bimmer1980
Well-known member
At least they are communicating the delay... rather have that instead of the typical ghosting...
Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage
- Thread starter Strouty
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
The woman took longer to explain her life to me than it took to get the stuff shipped from china. She also wanted more than she had money for, I am putting out trust in humanity and letting her pay the difference in two weeks, honestly don’t care if she pays, but it will be a bonus.
This afternoon has been annoying, I stopped by my Buddy’s place to drop off some aluminum stick he needed, no big deal. He has a forklift that I bought a while ago, he was supposed to do some repairs to it and get it delivered to my Dad, never happened, I took a look at the battery (it is 36 volt electric) and it is totally junk now. He kept telling me that it was being charged regularly, I asked him about water and that was “good”. The cells have all bulged from being frozen and the plates are completely dry with no water visible at all. I suspect that not only did it freeze, but it also cooked off any water that was in there from being charged too much without checking the water level. I should have just taken it and let someone else fix it, but I was trying not to make things weird. Now they are really going to be bad as the forklift is essentially scrap, a replacement battery will be as much as we paid for the forklift when it was in operational condition, plus it has been outside more that I thought, even the battery charger was out in the rain today. He went radio silent when I showed him pictures of the plates that are bent inside the cells, most likely from freezing (when it had water in it). It ultimately is my fault for not demanding the he either get it done or just take it somewhere else. The complicating factor is going to be Dad, if he figures it out there will be even more of an issue because he just doesn’t handle any sort of conflict correctly these days. 
Craptain
Well-known member
I've been looking for a cheap stacker forklift. The biggest issue is batteries. Of course we don't freeze much down here, but they do dry and bulge.This afternoon has been annoying, I stopped by my Buddy’s place to drop off some aluminum stick he needed, no big deal. He has a forklift that I bought a while ago, he was supposed to do some repairs to it and get it delivered to my Dad, never happened, I took a look at the battery (it is 36 volt electric) and it is totally junk now. He kept telling me that it was being charged regularly, I asked him about water and that was “good”. The cells have all bulged from being frozen and the plates are completely dry with no water visible at all. I suspect that not only did it freeze, but it also cooked off any water that was in there from being charged too much without checking the water level. I should have just taken it and let someone else fix it, but I was trying not to make things weird. Now they are really going to be bad as the forklift is essentially scrap, a replacement battery will be as much as we paid for the forklift when it was in operational condition, plus it has been outside more that I thought, even the battery charger was out in the rain today. He went radio silent when I showed him pictures of the plates that are bent inside the cells, most likely from freezing (when it had water in it). It ultimately is my fault for not demanding the he either get it done or just take it somewhere else. The complicating factor is going to be Dad, if he figures it out there will be even more of an issue because he just doesn’t handle any sort of conflict correctly these days.
Did you really think he would do the right thing? People ****!This afternoon has been annoying, I stopped by my Buddy’s place to drop off some aluminum stick he needed, no big deal. He has a forklift that I bought a while ago, he was supposed to do some repairs to it and get it delivered to my Dad, never happened, I took a look at the battery (it is 36 volt electric) and it is totally junk now. He kept telling me that it was being charged regularly, I asked him about water and that was “good”. The cells have all bulged from being frozen and the plates are completely dry with no water visible at all. I suspect that not only did it freeze, but it also cooked off any water that was in there from being charged too much without checking the water level. I should have just taken it and let someone else fix it, but I was trying not to make things weird. Now they are really going to be bad as the forklift is essentially scrap, a replacement battery will be as much as we paid for the forklift when it was in operational condition, plus it has been outside more that I thought, even the battery charger was out in the rain today. He went radio silent when I showed him pictures of the plates that are bent inside the cells, most likely from freezing (when it had water in it). It ultimately is my fault for not demanding the he either get it done or just take it somewhere else. The complicating factor is going to be Dad, if he figures it out there will be even more of an issue because he just doesn’t handle any sort of conflict correctly these days.
I was pretty sure we had a conversation about the water and he had told me it was fine and he was checking it. The lack of water I saw would be months on the charger before it got that way. If you keep them with an even charge, they won’t freeze, but if they are not charged, they will freeze, it is all over after that. I honestly thought it was supposed to live inside for the winter, but it didn’t.
bimmer1980
Well-known member
How does this forklift fit into the family company plan??
How long can it remain under the radar from your dad? I.e. how mission critical is it? Can the task be fulfilled with one of the other forklifts?
