Saturday, March 19, 2011

Stall Crush Status (and Disaster)

So, yesterday did NOT go as well as I'd planned.

  1. Mark INSISTED on grading papers before allowing me to take the truck to pick up the trailer and go to the quarry for the crush.
    1. He didn't have a deadline that he had to finish grading by, so why he had to grade BEFORE and not AFTER is beyond me.
  2. Mark dragged his feet and didn't get out the door until after 1 pm, then insisted on going to the barn first because he wanted me to leave my car there instead of us just going to the trailer rental and quarry in one car.
    1. I should have just insisted on making him let me ride along, then saved myself half an hour on the front end.
  3. We didn't arrive at the trailer rental place until 2:20 FREAKING PM and the smallest rental time they have is a 4 hour block, but they close at 5. So because of Mark's lateness, I had to pay for 4 hours but since we didn't get out of there till 2:30, I only got 2.5 hours of usage time.
  4. Those assholes quoted me $40 for the trailer rental, then charged me $48. Also, they told me on the phone when I called THREE DIFFERENT TIMES BEFORE I RESERVED THE TRAILER that it was going to be a FIVE TON trailer. Five tons do NOT equal 5000 lbs. 5000 lbs is 2.5 tons. 10000 lbs is 5 tons. Go back to school.
  5. After hitching up said trailer, evidently the lights are not working. This means we can get a ticket. Also, the tires aren't as new as could be hoped, and later we find that under load they look like they will pop.
  6. On our way to the quarry, they gave us bad directions. If I ask you right or left, it's a pretty simple question. There are only two possible answers. It's not that hard. Again, go back to school.
  7. When we got to the quarry, they didn't give very clear directions of where to go once you passed through the main gate after having the truck and trailer preweighed.
  8. Once we had a not-quite-full-load and were weighed, then they tell us that I can not purchase 5 tons in multiple loads and receive the same price. Now instead of $11 per ton, I will have to pay $15 per ton.
  9. At this rate, it would have been cheaper to have bought 5 tons and have it delivered by the quarry for $130 or whatever.
  10. After asking if I can at least have more loaded so I can make less trips, I'm told they don't want to load more on the trailer because they're concerned about the tires.
  11. I get fed up and leave with the current load after paying, then realize the stupid girl in the window didn't give me my receipt.
  12. We get to the barn, then the stupid hydraulic trailer won't lift up. Stupid hydraulic mechanism was stuck for a good 5-10 minutes (exact time unknown since I was spending part of it having a conniption and calling the rental place to chew them out).
  13. After the trailer is finally empty and we're ready to rush back to get 1 more load before they close at 4 (What business closes at 4? Really?), we realize that MARK has managed to bury the pins that keep the back hatch closed UNDERNEATH the pile of crush. We then have to dig said pins out from underneath the crush.
  14. After finally digging the pins out, it's too late and the quarry has already closed.
  15. Mark then had to take the trailer back before the rental place closed at 5, effectively ending my 4 hour rental at less than 2.5 hours because there's no point in keeping it overnight to try the next day because the quarry wasn't open on Saturdays.
  16. While Mark was off returning the trailer, I moved 1.78 net tons of crush in 1 hour and 20 minutes. Needless to say, I was sweaty, stinky, and pissed by the time he returned and brought me a sandwich.

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