June 14, 2012

View of the day-The green wheat at Hamill, SD...we will sure have time to get some fixing done while we wait.


We were up early and the hope was AIS by 7:30am...it was, but in a different time zone.  We stopped for fuel at the Leibenthal card lock, then hooked up the pickup header trailer for it's trip north, 367 miles.

The trip was uneventful...a nice change...no breakdowns, no flats, just shut up and drive.  We made Hamill around 4pm, stopped to chat with Cal at the campground and checked out where we would be able to park everything.  Someone had bought the old school yard and put up a hunting lodge, so we were out of luck for parking at the old standby.  Fortunately Cal has a big yard, so we should be able to piece things out and get everything somewhere in town.


We turned and burned, heading all the way back to La Crosse, listening to the weather reports to see when we would run into the rain.  We found it just after Marilyn took over driving at Ansley, NE.  It sprinkled on and off until we hit the brunt of it at the NE/KS border...what a light show.

We hit the showers just after they had moved through and the sun was setting just below the cloud bank, making for an interesting sunset...and an awesome double rainbow...the picture doesn't do justice to it.  The lightning show was just as impressive and pretty close at times.  The rain continued all the way to La Crosse, where we pulled into the campground at 11:15pm...a 734 mile round trip today.  Tomorrow we load.

It's still raining...we sure hope it's a soaker for the area...

June 13, 2012

View of the day-Mike from Don’s Electric in Great Bend…to the rescue!

Today was the last day for Great Bend as Al went out to settle up with Ken and Kevin and Marilyn got the camper ready for transport.  Marilyn has been trying to get the icemaker working in the fridge and decided to call and see if there was anything she could get done on warranty…there is still another year left on it.

Well, they gave another number of an authorized dealer in Hays this time, so Marilyn called him.  No time right now and not for the next month, his son was away and he was by himself…and he wouldn’t do it on warranty anyway.  So much for that. 

Marilyn decided to just go for it with the new one…after all, she has thrown away $140 on worse things.  But it’s the principal of the warranty…they won’t reimburse us for the part and it has to be done by someone authorized and then they get reimbursed.  If they have the time or want to wait for their cash.

We went out for lunch…kind of the last meal at the China Buffet, then got the camper hooked up to the Dodge.  We didn’t have 50 amp here, so we had to use a 50 to 30 amp adapter.  When Al tried to unhook the adapter from the cord, he had quite the time of it…they would not let go.  After much prying and swearing, we got it apart, but one  of the blades was pretty much pulled out of the molded head on the camper cord.  We needed help.

We stopped at Sunflower Electric near the campground to see if they could help, but they were just wholesalers, but they did give us a few names to call.  The guy from LaCrosse could help us out next week…even with Marilyn sugar-coating the problem, he still wouldn’t move the date up.  Then we called Don’s Electric…wow…he called his son, Mike, who was a couple blocks away and he came right over. Talk about service.  When he got it done, we went to pay him and he told us he had no invoice book and wasn’t sure about the charge, so…”just call when you come back through town next week and we’ll have it figured out”.  Nice guy.

We left the parking lot where we were parked and headed for LaCrosse, where we had a site waiting for us…50 amp this time.  Marilyn worked on getting the camper set up, dish aimed, then bit the bullet and swapped out the icemaker valve.  SUCCESS!!  The icemaker is kicking out the ice like crazy…what a relief.

After everything was put back together, it was time to go for supper.  We had been told about Boondocks, a restaurant in McCracken, just 16 miles away and we were up for a new favourite place to have steaks…so that is where we went...and we weren't disappointed.  It was excellent.

Done for the day and still making ice...

June 12, 2012

View of the day-Shop trailer is hooked on behind the combine trailer and ready for the move north...once the combine is on the trailer.

We took it easy this morning while we came up with a "plan" for loading and moving. Getting the trailers from the bins to the card lock at Leibenthal, where the combine and tractor were parked.  It was also a day to give the compressor some action by getting the header and combine blown off for the move to South Dakota.

Marilyn went over to the Refrigeration business down the street to see if they would be able to help get the ice machine working in the RV fridge.  They couldn't help, but gave a number of someplace that could and after calling the RV place in town and getting the low down on how to test the old solenoid to see if it was working correctly, Marilyn gave it a try.  


The fridge is under warranty, but it has to be assessed by an authorized dealer before they can do anything...and they are either too far away or too busy.  Marilyn is confident that, as with the water pump, we can fix this...as long as we have the right part.  We picked up a new solenoid at the RV place and paid $50 more that we would have online...but was it worth having it in hand? Once it is installed, there is no returning it, so we have to make sure it is the problem...chicken and egg dilemma again.


We grabbed a quick lunch, then headed for the bins, got the trailers hooked up to the grain trucks, then moved the General and the pickup head over to Leibenthal.  We went back to the bins and got the Freight and the shop trailer...now everything but the little shop trailer and the camper were there.

