Board members mini meet

[LockDoc]

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Well, we had a mini meet in Des Moines, Iowa today. There were eight people in attendance. 71swb4x4 and 68c15 came to Iowa from South Dakota to pick up a truck so we decided to see if we could get some board members together for a mini meet. Here are some pictures. It will take a couple of posts to get them all on…

LockDoc

[LockDoc]

Last pics. It sure was nice meeting new friends and seeing old ones again...

LockDoc

[big_al_71]

Thats cool
, I wish there was some interest in the florida members to get together someday..

[LuckyHenriksen]

Thats awesome I can't wait til there is a Portland area meet

[OARNGESI]

Sounds like a pretty fun time

[Bob 68327]

It was a great time with great people !!! Here are the four pics I got before my camera batteries died It's alwas a great time when you get to meet more members and visit the ones you already knew . Thanks guys hope you made it home safely .

[shawn57nomad]

What a great time! Couldn't have asked for better weather and company.
What a motley crew! Hope you Dakota boys made home without a hitch. Nice to see you Doc and Bob and it was a pleasure meeting the rest of you all.

[72BLUZ]

i only see 2 trucks, where are the other guys trucks?

[Bob 68327]

UMMMM , Mines in the garage with storage insurance on it for a couple more months . I don't drive it when the white stuffs on the ground. 70c-10toejam and 72c-20 both had their trucks but my camera batteries died before I got pics of their truck though . Bob

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by 72BLUZ

i only see 2 trucks, where are the other guys trucks?

There were two more parked in the parking lot. You can see one of them in the background of Bob 68327's first pic. I guess we forgot all about them...

LockDoc

[72-c20]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

There were two more parked in the parking lot. You can see one of them in the background of Bob 68327's first pic. I guess we forgot all about them...

LockDoc

that's 70c10Toejam's truck. mine was 2 spaces to the right
and looks just like my avatar.

[72BlckButy]

Glad to hear that you guys had a good time.

[Jtrux]

What the heck is that white stuff all over the ground and why is everyone wearing jackets???

[70C10Toejam]

Was good to see LockDoc again, and to meet the other 5 that made it. Shoulda had another there...but Ivel used the poor excuse of a wedding.

Next time lets go for a bit warmer day...but hard to complain about a 40 degree day on the 1st of Feb.

[68C15]

the return trip was interesting to say the least. it was going fine until we got on the interstate from Bosselman's.that was when we realized a small block is not made to pull such a load no matter how well you build it. 65MPH on level ground, 50 up hills. down hill is a whole different part alltogether (hehehe, sorry Shawn). when we left SF I had plans to go easy on the smokes but the added stress amended that. the journey to Omaha area was fair yet nerve wracking. I80 plain and simple sucks and the hills made it all the more intolerable. we should have thought more about heading north from DesMoines, not just for the smoother road and less hills but we may have been able to avoid the worst part of the adventure completely. oh well, next time we do this we will have either a bigger truck/trailer or a 500 caddy engine.

now for the bad part. the part that made me glad to have reinstalled seat belts. but then again I think the belts were trumped by the bond of my butt cheeks clamping tight to the seat. things went smoothly from Omaha to Sioux City, running flat ground at a steady 65ish. then as we got closer to SC we hit some weird clouds that resembled a summer thunderstorm and some head winds. I decided to save some gas by drafting a semi. not too close though, I was on my toes anticipating anything that may arise. in retrospect this turned out to be a disturbing ordeal for Shawn (again, sorry dude). we stopped in SC for fuel and grub. then back on the road we ventured into a 30MPH head wind mixed with heavy snow. combine that with mal-adjusted headlights and black pavement you have a bad combination. about 10 or 15 miles north of SC the snow subsided. cool, back up to 65ish again we go. we were on a tight schedule and had to stay on track.

next comes the downright scary part, the portion of the trip I prefer to call "scared sh!tless alley". the kind of thing that could make Tony Stewart or Dennis Anderson (grave digger) consider a career in accounting.
we were rolling along nicely at 65 and started noticing the roads are wet. well after all it did just snow after a warmish day so no biggy right? then as we got through an underpass we saw snow on the north side. nothing major, about 1/2" deep and only 15 ' long. splash, splash through it and keep on keeping on. then after the 4th or 5th one my back tires started spinning in the white slush. Shawn fired up his blackberry and checked the local weather temps again, 24* and appearantly dropping and the head wind changed to a cross wind. not good, not good at all. by this time I backed off to a more conservative 55. some guy was passing us on my left, nothing new for this journey but it made me nervous nonetheless. the car got to about the back of the trailer and it happened. I dont know if I hit a dip in the road or the car took away my draft. suddenly, and I mean SUDDENLY our rig started jack-knifing back and forth!!!!! about 20 degree angle both directions. my mind immediatley made a mental picture of us laying upside down in the ditch with blood and truck parts spread for at least 1000' through the deep snow off the side of the road. that was when my primary co-pilot (God) took over at the helm. gently working the wheel, counter steering at the absolute right time. all I can say is He's good!!!!! without switching lanes we were still on the road and in the same lane as before. I don't think we even lost momentum. after every thing settled back to a straight-ahead I backed off the gas easily to a grandma goin' to church pace of 30MPH. 25 uphill, I dont wanna spin the tires and try it all over again ya know. cool, we are still alive. 15 miles from Beresford and I know a guy there, we could drop the trailer at his place and safely head home and come back when the road improves. after a couple calls we un-hook the satanic load from Lefty and prepare ourselves for a somewhat safer return home. then 1 mile north of that exit the road was completely dry and clear. hmmmm... what to do. yep, you guessed it, we went back for the treasure and had an uneventful final 40 miles to my place. I dont think I have ever been so happy to unhook a trailer in my life. it was kind of like being constipated for a month and finally letting go.

