Watch: Can this truck really cross a river on two thin wooden boards?

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Originally published at: Watch: Can this truck really cross a river on two thin wooden boards? | Boing Boing

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I mean…not just driving across, BACKING UP across!?!

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I have nightmares like this.

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My reactions in order:

  • Not really a truck.
  • Not a river.
  • Not boards.
  • Holy crap!
  • Hmmm. Why didn’t the logs flex more? Something is fishy here. I did see bark flake off at one point, so I don’t think it’s a weird perspective painting thing. But the rigidity here seems more on the order of steel I-beams.

So what gives? Or in this case, why didn’t they give?

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That was really, really tough to watch. I need a drink.

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With apparently no one guiding him. Because that would be too easy or something.

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I assumed that the “boards” were actually a couple of metal poles, and that the “bark” falling off was dried mud left by previous daredevils driving across the “bridge”.

I feel that the video needed the Indiana Jones’ theme playing in the background.

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Personally, I’d have gone the long way round. But that’s just me.

I can see why reversing is better in this case, though - more control over keeping the leading wheels in place.

I’d love a translation of what was said at the end.

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The driver is either showing off some incredible skills and has figured out the engineering ahead of time, or is very stupid and has quite a bit of trust:

  • That the boards are perfectly lined up to the distance of the tire width for the entire span.
  • That the logs won’t break.
  • That he can stay perfectly straight the entire time while backing up.
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My theory is because it is rear wheel drive, and if you got it lined up to begin with then the front tires should just remain straight and follow where the rear tires go.

If you went in facing forward, you would have the front wheels wanting to drive left or right and forcing you to make corrections, would would mean your are snaking it, ever so slightly, back and forth.

If you have a toy car that has front wheels that can move, roll it on carpet. If you go backwards it will go straight. If you go forwards you end up staring to curve if the wheels get of center just a bit.

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My moment of wonder occurred when the right rear wheel was not centered over the (pipe, log) but the weight was on the outer edge of the rim. The rest of it looks easy.

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Impressive, I guess. Now do it with a schoolbus.

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I think it’s contrarywise.

Bicycles tend to go straight when pushed forwards and go weird when pulled backwards and the reason for this is a combination of the angle of the forks (rake or castor angle) and the offset of the axle (trail). Cars have a slightly more three-dimensionally complicated steering set up, but the castor and trail thing still holds true.

I think @anothernewbbaccount has the right idea. Going backwards allows the driver to keep an eye on the rear wheels in the mirrors and make make effective corrections with the front. Like a forklift.

It’s for this reason that I much prefer parking backwards in my van.

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As much as I am aghast at the whole crossing, I can’t help notice that the intentional under-inflation of the tires played a key role in keeping the vehicle on the logs.

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And he could see both of the leading wheels in the mirrors.

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I especially appreciate the half-hearted placement of the broken concrete pieces on either side of the logs to keep them from rolling out of place.

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(eta it’s all about the sound design)

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Yep this made me think of my long-gone forklift-driving days, in which I could drive the length of the warehouse backwards with almost no correction.

Slowly, of course; if you sped up even a tiny correction would get out of control fast, Dymaxion-style: A Harrowing Test Drive of Buckminster Fuller's 1933 Dymaxion Car: Art That Is Scary to Ride | Open Culture

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Yes, I was thinking they used the same trick that people have used to put a car or truck on a railway grade.

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And does it look like they let a little air out of the tires to let them flatten out on the round poles a bit?

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