Pending the criticality, I would start thinking about being ready to pony up for a battery to keep the peace...
Regardless, I'd be frustrated and pissed.
How long can it remain under the radar from your dad? I.e. how mission critical is it? Can the task be fulfilled with one of the other forklifts?
Pending the criticality, I would start thinking about being ready to pony up for a battery to keep the peace...
Regardless, I'd be frustrated and pissed.
I think the best course of action is to tell Dad that the forklift had the wrong tag on it and it doesn’t lift high enough for his use and that I have someone to buy it. Then I will scrap it and figure out how to show the difference between the scrap price and the $2500. Then I can go looking for another forklift. If I try to approach it from the angle of buying a new batter to the tune of $2k, there are going to be far more questions to answer. I hate to play it that way, but it will be better to absorb the loss, probably in the purchase of the new forklift. I just can’t think of a better way to deal with it, unfortunately I do not think honesty is the best policy on this one, he will only remember the bad and I will NEVER hear the end of it.
kent_323is
Well-known member
If you're going to go that route with the forklift, perhaps it's best if you don't say anything until a suitable replacement has been found and purchased? Maybe you can find something so similar you can just bait and switch?
From what you've talked about with your dad, I agree with your thought of not telling him the full story... and maybe you could get by with not telling him anything!
Question for you on electric forklifts... I don't have any experience this.... if it's a 36v forklift, could you just use @3 12v deep cycle batteries hooked in series? I'm guessing that would work for shorter uses of the forklift vs using it in a warehouse for 8 hrs continuous? Would that be a viable alternative for the forklift battery that is toast? I can't imagine your dad using any forklift for any serious length of time. A good marine deep cycle battery can be had for ~$150 each, so for $450 you could have it usable and functional and "good enough"?
And also part of the reason I ask is that an electric forklift would be something I'm interested in for personal/small business use. When I need a forklift, I need it, but I never use it for any serious length of time. My old propane Clark yardlift 4000 is weak on power, and could stand to be upgraded. It "works" but boy is it gutless...
From what you've talked about with your dad, I agree with your thought of not telling him the full story... and maybe you could get by with not telling him anything!
Question for you on electric forklifts... I don't have any experience this.... if it's a 36v forklift, could you just use @3 12v deep cycle batteries hooked in series? I'm guessing that would work for shorter uses of the forklift vs using it in a warehouse for 8 hrs continuous? Would that be a viable alternative for the forklift battery that is toast? I can't imagine your dad using any forklift for any serious length of time. A good marine deep cycle battery can be had for ~$150 each, so for $450 you could have it usable and functional and "good enough"?
And also part of the reason I ask is that an electric forklift would be something I'm interested in for personal/small business use. When I need a forklift, I need it, but I never use it for any serious length of time. My old propane Clark yardlift 4000 is weak on power, and could stand to be upgraded. It "works" but boy is it gutless...
I may have to spend the entire day tomorrow working on my personal organizing system, I keep forgetting things, stupid stuff, but it is really screwing up my days. I was supposed to bring some fittings from the Hill to the Salvage Garage, forgot those. I wanted to go to the bank on the way over to the Salvage Garage, got myself distracted and didn’t bring the deposit bag with the checks in it. I write the stuff down, but it is never in the place that I need it, when I go home, I want to review and enter things into the computer, but I am always too tired or too busy, or trying to spend some time with the GF. Excuses multiplied by 1000, I started working on things Saturday morning and I think I have the plan, but I have pages of mixed up notes that all need to be gone through and entered into the system. Maybe it won’t take as long as I think, maybe it will take longer. The amount of time I am wasting driving around is taking a toll on both my mind and my wallet. I know that I have been talking about this for a while, but now I am ready to make something work, might not even be the right way, but I can’t do nothing or continue the way I have been going.
Even better reason to get my $hit together, I had two of the loader buckets for sale, not realizing that one of them has to be used as parts to create the quick attach for another bucket and that the last one should be saved for that same reason. When I say saved, just the quick attach parts. I have three sizes and they all have the same pin size, the brackets are wider and taller as the bucket gets bigger, but the larger ones can easily be reworked into the smaller size (the size on my machine). So these buckets do need to get scrapped.
Allenw
Well-known member
I try to use a pocket notebook to write important things in and have another divided notebook for more in depth and longer term things. Besides everything jotted down here and there. I do keep a note pad in my pickup to write on.
