May 6, 2010

View of the day-Al & Marilyn with the new rig.

Well, we really had to get up early this morning to make sure we were at the CNH plant before 7:30am. Once again Charlene and Lew, our tour guide, were waiting for us to go out onto the floor and see some of the final stages of our combine being built.

We got there one station away from the fluid fill and start up station. We watched as they added a few more parts before moving to the next station where Al got to go up into the cab and turn the key for the first time…and second time…and third time…it wouldn’t start. Air in the lines or a fuel filter problem, they weren’t sure at that time but there were a pile of guys that converged on the machine to figure out exactly what the issue was. They did get it running and decided they would be able to get to the bottom of it further down the line when they did the more intense testing.

We watched as they added the auger…a lot easier than how we have had to do it in the field from time to time. Watching as the side panels finally went on and then the decals, we could see the combine really starting to take shape. We stopped for a lunch break before getting to the final station where the tires went on and more testing was done. The tires they put on the front are just temporary ones, the real ones will get put on at the dealership.

We got our picture taken in front of the combine before Al was able to get back into the cab and drive it off the line, out the door and on to the lot. There would be another thorough check of the machine and all it’s workings before it gets the stamp of approval and is ready to be shipped. We are having the combine picked up by the CaseIH dealership in Great Bend, KS and that is where we will load it up on our way back south to Davidson, OK.

After we got back into the building, we were presented with a lovely framed photo of us in front of our combine by the Plant Operations Manager, thanking us for our purchase. The photo had an engraved plate on the bottom that had our names, the date and serial number of our combine…a very special gift. Just before we left, Marilyn had to do a bit of shopping in the Case store for a few mementos of the experience, Al took advantage of the store as well...surprise, surprise…no toys! He did however, add to his belt buckle collection.

We left Grand Island around 3:30pm and started back north. After a lengthy discussion on our plans for the drive…the road had been decided but where we would be stopping was up for grabs. Should we just go as far as Gettysburg, SD quit early and get up extra early to get home, or should we drop the hammer and go as far as Bismarck which would cut down on the driving time tomorrow. We chose ‘B’ and forged to Bismarck. By the time we got there the snow was falling and had collected quite a bit…we must have hit the winter storm that had been predicted.

We stopped at one hotel…they were all booked up and as far as the clerk knew, there were no rooms within a 60 mile radius. Now, how hard is it to take a black marker, a piece of paper and a piece of tape to stick a ‘No Vacancy’ sign on the window? Why do these places make you get out of your vehicle to find out they don’t have any room? Well, apparently this guy must have been talking in ‘baby miles’ or something, because we drove two blocks and found a room…one of the last ones they had…but it was a room…and we were beat.

We covered 547 miles…the biggest day so far and the latest start…not something we would really like to do again too soon.

Lots of snow…it is May, right?
 

May 5, 2010

View of the day-Lots of action at the CNH plant today, this was the first look at our new combine.

We were up earlier today, looking forward to see things happen with our new combine. We checked out of the hotel and headed over to the plant only to find road construction going on which meant driving a couple of miles out of the way just to get across the road.

After we got into the building we were rerouted to meet with Charlene and our tour guide, Lew. They were waiting for us outside with some bad news...we would not be able to drive our combine off today because they had just started building it this morning. We decided to do the tour of the plant anyway and did get to see our machine a few times as it worked it's way down the line. We originally had thought it would be a good idea to do the tour one day and then just follow our machine to the end on the second day, so this actually worked out great for us.

The only down side was that it will now take us a day longer to get home and Marilyn is already cutting it close with the performance on Saturday. Had we known, we could have taken in a day at the 3I Show in Great Bend, but the tour was much better and we are 200 miles closer to home.

The tour showed us how the combines are built from scratch, a lot to take in, and even though we had just gone through the tour a couple of years ago, there were changes to the process. It was neat to see how everything flowed down the line and amazing how the 88, 20 and New Holland series combines were assembled at the same time.

After seeing the first steps and some of the fabrication of the panels with the laser cutters and the paint process, we finally got to see where our machine was on the line. As we walked by a lot of the stations the, workers would stop to talk to us and congratulate us on our purchase of a CaseIH combine. It was surprising how they knew who we were, which machine was ours and that they had worked on it earlier in the day. This plant is non-union so we were able to talk to anyone at anytime and they were all more than happy to talk to us.

After lunch we went back out to the floor to see how our machine was coming and to see the steps that the 7088 had gone through to get where it was now. The hopper had been installed and it was starting to get a lot more hydraulic and electrical lines installed. We checked out the rest of the process that we will be able to watch tomorrow as the combine goes through it's 300 point testing procedures.

