3R Home and Barn Project

[silverdollar6]

What a great looking place you will have to enjoy, I know that envy is a sin but sometimes you just can`t help yourself.


PS.Man I`ll bet you will have over a thousand dollars in that house before you are done.

 

[3RRL]

PS.Man I`ll bet you will have over a thousand dollars in that house before you are done.

Hahaha, you are definitely right about that!

Thanks guys,
I did not post the story about the Blazer on TBN except some emails I sent out, so here is what happened.

Loretta was driving the Jeep and she had Coco and most of the gear. I was driving the Blazer with Wes in the passenger seat towing the trailer home. We had driven only 10 miles and smoke started pouring into the cab. I could see flames coming from the dash and below. Loretta passed me and I told her to pull over on the radios we carry because the Blazer was on fire. Later she told me she could see flames spewing out the engine compartment. I lost power because the fuel line burnt and the engine shut off. I told Wes to jump out before the interior flamed completely. He did a barrel roll (at about 10 mph) and hurt his shoulder and hips but he's OK...sort of. He was very brave and worried about me. His Mom took him to the Doctor's and got X-rays and it turns out he has a broken arm ... a fractured humerus! I feel so bad about it but I just did not know what to do at that moment. I had visions of the car blowing up or us stuck inside the cab? I figured out was better than in.

I finally stopped the Blazer in a safe area (not trying to set the forest on fire) and tried to get what I could before it blew up...I had just filled it gas. Loretta and I tried to put the fire out but it was too late and we couldn't get at it under the hood. The paint was burning off and could not touch it. Plus we were waiting for the gas to blow. She cried her heart out. I also tried to un-hook the trailer but couldn't. The fire dept came just in time to save the trailer. The Blazer burnt to a crisp but we were OK. The flames went at least 30' into the air and burned the asphalt.

We figure rodents like mice or rats got in the engine compartment while the truck was at the property and they had probably made a nest and chewed the plastic wires and hoses. Don't know for sure though. Then the towing company tried to screw us when we wanted to get the vehicles out of their yard.

 

[3RRL]

After the incident the Highway patrol called a local towing company. They were out of Farmersville (about 15 miles away). In hindsight I should have called triple AAA but I figured the CHP could find a tow company faster...and being New Year's. Truth is I was so shook up I didn't even think of it.

Well, when the tow truck arrived he gave us his card and said it would be towed to their yard. He winched the Blazer up and hooked on the trailer behind so we would only be charged with one tow fee. We would have 4 hours to get it out without incurring any storage fees. So I told him we'd be right down with a truck to do that. He then said "we are really closed today so you will have to get it at 8:00am tomorrow. I said Ok but if I can't get it now (today) then my 4 hour grace period starts tomorrow, right? He said right.

So we started to drive home figuring we could come back tomorrow with a rental truck or something to tow the trailer home. About 1/2 way down hwy 65 we decided to go back to camp so we could ask our contractor to tow the trailer to his yard and also have a scrap yard tow the blazer away. We thought instead of spending 4 hours driving home and then 8 hours again the next day, we would look at trucks in Visalia and buy one, then tow the trailer home after picking it up from our contractor's yard. His yard is about 10 minutes from the tow company.

So the next day, (the 2nd) we get down to the tow yard. The guy there said he didn't have the paperwork and was waiting for the lady owner to get there with it. We waited almost 2 hours for her to get there. In the mean time, we had called our builder and a wrecking yard and they had sent trucks to pick up the trailer and the Blazer....no lady yet.

She finally got there and immediately started out with the paperwork and bill ...$588 total for towing 2 vehicles and 2 days storage for 2 vehicles! ??? I said "What the ****" in so many words and accused her of ripping us off. The vehicles had not even been there 1 full day and our grace period was to start at 8:00am today and she was late ...plus the 4 hours had not passed yet anyway. On top of that the 2 vehicle tow charges when the trailer was pulled behind the wrecker! I told her I would not pay it and she said "You will if you want to get your vehicles!" She said the first day storage was for yesterday and the next day storage was for today.
I'm telling you I was so mad, that if she was a man, one of us would have died.

That's when I told her I would report her to the CHP, and the BBB for ripping us off. I told her what the driver had said and also told her "I'm going to call the CHP patrolman right now! His name is Steve Wilson and he gave me his card in case I had any trouble. (A big lie of course and I didn't even know what his name was ) Anyway, I said to her that I would tell him how she does her math and that I was misrepresented to by him (the CHP) and her driver and that I would also call the watch commander in charge. She immediately said "Well, in that case maybe I won't charge you for the storage after all" And she took off $208. I paid the $380 towing bill and actually felt good about getting screwed, but getting a little satisfaction in return. Triple AAA would have towed our vehicles for nothing!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Well, was the lady at least cute that put the screws to you

It sounds like you had a great New Years. On the bright side you know things should only get better the rest of the year so buy some lottery tickets. Get some scratch offs for Wes as well. One of you are bound to win.

So is the insurance going to cover you or are they giving you a hassel?

