July 8-12, 2021

Thursday, July 8, 2021

There were several needed to get done before we could load, so I actually got up at 4, and met my driver at the truck by 5. We had to move several cross members, and adjust some shims, which we had finished well before 7. However, the crane crew didn’t even show up until 7 with the crane! And, instead of a crew of riggers, there was just one guy. One guy! As they were getting setup, it became obvious that the one rigger was new. The crane operator had to continually jump out of the crane and show him how things needed to be done. It was frustrating to watch! So I relaxed on a flat bed trailer nearby, and watched the show while I made a few phone calls.

To make a log story short, they brought the wrong rigging, and had to make due with it, and had to call in to find out how to hook it up! They finally hooked up to the piece when I took this picture at 11:26.  You can see that we had pulled our truck into position by then, and they lifted the load. Yikes! Are they seriously going to load the 50 ton piece like THAT?

Yes!! Then when they lowered it down, we realized that they had two shackles on each lift lug, and as you can see in this next picture, they would not fit between the piece and the rail.

When we pointed that out, they had to swing it back, set it back down, remove one shackle on each lug, and connect back up. By the time they actually set it on our trailer, and we chained it down, and were ready to leave, it was almost 3 PM!

As a result, we knew we would not make it to the site today in Cummings IA. Not even close! We stopped 224 miles later at a rest area in IA for the night. Even though my generator is now working, I agreed to take my driver back to the last exit and get him somewhere for supper, and to a hotel. All restaurants in the area were already closed, and so were most of the fast food places, so we had to just buy some chicken strips at the truck stop. I checked into a hotel 15 miles down the street, because it was the only one under $100 for the night!

Another short night of sleep. I think it was bout 5 hours.

Friday, July 9, 2021

We left at dawn, and arrived at the site right on time at 10AM.  It had just started raining, so the 1 mile dirt road into the site was coated with an inch of mud already. I steered the back end as we turned onto that road, then pinned it back in self steer, and he had to go faster than either of us wanted, because his drive tires began to slip in the mud up the hills. I had to pay special attention to the bottom of the trailer, because if I didn’t raise the front and rear towers at the right time, and to the correct height at the crest of each hill, the bottom would drag, and cause him to get stuck. Well, we made it to the entrance of the site with no issues, although his tires did spin some.

And the trailer was now covered in mud! It is never fun to climb all over a slippery, muddy trailer to unload! The picture doesn’t make it look to bad, but it was a lot worse than it looks, trust me! We waited there until they unloaded and set the fuel tank, because our generator sits on top of the tank.

Here is a picture of a site map that shows what the site roads look like, and I have marked it up. The spot where we needed to unload is colored with that blue rectangle. BUT, they need us to back in up to it. The right turn into the site is extremely tight for us, and we doubted we could pull by and back in, and were afraid we’d get stuck.

So, once the tank was unloaded, and the truck pulled out and left, we turned right into the site, represented by the red line, and pulled up to the unload area. It was a 7 point turn to make that right turn in, because of a light pole they installed on the inside, and is not in that picture. Then I steered the back end as wide as possible to back him around the corner to the left, represented by the purple line. We made that in one shot. Then we pulled ahead, represented by the green line. Then I steered him as close as possible to those buildings, parked cars, and fence posts, in order to back around that right corner, represented by the yellow line. That put us right near the crane, but they told me to stop and wait before we backed under the crane. That took us about 45 minutes, and it was about noon.

THEN we were told that there was a problem with the fuel tank, and they could not unload us until it was solved. It may need to be returned! I sat in the passenger seat of my driver’s truck and shot this next picture through that mirror while they looked it over, had meetings around it. . . . .

lifted it back up

And set it back down again. That took 5 hours. FIVE HOURS!! It was 5 PM when they decided to shim it, and unload us on top. So we pulled ahead under the crane, and they had their lift meeting.

And, finally unloaded us!

