What are your FREE roadside finds?

I have also driven on the freeway in Phoenix for a week with a crescent wrench on top of the creeper van, went to pull a reefer tank down one day; THERE YOU ARE!!!!

 

I was in Watsonville Ca. on HWY 129 and I pulled into a turnout just outside of town that had a little shack/bar across the road (small 2 lane) I was tarping a load of asphalt I'd just gotten. When I walked around the truck I saw a small lunch cooler sitting against the barbed wire fence. I went to go look at it and also saw a 1/2" makita drill. I picked the drill up and left, I never looked at the cooler.
The next night on the news there was a story about the FBI arresting the guy who owned the bar for trafficking coke, he had been doing is drops and cash in a cooler in the turnout. I have no idea if it was cash or coke in it but I'm sure glad I didn't pick it up.

 

You must be more of a Pepsi guy then.

 

Klein clamp on meter. Still in the case and in perfect condition. Old country side road without any traffic.

 

What does the P R stand for? Positive Reinforcement? Persuasive Rod? Perp Reorganizer?

 

Public Relations 24"

Monadnock invented the PR-24

 

I think I was one of the first classes to have the PR-24 , always wanted the cocabola(sp?), I keep the PR-24 in my car now.
As for a find, found a smoker , all the parts , on the side of the Northway in upstate NY, world like a charm !

 

I busted a few cocobolo nightsticks back in the day.

 

You know that I heard no one carries mag lites anymore? Different job , where you work?

 

A little off topic, sort of, but since I do "drive" a merchant ship every day I guess this could be considered a "free road side find" for me. Many years ago while on a charter hauling government grain to Russia... on a clear, calm mid-Atlantic morning I came upon a dismasted sail boat adrift in the ocean. With the "law of the sea" requiring that you give assistance to those in need, we circled the boat with my ship several times and blew the whistle to see if anyone was onboard. When no one responded we decided to further check it out in case someone was injured or worse onboard. Once alongside, we boarded the boat and found it to be abandoned but with ten - twenty five kilo bales of cocaine onboard. 250 kilos of Bolivian Marching Powder! We were of course in international waters but being an American flagged vessel we immediately notified our home office, who reported it to Customs, DEA and all relevant authorities. It turned out to be a big bureaucratic mess for us in the long run, but it was an interesting road side find for sure.

That's me in the blue coveralls.

 

I love bureaucratic tape. Long live freedom. I kid, it's gone

 

Dang.... you win!!!

 

Pardon my ignorance, but how far off the coast would Mid Atlantic be?

 

Well... we were almost at the same Longitude as the Azores. Outside of any territorial waters if that's where you're going.

 

Was just wondering miles wise. My nautical knowledge is far from plenty, and the ocean seems to be a pretty scary place that far out. Hard to comprehend being that far from land....

 

Not really. Merchant ships cross the oceans all the time. Like I said we were on our way to Russia with a load of grain, we had sailed from the Mississippi River. I'm in the Red Sea this morning (here) approaching the Strait of Gubal and I'll be crossing the Atlantic again westbound headed for home in about ten days.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but I've always been fascinated by the cross-ocean shipping world. If I was single, I'd consider signing up as a deckhand for a year or two just for the experience.

 

While on the NJ Turnpike near Newark International airport I found a 50 cal bullet. Not a full round (no case). You can see the lands and groves from it being fired. Pretty much undamaged.

 

Found an polymer AR15 upper receiver sitting in the middle of the road... took it an gained a free barrel nut and dust cover...


other than that, some misc Tools

 

It's been an interesting career, definitely different than a nine to five existence. It is very hard on family life due to the long separations as I've missed half of my kids lives and more significant family milestones than I can remember being out here. Just like this Christmas and not being home to witness my first grandchild experience a two years old excitement and wonder at it all. You don't get that stuff back. I'm usually gone for at least seven months each year so you have to be prepared for that going into it. All in all it's been a good life and allowed me to travel the world, provide well for my family - and still have a little left over for Tundra Mods.

 

Thank you, sir. I see your prior service affiliation, I'm a Vietnam-era Army vet as well. Thank you for your service!

 

Definitely a unique life and it would seem best suited to the young, unattached man. Glad it's been good to you though!

 

Thanks! Yes true, but I would say that more than half the guys I work with are married and have families. It's just something you get used to like anything else I guess. I've been married for 41 years (but then again I've only been home for half of them).

 

Just near my house on the way to grocery store spotted a black flashlight, streamlight and it was fully charged, still have it..

 

At a local highway off-ramp there must have been a fender bender recently....
Hopped out and grabbed it while the light was red.
Doesn't fit the Tundra, but still in good shape and worth a few bucks.

 

Was in the middle of our lane while wife was driving. She didn't hit it but I made her stop and turn around. Grabbed this hefty booger from a Nissan owner that didn't secure it.

And this was before we owned our Tundra.

 

So loose bills scattered about? Bills rolled up wad? Intriguing looking envelope? Bank bag?

 

Loose and spread out on top of the ice plant