I am not a fan of towing companys. I managed to get stuck in a snow bank last year. As I was sitting there I decided to call Fords 24/7 help line and have them send the wrecker as I was in an area I didn't know. Well, while I was sitting there (2006 F250 supercab long box with crappy tires from the factory ) a police officer stopped to see how I was doing. I told him I was fine and I had a wrecker on the way. He told me it might take some time as cars were off the road all over (this was a terrible night to be driving but I needed to pick my daughter up, you just followed the tail lights of the car in front of you as it was a pure white out. I kept thinking of the Lemmings all jumping off the cliff as they follow each other ). Anyway, a guy showed up with a Tahoe and offered to help me out but his truck was not going to budge my truck so I thanked him for stopping anyway. I had been shoveling snow out from in front of the truck and from under it. Well then a big wrecker shows up asking if I need help , I ask if Ford sent them and they looked puzzeled so I knew that answer before they could even say it. I figure they were there so I asked them how much to pull me out (The way I hit the bank was like I just parked the truck off the shoulder of the road. I wasn't in a ditch and my two left tires were touching the road, it would be easy for a wrecker to just pull me out). Well, they wanted $200 cash to pull me out I told them I didn't have that much and told them I only had $80 so they kindly offered to take me to their shop down the road so I could use a credit card to get the rest of the money I kindly told them no as the wrecker Ford would send wouldn't cost me anything. Well, after they leave I get a phone call from Ford telling me the wreckers were all backed up because of this storm and they had no idea when it would show up.

Well, a nice guy with an F-350 who has a plowing and landscaping business stopped to see if he could help. His truck was the same size as mine but weighed more so I figure he would be able to help. He ended up straightening his hook trying to tug me out so he left and went home to get a chain. He came back and pulled me out. Well, for some reason the truck wasn't engaging the tranny so he pulled me to New Era Cap companys parking lot and when I asked how much he wanted he said $20 so I gave him $40 and thanked him. Some people really do just want to help others and I wish I would have asked him for a card so I could thank him later. After he left I shut the truck off and when I turned it back on the tranny engaged and I made it to my daughter 3 hours late. On the way home the storm had let up so you could drive easier but it was a terrible drive still as the roads were so rough and cars were on their roofs and in ditches all over the place. The 20 minute drive took me over an hour to come home.

I am sure there are some great guys who run tow trucks but it seems like all we hear about are the bad ones and the only time I ever needed a wrecker I meet this guy trying to put the screws to me

I wish you the best and hopefully your new truck will give you as good a service as the Blazer.

 

[3RRL]

Great story Robert and thank you for the well wishes. From time to time I've run across some nice guys and visa versa, I've helped many people out as well.
About the lady...she was a dog. LOL ... I'm 58 and I still thought she was ugly!
About the insurance, I did not carry comprehensive on that vehicle since it was 14 years old ... too bad. I was planning to keep it as a ranch truck but that didn't work out.

 

[3RRL]

In all the excitement, I forgot to post the progress on the barn. They started to put on the log siding which makes it look just like the log home. They also finished putting on the matching metal roof. It looks pretty cool now.

 

[3RRL]

These photos show how the boxed in the eaves of the garage. They did a really clean job. Then they even finished staining the log siding to match the home. What's left is to pour concrete for the car parking in front of it. And finally to build the walkway and covered breezeway attaching the garage to the home. Oh and they still have to install the big door and man door and finish the electrical inside and lights for outside. Oh, and also dry wall the interior. Then it will be done.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Hey Rob, umm, your builders forgot to put siding on a 3' x 7' section on your garage

 

[3RRL]

Hmmm, yes I see. But at least it's covered with something.

Did I tell you after leaving the towing company, we went into Visalia to buy a new truck? After getting the new truck and trailer home from Visalia, we picked up a bunch of appliances we had on order. Then decided to trailer the load up to the property.
Man, is that new truck ever nice!

Loretta and I trailered this load up last weekend with the new truck. We had to tarp everything since it was during that rainstorm down here and unload in the rain. One of the dolly wheels popped off right away.
LOL ... so I had to put one corner of every box on my hard toe boot to get them off as I slid them down the ramp and dragged them into the garage inch by inch.



We still need to get the dishwasher and 2 jaccuzzi style bathtubs which are on back order. There are also more faucets, door handles, and like 10 fans etc to get and trailer up there. The contractor is moving them from the garage into his storage container at the home site to keep all that stuff safe until they install it all.

 

[3RRL]

Progress on the barn has been a little slow due to all the rainy days they had. But they did make some gains. You can see in these photos where more of the metal siding is being installed along with the insulation in the walls. I'm hoping to see more of it completed next visit up, but I'm not sure how much more they can get done. The weather forecast is for more rain (this week) and also in the next few to come. The rivers are raging now and you can hear them.



I was hoping for the barn to get completed sooner so I can start moving some of my machinery up there. Also to use it to clear out all the junk in our city home. But that doesn't look like it will happen very soon. Our next visit up to the property will most likely be around January 20th, when my good friend Larry (gugliols) will be up to help me work on my Kama and also to do a complete service on Loretta's new 284 Jinma that's coming then. He also wants to know which room in the log home is his.
It should be a fun week.