Here's two days

9/27/06 Wednesday
The apartment managers called Cherie and told her I needed to get the trailer put together and moved, today. She was (and is) with her parents as they head to court for the crap that happened with the city a month or so ago. That’s not going to be fun. Earlier she took her mom to see the doctor. They went to the wrong office so had to rush to the right one. Mom’s doing fine and the doctor was happy.

I went out to the business the guy at John’s Trailers pointed me to for the electric brakes. When I showed him the wheel hub off the trailer he just gasped and said “That is old”. I carried the hub into Wheel and Rim and Doug, the boss, had to come out of his office to see this thing. Yes they had the new complete brake assembly that would just bolt on and everything was looking good.

Now they look at the seals and bearings. That’s a different story. Doug and his other guy hit the computers and parts books to find them. “They don’t make that anymore” was the statement I would hear a few more times. I had him check the bearings and he said they were fine for now but one of them was also discontinued. “Perhaps you can find this seal at an auto parts store” Doug offered as I paid for the brakes.

I went to NAPA because they can access hard to find parts. He had to search for it but he found a cross over number to another brand. He got on the phone and began calling stores to see if they stocked the seal. Nobody had it in stock so he had to order it from Grand Rapids, Michigan. “When can you get them?” I asked and he said “Tomorrow morning”. “Fine. Order them. How much do they cost?” I asked. “Wow!” he exclaimed as he saw the price. “Twenty seven dollars” he told me as he gazed at the computer screen. “Is that for them all?”. “No. That’s apiece”. BAM. I need four seals and this is a chunk of change. “I know you can do better than that” I wheedled and he did drop the price to $18.00. Still that’s eighty bucks for seals that usually cost six bucks each. Gotta do what I gotta do so they’re ordered. Clocks ticking louder and louder now. Time to get back on the trailer.

Here's one of the brakes.

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9/28/06 Thursday
It looks like I get something written earlier in the day and after that I suppose I get busy and tired so don’t even go online to check my E mail. Allen had come out and looked at the trailer. He animatedly explained how I should sheet metal where the rust ate holes on the front and sides of the roof. Then he said it could be done in an hour and he would come out to do it. We took measurements and he carefully wrote them down so he could call his “Friend who has a sheet metal shop” and get what he needs.
Yesterday I called at 3:00 (Knowing he seldom gets up before then) to ask how much money he needed.

As Allen had been telling me everything he would do he said he would pay for the sheet metal as a going away gift but I’m not comfortable with that. His time is much more valuable to me than the price of some sheet metal. Anyway I woke him up. No he never called to get the sheetmetal and he didn’t seem to happy with my asking about it. I explained the new deadline because of the managers request I have it all put together and moved by the weekend. He argued that I didn’t have to fix the top before I move it. “No Allen. I don’t need the top ripping off as I go down the road” I settled that. Don’t think I can count on him.

Here’s the rub, I have made promises that I have been unable to complete. Part of that is because I keep thinking I can operate like I did before the crash and then again find I can’t. I suppose I’ll keep trying the rest of my life. In Allen’s case it is different. He has the ability, I just think he is uncomfortable outside his hole. It is hard to get him to leave his home. We’ll see how it plays out.

I’m going to get myself moving early this morning. Have to get my $80.00 seals and grease the bearings, then mount the wheels. The other thing I’ve been working on is figuring out the wiring for the brake controller. The truck has a plug in module under the dash for the controller and a fuse for the brake circuit under the hood but I can’t find any leads for it in the back of the truck. Even tracing the wiring is hard because I can’t remove the cover to the fuse box under the hood. I’ll probably disassemble a support bracket to get at it. Time to get showered and grab a bite to eat. I'll get some pictures up in a while.