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Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage

Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.

harley jim

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Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Messages
11,412
Location
Cleveland Tn..........out in the sticks
It's been raining here since Friday, the guessers say rain for the next 10 days, I have a couple of projects that could be done by then, if I could just get outside!
Your place is shaping up nicely, keep on moving.
I cant tell everything from the pics but with a little trim job that third trailer looks like a good candidate for the porta vet.
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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38,215
Location
Southern Maine
Actually it was a decent looking one, had a pony motor and hydraulic pump to power the reel, but the guy biding against me was relentless and I didn't want to keep going, so I set a maximum and walked away. It was in Massachusetts anyways, so I am glad I didn't get it, even at a low price, it would have wasted a day. At lest these three trailers are local (45 minutes), I am not sure yet if I am going to take Perk down and pick them all up or just take a trip down and get them one at a time. It will probably take almost as much time and end up costing the same because I will have to load and unload them myself. They are only able to be picked up on M-F from 8 to noon and 1 to 4, the guy there says they were brought in on a ramp truck, but he doesn't see any reason they couldn't be towed back. I figure if I go down to take a look, then I can bring one back with me, I do need to bring some lights, it looks like all of them are wired with the big truck round style plug, that will be safest anyways, that way I have lights that work regardless of the trailer's lights condition.
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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38,215
Location
Southern Maine
I thought that they all went in one of the Lista drawers, but apparently I decided it was miscellaneous electrical, must have been a long day.....

I new they would turn up and I also new I was going to need them in both locations, so ordering them isn't too bad of a slap in the face. Besides, ordering them allowed me to find the ones I had sooner than waiting for the new ones to arrive, win win??
 

bulletpruf

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Joined
Nov 28, 2013
Messages
11,045
Location
San Antonio
I just got the receipts for the trailers, so I will probably head down there this afternoon to get one and check things out. I am loaded and ready to head to the SG now, I have the weatherpack stuff too.

Picking up one at a time sounds like a good plan to me, along with taking auxiliary lights, just in case.
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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38,215
Location
Southern Maine
Worst case, I may have to bring the ramp truck for one, but I suspect that I can get them with the Blurb. I will know for sure after today, one has had the jack ripped off, so I will have to bring a floor jack or something to get it lifted up. They are all pintle hitch trailers, I want to bring back the one that I think will work for the Porta-Vet box, that way I can mess with it a bit, hopefully it will fit without much modification. We shall see.
 
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Strouty

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Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
38,215
Location
Southern Maine
Ya know... I just registered and bid on some tool lots in an online auction... this could be interesting. Probably addicting.
Be careful, it is a slippery slope.....

I went and picked up the smaller trailer, I also checked the lights on all three, everything worked, the electric brakes didn't work, but it could be wired for the bigger trucks and just be different, I am not sure yet. Anyways, the "smaller" trailer is actually a bit too big for the Porta-Vet box, but I think with a bit of fabrication I can make it work. No matter what for the $350 it will be the perfect base platform for what I want to do, not the axle less setup, but also not $1200 for two spindles either. The $250 trailer (I am adding in money for fees) has two really good tires, might even be new. The tandem axle trailer has the jack custom positioned in the bed, includes broken welds and bent steel. Tomorrow I am going to go down there in the morning and put the air brake trailer outside their fenced area, then haul the tandem axle trailer back, this way I can head down after dark and get the other trailer so I don't waste anymore daylight than I have to.

On another note, I was excited to find diesel fuel for $5.49 a gallon, it is $5.79 close to the Hill, so I put 36 gallons in the Blurb. On the way back I took the back roads rather than the highway and wouldn't you know it, diesel fuel was $4.39, yes four, not five......

I felt like I was robbed, I could have taken the GF out to dinner for the difference in cost and it was only 20 minutes away. WT actual F! Apparently my fuel app didn't catch that one. There is another place that may be even cheaper, I am going to check, when I fill the transfer tank I don't want to throw away an extra $120 for no reason. :(
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
Messages
38,215
Location
Southern Maine
So the Blurb has decided to fight me again, the brakes are out of adjustment, this will be the fourth time adjusting them in just two months, the defroster has decided that it isn’t going to function anymore, makes for an interesting rainy night driving. The defrost issue is inside one of the boxes that you have to pull the dash apart to replace and I don’t want to do it just to find the next nightmare. I am going to yank the engine out, as well as all the good parts I have installed, then assemble another Burb. I will take one of my running 6.5 diesel engines and reinstall it in the Blurb, then sell the truck. I really do see why the guy sold the truck, it has been nothing but a nightmare all around. I can’t handle it anymore.