WOW! What a frustrating day! Once we pulled ahead, shrunk down to 12′ wide, and steered out of the site with another 7 point turn to avoid the pole, represented by the red line, we were on our way down the dirt road again. By now it was a dust bowl, and about 7PM. We were just able to get around Des Moines and to the first rest area on 35N, where we spent the night. I pulled out my grill, and cooked us up some hamburger patties that Annalou had given me, and we slept in our vehicles so we could get more sleep! It had cooled off quite a bit into the low 70’s, and was beginning to rain again, so I didn’t even use my generator.

Saturday, July 10, 2021

During the night we had some very heavy downpours. Because of that, my rooftop AC began to leak. Well, it became a steady stream running down on my pillow! But before it got to that, I pulled the trash bag put out of my wastebasket, and it stayed beside me all night. I was so tired that the sound of running water in my ear didn’t even bother me! LOL Once again, we were up early, and met our front car before dawn as he arrived just before the sun came up. It had stopped raining, and we pulled out as soon as he was ready, at 5:45 AM.

It was a pretty quick and easy 309 miles back to the yard, as it was all highway. It often is when we are empty, and “only” 12 feet wide, 168 feet long, and weigh “only” about 110,000 lbs.! LOL So we pulled into the company yard just before noon, and parked in the back yard, because there were others using the wash bay. There was additional water on the floor of my van, because some residual water leaked from the AC during the trip. Then, when I pulled over and plugged in, the AC unit went spastic on me. It would alternate from heat to cool, and the digital readout was constantly changing, and then it would beep and turn off, and then beep and turn back on by itself. So I had to unplug it because I didn’t want it to destroy itself. Meanwhile, I drove back to the warehouse, which is full of stored items, but the bay is always free so a truck can back in and load or unload. Everyone is off on the weekend, and the owner has told me I can use that area any time I want to work on my van. The best part is that it obviously has shade, but has nice AC and heat. I actually pulled in and spent the night inside my van in there last winter when it was 20 below outside, rather than take a hotel! LOL

Anyway, I took the inside trim down, and water spilled all over the place! It was like a dish holding it all, and the electronics are in the dish, so were basically sitting in water. I let it dry as I removed all the bolts, climbed up on my van roof, and took the unit off, laying it on the roof on blocks of wood. I found no evidence of leaks or deterioration on the seal that I made when I installed it. So the problem has to be up inside the unit itself. I added some silicone caulk around the roof seal anyway, and put it all back together. If it works, I’ll stay in my van this weekend, if it doesn’t I’ll have to spend about $250 for three nights in a hotel. Do you see how much this van saves me when I can sleep in it?

Well, the display was still messed up, but it stayed running, and stayed on AC, and once I set the temp at 68, it seemed to stay there, so I went back out to my parking spot, pugged in, and spent the night.

I will be off until Tuesday when we load another one of those generators from the yard here, and take it back to the same site in Cummings IA.

So over the next two days, I went to church, where I have gone now several times, and spent a lot of time catching up on these blogs. I took out my windshield repair kit, watched the training videos, bought some needed supplies and a tool box for it all, drilled two holes in my windshield to stop the crack from spreading, and did my first crack repair! Let’s just say it was not bad for my first try. I think it will not spread now, but I didn’t do a good job at making it disappear. I’ll call my coach Monday. I bought groceries, and made a meal in my Instant Pot that will work for suppers all week. I went into the empty employee lounge and fried up the rest of the hamburger Annalou gave me, added peppers and onions, roasted tomatoes, a head of cauliflour, tomato sauce, cheese, and flavorings, and cooked it all up. I have containers to keep it in, and washed all the dishes.

Monday I called my coach, and got advice on what my windshield repair mistakes were. Looking forward to my next repair! What is wrong with me? I can hardly wait to drill the next hole in my windshield! Do you all feel the same way, or am I a bit different? LOL I also called about the AC, and found it is still under warrantee, so they are sending me a new replacement trim piece with all the electronics in it. They will get back to me for what to check on where the unit is leaking, and may just send me a whole new rooftop AC unit!

So no worries, I was not bored at all. In fact, I didn’t get the chance to complete my list, but I DID get 10-12 hours of sleep each night. Looking forward to getting back to work in the morning loading another 50 ton generator!