[AT] Picking up my TD-18A today

[Phil Auten]

Don'cha just love happy endings? :o)
As usual, the story is much more fun than the actual experience.

Phil

At 10:37 AM 7/9/05, you wrote:
>Not only did the trucks and trailers perform well, the guys driving them
>jumped right in and helped... By the end of the day, everyone was filthy!
>They didn't have to do that, they could easily have stood back and just
>watched my friends and I work, nobody would have thought less of them. I
>tipped them well, and had to argue with them to get them to take my money.
>One guy (the young kid who delivered the D6) just thought it was so cool to
>be recovering an old tractor, he called it "helping the cause". Darn, that
>means I really need to get working on it!!!
>
>On a scarier note, we did have a near disaster: on the way out, the Murray
>trailer with the D6 on it high-centered. While we watched, the driver moved
>the D6 back to raise up the front of the trailer. Worked great, except for
>one little thing: he hadn't set the brakes on the rig. So, the whole thing
>took off down the hill, with nobody at the wheel, and the dozer not chained
>down! Fortunately, we were close enough, everyone started sprinting for the
>cab. I won. I swear, as it went by, I made it across that trailer so fast, I
>only set one foot on it, in the middle. Hopped in the cab, eased on the
>brakes ('cuz the dozer was up on the steel pad at the rear), and everything
>was A-OK. Had a few jokes about clean underware with the driver after that.
>He was a little shook. Wasn't much of a hill, but anything that heavy moving
>on it's own is scary!
>
>Another interesting thing: it's amazing how sharply those roll-backs will
>turn. He was able to put the crawler right where I wanted it (everyone wants
>one in the front yard, right?) without blinking. And, we live on a narrow
>dirt road, with a couple of sharp 90 turns. No sweat!
>
>Moral of the story: with the right crew, they can do the impossible and make
>it look easy! I'm proud to call them my friends, and to have made some
>friends too!
>
>JIM :)