Someday I'll figure out what actually works best.
Someday I'll figure out what actually works best.
kent_323is
Well-known member
ColorNote on my phone is where I keep my lists of stuff.
One list is basically for anything I need to buy soon at stores.
Then I have a separate list for each major project where I list what was spent, and daily progress. For the project ones, I try to list out the next 2-3 steps necessary in the next day or so. The key is not to make that portion too long so it gets overwhelming, but just enough so you know what to do next.
That is really the key, having just enough on the plan so you know what to do next, but not so much on there that it gets overwhelming.
For you, I'd make a separate list for the Hill: goal is to clean it out....list that right at the top, that way you always see it first.
Next, I'd list what are the next 2 vehicles that need to be removed from the hill.
Then, I'd list 4-5 smalls that can fit inside a vehicle, and try to take those on your random trips. That way every trip counts as progress.
As you finish each vehicle or small, I move it down, put the date in front, then the item, and done. For your case, I'd probably mark where you put it at the salvage garage.
Don't strive for perfect.... this is only to write it down, have it with you at all times, and reduce some mental load.
When you sit on the porcelain throne is a great time to update the list!
One list is basically for anything I need to buy soon at stores.
Then I have a separate list for each major project where I list what was spent, and daily progress. For the project ones, I try to list out the next 2-3 steps necessary in the next day or so. The key is not to make that portion too long so it gets overwhelming, but just enough so you know what to do next.
That is really the key, having just enough on the plan so you know what to do next, but not so much on there that it gets overwhelming.
For you, I'd make a separate list for the Hill: goal is to clean it out....list that right at the top, that way you always see it first.
Next, I'd list what are the next 2 vehicles that need to be removed from the hill.
Then, I'd list 4-5 smalls that can fit inside a vehicle, and try to take those on your random trips. That way every trip counts as progress.
As you finish each vehicle or small, I move it down, put the date in front, then the item, and done. For your case, I'd probably mark where you put it at the salvage garage.
Don't strive for perfect.... this is only to write it down, have it with you at all times, and reduce some mental load.
When you sit on the porcelain throne is a great time to update the list!
For those of us on the Google ecosystem, Google Keep is a similar solution to what @kent_323is suggested. The advantage to Keep is it's synched automatically across devices, so I can type up a list on the computer and it'll appear on my phone. Personally, my biggest use case is a shared grocery list with SWMBO.ColorNote on my phone is where I keep my lists of stuff.
One list is basically for anything I need to buy soon at stores.
Then I have a separate list for each major project where I list what was spent, and daily progress. For the project ones, I try to list out the next 2-3 steps necessary in the next day or so. The key is not to make that portion too long so it gets overwhelming, but just enough so you know what to do next.
That is really the key, having just enough on the plan so you know what to do next, but not so much on there that it gets overwhelming.
For you, I'd make a separate list for the Hill: goal is to clean it out....list that right at the top, that way you always see it first.
Next, I'd list what are the next 2 vehicles that need to be removed from the hill.
Then, I'd list 4-5 smalls that can fit inside a vehicle, and try to take those on your random trips. That way every trip counts as progress.
As you finish each vehicle or small, I move it down, put the date in front, then the item, and done. For your case, I'd probably mark where you put it at the salvage garage.
Don't strive for perfect.... this is only to write it down, have it with you at all times, and reduce some mental load.
When you sit on the porcelain throne is a great time to update the list!
The main problem with most of the phone or computer based systems is that they can be complicated to set up, require ongoing maintenance (entering and changing data) and many folks have a problem following through regularly.
I mean if you want to go to the bank and can’t remember to take the deposit bag are you going to remember to look at your phone for help?
Being an old guy, I like to keep it simple. Sticky notes make great reminders. I stick mine for important stuff that I need to get done on the window of the back door in my direct line of sight.
Put a note on your office door that says going to the bank? Make sure have these things.
Stress is a big killer of remembering stuff. Get a bunch of stuff you are stressing about off your plate and I feel that your memory will get better.
Ron
I mean if you want to go to the bank and can’t remember to take the deposit bag are you going to remember to look at your phone for help?
Being an old guy, I like to keep it simple. Sticky notes make great reminders. I stick mine for important stuff that I need to get done on the window of the back door in my direct line of sight.
Put a note on your office door that says going to the bank? Make sure have these things.
