you'd get an intact pallet up there.
>I wonder if it's somebody's idea of a joke...

This may well have been staged.

https://fb.watch/dFfUMEYpdj/

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1

Plant amazing Acers.

In message <mg1jah9ik4tn8pf2pt05btp71k02vrg2u2@4ax.com>, at 08:12:31 on
Wed, 15 Jun 2022, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> remarked:
>Theo wrote:
>
>>I wonder how they got up there? Presumably somebody put them there with a
>>forklift? I can't see how else you'd get an intact pallet up there.
>>I wonder if it's somebody's idea of a joke...
>
>This may well have been staged.
>
>https://fb.watch/dFfUMEYpdj/

The bag of sand in that clip might have been.
--
Roland Perry

NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
> "Sam Wilson" <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:t8at0k$ka2$1@dont-email.me...
>> NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
>>> https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>>> suggests
>>> 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of the four
>>> layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on) then it's 32
>>> blocks
>>
>> Each layer is 8x2 making 64, so just over a tonne.
>
> I'm surprised he was even able to set off with that extra weight - you'd
> think the springs would be pressed down so far that the tyres would be
> rubbing on the wheel arches.
>
> I've done that: we were setting off on holiday and the car was full. And the
> tyres were rubbing on the wheel arches. But that was due to the shock
> absorbers being knackered - which I didn't know till I loaded up the car,
> because it had passed its last MOT and the ride and handling were normal. I
> had to unload everything and phone around to find a garage that could fit
> new shocks "now", so we were a bit late setting off. And, no, I didn't have
> a pallet of breezeblocks in the boot ;-)

I guess modern cars, or at least cars with modern, road-optimised
suspension, don’t have bump stops.

Sam

--
The entity formerly known as Sam.Wilson@ed.ac.uk
Spit the dummy to reply

Sam Wilson <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> wrote:
> NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>> "Sam Wilson" <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:t8at0k$ka2$1@dont-email.me...
>>> NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
>>>> https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>>>> suggests
>>>> 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of the four
>>>> layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on) then it's 32
>>>> blocks
>>>
>>> Each layer is 8x2 making 64, so just over a tonne.
>>
>> I'm surprised he was even able to set off with that extra weight - you'd
>> think the springs would be pressed down so far that the tyres would be
>> rubbing on the wheel arches.
>>
>> I've done that: we were setting off on holiday and the car was full. And the
>> tyres were rubbing on the wheel arches. But that was due to the shock
>> absorbers being knackered - which I didn't know till I loaded up the car,
>> because it had passed its last MOT and the ride and handling were normal. I
>> had to unload everything and phone around to find a garage that could fit
>> new shocks "now", so we were a bit late setting off. And, no, I didn't have
>> a pallet of breezeblocks in the boot ;-)
>
> I guess modern cars, or at least cars with modern, road-optimised
> suspension, don’t have bump stops.
>

Don't they date from live axle suspensions?

In message <EyrEqMFUuXqiFAgL@perry.uk>, at 07:26:28 on Wed, 15 Jun 2022,
Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> remarked:
>In message <t8as0v$cu1$1@dont-email.me>, at 21:44:47 on Tue, 14 Jun
>2022, NY <me@privacy.invalid> remarked:
>
>>Can you imagine anywhere that sold bricks actually agreeing to load
>>them onto the roof of a car? I bet the supplier is dodgy as well.
>
>That's not a professionally stacked palette, the wrapping is ad-hoc and
>doesn't cover them all (hence the lowest layer are weathered) and the
>palette is actually a smaller one on top of a full-size one, and well
>past both their use-by date. Also it's not a full palette (which would
>be 72 according to the cite below, and I reckon it's 44).
>
>>How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg?

Just weighed one block (left over from my extension), and ASSUMING ITS
THE SAME MATERIAL, 7.2kg x 44 = 320kg.

>>Ah, https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>>suggests 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each
>>of the four layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are
>>side-on) then it's 32 blocks
>
>I think there's eleven per layer, a row of nine in one direction,
>plus two across the back. Again, a pattern you wouldn't get in a
>professionally constructed palette, because the 'nine' ends up one
>inch wider than the 'two'.
>
>Finally, a proper palette would have the blocks laying down, not
>upright, because then they stack into a pattern that exactly matches
>(the long side is 17", the next 8.5")

And some data from Wickes, again: aerated blocks:

