Giant golf balls

[ordinary]

Lately I've been driving from the west side to the Marine City area on I-94 and everyday I've been seeing some flatbed semi trucks loaded with these bowling-ball-sized dimpled golf-ball-looking spheres. Has anybody seen these trucks? Any idea what those things are? Just curious.

[DanFromDetroit]

Just a guess - Wind turbine housings?

[Johnlodge]

Just a guess - Wind turbine housings?

Bowling ball sized wind turbines?

[leland_palmer]

Just a guess - Wind turbine housings?

Probably. I saw 1 blade traveling north on 696 and another one going east on 696 last week.

[Retroit]

Probably. I saw 1 blade traveling north on 696 and another one going east on 696 last week.

[fryar]

Probably. I saw 1 blade traveling north on 696 and another one going east on 696 last week.

Seriously, those travel 1 to a truck?
Anyway, back to the balls jokes...

[Johnlodge]

Seriously, those travel 1 to a truck?
Anyway, back to the balls jokes...

Yes, they do travel one to a truck. And are an oversized load when they do. Each blade is enormous, I passed a convoy of them on I-94 out of state last week. Managed to snap this picture of one of them.

[Whitehouse]

Yes, they do travel one to a truck. And are an oversized load when they do. Each blade is enormous, I passed a convoy of them on I-94 out of state last week. Managed to snap this picture of one of them.

Quite common over here on this side of the atlantic.My brother works for Vestas, one of the biggest Turbine makers in the world. He's servicing those monsters. He just showed me a picture of one of those gondolas on the ground. He was dwarved by it! This was exactly the kind of gondola he was standing in front.

The current worldrecord is a giant in the German city of Kiel. This monster has a diameter of 126 meters! The rotor blades themselves are 61,5 meters.

Here are pictures of it's erection.


The 5M[[egawatt) gondola.


Putting things in perspective, check out that person standing next to it!!
The longest transport I ever saw was 52 meters. It was a telecom mast for the GSM network.

[Zacha341]

Yes, I saw a truck with a few of them on 696...... but no balls.

Probably. I saw 1 blade traveling north on 696 and another one going east on 696 last week.

[Johnlodge]

While we're on the tangent, here's another picture I took. Windfarm in Minnesota off I-90, they stretched out as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was quite the spectacle for me, being that the only one I had ever seen in person is the single one up by Traverse City.

[yupislyr]

While we're on the tangent, here's another picture I took. Windfarm in Minnesota off I-90, they stretched out as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was quite the spectacle for me, being that the only one I had ever seen in person is the single one up by Traverse City.

The way they're popping up over here in Ontario, it may well be like that over here in the not too distant future.

There's some going up around Essex, just outside Windsor.

There's some outside of Harrow, south of Windsor.

And then there's a whole stretch of them along Lake Erie west of Wheatley. Many of them are visible from the 401.

[Zacha341]

Hmm, about 3 weeks ago on I-696 and Southfield I saw an extra, extra long truck on an exit with giant loge white wind turbine blades as cargo. It was a site to see and everyone was gawking to look!

Just a guess - Wind turbine housings?

[Retroit]

I think Jjaba would concur that they have bigger balls on the west side.

[ptero]

I think Jjaba would concur that they have bigger balls on the west side.

Seems like he got kissed enough!!!

[daddeeo]

Are they from Mr. Mathis of DPS fame?

[Detroitnerd]

Breaker 1-9, my 20 near Jarhead City, I see a skateboard riding with king-sized smackin' pills. Am I checkin' my eyes for pinholes? Over.

[Jimaz]

Radomes?

I assume they were white.

[ordinary]

I knew I was going to see some interesting replies.

Danfromdetroit, Maybe but they seemed pretty small. Maybe they were bearings or something for the wind turbines.

Jimaz, No, they were black or dark gray. I don't think they were radomes.

[Retroit]

Maybe there's a shortage of big black balls in Marine City.

[Jimaz]

LOL! Quite the mystery we have here.

[MikeM]

Which way were they headed - east or west? And they were as small as a bowling ball but shipped without being in a container?

[DetroitPlanner]

All I can think of is if I had to drive from the west side to Marine City everyday, I'd move to Marine City!

[Meddle]

Is there a reactor or any kind of weapons storage out there that they might be moving nuclear fuel or waste to or from?

[Searay215]

I saw a blade headed north on I94....there is a wind farm being built in the thumb. I hate those things. I used to think it was a good clean way to get energy until I went to this site and saw what it does to animals and humans.
http://www.wind-watch.org/video-fenner-wethersfield.php

[Zacha341]

Wow! What a sub-topic! And we are told there's no down side to these things. That squeal they emit when it rains was horrid! No amount of oiling fixes that sound... They are loud overall and I already knew they do not produce alot. Interesting how they are built with very little thought or notice to the home owners and farms already there... thanks for providing the link. I found this link within the site that details the negative impact to the environment, housing market and living in the communities they are put up in:

http://www.wind-watch.org/video-meyersdale.php

I saw a blade headed north on I94....there is a wind farm being built in the thumb. I hate those things. I used to think it was a good clean way to get energy until I went to this site and saw what it does to animals and humans.
http://www.wind-watch.org/video-fenner-wethersfield.php