Working the National 1300A

[Natman]

I have a rebuild kit on it's way, anythingtruck.com, for $77.00! Still a lot of for what you get, but way better than giving National $220.00!

 

[Oxbow]

A 2 hour drive to some of the best scenary in Idaho, by it's highest mountain range, and I got paid for it! Working on a dam's outlet gates, they were replacing the machinery that raises and lowers the gates and controls the lake behind. Pretty interesting to see how it all worked, all I did was place a few new shafts and the brackets that hold them in place.

If there was ever a case for wearing a harness while in the manbasket, this was it. They were 40' high, and anything or anybody dropped from the basket would have instantly been sucked out of sight and under the dam's outlet, kinda spooky, especially when the one guy needed a bit more reach and stood up on the handrail. View attachment 300240View attachment 300239View attachment 300238

The reservoir is filling, and one ice fishing shanty on it today . I'm curious about whether the Kokanee survived.

 

[Natman]

I've got a campsite I fly into, at the 8600' level, off screen to the right, about 3:00. In the morning I can make it into Sammy's with engine almost at an idle. But my engine has been out of the plane for 2 weeks, getting cam work done, for a persistant problem that took months for me, and others, to get a handle on. Luckily, I've been real busy on the National so that helps. So yeah, I know exactly where that picture was taken from, thanks!

 

[Oxbow]

I've got a campsite I fly into, at the 8600' level, off screen to the right, about 3:00. In the morning I can make it into Sammy's with engine almost at an idle. But my engine has been out of the plane for 2 weeks, getting cam work done, for a persistant problem that took months for me, and others, to get a handle on. Luckily, I've been real busy on the National so that helps. So yeah, I know exactly where that picture was taken from, thanks!

From passing by it looks like they have a pretty good gathering of gliders there just south of Sammy's once year. Do you know anything about that?

 

[Natman]

A bit, those are all or mostly out of state glider pilots who visit because the Lemhi's are one of the best soaring sites in the country. They are a big buck crowd so it's a good boost to the local economy I'm sure.

I quit working for the local Mackay developer that had me going there a half dozen times a year as he took so long to pay, and I started getting a funny feeling, as in he was about to go bottoms up. Turns out I bailed on him just in time, he got way over extended I was told, too bad, but I will still get a few jobs in the area I'm sure, just not from him.

 

[Natman]

Here's what nearly $100.00 gets you in parts these days, about what I expected, what really tweaked me was they sent it in a box via UPS, $18.00 freight! Two O rings, two seals, and a rubber bootie (of course the old bootie was in perfect condition), but at least it beats the $220.00 plus freight National wanted. Got it all put back together, feels like it will work but I'll find out tomorrow on a job, I didn't want to start it to build up air pressure, to engage the PTO etc., just to find out. Almost forgot, they also threw in two new 5/16" bolts.

 

[DMiller]

Yeah it really sucks these days as to parts costs.

 

[Natman]

Yeah but at least it gives me something to complain about, making me feel less guilty for what I still feel is real easy money for sitting on my butt, drinking coffee, listening to the SAT radio, while watching others REALLY work as I used to! Plus it's another part of the rig that now holds no mysteries, I learned something.

 

[Natman]

I KNEW better, but did it anyway, backed into this site just to show my customer (who I set a house for about twice a month, and have for years) that it wasn't going to work. To my surprise, once I cleared the outriggers, ran them out, lifted the rear up, and filled the tire ruts with scrap lumber, I walked right out of there, never setting one truss, just glad to be not stuck anymore. A 50 mile round trip drive total, I'll nick him for my fuel cost on the next bill, he should have known better. I thought it would take multiple attempts but it was relatively easy, though a bit messy. Meanwhile, right across the road, this forklift crew had their own little drama going on, it seems they ran out of boom and maybe couldn't back up, but they raised this wall (check the rigging job they did) and then couldn't get it up further and were stumped, but by the time I left they seemed to have diverted disaster. If you zoom in, you can see their top plate pulling off the studs, spooky as heck.

 

[DMiller]

Old Terex!!

Why the Super Tall side walls?

And Applause on getting out on own. Dunnage does have its place.

 

[HATCHEQUIP]

Nat are you expanding the Co. with the big RO ??