Height: 215 mm
Length: 440 mm
Width: 100 mm
Weight: 7.20 kg
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> In message <EyrEqMFUuXqiFAgL@perry.uk>, at 07:26:28 on Wed, 15 Jun 2022,
> Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> remarked:
>> In message <t8as0v$cu1$1@dont-email.me>, at 21:44:47 on Tue, 14 Jun
>> 2022, NY <me@privacy.invalid> remarked:
>>
>>> Can you imagine anywhere that sold bricks actually agreeing to load
>>> them onto the roof of a car? I bet the supplier is dodgy as well.
>>
>> That's not a professionally stacked palette, the wrapping is ad-hoc and
>> doesn't cover them all (hence the lowest layer are weathered) and the
>> palette is actually a smaller one on top of a full-size one, and well
>> past both their use-by date. Also it's not a full palette (which would
>> be 72 according to the cite below, and I reckon it's 44).
>>
>>> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg?
>
> Just weighed one block (left over from my extension), and ASSUMING ITS
> THE SAME MATERIAL, 7.2kg x 44 = 320kg.
>
>>> Ah, https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>>> suggests 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each
>>> of the four layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are
>>> side-on) then it's 32 blocks
>>
>> I think there's eleven per layer, a row of nine in one direction,
>> plus two across the back. Again, a pattern you wouldn't get in a
>> professionally constructed palette, because the 'nine' ends up one
>> inch wider than the 'two'.
>>
>> Finally, a proper palette would have the blocks laying down, not
>> upright, because then they stack into a pattern that exactly matches
>> (the long side is 17", the next 8.5")
>
> And some data from Wickes, again: aerated blocks:
>
> Height: 215 mm
> Length: 440 mm
> Width: 100 mm
> Weight: 7.20 kg

Thanks, that's less than I'd have guessed — about four people. So, the
concentrated load caved in the thin sheet metal roof (as would have
happened if four men had stood on it), but probably didn't completely
overload the tyres and suspension.

Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
> It says a lot for Toyota's legendary build quality that a small, budget
> 20-year-old car was capable of carrying and moving a huge load like that!
> I wonder how many other French-built small cars of that age would pass that
> test?

I'm not sure it's that surprising. If the car had inverted in an accident,
it should be designed to resist the ~1 tonne load of the chassis and engine
bearing down on the cabin. The dynamic loading of overturning would likely
be much greater than 1 tonne, perhaps in a non-vertical plane too.

So gently depositing a load on the roof that's spread across the structural
members (as the pallet presumably did, not unlike a roof rack) doesn't seem
like a big ask. At least I wouldn't expect the roof to collapse - a few
dents are a given in an accident like that.

Of course, roof structures aren't tested in the MOT, so it's quite possible
for an old car to have internal rust that means it's not able to support the
design loading. Apart from guttering leaks there wouldn't seem much cause
of upper body rust though.

Theo

In message <t8cbg8$2e2$2@dont-email.me>, at 10:15:36 on Wed, 15 Jun
2022, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
>Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>> In message <EyrEqMFUuXqiFAgL@perry.uk>, at 07:26:28 on Wed, 15 Jun 2022,
>> Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> remarked:
>>> In message <t8as0v$cu1$1@dont-email.me>, at 21:44:47 on Tue, 14 Jun
>>> 2022, NY <me@privacy.invalid> remarked:
>>>
>>>> Can you imagine anywhere that sold bricks actually agreeing to load
>>>> them onto the roof of a car? I bet the supplier is dodgy as well.
>>>
>>> That's not a professionally stacked palette, the wrapping is ad-hoc and
>>> doesn't cover them all (hence the lowest layer are weathered) and the
>>> palette is actually a smaller one on top of a full-size one, and well
>>> past both their use-by date. Also it's not a full palette (which would
>>> be 72 according to the cite below, and I reckon it's 44).
>>>
>>>> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg?
>>
>> Just weighed one block (left over from my extension), and ASSUMING ITS
>> THE SAME MATERIAL, 7.2kg x 44 = 320kg.
>>
>>>> Ah, https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>>>> suggests 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each
>>>> of the four layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are
>>>> side-on) then it's 32 blocks
>>>
>>> I think there's eleven per layer, a row of nine in one direction,
>>> plus two across the back. Again, a pattern you wouldn't get in a
>>> professionally constructed palette, because the 'nine' ends up one
>>> inch wider than the 'two'.
>>>
>>> Finally, a proper palette would have the blocks laying down, not
>>> upright, because then they stack into a pattern that exactly matches
>>> (the long side is 17", the next 8.5")
>>
>> And some data from Wickes, again: aerated blocks:
>>
>> Height: 215 mm
>> Length: 440 mm
>> Width: 100 mm
>> Weight: 7.20 kg
>
>Thanks, that's less than I'd have guessed — about four people.

(Or two people, each with two large checked bags).

At my previous house, I did some hard landscaping in the garden,
which needed about that many aerated blocks. I think I've described[*]
my problems getting a supplier of less than a palette, before. And
they didn't seem to strain my estate car unduly.

