...Over the road trucks are not made with the same design specs as off road rated vehicles.
The biggest risk with deep water is that you have no idea what's under it. Who knew the bridge was still there?...
Winner!!
You and bcam both are dead on point!!
Granted he did the "water crossing " correctly, I'll give him credit for that, but it misses the point. If the ground or bridge no longer exists, he goes from super trucker to statistic in the time it takes him to say oh crap! I'm sinking!
The real issue here, is "why" do it in the first place? Obviously a rhetorical question, but what was he hauling that was so critical that he had to take the risk?
I've seen (either on scene or the video after) more than a few vehicle's, from standard passenger cars to large, well set up 4x4's specifically designed (not the mom and pop factory stuff) for "hard" off road use, get swamped, swept away or stranded, by flood water or the erosion below that's unseen.
Now this genius places others in harms way trying to save his silly backside. Firefighters, paramedics, cops, even everyday citizens, have lost their lives, trying to help those stranded in flood waters.
From the looks of things, he didn't get trapped, he chose to drive through it.
The maintenance issues have all been well covered. This is an over the road, not under the water truck. The maintenance whether his or an owners, can overshadow the profits of a load. If he dies, and /or losses the rig/load, what has he accomplished?
Starting with rail and fiberglass dune buggies as a kid, through an 83 Toyota 4x4 pick up, 76 Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser, a modified 85 Toyota 4-runner, to my latest 89 Toyota FJ62 Landcruiser, and a few military humvees, I've done more than a few water and deep mud crossings, and just a "little bit" of off roading ;-), so I stand by my original statement. I don't consider him good.
I'd consider him reckless and his actions very likely unwarranted and dangerous.
OD