Ford F834 Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 Yippee!!! Progress! But be careful in that heat, please. As for working the 81, I sorta understand. I rented a man lift recently for work at church and it was heavy. But the trailer it came on was massive. While the 460 in Big Blue didn't seem to care, the weight of the rig, the little tongue weight it has, and the lack of brakes on the trailer made it a handful. Thanks Gary, the relative humidity has been around 10-12% so a wet T shirt, hat, and frequent lemonade breaks keeps me upright. Evaporative cooling works well and it has been on the windy side. This weekend should be under the 100* mark which is welcome. The excavator trailer had hydraulic inertia brakes which is certainly better than no brakes, but only if you are able to brake slowly. Anything sudden and it’s ill mannered at best. Pulling the grade from Golden Valley to Kingman required 2nd gear for a stretch, something I very rarely have to do. 3rd is 4.23 final ratio and it wasn’t holding. I had to put a frame-mounted receiver on the truck as Home Depot has a policy of no bumper hitches… so the ‘81 has that now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Thanks Gary, the relative humidity has been around 10-12% so a wet T shirt, hat, and frequent lemonade breaks keeps me upright. Evaporative cooling works well and it has been on the windy side. This weekend should be under the 100* mark which is welcome. The excavator trailer had hydraulic inertia brakes which is certainly better than no brakes, but only if you are able to brake slowly. Anything sudden and it’s ill mannered at best. Pulling the grade from Golden Valley to Kingman required 2nd gear for a stretch, something I very rarely have to do. 3rd is 4.23 final ratio and it wasn’t holding. I had to put a frame-mounted receiver on the truck as Home Depot has a policy of no bumper hitches… so the ‘81 has that now. That humidity, or lack thereof, should help a lot. But please be careful. Pulling a long hill in 2nd shows it was a heavy load and a big hill as that 300 has plenty of torque. It'll move about anything if you give it long enough. As for the frame-mounted hitch, that's good but there are other factors. For instance, the rental outfit let me know the trailer for the man lift has a 2" ball. My heaviest 2" ball has a medium-sized shank, and that only fits in a fairly light duty draw bar. On top of that, their safety chains where too short to reach my frame-mounted hitch. So I had to rig up a short piece of chain to have a safety. And still no brakes. It wasn't a comfortable ride thinking of all that could go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted July 25, 2023 Author Share Posted July 25, 2023 Thanks Gary, the relative humidity has been around 10-12% so a wet T shirt, hat, and frequent lemonade breaks keeps me upright. Evaporative cooling works well and it has been on the windy side. This weekend should be under the 100* mark which is welcome. The excavator trailer had hydraulic inertia brakes which is certainly better than no brakes, but only if you are able to brake slowly. Anything sudden and it’s ill mannered at best. Pulling the grade from Golden Valley to Kingman required 2nd gear for a stretch, something I very rarely have to do. 3rd is 4.23 final ratio and it wasn’t holding. I had to put a frame-mounted receiver on the truck as Home Depot has a policy of no bumper hitches… so the ‘81 has that now. Three weekends after renting the excavator and I am *almost done with the footing forms 😓. The amount of remaining hand digging was deceptive. It is just too darn hot to dig during the day, so I’ve resorted to working through the night with work lights. The goal is to dig my pier footings after work this week, then place rebar this coming weekend… and schedule my first inspection early next week 🤞. Now a truck related question: what is the best way to haul 20’ rebar sticks with a RCLB? I’m contemplating fashioning a wooden headache rack and letting them run long over the cab and hood, with enough extending past the lowered tailgate to keep the weight balance aft. Any better farmer rigging ideas? I know… ideally I should use a trailer but mine is half way across the state at my dad’s place… and I need to hurry up and get this thing poured before monsoons hit. I won’t soon forget what our property looked like last august 😱. I have been lucky so far, but this needs to get done yesterday. Clouds and storms are brewing over the mountains in the afternoons and it won’t be long… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 Three weekends after renting the excavator and I am *almost done with the footing forms 😓. The amount of remaining hand digging was