Nor did 300kg of plaster (for the extension) in my Freelander more
recently.

>So, the concentrated load caved in the thin sheet metal roof (as would
>have happened if four men had stood on it), but probably didn't
>completely overload the tyres and suspension.

Although there's the business of being "top-heavy".

[*] "About five years ago I needed a few breeze blocks, which are
surprisingly difficult to buy 'retail'. And eventually found them in a
branch of Homebase 50 miles away, so reserved them to collect. When I
turned up, they denied they even sold the item at all.

After about half an hour of faffing around, it was determined they *did*
have some on the premises, but they had been used to construct a raised
bed in their garden centre section. Apparently the only mechanism for
obtaining some for this project, was to order them off their supplier as
if they were ordinary stock. At which point, after they'd done the
"goods in", they showed as available to customers.

Luckily, they had not used all of them (a couple of palette loads I
think) so we tracked down the ones I needed, in a pile out the back of
the store."

Some builders merchants do now seem more willing to split pallets - ed.
--
Roland Perry

On 15 Jun 2022 12:06:58 +0100 (BST), Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

>Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>> It says a lot for Toyota's legendary build quality that a small, budget
>> 20-year-old car was capable of carrying and moving a huge load like that!
>> I wonder how many other French-built small cars of that age would pass that
>> test?
>
>I'm not sure it's that surprising. If the car had inverted in an accident,
>it should be designed to resist the ~1 tonne load of the chassis and engine
>bearing down on the cabin. The dynamic loading of overturning would likely
>be much greater than 1 tonne, perhaps in a non-vertical plane too.

But that wouldn't put any load on the suspension and wheels.

>
>So gently depositing a load on the roof that's spread across the structural
>members (as the pallet presumably did, not unlike a roof rack) doesn't seem
>like a big ask. At least I wouldn't expect the roof to collapse - a few
>dents are a given in an accident like that.
>
>Of course, roof structures aren't tested in the MOT, so it's quite possible
>for an old car to have internal rust that means it's not able to support the
>design loading. Apart from guttering leaks there wouldn't seem much cause
>of upper body rust though.

Roland's calculations suggest that the load was rather less than a tonne, perhaps only a third of a tonne.

On 14 Jun 2022 22:23:55 +0100 (BST), Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
wrote:

>NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>> Everything about that car sounds alarm bells: dodgy paintwork on the bonnet;
>> black stripes on the bonnet, which could be masking tape to try to hold the
>> front bumper on; front number plate has fallen off and is in the front
>> windscreen; stickers all over the rear side windows; stickers on door mirror
>> (holding it together?) including the word "BITCH"; "One step up from the
>> gutter" and "Kinky, dirty and cheap" signs in front windscreen. And of
>> course the pallet of breezeblocks which has dented the roof.
>
>I think some of that is for effect - I don't think the bonnet is rusty, it's
>just been painted that way. The 'ratmobile' decal suggests they're going
>for a 'rat look', which is a thing. Of course the vehicle is, shall we say, a
>natural recipient of such a treatment.

There's a photo of it pre-bricks here:

https://scontent.fbhx4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/288397892_10227746803392535_2490112106867813643_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=dbeb18&_nc_ohc=2ebGNGG2hFsAX9xfkj8&_nc_ht=scontent.fbhx4-1.fna&oh=00_AT93iH5_MWXSNtozM-o_Ou-vN6HM1VBzRk2u1j5ugA8Seg&oe=62AE1512
or https://rotf.lol/ratwagon

which from this comment on the Facebook post:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10227746803552539&set=p.10227746803552539&type=3
or https://rotf.lol/ratwagonpost

which in turn is a reply to this:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10221960302898271&set=p.10221960302898271&type=3
or https://rotf.lol/ratwagoncomment

For avoidance of doubt, I should add that the person who posted that photo has
stated elsewhere in the thread that he did the customisation work on it but had
sold it prior to the incident in the news report.

>I wonder how they got up there? Presumably somebody put them there with a
>forklift? I can't see how else you'd get an intact pallet up there.

I could guess, but it would probably be impolitic of me to do so.

Mark

Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> In message <t8as0v$cu1$1@dont-email.me>, at 21:44:47 on Tue, 14 Jun
> 2022, NY <me@privacy.invalid> remarked:
>
>> Can you imagine anywhere that sold bricks actually agreeing to load
>> them onto the roof of a car? I bet the supplier is dodgy as well.
>
> That's not a professionally stacked palette, the wrapping is ad-hoc and
> doesn't cover them all (hence the lowest layer are weathered) and the
> palette is actually a smaller one on top of a full-size one, and well
> past both their use-by date. Also it's not a full palette (which would
> be 72 according to the cite below, and I reckon it's 44).
>
>> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
>> https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>> suggests 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of
>> the four layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on)
>> then it's 32 blocks
>
> I think there's eleven per layer, a row of nine in one direction,
> plus two across the back. Again, a pattern you wouldn't get in a
> professionally constructed palette, because the 'nine' ends up one
> inch wider than the 'two'.
>
> Finally, a proper palette would have the blocks laying down, not
> upright, because then they stack into a pattern that exactly matches
> (the long side is 17", the next 8.5")

On further inspection I think it’s actually 4 layers of 13 - 9 across the
front in one orientation and then two pairs across the back - making a
total of 52 blocks.

