Haulin' Trailers
It was a busy day at the shop today, but not as far as fixing engines went...
With Trixstir down and out for a few days as she recovers from her surgery, I've got to take care of all of the farm chores, and the shop, and the bowling alley; It makes for even longer days, and more tired nights. I knew that I had a trailer going out today, but I had forgotten that I also had a 26' truck heading out as well. The truck was easy; The customers had done the reservation online, and it was just a matter of filling in the details, double-checking the truck, and seeing them off. This is the first time I've had customers who used the online reservation system, and it sure makes my job easier!
The trailer was a bugger though; The customers forgot their wallet and cell-phones at home, so they had to go back (twice) to get each item. Fortunately they lived very close by, so this didn't create too much of a delay. We got all the data entered into the computer system, signed off on the paperwork, and went out to hook up the trailer. As we did the walk-around, we discovered that there was a gash in the side of the right-front tire, and I also discovered some wiring issues. The wiring issues can be fixed fairly easily, but the gash in the tire was an issue; While it was likely just cosmetic, it's not a chance worth taking. Fortunately, I had a second trailer of the same size available, and it's an easy process to switch equipment in the system. Apparently this happens fairly often (needing to swap out after a rental is started) so they've made it as painless as possible to correct in the system. The only issue was that the "new" trailer also had a minor wiring issue, but one that was easily corrected swapping out a damaged extension cable for a new one. This particular trailer had been covered in road-ice when it arrived, and it was only today that it had finally gotten warm enough for the ice to melt off and expose the problems. Once everything was taken care of, the happy customers headed out on their way.
I had made some tips on Wednesday night at the bowling alley, so after the fun I had with the trailers I rewarded myself with lunch at the King's Hotel. It was while I was finishing lunch that I got a call from the people who were renting the truck, asking if I had a truck for them. As mentioned, I had forgotten about them, and for a moment I was trying to think about what they were talking about. As soon as they mentioned that they had a reservation, I remembered who they were and was able to say that Yes, I had a truck for them, They were on their way from Eastend, so I had time to finish lunch and meet them at the shop to get their truck.
Once my truck customers were taken care of, I had to deal with the bad tire on the trailer. I called the local tire-shop and confirmed that they were a Good-Year dealer, and also made sure it would be OK to bring the trailer over. I got it hooked up to the Ranger, and hauled it over to their shop. It should be noted that these two trailers were the BIGGEST enclosed trailers in the U-Haul fleet; Most of the smaller trailers can easily be moved by one person, even under less-than-ideal conditions. These massive "RV" trailers are very heavy on the tongue-weight, and very difficult for a single person to move under the best of conditions. They also do not have trailer-jacks, so you have to heft the beast up by hand, and manouvre it as well - Not easy to do when you're slipping and sliding around on the ice and snow. There was some cursing involved, but I eventually got it hooked up. That's then I really saw how bad the wiring problem was - still an easy fix, but I would need parts that I didn't have, and would have to order from U-Haul. I was only taking it two blocks to the tire shop, along the back road, so I wasn't that concerned about not having operational lights on it.
The tire-shop got a new tire on it quickly enough, and the billing was sent directly to U-Haul. Repairs like this are good for dealers like me; I actually get 30% of the cost for finding defects like that as a bonus for helping to keep the fleet rolling properly. The procedure for ordering the parts I need is still a little confusing to me, so I may have to call them again to make sure I'm doing things properly. Once I've done it a couple times I'm sure it will be easier - all the more reason I'm glad I got into this during the "slow" Winter season and not in the middle of Summer when things will likely be much more hectic. I still have another trailer to repair, but I think that's going to be a two-man job, as it will involve working simultaneously on the outside and inside of the trailer to run some new bolts through the floor and mud-guards.
I closed the shop at 6pm and headed over to the bowling-alley. It turning out to be a dead night, with no customers (maybe a local hockey-game, or curling bonspiel?) Frankly, although I need customers to make money, I'm just as happy to not have anyone in tonight - I'm tired, very sore, and I'm sure I've got a cold coming on. At least the weather is getting warmer, though being March, anything can happen this month; Could be +10 today, and -20 tomorrow, Clear Skies, then a blizzard... Whatever happens, we'll slog along and make do.
