View of the day-The Freightliner unhooked from it's load after almost a month...back in Canada at Carlyle. It will get the next couple of weeks off, too.
Up early and on the road after grabbing a coffee at the Pingree Cafe...we really need to get the coffee machine running in the camper...old and weak is not the way to get going in the morning...and we are talking about the coffee...not us!
We got over to Wilton and Al got the Freightliner started, courtesy of the booster cables and the Dodge, then did a circle check. When he looked at the hitch on the tractor, he noticed the pin that hooks the cart to the tractor had crept up out of the bottom hole and had bent the hair pin that was supposed to keep the pin in place. We managed to get the remains of the hairpin out and Marilyn took it into the Cenex to see if they had a replacement...they didn't...but they did have a bolt that would do the job.
We put a ramp board across the trailer so the jack on the cart would lift the hitch high enough to get the pin back in place. Once we accomplished that,we were back on the road to Carlyle, with all things operational...for a while at least.
Just as we got outside Minot, the sun...which had been behind the clouds all morning...came out and Al decided he wanted to open the driver's window in the Freight to get some air. It didn't want to crank down...not that it ever did crank down that well, but if you held your tongue right and used both hands to crank and ease it down, it would work. For some reason it had jammed up and when we turned the handle, it worked...at least it "turned". Around and around and around...without connecting to anything.
Of course, we didn't have the shop trailer, so we had to make do with what tools we had and every bolt that was holding the door panel on was a different size, making it even more challenging. We eventually got the window down, dodging traffic as we were parked on the side of the road...on a really wide shoulder, but you can never be too careful, can you? We nicely got the door panel bolted back on and closed the door...then the door latch wouldn't work to get the door open! How was Al supposed to get in?
First, a mental picture of what the cab of the Freight is like. The seats are very close to the dash...Marilyn's knees are right up against it when she rides in the passenger seat. Now add to this a steering wheel that is two feet across and you can see the problem trying to into the driver's seat...enough of a task when the door does open. Al...not the happiest about the situation to start with...managed to contort himself enough to get into the seat, decided we should keep going on to Kenmare where we could park in the lot at the Cenex and work on it without traffic bothering us. We just hoped we wouldn't get stopped by the coppers and have to get out of the cab.
So we made it to Kenmare, got the door opened...eventually...and not without some "language". We managed to get the window completely out of the door...in one piece, amazingly...got the latches all lubed up and working better than they ever did, then headed for the border...all doors operational.
The crossing went smoothly...through in ten minutes total for both sides...then we were on the last leg of the northern run. We got out to Kim and Marg's farm, got it parked out in the back field, then unhooked the trailer from the Freight so it wouldn't be hanging on the hitch for a long time. After a chat with nephew, Gordie and a stop at Precision Ag for some fresh brewed coffee...strong and no floating scum...and a gab, we were rolling back to Pingree.
We were listening to a radio station that had a sports talk show rehashing the Rider football game from last night and Al decided to call in with his opinion. He told the call screener his opinion and was waiting on hold when there was breaking news...they had just fired the head coach and the offensive coordinator! Al was the first caller after the big news and did an excellent job voicing his opinion on the big cuts...of course, he's no stranger to being "on the air".
Again, we got through the border without incident, actually getting the same woman at the US side who was surprised to see us so soon. On we drove, stopping at McDonald's in Minot where Marilyn took over driving so Al could grab a snooze. After a stop for fuel in Fessenden, Al took over the wheel so he could listen to his choice of radio show...aliens and such on Coast to Coast AM. That is the deal...the driver has control of the dial, while the co-pilot fetches the pop, files the receipts, sets up the gps...oh, wait...that is when Marilyn is co-pilot.
We made it home by 10pm...a 580 mile round trip with a lot accomplished and now we hope to get combining tomorrow...it looks promising.
A side note...the Freight never hauled one load in the USA this harvest season...first time ever...
No comments:
Post a Comment