:(
 
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xtremek

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Joined
Apr 13, 2012
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11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
Are you going to be able to pack all of this down before the first real dandruff fall? Better way to ask the question is what is the plan for packing it down?
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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38,215
Location
Southern Maine
Going to be a natural pack, I won’t have enough room to level it this year, it is going to be finished next year once I get some of my stuff gone. I hope to have most of the Burbs condensed by then, then there are a couple of the big trailers that need to go. It looks like even next week is going to be decent. I really need to get the equipment back to the Hill so I can straighten out the bottom parking area, it is a mess.
 

davejo

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Joined
Oct 29, 2015
Messages
277
Location
(VA)
In regards to the portavet I suggest not hacking it up or modifying it unless it is hopelessly ratty and unfit for original purpose. Its a cool outfit that has been refined to carry small amounts of many items that need to be kept clean and temperature controlled. Tinker with it and figure out how all the systems work to feed your mechanical curiosity and knowledge.

Get all the drawers, hatches and seals up to snuff. Lights and lift struts, etc. See if the water heat exchanger is still intact, I'm guessing it might be why the thing was abandoned. Replace the cargo rail that is missing.

I think that ultimately it will be better to flip this thing for profit or donate it for some altruistic benefit. It's a bit inefficient for what you need it for. Lots of wasted space and weight in having it insulated, watered etc.

Start looking for a farrier tool body or trailer you could trade this for and then have even more fun.
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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38,215
Location
Southern Maine
Dave, I won't be cutting or modifying the Porta-Vet box in any way, I will modify the trailer so the box fits it. I think it is actually almost perfect for 90% of what I do, it will make a nice utility trailer.

FarmwerWill, that is an issue for sure.....

I just brought the first trailer to the Hill, it fits between the lift posts, but barely, like rubbed the tires getting it there tight. I am feeding Chuck, then headed back to the SG for the day, I have a full transfer tank, so no issues with diesel fuel for the equipment and I put the last trailer outside their fenced in area, so I can go pick it up tonight. I will also refill the transfer tank so I have a fresh stock of fuel for the equipment.
 

reader2580

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Dec 31, 2014
Messages
14,550
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Acquiring things just because they are cheap or free is how one becomes a hoarder, or keeps being a hoarder. Trailers you don't really need just take up space in the yard and become more things that have to be moved around when trying to organize things. You might also spend time and money making sure these "new" trailers have good brakes, good tires, good lighting, and good bearings.

Long ago I would occasionally take broken things for free thinking maybe I could fix it. Inevitably there turned out to be no way to fix the item, or the parts cost way too much. Any of that broken **** I purged years ago. The only way I would take something today is if I needed it and the fix was obvious.
 

FarmerWill

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Joined
Dec 6, 2017
Messages
292
Location
South Texas
Acquiring things just because they are cheap or free is how one becomes a hoarder, or keeps being a hoarder. Trailers you don't really need just take up space in the yard and become more things that have to be moved around when trying to organize things. You might also spend time and money making sure these "new" trailers have good brakes, good tires, good lighting, and good bearings.

Long ago I would occasionally take broken things for free thinking maybe I could fix it. Inevitably there turned out to be no way to fix the item, or the parts cost way too much. Any of that broken **** I purged years ago. The only way I would take something today is if I needed it and the fix was obvious.
Actually, I am bidding on extension ladders, some heavy duty drills and a Hilti unit that I can use for both a hammer drill and some light demolition. Believe me, hoarding is an evil word- same family farm, same family, over 100 years, same spot- hoarding is an UGLY word.
 

reader2580

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Dec 31, 2014
Messages
14,550
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Actually, I am bidding on extension ladders, some heavy duty drills and a Hilti unit that I can use for both a hammer drill and some light demolition. Believe me, hoarding is an evil word- same family farm, same family, over 100 years, same spot- hoarding is an UGLY word.
Nothing wrong with buying stuff at an auction that you actually need, or can immediately flip for cash. Buying stuff just because it is cheap yet you have no actual plans or need for it is what I call hoarding.

Yes, I have tons of **** in my house, but I didn't buy it on a whim with no plans for the purchase. Some of it is leftovers from various projects. You can't always buy material in the exact quantity a project requires.
 

bulletpruf

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Joined
Nov 28, 2013
Messages
11,045
Location
San Antonio
Some people are getting awful uptight about somebody else's business.

I agree that the criticism can be a bit direct at times, but I think pretty much all of it is constructive and/or intended to be helpful. Lots of us (myself included) are current or former hoarders, so you see a lot of recommendations based on what helped us curb the buying/hoarding tendencies.
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
Messages
38,215
Location
Southern Maine
I am not worried about criticism, I have much worse things to worry about in my life.

Got a lot of dirt moved, spreading some gravel now, I am trying to make a spot for at least a couple trailers and some equipment to fit in, that way I can continue on with the process tomorrow. It is easier to make a pile, then haul it after setting the Mitsu up so loading the army dump is easier. Before I haul this pile away, I will have to go and move all the material from the other day, it is all spread out and I need to consolidate it better. I think I can get it all ready for morning.
 
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