Stress is a big killer of remembering stuff. Get a bunch of stuff you are stressing about off your plate and I feel that your memory will get better.
Ron
I am just spread too thin. The program that I have been messing with is a Mac based program called omnifocus, it has a deep dive system that can be as complex as you want, but it is not oriented like a normal todo list. It doesn't push deadlines unless you want it to, that was what was really killing me with most of the other todo type apps, I would have to stare at hundreds of "overdue" tasks or keep pushing the dates on them over and over again. I have used the standard notes app and it is OK for a few things, but once you get to a few hundred notes it is just a jumble. Todoist works awesome for literal todo lists, but ***** when you start to deep dive into a project. I used to do GTD (Getting Things Done - David Allen), but the office move demolished all that I had setup and I gave up on things. I use index cards to take notes on at night, I have this pad that has a pen built into it and when you take the pen out it illuminates the stack of notecards stored in it. This is great for when you wake up and think of something important, sometimes writing it down is the difference between staying awake all night and going back to sleep. The issue I have is trying to organize all the half completed cards, I need to get them digital, in a format that can be adjusted as I need. Sometimes I write down a simple task that has one step, other times it is a more complex task that has many steps, then there are many times where it is a task that I need info from someone else.
I need to start organizing these things by location and amount of estimated time needed to complete. When I say location, I don't necessarily mean somewhere on the map, that is part of it, but then you have things like out and about (errands), at the computer, nothing to do and five minutes or more to do a simple task. Then I try and keep things by the physical location like the Salvage Garage and the Hill. It gets a lot more complex as I have all the rental properties that have tasks as well. Then you have personal/business and as many categories as you want. I tried to break things down like this in my notes app, but it just doesn't work for me. Todoist used to offer a feature that was awesome, it was location based, so when you were in a certain area it would text you a reminder (not a notification, an actual text message). Apple killed that pretty quickly and I have yet to find a good alternative to that. It was great because my two shops are 35 minutes apart and you can easily get yourself distracted during the drive thinking about all the things that need to be done, when you got close enough, that text reminder was enough to get me back in gear. For some reason the notifications never seem to be as good as a full on text alert.
Ultimately I would like something that is paper based only, but I have NEVER been able to make anything work without rewriting everything several times. I have about 50 pages of yellow paper that has notes that I review and once the page gets down to a certain point I consolidate it onto another page, they are grouped by task/location, but not easy to find what I want and sometimes I have a page out to use and forget to put it back and then I am lost later on. Really what I need is a good personal assistant to help offload some of the burden, just not in the cards right now.
I need to start organizing these things by location and amount of estimated time needed to complete. When I say location, I don't necessarily mean somewhere on the map, that is part of it, but then you have things like out and about (errands), at the computer, nothing to do and five minutes or more to do a simple task. Then I try and keep things by the physical location like the Salvage Garage and the Hill. It gets a lot more complex as I have all the rental properties that have tasks as well. Then you have personal/business and as many categories as you want. I tried to break things down like this in my notes app, but it just doesn't work for me. Todoist used to offer a feature that was awesome, it was location based, so when you were in a certain area it would text you a reminder (not a notification, an actual text message). Apple killed that pretty quickly and I have yet to find a good alternative to that. It was great because my two shops are 35 minutes apart and you can easily get yourself distracted during the drive thinking about all the things that need to be done, when you got close enough, that text reminder was enough to get me back in gear. For some reason the notifications never seem to be as good as a full on text alert.
Ultimately I would like something that is paper based only, but I have NEVER been able to make anything work without rewriting everything several times. I have about 50 pages of yellow paper that has notes that I review and once the page gets down to a certain point I consolidate it onto another page, they are grouped by task/location, but not easy to find what I want and sometimes I have a page out to use and forget to put it back and then I am lost later on. Really what I need is a good personal assistant to help offload some of the burden, just not in the cards right now.
You make a valid point on personal assistants. I was in sales for 35 plus years as an outside sales rep. 100% commission based. The folks that had assistants were always more productive which translates to more $. The increase in productivity was usually a lot more than the cost of the assistant.
I’m thinking that IF you stopped buying some stuff, you could more than afford one.
Ron
I’m thinking that IF you stopped buying some stuff, you could more than afford one.
