nickd
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- Newport, Delaware
I left early on 12/12/07 to pick up the trailers I bid on at Fort Dix. The trailers were in the yard and one was loaded in the bed of the deuce with the lunette facing the cab. The other one went on the pintle. MarksGarage2 was on standby for mechanical emergencies. (thanks Mark, all went well!) I was not allowed to take any photographs on the base so the first shot was taken at a nearby gas station fuel was $3.29/gal. The return trip to Delaware took 90 minutes. The trailer was strapped down to the bed with a ratchet strap over the top with straps from the trailer axle to the towing shackles on the back of the truck to prevent the trailer from joining me in the cab in the event of an unexpected stop caused by some eye candy not paying attention while chatting on the cell phone and applying another layer of face mask. Ratchet straps to the tire dowwn rings in the deuce bed held the trailer from moving backward in the event of rapid acceleration(that did not happen)
Off loading the trailer from the bed was interesting but luckily uneventful. I used a set of wooden ramps (2 X12's with 2 2X4's glued and screwed under each ramp for added strength) The ramps were strained under the weight of the trailer but held up for the duration of the process. I used 2 wheel chocks to prevent the trailer from rolling forward in the bed while I released the trailer brakes to push it onto the ramps. 2 come-a-longs were fastened to the bed mounted tie downs and to the ftraler frame mounted tie downl loops. I allowed slack in the come-a-long cables to allow for forward movement and to prevent the trailer from rolling down the ramps out of control. Once the trailer was on the ramps, I operated the come-a longs in a rowing motion lowering them a click at a time. Since I was alone there were no pictures of the trailer on the ramp until the end as I was busy making sure there were no suprise events.
As the trailer moved down the ramp and the front wheel of the trialer approached the back of the bed I walked the wheel down the tailgate until the lunette rested on the bed. A short plank was placed under the wheel and the rest of the way down was easy.
Here are some pictures of the process.
Off loading the trailer from the bed was interesting but luckily uneventful. I used a set of wooden ramps (2 X12's with 2 2X4's glued and screwed under each ramp for added strength) The ramps were strained under the weight of the trailer but held up for the duration of the process. I used 2 wheel chocks to prevent the trailer from rolling forward in the bed while I released the trailer brakes to push it onto the ramps. 2 come-a-longs were fastened to the bed mounted tie downs and to the ftraler frame mounted tie downl loops. I allowed slack in the come-a-long cables to allow for forward movement and to prevent the trailer from rolling down the ramps out of control. Once the trailer was on the ramps, I operated the come-a longs in a rowing motion lowering them a click at a time. Since I was alone there were no pictures of the trailer on the ramp until the end as I was busy making sure there were no suprise events.
As the trailer moved down the ramp and the front wheel of the trialer approached the back of the bed I walked the wheel down the tailgate until the lunette rested on the bed. A short plank was placed under the wheel and the rest of the way down was easy.
Here are some pictures of the process.
