Some background: Yesterday the trucking company from which we have been leasing this huge box trailer for the past year or so was supposed to come and pick it up. They called at around 7:30 in the morning to say that they were on their way. I had to then deal with a little moral dilemma. Now, I had told my builder on multiple (stress *multiple*) occasions that the trailer was scheduled to be picked up on the 2nd, so part of me said, "Hey, don't bug him - he knows! You'll just sound like his mother!" However, as my dear insightful wife pointed out, if he HADN'T remembered then all the tools and building materials stored INSIDE the trailer would be on their way to Rhode Island, thus delaying the project further (hard to image it being further delayed...) So, I called. And yes, it was good that I did. An hour later I was over at the site helping the forman's nephew unload all the junk in the trailer. As it turned out, the driver had some problems on the way up (rock through the windshield) and we had to postpone until today...
OK, so this morning the truck shows up, hooks up, and proceeds to dig his wheels into the soft layer of gravel that was conveniently covering that specific spot on the site. Each new attempt got his wheels dug deeper in.
Of course, THIS didn't help either. When the trailer was delivered, it was early Spring, the ground was very soft and the trailer heavy...So, in addition to trying to deal with the gravel and dirt up above, there was the little matter of the stuck wheels down below. We spent approximately two and a half hours trying every trick in the book to get the trailer out: rocks and boards under the wheels, unhooking the truck and trying from a different angle, digging out the wheels, etc. etc. Nothing worked. We stood there scratching our heads until the distant roar of diesel engines finally registered. There was a construction site at the end of the street. Maybe they could help. The driver set off on foot to check it out...
...and two minutes later, along comes this huge fork truck, driven by a leathery-faced older guy whose hard hat said, "Vinny". OK! Vinny to the rescue!
Vinny deftly maneuvered the fork truck behind the stuck trailer, set the tines of the fork under the rear end of the trailer, lifted a bit, and on the signal, gunned the engine simultaneously with the truck, and "POP!", out it came. What a great site. All I had was my digital camera, but I managed to film the event; see the YouTube video feed in the post below.
After the dust had settled, this is what was left: an unobstructed view of the house - a nice change after looking at the trailer all these months.
OK, so this morning the truck shows up, hooks up, and proceeds to dig his wheels into the soft layer of gravel that was conveniently covering that specific spot on the site. Each new attempt got his wheels dug deeper in.
Of course, THIS didn't help either. When the trailer was delivered, it was early Spring, the ground was very soft and the trailer heavy...So, in addition to trying to deal with the gravel and dirt up above, there was the little matter of the stuck wheels down below. We spent approximately two and a half hours trying every trick in the book to get the trailer out: rocks and boards under the wheels, unhooking the truck and trying from a different angle, digging out the wheels, etc. etc. Nothing worked. We stood there scratching our heads until the distant roar of diesel engines finally registered. There was a construction site at the end of the street. Maybe they could help. The driver set off on foot to check it out...
...and two minutes later, along comes this huge fork truck, driven by a leathery-faced older guy whose hard hat said, "Vinny". OK! Vinny to the rescue!
Vinny deftly maneuvered the fork truck behind the stuck trailer, set the tines of the fork under the rear end of the trailer, lifted a bit, and on the signal, gunned the engine simultaneously with the truck, and "POP!", out it came. What a great site. All I had was my digital camera, but I managed to film the event; see the YouTube video feed in the post below. 
After the dust had settled, this is what was left: an unobstructed view of the house - a nice change after looking at the trailer all these months.
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