Ron
The problem with that theory is I am on a fixed pay scale with Dad and it would never work in my favor. If I work 30 hours a week, I make what was a decent flat rate for the year 2018. Now I generally work more (sometimes a lot more) than 30 hours and everything is more expensive, so it doesn’t feel quite the same as it did 6 years ago. Also this is not as an employee, this is being paid as a subcontractor, so I have no benefits and all the regular expenses associated with that. Between Dad and my Stepmother, they both agree with each other that I am being paid too much money. If I hired a personal assistant, even part time, I would basically be paid less then them and I would have to spend the first few months training them. I don’t have the time and don’t want to spend the money training someone that will most likely not hang around long anyways, help is near impossible to find and they are always looking for something better.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
I put all my **** on Google Tasks and Calendar. I've adapted to them. It's been worth it. So far I haven't lost anything. I can't imagine dealing with fruit hardware. I had it when I worked, and it drove me nuts. I swore things would mutate right in my hands. I'll stick to Scumdroid .
The person interested in the first forklift is now interested in a different one, going to have to buy another carb for sure.
I am going to do some investigating with the 36 volt forklift battery, I can't totally condemn the thing yet, but I am afraid this investigation will put a nail in the coffin.
I am going to do some investigating with the 36 volt forklift battery, I can't totally condemn the thing yet, but I am afraid this investigation will put a nail in the coffin.
That color combo is ugly but the body looks good on that.Everyone wants pictures of stuff being moved, so here is a start.
That is the one that has never touched a road. It has been touched by an assembly line worker, so one side had some serious rocker damage. If it was a barn door I would fix the rocker and use it, but to convert from a tailgate to the barn door doesn’t look fun, lots of spot welds.
Just ordered a chicken parm sandwich, asked for green peppers and mushrooms, came out with green peppers and onions, I do NOT like onions. They manager gave me a hard time saying I should have requested no onions, I asked on what planet does a chicken parm come with onions? I told here I ordered it specifically adding green pepper and mushroom, never did (or would I have) mentioned onions unless the sandwich was designed to have them on it already. They found my order and it was written down correctly, someone made it wrong. Glad I decided to eat it here, otherwise I would have been really upset and had to either eat it or drive back to the store.
Took a deposit on one forklift and made a deal on another, hopefully next week we will be 30k pounds lighter. Didn’t do terrible on the money either, I did not make what I should have, but I also didn’t have as much time or money ******* in them to make the better profit. The plan is to try and take this money and keep rolling forward with selling stuff. I know I have things to buy for the second military forklift so it can go away. Then I need to get the forklifts that I am keeping fixed up. I suspect that I should be able keep things rolling and not have to dig into my pockets too deep. I still need to get the rams on the army dump rebuilt as well as the main lift cylinder on the BFF.
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If I can finish digging out all the non running GM trucks from the back forty at the Salvage Garage, then I will have a place to move all my pallets of stuff that is a bit in the way. Trying to get myself into production mode for ripping and tearing things down. There are a lot of parts that have to be saved, I loosely have a plan, but until I start actually applying it, I won’t know if it is going to work. There are two suburban shells that are “rust free”, except both have been leaking water inside and the carpet is soaked on the front section, I just hope it isn’t too late as I really don’t want to do rust repairs on the bodies that I plan on keeping. I should know today how bad things are, the front seats have to come out and the carpet is going to get a shortening. At least I will know what I am up against after that.
jack stand
Well-known member
We're you able to "list" and not browse is the question 
I am currently cleaning out a couple Burbs, I forgot how much **** I put in them, really wish I had cleaned out one of them before hauling it to the Hill, almost everything needs to go back to the Salvage Garage anyways. I did sort through a bunch of small stuff, but now I have multiple bins of things with no good place to put them. I am trying not to play musical chairs with stuff, but it is not easy, I need to make some space inside at both shops, so that may have to be my goal for this week. It just hurts the ego a bit when you do something dumb like hauling all kinds of **** back and forth just for “fun”.
Sometimes I really do wish I could just toss everything and start over, but I don’t think that is the answer. I need to learn how to store things and put them away so they are still useful. Right now, instead of putting things “away” they get set here and set there, and piled over yonder. It doesn’t work, I know this, but that dang perfectionist brain of mine confuckulates the phrase “if it isn’t worth doing right, it isn’t worth doing at all” into some sort of excuse not to put things away or even make a home for things.
Oh boy do I feel this!that dang perfectionist brain of mine confuckulates the phrase “if it isn’t worth doing right, it isn’t worth doing at all” into some sort of excuse not to put things away or even make a home for things.