Marilyn started cleaning the straight header and combine off, while Al got the grain trucks cleaned and serviced.  We loaded the straight header on the high speed transport and got it lined up to leave, then hooked the shop trailer behind the combine trailer.  We have nothing but time, so we didn't kill ourselves getting the big stuff loaded...that will wait until we move to LaCrosse with the camper tomorrow.

We quit around 6pm and came back to Great Bend for supper and called it a night...more planning for the rest of the week...

June 11, 2012

View of the day-A trip down memory lane...the shop trailer from a couple of years ago, when we had it pretty much organized perfectly.  Then we decided to upgrade the pressure washer...

We were up early and had company as Clifford came to settle up.  After a good visit, he was on his way and we started with our search for some clips to use in the E-track that we had gotten for the wall of the new shop trailer.  After stopping at several places, we came up empty, so we decided we would just try to make do with what we had and try and make the old ones work.

We left for Oklahoma just before noon and the road down seemed somewhat familiar...we had only been down that road eight times in the last month.  All the way down, Al kept saying we had to come up with a plan as to how we were going to transfer everything from the old shop trailer to the new one...and the most important thing was that it had to be done so that AIR was 7:30pm.  You know AIS is usually directed at Marilyn...she has to have her "A$$ In Seat" by a certain time...she had no idea what he was talking about.  Apparently it was to apply to Al and he wanted his "A$$ In Recliner" so he could watch the last game of the Stanley Cup hockey playoff.

We got to Burlington and parked strategically to start the transfer.  The plastic tubs and Staples paper boxes came out to take all the tools off the pegboards and the tops of the tool  box and counter.  After getting the E-Track mounted on one side, we weaseled the pressure washer out the door and up the ramp to its new home.  During the whole move, we kept saying how great having the ramp was to load things.

We got the tool box lightened up by taking out most of the drawers, then with the help of RL, we got it moved to its new spot on the other side of the trailer.  Most of the tubs and smaller items just got put on the floor to be put away when we have more time...which could be sooner that later, since we don't have anything lined up.

The last thing to get removed was the compressor and it was bolted to the floor, so it was more of a task to get moved, but once it was freed from its shackles, we rolled it over to its new spot in the back of the trailer.  Everything was moved and it was just a matter of sweeping out the old shop and closing it up. We will get RL to fix it the best he can and then we will come back to pick it up and take it back home...to sell, or use as storage, or perhaps it will be the new garage for our M88 combine and header.

We hooked up and headed back for Great Bend, stopping in Pratt for supper at KFC, then back to the camper to make plans for tomorrow.

Cleaning and loading, now that we have the compressor back...

June 10, 2012

View of the day-Transplant complete...the chopper is in and running smoothly.


AIS of combine was to be 10am and we beat that by 1/2 hour...the dust was flying by 9:30.  We still had a wicked wind, but today it switched and came out of the north west so it was somewhat cooler.

Al was getting dumped at the elevator fast enough that he was making it back to the field in time to keep Marilyn from waiting.  We only had 50 acres left to go and part of that was across a water way...but it was pretty solid, so Marilyn was relieved...and then there was the strip that was left along the water way where she got stuck the other day.  Thanks to the heat and wind, it was plenty dry, but she left it for the last...just in case.


We got the General its last load, then unhooked the header and put it into transport, then moved the combine and header up to the lot at the fuel card lock.  We had loaded there last year and it saved us moving back all those miles to the bins.  After we parked the combine, we went back and Al drove the cart over to the card lock, then we went back to get the General and take it to the elevator...or rather the bunker, where Al dumped for the last time.

We took the General back to the bins so we could get the big trailers hooked up and moved...a job that will be done on Tuesday, or so...then we hooked up the cargo trailer and came back to Great Bend.

Tomorrow we go back to Burlington, OK to transfer all the guts out of the old shop trailer to the new one...Marilyn is sure there will be lots of "discussion" as to where things should go.


We have no work lined up and our next job is in South Dakota...could be a long wait...

June 9, 2012

View of the day-Marilyn's picture of the combine pulling the header that she forgot to post yesterday.


Wow. What a wind today...pretty much sustained at 35mph.  Kept the bugs off.

We got going around 11am...we really need to remember that we are 50 miles away from the field when we are at the camper.  Since Marilyn did the servicing while she waited yesterday, there was nothing to be done but check the oil before starting to combine.

Marilyn had noticed that the combine had an odd rumble to it when she started up the rotor, but after having Al try to hear what she was hearing and doing a walk around, it couldn't be pinpointed, so she decided she was losing it and started combining.

There was a doe that was tortured for most of the day as she tried to keep away from the combine, but stay not far from her fawn that she tried to keep hidden in the standing wheat...the little bugger was too fast to get a picture when he would sneak between patches.


Al got the first load into the elevator and Marilyn was waiting for him when he got back...this wheat was running all the way up to 89 bu/ac, so waiting for the truck was normal.  When he got back to the field Cliff, the farmer, had shown up to go for a ride in the combine and a trip into the elevator with the trucker...Al can't complain that no one wants to ride with him anymore.

