Pro tip: check your outrigger pads before you set up on asphalt

Saw a guy last month near downtown Austin sink his outrigger straight through a hot asphalt parking lot. He didn't check if the ground was too soft before running them out. Cost him about $2,000 in repairs to the pad and he had to pay the lot owner for the damage. Anyone else ever dealt with soft ground giving way under a load?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan_patel26d ago

Two grand in repairs AND paying the lot owner? That hurts just reading it. I've seen pads crack on concrete before, but never heard of one punching straight through asphalt like that. Was the ground already bubbling or soft from the heat, or did he just drop it without checking first?

gonzalez.anna26d ago

Honestly, I used to think that kind of ground failure only happened on soft dirt or after a ton of rain. But this story totally changed my mind. The fact that a pad could just punch straight through asphalt without any visible warning is wild to me. I always figured asphalt was tougher than that, like if it could hold up a car, it could handle a pad drop. Guess I was wrong, asphalt gets soft and bubbled underneath from heat or wear and you'd never know until something heavy hits it. Makes me want to check every lot surface way more carefully before setting anything down.