Re: Self respect
Creepers are wonderful. But when I first went to work as a 129 lb. garage helper I had really long surfer hair. One night I wound all that hair up around one of the creeper wheels. I was stuck under the truck. I couldn't go forward and I couldn't go back wards. I didn't want to call for help and look like a dumbass. I did it again a few days later. The very next day I went out and got a haircut.
Thirty-years and fifty-pounds later. I was at work, working by myself at 1:00 am in the morning. I had a van with some kind of a leak. Rather than take the time to put it up on the hoist I grabbed a creeper just to see where it was leaking form?. When I slid under the van my fat gut slid a cross the pinch flange on the bottom of the rocker panel. Once it got passed the flange my stomached popped up and locked into place behind flange. I was stuck so tight. The more I pushed to get passed the flange the more the fat piled up behind the flange. I couldn't push up on the van. You have absolutely zero room for you arms to work. I couldn't slide back out without depressing that release tab which was my gut. It took about 15-minutes to slide sideways off that creeper. Then I had enough clearance to slide out from under there. I never made that mistake again! Always give yourself extra clearance. I say at least an inch of extra clearance for every ten-year's since you were in high school to compensate for your weight gain.
I always wonder about a tire blowing out while I'm under there on a creeper. In thirty-year's at work I saw two tires blow out while just sitting in the stall while I was working on them. What are the odds of that? One was a big F-800. I had the doors down when the right rear outer tire exploded, big tire, like a semi truck My ears hurt for a week from that explosion, it was violent. . I'm always a little uncomfortable on a creeper after seeing those tires blowout. Because I know it is possible for a tire to let go while your under there.
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