Sam

--
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Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sam Wilson <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> wrote:
>> NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>>> "Sam Wilson" <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> wrote in message
>>> news:t8at0k$ka2$1@dont-email.me...
>>>> NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
>>>>> https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>>>>> suggests
>>>>> 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of the four
>>>>> layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on) then it's 32
>>>>> blocks
>>>>
>>>> Each layer is 8x2 making 64, so just over a tonne.
>>>
>>> I'm surprised he was even able to set off with that extra weight - you'd
>>> think the springs would be pressed down so far that the tyres would be
>>> rubbing on the wheel arches.
>>>
>>> I've done that: we were setting off on holiday and the car was full. And the
>>> tyres were rubbing on the wheel arches. But that was due to the shock
>>> absorbers being knackered - which I didn't know till I loaded up the car,
>>> because it had passed its last MOT and the ride and handling were normal. I
>>> had to unload everything and phone around to find a garage that could fit
>>> new shocks "now", so we were a bit late setting off. And, no, I didn't have
>>> a pallet of breezeblocks in the boot ;-)
>>
>> I guess modern cars, or at least cars with modern, road-optimised
>> suspension, don’t have bump stops.
>>
>
> Don't they date from live axle suspensions?

Probably. I guess with a MacPherson strut or similar you’d have to make
sure the geometry closed up the spring before hitting the end travel of a
shock absorber, or that the shocks are made to withstand that kind of
abuse.

Actually what brought it to mind was lying here with COVID and watching
Matt’s Off Road Recovery on YouTube (highly recommended rabbit hole for
those who like that sort of thing) where they have built or rebuilt some of
their own recovery vehicles. Being chunky 4x4s they tend to have big
springs with bump stops and retention straps.

Sam

--
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Spit the dummy to reply

In message <t8crgn$il6$1@dont-email.me>, at 14:48:55 on Wed, 15 Jun
2022, Sam Wilson <ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> remarked:
>Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>> In message <t8as0v$cu1$1@dont-email.me>, at 21:44:47 on Tue, 14 Jun
>> 2022, NY <me@privacy.invalid> remarked:
>>
>>> Can you imagine anywhere that sold bricks actually agreeing to load
>>> them onto the roof of a car? I bet the supplier is dodgy as well.
>>
>> That's not a professionally stacked palette, the wrapping is ad-hoc and
>> doesn't cover them all (hence the lowest layer are weathered) and the
>> palette is actually a smaller one on top of a full-size one, and well
>> past both their use-by date. Also it's not a full palette (which would
>> be 72 according to the cite below, and I reckon it's 44).
>>
>>> How heavy would that pallet be? 500, 1000 kg? Ah,
>>> https://www.wickes.co.uk/Medium-Dense-Block---7-3N-100mm/p/166860
>>> suggests 1.2 tonnes for 72 blocks, but if there are 8 blocks on each of
>>> the four layers (we can only see the two rows of 8 which are side-on)
>>> then it's 32 blocks
>>
>> I think there's eleven per layer, a row of nine in one direction,
>> plus two across the back. Again, a pattern you wouldn't get in a
>> professionally constructed palette, because the 'nine' ends up one
>> inch wider than the 'two'.
>>
>> Finally, a proper palette would have the blocks laying down, not
>> upright, because then they stack into a pattern that exactly matches
>> (the long side is 17", the next 8.5")
>
>On further inspection I think it’s actually 4 layers of 13 - 9 across the
>front in one orientation and then two pairs across the back - making a
>total of 52 blocks.

Yes, looking at the higher resolution photo Mark posted from Facebook,
you can see the two on the top layer.
--
Roland Perry

On Tue, 14 Jun 2022 21:44:47 +0100, "NY" <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:

>"mick" <nospam@junk.mail> wrote in message
>news:mn.73fd7e66cac3b0c8.143772@junk.mail...
>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61794798
>
>I wonder if the car was actually uninsured, or whether it was insured but
>the carrying of the dangerous load rendered the insurance invalid.
>
Taxed until 1 February 2023, MOT expires 5 October 2022 and it's on
the askMID database as insured.
Is there anything in insurance policies that invalidates them if the
insured does something stupid?