Shawn took it the 65 or so miles the rest of the way to Brookings. I think I stayed up shaking at least 1 1/2 hours before passing out in bed.

[68 short step]

sounds like a eventful trip, glad you didnt tip over.......

[Bob 68327]

Wow !!! Glad you guys are OK after all that . No matter what happens you guys will never forget that dump truck and you will have stories to tell for the rest of your lives . Sorry you had such a horrible trip but it was great meeting you guys . Bob

[71swb4x4]

It was a great trip. To everyone we met, Leon, Mitch, Bob, Shawn, and Chad (I hope I got those names right), thanks for meeting up with us. I really enjoyed meeting everyone, even though I was a bit preoccupied at times. For those that weren't there, take a look at the first picture in the restaurant. I am the 2nd person from the left. The one who looks like he is two planets away. That picture is absolutely perfect. Right about then I am trying to figure out how we are going to get that dump truck home without killing ourselves, or worse yet, anyone else on the road with us.

We learned a lot of lessons yesterday, I will list a couple below:

#1 - When the seller says the truck has good tires, assume it doesn't and bring extras along. We had planned to bring the trailer for an emergency, and drive both trucks home. The emergency turned out to be that the seller's idea of decent tires was no where close to a normal person's idea of decent tires.
#2 - a one-ton dump truck weighs a lot more than a 1/2 ton pickup. DO NOT tow a one-ton with a 1/2 ton. Thankfully we had 3/4 ton springs on the 1/2 ton, but still nothing I would do again.
#3 - test your trailer brakes before you get to the destination. Yep, no trailer brakes the whole way home.
#4 - a 1/2 ton pulling a one ton will get 6 mpg's.
#5 - Bring multiple debit cards. Apparently the bankers haven't ever driven a car that got 6 mpg's, and they think your card has been stolen when it's used at a gas station every 90 minutes. Thankfully they didn't pull the plug on my card until I was 50 miles from home. I did have a backup card so no biggie.
#6 - Take your time, drive slow, and double check everything. We drove 60 mph's on the dry roads, and stopped at least every 90 minutes to take a break, check chains, tires, lights, and fluids. We made it home in one piece, and didn't hurt anyone else in the process.

Originally Posted by 68C15

I decided to save some gas by drafting a semi. not too close though

Not too close? BULL HONKY!! – I have never been so scared in my life. You have earned passenger seat status for any future trips with me!! And I was paying for gas. I think Todd just wanted some peace and quiet for a few miles. I guarantee you I didn’t say a word for the 30 miles we were “drafting” that semi.

[71swb4x4]

Originally Posted by Bob 68327

Sorry you had such a horrible trip

It was not a horrible trip. We made it home in one piece, and more importantly didn't hurt anyone else. I have towed numerous vehicles, and I knew better than to tow a rig of that size, and especially knew better than to try it without trailer brakes. I was stupid for putting us into this situation. I should have brought extra wheels and tires for the dump truck. Actually, looking back at it, I was stupid for not just planning on towing it the whole way home and bringing a big tow rig. Oh well, hind sight is 20/20, and I can guarantee I will not be caught in those shoes again. Afterall, now I have a one-ton to tow with. Ready to hit the road Todd? Where are we going this time?

[Bob 68327]

Just think in a couple days you'll be laughing about this I thought you guys were a little crazy towing it with a half ton but you heard my stories . I've been there too !! The important part is nobody got hurt and your new dump truck got home in one piece . Again it was great meeting you guys hopefully we'll meet up again sometime on another "Roadtrip"
Bob

[texanidiot25]

What's a trip with out a little "OMFG WE ALMOST WRECKED"?

70CST, how old is your son? He's way younger than I thought.

[IvelDesigns]

wow. sorry i missed you guys, but i'm not sorry i missed the trip. sounds like one helluva ride.

like bob said, now you've got another story to tell

[LockDoc]

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That's what you call driving by the seat of your pants.... So to speak..

Glad everything worked out OK and you made it home in one piece.

LockDoc

[badpeanut]

Congrats on finding the dump and getting home safely!

[72-c20]

Originally Posted by texanidiot25

70CST, how old is your son? He's way younger than I thought.

are you referring to me? Leon just put Jr. under my son in the pics. he's not on the board.... unlike 70CST who's son is on the board and assumingly older than my son
-Mick