With Trixstir down and out for a few days as she recovers from her surgery, I've got to take care of all of the farm chores, and the shop, and the bowling alley; It makes for even longer days, and more tired nights. I knew that I had a trailer going out today, but I had forgotten that I also had a 26' truck heading out as well. The truck was easy; The customers had done the reservation online, and it was just a matter of filling in the details, double-checking the truck, and seeing them off. This is the first time I've had customers who used the online reservation system, and it sure makes my job easier!
The trailer was a bugger though; The customers forgot their wallet and cell-phones at home, so they had to go back (twice) to get each item. Fortunately they lived very close by, so this didn't create too much of a delay. We got all the data entered into the computer system, signed off on the paperwork, and went out to hook up the trailer. As we did the walk-around, we discovered that there was a gash in the side of the right-front tire, and I also discovered some wiring issues. The wiring issues can be fixed fairly easily, but the gash in the tire was an issue; While it was likely just cosmetic, it's not a chance worth taking. Fortunately, I had a second trailer of the same size available, and it's an easy process to switch equipment in the system. Apparently this happens fairly often (needing to swap out after a rental is started) so they've made it as painless as possible to correct in the system. The only issue was that the "new" trailer also had a minor wiring issue, but one that was easily corrected swapping out a damaged extension cable for a new one. This particular trailer had been covered in road-ice when it arrived, and it was only today that it had finally gotten warm enough for the ice to melt off and expose the problems. Once everything was taken care of, the happy customers headed out on their way.
I had made some tips on Wednesday night at the bowling alley, so after the fun I had with the trailers I rewarded myself with lunch at the King's Hotel. It was while I was finishing lunch that I got a call from the people who were renting the truck, asking if I had a truck for them. As mentioned, I had forgotten about them, and for a moment I was trying to think about what they were talking about. As soon as they mentioned that they had a reservation, I remembered who they were and was able to say that Yes, I had a truck for them, They were on their way from Eastend, so I had time to finish lunch and meet them at the shop to get their truck.
Once my truck customers were taken care of, I had to deal with the bad tire on the trailer. I called the local tire-shop and confirmed that they were a Good-Year dealer, and also made sure it would be OK to bring the trailer over. I got it hooked up to the Ranger, and hauled it over to their shop. It should be noted that these two trailers were the BIGGEST enclosed trailers in the U-Haul fleet; Most of the smaller trailers can easily be moved by one person, even under less-than-ideal conditions. These massive "RV" trailers are very heavy on the tongue-weight, and very difficult for a single person to move under the best of conditions. They also do not have trailer-jacks, so you have to heft the beast up by hand, and manouvre it as well - Not easy to do when you're slipping and sliding around on the ice and snow. There was some cursing involved, but I eventually got it hooked up. That's then I really saw how bad the wiring problem was - still an easy fix, but I would need parts that I didn't have, and would have to order from U-Haul. I was only taking it two blocks to the tire shop, along the back road, so I wasn't that concerned about not having operational lights on it.
The tire-shop got a new tire on it quickly enough, and the billing was sent directly to U-Haul. Repairs like this are good for dealers like me; I actually get 30% of the cost for finding defects like that as a bonus for helping to keep the fleet rolling properly. The procedure for ordering the parts I need is still a little confusing to me, so I may have to call them again to make sure I'm doing things properly. Once I've done it a couple times I'm sure it will be easier - all the more reason I'm glad I got into this during the "slow" Winter season and not in the middle of Summer when things will likely be much more hectic. I still have another trailer to repair, but I think that's going to be a two-man job, as it will involve working simultaneously on the outside and inside of the trailer to run some new bolts through the floor and mud-guards.
I closed the shop at 6pm and headed over to the bowling-alley. It turning out to be a dead night, with no customers (maybe a local hockey-game, or curling bonspiel?) Frankly, although I need customers to make money, I'm just as happy to not have anyone in tonight - I'm tired, very sore, and I'm sure I've got a cold coming on. At least the weather is getting warmer, though being March, anything can happen this month; Could be +10 today, and -20 tomorrow, Clear Skies, then a blizzard... Whatever happens, we'll slog along and make do.