Thanks to Charlene and the good folks at CNH we were back at the Holiday Inn for another night and we were treated to the best steak we have ever eaten at Uncle Ed's Restaurant...absolutely amazing...they were right. After supper, Al watched his hockey game and Marilyn did a few laps around Walmart...just to walk the steak off, of course.

Tomorrow morning at 7:30am we get to turn the key on the combine for the first time and then we get to travel along with it as it goes through the last stations before we drive it off the line.

Which means an ultra early morning...

May 4, 2010

View of the day-The test track out behind the CNH building where a few machines were going through their paces.

We really got to sleep in today since we had nothing planned but to take it easy and check out the sites.

Marilyn gave the retail sector a shot in the arm, while Al checked out some of the implement lots...we really did not do a lot. It was another beautiful day, warm and sunny with a brisk north wind...which didn't bother us a bit since we weren't driving anywhere today.

Before we went back to the hotel we took a cruise past the CNH plant to have a look at what was parked out back and to watch the combines getting tested. Back at the hotel it was laundry, supper, hockey and an early night in.

Tomorrow's the day...

May 3, 2010

View of the day-We must have picked a good machine because Machinery Link had about 40 CaseIH 7088 combines at the dealership in Great Bend, KS.

What an excellent day we had today...beautiful weather, good visits and made our destination of Grand Island, NE in the daylight.

We got to sleep in since we had no heavy schedule until Wednesday. We went down to the CaseIH dealership in Great Bend, KS to talk to the service manager about doing the Pre-Delivery Inspection on our new combine once they pick it up from Grand Island for us. After seeing the 7088's scattered throughout the lot, Al made the comment that they should have the process down to a science by the time they get to ours. Whether Machinery Link has switched over to CaseIH machines or has complemented their vast supply of green ones, we weren't able to find out...it looked impressive, though.

After we left the case dealer, we went for lunch then headed out to visit with our farmers. We had to pass by the site for the 3I Show that will be held May 5-7, of course we weren't going to be able to attend this year. Al decided to drive in to see if they would let us look around while they were setting up. This show is held out at the airport and the two runways are lined on both sides with all kinds of equipment...not all of it was there yet but they did let us drive around and see what was there.

We saw the latest drawing card for machinery link...a flashed up old combine...quite the restoration project. It would have been nice to get the rest of the story on it, but duty called...or at least our schedule called, so we forged on.

After having a good visit with Ken, Karen and Kevin, we continued on our trek to Grand Island. Al took some time out to move a couple of post rocks around...400 lbs of limestone fencepost...pretty powerful.

We stopped in Phillipsburg to have a visit with the Case dealer and see how things were progressing in that area, then carried on enjoying the scenery and great weather. We made it to Grand Island, checked into the hotel, then went out for a snack before calling it a night.

No driving tomorrow...nice change...

May 2, 2010

View of the day-Well, we really shouldn't complain about an oversize load...this guy could really maneuver the rig around traffic.

We got to sleep in a bit before getting a bit of laundry done and heading over to Cherokee to do a bit of visiting. We went out for lunch with John and Peggy, then Marilyn got her stash of home made noodles to take home...unless she finds a stove before then.

We took a drive around the country side to check out the crop in the area...not quite as good as around Davidson, but there is still potential and we did see fields of winter canola blooming.

We went back to Alva where Marilyn got a bit of exercise pushing a cart around Walmart and Al checked out the machinery lots. We met another farmer, Jay and his family for a good visit over supper, then headed north to Great Bend for the night.

Another full day tomorrow and back on the road again...

May 1, 2010

View of the day-Al and Keith check out the wheat near Davidson, Oklahoma...wow, it looks great...

We were up early again and after doing a bit of servicing started the last leg of our trip south. We stopped in Cherokee, Oklahoma to fuel up and have a quick visit with our farmer, John, before working our way to our final destination.

The rest of the day was uneventful from the driving end of things, we did hit a couple of showers along the way, but nothing serious. We got to Davidson, OK around 4pm and started the unloading process...again, it went as well as if we had just unloaded last week. It was a nice change not having the blistering heat that we usually unload in...it was a cool 65º.

After we unloaded, we went with Keith to check out some of the crops...wow...they sure look promising, as you can see from the pictures.

We took a drive into Davidson to secure our camping spot for the stay and then met Keith and Lori for supper in Frederick, before striking out again. We made it back to Alva, OK around 12:30am, hence the late blog entry.

Today we check out the Cherokee/Alva area crop...