The photos below are what we saw.
I know
exactly what happened here. About 1/4 mile earlier there
was a major, heaving discontinuity in the road bed. It set
Thor rockin' and I am sure that the same bump dislodged the load
on this trailer. Happily for all, the load did not
actually fall and the trucker was able to retain control of the
rig and get it to a safe stop. Kudos to the driver, I am
sure it was a tense experience. Shame on the highway
department for letting the state of the transportation
infrastructure degrade to the point where this sort of thing is
possible. Speaking only for ourselves, we saw some shit
road conditions with huge bumps that were more like a motocross
jumps. Thor did suffer some damage on a previous trip (BQE
in Brooklyn, NY) and some damage to our living quarters on this
trip due to rough road conditions.
We got
to Mark and Gail's farm and parked in the front yard. The
hound kennels are visible at the right side of the photo above.
As is
frequently the case in these things, we got drafted into
assisting our hosts on some chores. In this case, a minor
drought in the are had resulted in low yield in the hay
fields. The low yield caused Mark to see alternate sources
for hay to feed his cattle and horses. He estimated he
needed something on the order of 50 large bales to meet his
requirement. He located 30 bales at a farm across the
Mississippi River in Missouri. So, we prepared 2 large
cargo trailers and 2 tow vehicles and set out on a 200 mile
round trip to fetch the feed. The hay looked good, so we
had the vendor start loading.
The
farmer had several loaders, this one based on an axle-steered
Bobcat with hay spikes. He was an accomplished operator
and loading both trailers was done quickly. As we were
departing, Kathleen noticed that one of the trailer tires was
nearly flat, so we stopped at a gas station and aired-up the
tire for the 100 mile trip back to the farm.
We had
some time on our hands and Mark asked if I wanted to shoot with
him. "Of course!" was the obvious reply. I did not
expect that we would be shooting from the basement into the
"backyard". But, since he owns the land for quite a
distance past the pond, it was safe. And, as he put it "it
makes finding your brass so much easier". True enough.
Brass
control was easy, as stated, but it did get a tad smokey in the
room.
After
several very pleasant days at Mark and Gail's farm in southern
Illinois, we had to do a speed-run to La Junta, CO to allow
completion of the maintenance actions prior to our mechanic's
foreign travel. Along our route, we passed this short BNSF
train west of Lamar, CO carrying 737 fuselages from the Wichita,
KS facility to Everett, WA for final assembly.
While
Thor was having its spa day, I took the camera around the Terry
Lee Enterprises shop to see what else was going on. We
spotted this Mercedes 1224 with a BlissMobil box in for service.
This is
a pure European truck (unlike Thor). You can tell from the
lug count on the wheels - This truck has 8 relatively small
lugs, Thor has 10 standard large truck lugs.
I am not sure why there is
only one brush bar on the cab. And, I did not see the
spare tire storage. Perhaps it is "conveniently located
"underneath the truck between the frame rails as was the stock
mount on Thor. But, if you have ever had to change one
of these big-ass tires, you will change your thinking about
storage locations being "conveniently located". Also, I
doubt that these 365/85R20s will fit between the rails.
Next to
the 1024 was a custom 6x6 U2450 Unimog. This is a big, big
truck.
Thor was
getting the full spa treatment: all fluids changed, brake
shoes checked and adjusted, new filters, etc.
An
under-the-cab inspection showed no issues except for several
loose exhaust manifold bolts. Apparently, these need to be
re-torqued periodically. Thor did get a new manifold
during its last major service several years prior.
Kathleen
cleaned the windshield as it was covered with plenty of dried
bugs from our speed-run from Illinois.
Another
U500 6x6 out in the parking lot.
The
front of the U2450 inside the shop.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2023 all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.