THRILLSEEKER
10-29-2009, 09:48 AM
For some reason my quest for good deals on oddball stuff often leads me into some rather interesting places that Jerry Springer wouldnt dare venture to. Last night it was off to Mogadore to buy a gantry crane from a guy on Craigslist. My first clue of the fiasco I was about to get myself into was the emails is size 36 font in the brightest imaginable colors from a guy who "quit trukin" and "dont need it no more". He assures me he has the means to dissasemble it and wants to leave it in tact so I can see that everything works. We get there right at dark. As we pull into a house that looks like it belongs at 113 Ocean Ave. I find myself starring up at an enormous structure of iron that looks like it belongs in the far back corner of a steel foundry, complete with a trolley and chainfall as big as a manhole cover. Parked next to it was a beat to hell 8N Ford with a prehistoric tube frame end loader. My first thought was "how in the hell?"
Now is about the time that I meed Leroy and his trusty sidekick Moe. Between the two of them there might have been a combined IQ of 62, 50 of that belonging to Leroy. After a few minutes of small talk out comes the grand plan from Leroy, we chain the base to a tree, sling a rope around the top backside and around another tree, hook the tractor to the top front with a chain and pull it down as one guy holds tension on the rope so the whole thing doesnt come crashing down on top of poor Leroy and his new tractor. OK so its redneck as hell but seems to be the only option.
Now is where the intellegence level really starts to shine. Leroy backs his tractor up and is planning on pulling this thing down with his back turned to it mind you its 13' tall and his chain was 15' long and Moe thinks he is gonna hold tension on the rear with a rope wrapped halfway around a tree by himself. :redfacenew: So after I call a breif huddle and we discuss the law of gravity, gross weight, and the negative effects they can have on the human body, we then decided to re arange things my way. Supprisingly we get this thing to the ground with no problems. Now comes dissasembly time (all 12 bolts worth). Moe must have made 500 trips in and out of the barn to try and find the right size wrench (one wrench per trip) all the while talking to himself and Leroy. After half an hour they manage to find the correct wrenches and impact, we get the thing appart and decide to load the chainfall into the back of my truck.
Now is about the time that I learn about Leroys new tractor, he hasnt had it long and the hydraulic system is screwed up in it. I learn this about the time the chainfall and bucket go from about 8' in the air to instantly crashing down into the back of my truck. I think Donzi and the dog may have just shat themselves. We managed to get this rest of the pieces loaded with no fatalities or calls to insurance agents and the hydraulic system only came crashing down under load 3 more times after that.:yawn: We finally made it home shortly before midnight last night. I think this offically tops the Whaler motor story for redneck clusterfuk.:o
Now is about the time that I meed Leroy and his trusty sidekick Moe. Between the two of them there might have been a combined IQ of 62, 50 of that belonging to Leroy. After a few minutes of small talk out comes the grand plan from Leroy, we chain the base to a tree, sling a rope around the top backside and around another tree, hook the tractor to the top front with a chain and pull it down as one guy holds tension on the rope so the whole thing doesnt come crashing down on top of poor Leroy and his new tractor. OK so its redneck as hell but seems to be the only option.
Now is where the intellegence level really starts to shine. Leroy backs his tractor up and is planning on pulling this thing down with his back turned to it mind you its 13' tall and his chain was 15' long and Moe thinks he is gonna hold tension on the rear with a rope wrapped halfway around a tree by himself. :redfacenew: So after I call a breif huddle and we discuss the law of gravity, gross weight, and the negative effects they can have on the human body, we then decided to re arange things my way. Supprisingly we get this thing to the ground with no problems. Now comes dissasembly time (all 12 bolts worth). Moe must have made 500 trips in and out of the barn to try and find the right size wrench (one wrench per trip) all the while talking to himself and Leroy. After half an hour they manage to find the correct wrenches and impact, we get the thing appart and decide to load the chainfall into the back of my truck.
Now is about the time that I learn about Leroys new tractor, he hasnt had it long and the hydraulic system is screwed up in it. I learn this about the time the chainfall and bucket go from about 8' in the air to instantly crashing down into the back of my truck. I think Donzi and the dog may have just shat themselves. We managed to get this rest of the pieces loaded with no fatalities or calls to insurance agents and the hydraulic system only came crashing down under load 3 more times after that.:yawn: We finally made it home shortly before midnight last night. I think this offically tops the Whaler motor story for redneck clusterfuk.:o