 

[crane operator]

Nat are you expanding the Co. with the big RO ??

Going to have to pass the hat to get some duals on the back.

 

[Natman]

I have no idea why the tall walls, don't know the crew, but did ask my guys who they were, in case they ever call me, I may pass, it looked like a REAL sketchy operation.

Worked on asphalt today for another long time steady customer, unfortuneately for him and his crew the trusses were scattered about in ankle deep mud. NOT MY PROBLEM! He had already heard about the other job, where I got stuck, and he told me the crew pulled off that job and are on another until it dries the heck up, that was good to hear!

 

[Natman]

Another muddy jobsite today, but I avoided wading around in it by craftily suggesting to the kid on the tag line, since he was already covered knee deep in the stuff before I even showed up, that I'd REALLY appreciate it if he could throw out my pads for me, while I stood on the rear bumper running the outrigger beams out and down. I had put my outrigger floats on out on the paved street, he also took care of me when leaving, I felt like giving him a tip.

 

[Natman]

So, a couple weeks later I get a call to go back to the same jobsite where I got stuck in the mud. As I get a couple minutes out my phone rings, seeing it's the contractor I ignore it and continue on, I should have turned around. This time though I didn't even get out, just rolled down my window and told them to let me know when it dries out and drove off. A steady and long time customer, I'll cut him some slack, and will just charge him for my fuel cost, about $50.00 each trip

 

[Natman]

I had a coolant leak on the Mack, looked like a plastic fitting on the plastic coolant tank, that had a brass fitting on it, with a length of 5000 PSI hose going to the radiator. Why they didn't use silicone hose I don't know, the weight of the heavy duty hose, stressed the leaking fitting I figured, and it was unclear how the fitting was secured until I took it apart, so I found a "exact" replacemant on EBAY, and once it came in pulled the tank off. The non pipe thread brass fitting I now saw, achieved it's sealing by an O ring, that looked deformed, so as I installed the new tank I of course used new O rings. Instead of a standard radiator cap, it had a screw on plastic cap, and while I'm sure I put it on right, it went missing after a few miles. Turns out that cap is unobtainable, to get one you have to buy the entire package, about $65.00 with freight. So, I ended up putting the old tank back on, as it's bad 0 ring was the only thing wrong. Total cost $1.00, or about $85.00 if I count the unused new tank and a few gallons of anti freeze. While this was going on, over 2 or 3 weeks, leaking coolant, I made sure to tell everyone that if they saw leakage when I left the jobsite, it had nothing to do with the crane, a lot of them wouldn't know the difference between hyd. fluid or coolant.
The pic was a tricky setup job, worse than it looks, questionable ground, one outrigger right near the foundation wall, but in a puddle, a drain field on one side, but we got it done. A small 5500 square home, with a big shop planned for next year, I don't know where some people get all their money, 9' ceilings in the basement of course, 10' elsewhere.

 

[Welder Dave]

You don't want to have a coolant leak if there are any animals around. Any leaks enough to puddle on the ground aren't good on a job site. Sounds like a cheap way of connecting the hose.

 

[Natman]

My plane has been down due to installing a electronic fuel injection system, no more dual carbs. I knew I missed having it flyable but now that I'm flying again I'm using it several times a week checking out jobsites and paying attention to new work happening. Today I flew over this high dollar huge home I worked on about 4 years ago, I remembered it as it took 3 months to finally get paid plus the setup area was sloped enough (hard to tell in this pic) to be a bear setting up. It looks like I may be going back, maybe, burned out, not sure when but wow! Just googled it: a better pic:https://www.idahostatejournal.com/f...cle_72fa0d76-8265-11ee-bbff-9b67e7ad764c.html

 

[kshansen]

Wonder if they ever came up with a reason for the fire? Seems strange that a pretty new house would just burn for no reason. They sure the mortgage payment did not get too close to a source of fire?

 

[DMiller]

Not politically correct but clear sky or often undeterminable fires were from ‘Jewish Lightning’. Dates from the days when that community owned quantity of tenement housing and limited function small business. Would be miraculous fires of no life lost but a structure nearly completely consumed, oh and was FULL of valuable materials for the insurers to pay for.