I had an eventful day scrapping this past Saturday. I'm still new at it and am learning from my mistakes, the most expensive way to learn, but maybe the most profitable when it comes to the price of wisdom.
Saturday morning, after delivering 980 pounds of scrap metal ( $112.80), I went to continue salvaging an old motor home. I had already been picking it and have salvaged a nice gas powered generator (haven't looked at wattage size), but I am hoping it will power a small wire feed welder or at least and air compressor for power tools. I had already removed the big aluminum grill off the front as well. The old coach had been parked and unused for around 15 years. It wasn't worth fixing, but still had some value.
I was hoping to keep the small refrigerator for use in my welding shop that I'm starting. Hoping was the key word.
To make a long story a little shorter, I wound up kicking the dang thing out the door! Kinking the compressor line, most likely damaging the use of the refrigerator. But all is not lost, a rag and the gentle working of some pliers may save it from the scrap yard and keep my water, Gatorade and beer cold in my shop.
WHERE I MESSED UP
I messed up by not taking enough water with me to the job site. There was no electricity or water there. Thieves had already stole the power line coming off the pole. After about 3 hours of being there, I ran out of water and Gatorade and was to far into the project to leave the easy work for potential thieves, so I had to finish the job. A couple of hours had passed since I ran out of water and I started feeling nauseous, getting "cotton mouth" and feeling a general sense of dizziness. I had already removed a nice gas stove/oven and a Coleman gas heater, which will be nice for the shop.
But the dang refrigerator was giving me grief. I couldn't get it free and didn't want to ruin the paneling because I want to use it to panel the bare walled shop, or at least a corner of it, where I intend to have my little cafe. (Yes, I'm working on a cool shop, even found an old Coke sign, tell you about that another time.)
After successfully freeing the fridge from it's spot, it wouldn't fit through the side door of the motor home. I had to remove the fridge door. Screws wouldn't come loose. Gently tapping the hinges with a sledge hammer, the screws came out. The next problem was the compressor, it had to be unfastened and then bend it upwards so that it would be on top of the fridge, away from the side.
While I am leaning the fridge on the steps to see if it will now fit, (holding it with one hand, compressor in the other), I lose my grip. Out the door it went, (half way anyways) kinking the compressor line when it slipped out of my hand. I was already experiencing heat exhaustion and knew I was in danger of a heat stroke, so what the heck, put a foot on the fridge and send it out gloriously! I was pissed.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE COPPER PIPE AND WIRE?
Now everything was out (including the kitchen sink), leaving the copper pipe and wire exposed, which translates to easily stolen if left. Even though the sun was about gone and I was in bad need of water, I couldn't stop, plus I still had to load everything on the truck and trailer.
ALWAYS BE ABLE TO STOP WITHIN THE DISTANCE YOU CAN SEE
Okay, I'm loaded up and ready to go and it is dark now. I'm rolling and got the 2/45 air conditioning on (2 windows down, 45 miles an hour) heading down a winding country road, smoking a cig. I can't see squat. I have prescription sunglasses on and they were as clean as they could get with a sweat drenched towel. I'm driving around a bend in the road, heading towards a river bridge and see a vehicle in front of me and one heading towards me. There was another behind me. The one heading towards me is on the bridge and the one in front of me is approaching the bridge by now. The vehicle approaching us drifts into our lane. I see brake lights in front of me and start slowing down abruptly, to abruptly. I feel a shimmy in the ass end of my truck so I let off the brakes to regain control of the load and look in the rear view mirror to see if the person behind me is slowing down too, know what I mean?
When I look in front of me again something doesn't seem right (I was seriously fatigued from heat) and it takes me a second to figure out what is going on here. Did the person in front of me pull over to the side of the road or is my mind not connecting the dots with reality versus safely stopping and wondering about the person who was tailgating my ass for the last 5-6 miles. I now realize that the vehicle in front of me has come to a complete stop... because they had flipped over!
So I hit the brakes again, feel the ass end of my truck start dancing and to top it off, now some yahoo is the middle of my lane waving his hands! Where he came from, I don't know. I think he was fishing from the bridge and that is why the approaching vehicle had swerved into our lane, causing the person in front of me to swerve onto the side of the road, except there was no side of the road at that point. But anyways, I have the truck tires squalling and I don't seem to be slowing down and to make things worse, I start to jack-knife! (small trailer, no trailer brakes).
JOKERS TO THE LEFT OF ME CLOWNS TO THE RIGHT
Well, at this point, I have 3 choices on what to hit. The (what turns out to be another truck) is back in his lane, but at a complete stop, the yahoo in my lane waving his arms or the flipped over SUV (yes, it was a Ford) all in a row across the road in front of me. Well, lets see. Hmm... I have the choice of hitting two objects that weigh at least 5,000 pounds a piece or someone who only weighs about 175 and this person could easily move out of the way! (yes, by this time I could see everything clearly). The guy who was in the stopped truck WAS half-way out his door, till he heard my tires squalling, I have no idea about the occupants of the SUV, but I am sure they are already rattled, if not seriously injured. (what if there was a baby in there?) Guess what dude, unless you get the fuck out of my way, my Nissan is going to have a new hood ornament!
JUMPING JACK FLASH
Fortunately for all involved, I think the yahoo realized I was doing I could to stop and he jumped out of the way like a tornado had swept him off the bridge. I still hadn't stopped moving yet! (yes, it might all seem slo-mo cause I'm writing this and I've had time to reflect on what happened, but all this went down within a few seconds).
When Mr. Yahoo did one heck of a standing side-ways leap, I let off the brakes and the truck starts to straighten out as I roll by the entire scene doing about 3-5 miles an hour. (so it wouldn't have been to bad on Mr. Yahoo) But then to add to my hysteria, Mr. Yahoo starts yelling at me when I roll by. Like the fact that I didn't run his ass over, or swat someone with the trailer was enough! FUCK YOU ASSHOLE, I yell out the window, put my truck in first gear and head to Taco Bell for a Burrito Supreme (their on sale for 99 cents!) and a large glass of water.
I figured there was enough people around to deal with the injured, but I was not sure if there was cell phone reception at that area. So SOMEONE had to go to town and call the law. After being yelled at by Mr. Yahoo, I volunteered.
SO WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
I learned several things that Saturday.
I learned to look at the label of the cans I'm taking with me to make sure I'm bringing hornet spray, not ant spray. (I didn't mention that experience? blog is long enough).
So what if you come home with an extra jug of water, better than being two jugs shy.
Take an extra towel for final clean up, even if its just for your glasses.
Regardless of how careful you are at taking something apart, if you can't deliver it one working piece, you've wasted your time. (and water!) and you've taken something that would cost about $250.00 at a store and turned it into about $20.00 worth of scrap. (maybe a little more once you separate the metals, but I'm making a point.)
And (to finally finish this blog) you can't always load a truck/trailer ideally, do the best you can. But first and foremost, be able to safely stop within the distance you can see in front of you.
P.S.
And if by chance you have to cross a narrow bridge at night, beware of the Yahoo family and the others trying to dodge them. And that all translates to being able to stop safely.
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