Al was toggling between two elevators, which he would call to see how the lineups looked, then choose the shortest.  He got caught going to LaCrosse once as they decided to move the conveyor belt to a new position, which took some doing...hopefully he will have a camera with him tomorrow to take a picture of it dumping into a huge bunker.  He was also entertained by a new trucker who really had no idea how the wind was going to turn his tarp into a land sail...fortunately, the elevator guys had a skid steer with a bucket that one of them rode in to help capture the tarp and get it rolled up on the truck.  Lesson learned by that chap.

He also had to give the four young men that were dumping the trucks some "instruction" on shoveling out the corners of the truck box with their "leaning posts"...like he wants to haul those 30 bushels back to the field.

Marilyn had just started back into the field as Al and Cliff took a load to the elevator, when her straw chopper alarm went off.  After going out to inspect, the chopper belt, which was a two rib belt, had split into two single ribs and jumped off the pulley.  When Al got back, we put both ribs back in place and hoped that we would be able to get the last 45 acres done with the patch job.  Nope.

Marilyn got about 40 bushels in the hopper, then decided to go out and "powder her nose" and do a circle check while the rotor was idling.  She looked at the straw chopper and it was working fine, but as she walked around to get back in the cab, she could hear it slowing down and eventually stopping.  The belts had come off again.


Al got back to the field and Marilyn had talked to ProHarvest by this time and they were sending someone out right away with a new straw chopper belt. How's that for service...we LOVE these guys!

Upon further inspection, however, we discovered the locking collar on one of the bearings had not been locked on and was not doing its job, so a new bearing would be needed.  When Clayton got out to the combine, he confirmed we needed bearings and called in to get someone else out with the bearings and flanges.  We were hopeful that we would get to finish the field yet.


Once we got the bearing off, it became clear that the shaft on the straw chopper had a ridge worn into it and would have to be replaced...too bad the shaft is part of the straw chopper and now the whole chopper had to be changed.  So much for finishing tonight.


So now there needs to be a third man to bring out the chopper and help install it...not an easy task, but the guys had the old chopper out and by the time Robert showed up with the new one, they just had to put the new one in, add the bearings and voila...done.  A test showed everything was running as it should.  Did we mention we love these guys?


We didn't actually get to see the install, since Clayton told us he didn't need us to stay...and the Stanley Cup playoff game was on, so Al didn't need to be told twice that we could leave.


An early night in means an early morning to finish tomorrow...Al wants AIS at 10am.

That's AIS in the combine, not leaving the camper...

June 8, 2012

View of the day-Kansas drought, huh...


We started the day by taking a leisurely drive 20 miles over to the field where we had left the General last night.  Al led the way with the tractor and cart, while Marilyn followed with the combine pulling the header.  The drive over was uneventful...traveling at 18mph gives you a chance to be ready for anything that might jump out at you.

We made it over to the field, and after getting the header on the combine and cutting a patch to park, Al got a ride back to the other field to get the Dodge.  Marilyn made a couple of passes on one side of the field...it was running well over 50 bu/ac...then decided to open up the field.  

There were combines and trucks running all  around us...Gleaners, New Holland, CaseIH, JD...everything but Masseys,  Across the road from us was a crew of John Deere combines that were getting close to finishing the field.  Just as Marilyn rounded the north end of the field and was getting ready to cut around the water way, the combine stopped...stuck.  How could that be? All we heard about was the drought in this area...Marilyn should have realized the washouts across the roads meant that there was water here sometime recently.

Al was stuck in line at the elevator, and the line was not moving very fast at all.  Marilyn got a ride with one of the neighbors, who had passed by in their pickup, to go to the other end of the field and get the tractor and cart, so she could empty the combine of the 130 bushels that were weighing it down.

With the help of the neighbor...she didn't get anyone's name...Marilyn got the cart lined up under the combines auger.  This was no easy job with the auger side of the combine precariously low.  After getting the combine empty, it was time to see if the combine would move.  With the farmer guiding the forward and backward rocking of the combine, Marilyn got a couple wheels on solid ground, but it still wouldn't back all the way out.

Al had returned by this time, so we unhooked the cart from the tractor and lined it up to try and give the combine a pull.  No chains. We were able to get a couple of chains from the neighbors, one was 5/16" which Al figured was too small...it was bound to break...the other was a 3/8" chain that had a lot of ready links patching it together.  But we had no choice.

We got hooked up and Al tried several times, each time the chain would break we would move the hook, until it was just too short to use.  We were hoping we wouldn't have to drive the 30 miles back to get the chains from the combine trailer...but we needed chains, so we did what we should have done from the start.  We went into LaCrosse and bought a 20 ft length of chain...and a big blue tow rope.

When we got back to the field, we got hooked up, lined up and after two tugs, we were out.  We got the cart hooked back up to the tractor and Marilyn went back to combining...staying well away from the water way. 

Today was only a 55 acre day, but considering the big move and the mud break, nothing to complain about...