Jack & The Forklift
Jul. 27th, 2007 11:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanNothing like a crisis mixed with farce to take your mind off things...
Here at the warehouse we have a motorised pallet jack that sometimes likes to pretend it's a real forklift. So much so, that it convinced the mechanics a few doors down, that it would be just the thing to unload a crate from their truck. With that in mind, we charged Jack overnight, only to find this morning that it hadn't charged at all. A little swearing & rewiring later, we tried again. After 20 minutes ~ success.
Now the fun really began. We had to get Jack up our driveway, then either down the road or the footpath to the mechanic's place. Having bogged Jack a few weeks ago in the grass verge by the footpath, it was decided that taking it down the road would be the sensible option. Up the driveway ~ no problem. Over the lip onto the road ~ not so much... the wheels lost traction & Jack hung halfway over a lip of only 7cm & refused to move forward or backward. With a little more swearing & some physical persuasion from 2 mechanics & myself, we regained the driveway. Okay then ~ if we keep the main body of Jack on the footpath, we should be able to guide it the 20m or so down the (slight) hill.
So of course, the first thing that happened was that Jack left the pavement & got bogged in the grass. Again.
Did I mention it was raining?
No worries... we'll attach a chain to OBluV8 & try to drag it clear. Except OBluV8 had no viable attachment point for the chain. Never mind, these guys are mechanics, there's bound to be a car in the workshop that could do it. 2 minutes later, a 6 series BMW pulls into our driveway. Sure, it had a tow-ring, what it lacked was the grunt to lift Jack clear. Nice car though...
The scrap metal merchants across the road must be getting used to us asking to borrow their proper forklift truck by now. After a lot more swearing & some minor exterior damage to Jack's body, we regained the footpath & then the driveway. Again. Mission not exactly accomplished, but at least we were back at square one.
Then we bogged the forklift truck. More swearing, use of crowbars, pieces of timber & not a little contradictory advice from all parties on which way to steer. Despite all this, we freed the truck.
Of course by this time, with a real forklift to play with, my mechanic friends then left me to my own device & went to unload their crate. A bit more swearing & some adjustments & I started Jack down our driveway back into the warehouse, whereupon the bloody thing zigged when it should have zagged & ran into a door, knocking it off its hinges. Cue lots of swearing & appropriate use of a power drill. With the door reattached & Jack back in his resting place, I've come back up to the showroom office for a quiet nervous breakdown.
I wonder what the afternoon & evening hold for me?
Here at the warehouse we have a motorised pallet jack that sometimes likes to pretend it's a real forklift. So much so, that it convinced the mechanics a few doors down, that it would be just the thing to unload a crate from their truck. With that in mind, we charged Jack overnight, only to find this morning that it hadn't charged at all. A little swearing & rewiring later, we tried again. After 20 minutes ~ success.
Now the fun really began. We had to get Jack up our driveway, then either down the road or the footpath to the mechanic's place. Having bogged Jack a few weeks ago in the grass verge by the footpath, it was decided that taking it down the road would be the sensible option. Up the driveway ~ no problem. Over the lip onto the road ~ not so much... the wheels lost traction & Jack hung halfway over a lip of only 7cm & refused to move forward or backward. With a little more swearing & some physical persuasion from 2 mechanics & myself, we regained the driveway. Okay then ~ if we keep the main body of Jack on the footpath, we should be able to guide it the 20m or so down the (slight) hill.
So of course, the first thing that happened was that Jack left the pavement & got bogged in the grass. Again.
Did I mention it was raining?
No worries... we'll attach a chain to OBluV8 & try to drag it clear. Except OBluV8 had no viable attachment point for the chain. Never mind, these guys are mechanics, there's bound to be a car in the workshop that could do it. 2 minutes later, a 6 series BMW pulls into our driveway. Sure, it had a tow-ring, what it lacked was the grunt to lift Jack clear. Nice car though...
The scrap metal merchants across the road must be getting used to us asking to borrow their proper forklift truck by now. After a lot more swearing & some minor exterior damage to Jack's body, we regained the footpath & then the driveway. Again. Mission not exactly accomplished, but at least we were back at square one.
Then we bogged the forklift truck. More swearing, use of crowbars, pieces of timber & not a little contradictory advice from all parties on which way to steer. Despite all this, we freed the truck.
Of course by this time, with a real forklift to play with, my mechanic friends then left me to my own device & went to unload their crate. A bit more swearing & some adjustments & I started Jack down our driveway back into the warehouse, whereupon the bloody thing zigged when it should have zagged & ran into a door, knocking it off its hinges. Cue lots of swearing & appropriate use of a power drill. With the door reattached & Jack back in his resting place, I've come back up to the showroom office for a quiet nervous breakdown.
I wonder what the afternoon & evening hold for me?
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Date: 2007-07-28 03:41 am (UTC)Complete comiserations.