I had a "Oh ***** " moment yesterday evening.
I was returning from a wreck recovery and was exiting the I-10 at Hwy 49 southbound when the brake pedal went down farther that normal.
I pumped it and the pressure returned to normal.
Well less than a mile down the road my brakes were gone for all reasonable purposes.
As it occurred I was at the intersection where the Ford dealership we are associated with is located.
I exited the 49 to the opposite side and made a turn in a parking lot allowing me to return across the highway to the dealership.
The truck is sitting there for the weekend and will be examined and repaired Monday.
I off loaded the car I was hauling and will retrieve it from the dealership with the smaller tow truck this morning.

This disablement has already affected my income as the PD needed a flatbed tow truck at 12:30 this morning.
I had to tell them no can do.

 

Glad that things worked out & you were able git to where you got without mishap & keep working, however limited.

Terri & I have secured a friend's service to house & animal "sit" for us, allowing us to get the hell outta' Dodge for a weekend... Going to travel down to N.O. & visit the WWII museum & maybe take in a parade. (Something neither of us in our lives have done.) Wonderful that it'll be a few degrees warmer than here AND SUNNY TOO!!!!

Terri needs a mini vacation after dealing with a whole bunch of work stress on top of my issues that she has dealt with so magnificently as well as other junk too. Happy wife=happy life.

Me, I just want some beignets & some chicory coffee. (Especially since I can't really go to N.O. to drink no mo' )

 

Glad you two can get away, you both need the break. You have a great lady there David, you better keep her happy. The WWII museum is a must see. Took my son's honors history class there a couple of years ago and I could have spent the whole week there. You will love it. Give me a call when you get back as I found your dash piece replacement and just need to drop it by.

 

Good to hear you are getting some break time David.
A little known but worth the visit is the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby on Hwy.49 just south of Hattiesburg.
MAFMHome

It is about 20 minutes from I-59 if you take the Hwy 98 east to Hwy 49 south.

 

Hey guys, she is not only a good wife, she is pretty also. Have a great time David. I found a 92 short wheel base - 302 - trans (bad) - body looks good for $500.00. He has someone else coming to look at it today. If that guy dont buy it, guess who gets it. I will have to build a bigger wood fence. LOL. Bryan >> Miss Press Friday - Franklin Creek Interchange & Hwy 90. Guess who is on the trackhoe.

 

Good evening Mississippi..

 

Got back yesterday from our N.O. get-away.

We initially hadn't planned on carnival season as being the reason for our trip, the WWII museum visit was primary. However Terri was looking around the official NO web site & found that the, IIRC, "Krewe de Vieux" parade was a few blocks away from where we stayed, so we walked down after getting in Sat.

It was a hoot!

The web site said it was more "adult themed" than others... Think "raunchy satire" actually. Targets were Roger Goodell, ( http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/sp...eans.html?_r=0 ) The "Sometimes Picyune" and Ray Nagin. It was hilarious. I'd love to post some pics of the floats, but they'd get pulled in a hurry.

The visit to the Museum was much more somber. I had to hold it together on more than one occasion. There was a lot to take in & it was difficult to decide which exhibits to dwell on & which to move past depending on my knowledge of. The Boeing Museum was a disappointment because the 2 highest levels were closed off & I couldn't get close to the completely restored B-17 they have hanging from the ceiling.

Food was great & I stuffed myself at Cafe du Monde yesterday before we left.

Woo Hoo! Thanks & will do... That was you that left the message, right, or did I just confuse hell outa' you?

I have seen the adverts for that for years & one of these days I'm going to to do that one as well. Dad was in the Army Reserves and always pointed out Shelby as the place where he went to "camp" as we drove by as well as explaining the famous Patton line "Tell your grandchildren you sure as Hell didn't shovel **** in Mississippi"

Yep, I waited a long time to find her. Absolutely worth the wait. And we'll be working with you & your special lady to meet up in a few weeks for a meal & to visit. Just can't say exactly when just yet, but pass that along to her please.

Hope everybody has a great week... Not too cold & I'm damn glad its drying out a bit.

 

Wow guys, I am enjoying this sunshine. I know that sawmilling is work, but outside.

 

Good luck with the hunt Gator....

 

Hope everyone has had a good week. Have been in Atlanta all week for work. Glad to be home where it is warm.

 

As I mentioned, a bit over a week ago, "My" rollback truck was red tagged for a brake problem.
Due to a couple of things it was out of service for a full week.

Now my financial well being is closely tied to it.
Just how close is scary.

I did a job yesterday with it on Hwy 49 at the request of the MHSP.
It was one that I could not have done with the F-450 wheel lift truck that is my back up tow vehicle.

There was a Dodge 2500 transporting a Ford F-250 with an electricians work body on a pintle hitch equipment trailer.
The driver had lost control of the set-up and ended up jack knifed off the highway into the woods along side.
The Ford had shifted so far as a result of the wreck it had the right front wheel hanging over the edge of the trailer and was wedged against the fender.

I first tried to winch the entire combo back onto the highway.
I deployed the 3 ****** blocks that I carry giving my equipment the ability to exert 27,000# of pulling power.
No joy with that setup.
I then changed tactics and ended up having to block the northbound side of the highway while I positioned the deck of my rollback in order to winch the Ford off of the trailer.
I was able to get a lane open again after only a 5 minute or so delay.
I pride myself in that I seldom have to completely close a road to traffic while I work.

I removed the Ford from the trailer and placed it off to the side and then returned to my original plan of action.
I winched the Trailer and Dodge combo back onto the shoulder of the highway.
The trailer was transferred from the Dodge to another truck.
I loaded the Ford onto my truck.
The driver of the Dodge was able to drive it to his destination.

All in all I spent a total of 2½ hours from the dispatch call until I was back to the shop.


Here is the kicker:
I billed the job and it totaled 25% of what I billed the entire week I was without the rollback.

I'm going to sit down with the boss this week and discuss the reasons for moving up the purchase date of the new truck that we've been touching upon.
I'm going to emphasize the benefit of keeping the current rollback as a backup for a new truck.
Wish me luck with that!

 

Very interesting Bryan, good luck with all that

 

Good luck. If you not making money with the truck, he is not eaither. Thats how my guys do it. They say "we not making money with this". Works everytime. Not as quick as they would like it sometime, but it works.

 

Four Days left in this month. Hope the week goes well for a all.

Bryan hope your people remember that sometimes the wrong tool will work, but never efficiently.

 

David there was no way in Hades that I (or any one for that matter[ I have a high opinion of myself. ]) could have done that recovery with the smaller truck that we have.
There were a couple of moments when I was involved with it that I thought about calling in a heavy recovery unit to lift the Ford off the trailer.

When that thought arose I had some time already invested and wondered just how pissed off the trooper might become if I told him that he was going to have to wait another hour or more for a heavy to arrive on scene.

Besides my pride was at stake.

I'm certainly glad it didn't go before a fall.

I have, in the past, arrived at a scene and spent a few moments evaluating it only to request that they call for another company to bring its heavy recovery unit.

Knowing ones limits( personal and that of the equipment) is major part of my work.
Exceeding them will get someone injured or worse.