deceptive. It is just too darn hot to dig during the day, so I’ve resorted to working through the night with work lights. The goal is to dig my pier footings after work this week, then place rebar this coming weekend… and schedule my first inspection early next week 🤞. Now a truck related question: what is the best way to haul 20’ rebar sticks with a RCLB? I’m contemplating fashioning a wooden headache rack and letting them run long over the cab and hood, with enough extending past the lowered tailgate to keep the weight balance aft. Any better farmer rigging ideas? I know… ideally I should use a trailer but mine is half way across the state at my dad’s place… and I need to hurry up and get this thing poured before monsoons hit. I won’t soon forget what our property looked like last august 😱. I have been lucky so far, but this needs to get done yesterday. Clouds and storms are brewing over the mountains in the afternoons and it won’t be long… Man, that looks like WORK! But, it also looks like you've done well. And yes, I'd make a headache rack and maybe something that sits on the front bumper to support that end as I fear the rebar will droop and hit the truck on bumps. So if you put two rebar on, one on the left and one on the right, and lash them to the headache rack, you could prop the support on the front bumper and tie the rebar there as well. That way it can't go anywhere and then you could put the rest of the rebar on and lash them down. Or, put a piece of lumber on each side to tie the headache rack to the front support. Just make sure it is high enough to let you open the doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted July 25, 2023 Author Share Posted July 25, 2023 Man, that looks like WORK! But, it also looks like you've done well. And yes, I'd make a headache rack and maybe something that sits on the front bumper to support that end as I fear the rebar will droop and hit the truck on bumps. So if you put two rebar on, one on the left and one on the right, and lash them to the headache rack, you could prop the support on the front bumper and tie the rebar there as well. That way it can't go anywhere and then you could put the rest of the rebar on and lash them down. Or, put a piece of lumber on each side to tie the headache rack to the front support. Just make sure it is high enough to let you open the doors. That gives me an idea Gary, I might buy a 16’ or 20’ 2x6 at the same time as the rebar and ratchet strap everything into a bundle. That should keep the keep the overhanging rebar off of my hood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 That gives me an idea Gary, I might buy a 16’ or 20’ 2x6 at the same time as the rebar and ratchet strap everything into a bundle. That should keep the keep the overhanging rebar off of my hood. That's a good idea! And if there's a way to put the 2x6 on edge it'd be even more rigid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted August 4, 2023 Author Share Posted August 4, 2023 That gives me an idea Gary, I might buy a 16’ or 20’ 2x6 at the same time as the rebar and ratchet strap everything into a bundle. That should keep the keep the overhanging rebar off of my hood. Use what you got… here is how I brought home the 20’ rebar sticks for the foundation: Now to go put it in the forms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrother-84 Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Use what you got… here is how I brought home the 20’ rebar sticks for the foundation: Now to go put it in the forms! These trucks are happy when they work! And taking bars to the work site is a step ahead, progress Jonathan! There’s a well known member here who likes to say «progress is good»! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted August 4, 2023 Author Share Posted August 4, 2023 These trucks are happy when they work! And taking bars to the work site is a step ahead, progress Jonathan! There’s a well known member here who likes to say «progress is good»! Thanks Jeff! This ‘81 is a multi-tool… I am making my large radius bends for the corners by bending the bar around my ball hitch, and the front hitch receiver is 6” deep and makes a perfect vertical anchor bend in seconds 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Thanks Jeff! This ‘81 is a multi-tool… I am making my large radius bends for the corners by bending the bar around my ball hitch, and the front hitch receiver is 6” deep and makes a perfect vertical anchor bend in seconds 😁 Well done, Jonathan! That's even better than I'd imagined. And using the truck for bending is ingenious. You are certainly thinking well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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