Had a blast Sunday the 26th pulling in the Wash. Cty. Fair. As a rookie puller, I argued with myself which gear to use, so I decided on 3rd over (on an 18 speed,) and should have used the next higher cog...if so, I would have been one of the top contenders instead of about 13th out of 20. But what the heck, it's 5 minutes in the spotlight, your name gets blasted over the loudspeaker, and both my kids (my son rode with me pulling, my daughter with one of our other 4 rigs,) pulled with us, and we had more fun Sunday than I think I've had since I don't know when. NJoy.
Next set of Pics of Pulling. Here's a few more...The daycab is the boss, the hightop is Frank, (one of our other guys,) and a couple shots of us parked in the pits. The 4 Petes are all ours, at least you can see the noses... The 2 modifieds at Lebanon Valley are owned and driven by Matt Quinn of Stephentown, N.Y. The two skidders were moved (after all the hype was over,) the following Monday after the races from Russell, Mass. to Cambridge, N.Y. I'd rather be truck pulling!!!
Lat ones, I promise. Sorry for the hogging. I get the honor of transporting our friend's 2 modifieds (one big block, 1 small block,) to Lebanon Valley Speedway on Saturday nights. Monday morning though, it's back to reality. NJoy.
Hey Lowboy, great pics, sounds like you had a great day. Tell me...seeing as you were driving your meal ticket in the pull....did you really stick the boot in???...or did you keep a little in reserve
How far did you pull?
lol lowboy small world, i go to valley quite a bit...last time I was there a ford f350 was pulling quinns trailer..ill keep an eye out for your rig next time...you gonna be there for the 200 next week and the race of kings?
Hey Squizzy, I gotta tell ya Mate, when you don't have to buy the fuel OR the U-Joints, you tend to get a little courageous. I drove it like I stole it... It was an "authorized" run by the Chief too, seeing as he was running the white '07 Pete right behind me. I had to laugh. He was asking me what gear to use, and I advised him like a crew chief that I'd use the next higher gear than I did, because I'd have been right on top of the game if I did. He took off in that gear a little rambunctious, and STALLED it in front of about 2000 screaming fans. Had to restart after the truck came back down onto the ground and stopped shaking, and still managed to get 4 more feet than I did. He walked up to me after he finished with a funny grin on and says..."Thanks for the advice...why don't you just de-pants me here in front of everybody right now?" How I did howl over that for 2 days. We had a friendly rivalry going for 2 days before the pull how I was gonna "smoke his *** in this pull," and I said I brought the salt and pepper with me, because I hear that "crow" is kind of bland without seasoning. He ended up having his justice with that one after getting 4 more feet than me.:falldownlaugh
I got 210.75 feet out of 300 E_G...The boss got 214 I believe, only because he had full-lockers (both differentials can lock,) and had a wee bit more traction. Had a good time even though I was the 12th or 13th. I look at it like it's better to be in that position than not in it at all, right?
Hey F550, You're right, they did pull it with a 350 Ford, but they started to run both cars at the valley (big & small block,) so the Ford wasn't really happy about pulling 2 cars in that trailer. Matt's dad made an adapter to hook it up to a class 8 5th wheel, so now it goes up the road with fury, especially with your truly.:cool2 I'll be there this coming Saturday night. We park in the pits directly across from the starting booth or thereabouts, give or take a foot. Matt's running one car because they aren't running both classes I guess Saturday. However, if you feel like taking a joy ride to Fair Haven, Vermont Sunday night...we'll be at Devil's Bowl Speedway on Rte. 22A in Fair Haven for that event. Take a walk over at the valley Sat. night and say hello. :drinkup
:lmao :lmao Thats what I wanted to hear:drinkup Thanks for the laugh....but I always have this worry of picking up 47,000 pieces of Hendrikson down the track when I see trucks pulling like that. Well done. I once had the suspicious task of doing a pull in an Ex-Army Mercedes Unimog......which went well....for awhile ops :shf :Banghead
Hey 2004F550, did you see our finish at the valley Sat. night? What a shame...started 1st, ended 5th. How things change at a moments notice. We raced at Devil's Bowl in Fairhaven, Vt. Sunday. In the 100 lap main event, we were pushing our way to about 5th from way out back, when at the 45th lap the caution came on. The "raceiver" communicator wasn't functioning properly in Matt's helmet, so he got pulled off the track. No exceptions. Another guy had the same problem, and was also yanked. Too bad, car was running awesome. Looks like we'll be at the 200 as well, at the valley. :drinkup
I go every year to the tractor pulls at washington county. I always forget about the big rig pull. That is an awsome fair, One of the best around I think. Maybe next year I will go to the truck pull instead.
LowBoy, I don't know how I missed this thread but all I got to say is looks & sounds like you had a ball. Lifes to short for all work & no play but it looks like you already figured that out.:usa
I gotta be honest with ya, W.b., I really didn't realize how short life was until just recently. this outfit I work with is such a pleasure to be around (on & off the job,) that since I have been involved with them as weekend racecar hauler, and event dweller at the local fairs, along with after work, extra-cirricular activites, I found that before this situation I'm in now, I was living to work...not working to LIVE. The old saying stands to reason, "If you enjoy what you do, you'll never work another day in your life." I've found that to be happening with this unique environment in which I am part of nowadays. It's not every day you get to be in a truck pull with a brand new Peterbilt, not every day you get to be in the pits at the dirt track and be part of a winning team, and have your kids ride in an official pace car. All those little things really add up to make you realize just how lucky you can be, despite what it looks like from our own perspective. You have to stop and count the blessings once in a while, 'cause they're there.:yup :thumbsup
I noticed you've been able to join in here at HEF quite abit lately too, instead of being stuck out in a truck weeks on end all the time . It can suck being stuck out on the road, but if they'll let you stay local for abit inbetween the long haul runs, that surely must help keep you in better spirits. That's gotta be worth something too.:drinkup
Yes, it's certainly a plus being home for supper, Jeff. I am fortunate that I get to pick & choose what and where I go these days, having a little "seniority" for a change. That doesn't mean anything to me, because I'll go do whatever has to get done. Today I put a whopping 69 miles on all day, went and got tires put on, went and got the NYS annual inspection done, and finished off the day with my coveralls on doing a complete service on the whole rig, grease, fixed a couple lights, and just went over everything. Whatever comes in, I dive into. Whether it's a dozer in need of something, an excavator, truck, trailer, I enjoy the fact that I'm around town. That doesn't mean my carreer as an over-the-road, heavy equipment relocation technician is over, because when a good paying load arises and it takes me 2000 miles away, I'm gone again. But the mixture of what I do is enjoyable nowadays, so it's tolerable to hit the big road now and then. As you can see by the pics I post, I get to see some interesting stuff along the way too. The day I went to the Chrome Shop Mafia's place to get some hats & teeshirts and they were CLOSED, that stunk...but at least I took pictures underneath the Mob Sled.:cool2 I look at the roadwork as an opportunity to see things I normally wouldn't, so it keeps it interesting. Plus the stuff I load, haul, etc, sometimes is DOA, and I enjoy the challenge in getting it running and loading it after the last couple of guys tried and failed, called and whined to the broker, and left. Again, it's all in the perspective.:drinkup