I fertilize oats but have adventures along the way. Probably more of a quest for fertilizer rather than a trip for fertilizer

Some years ago I purchased a 1972 Ford LN8000 with a 6-71 Detroit diesel, 13 speed, tandem axles, 24ft bed. It is loud, rough rough riding, and it is getting long in the tooth. I can't remember when I acquired it. Probably 15 years ago. (The earliest reference I found on this blog for  Detroit 6-71 was in 2011.)  I bought it off of Craigslist. Got a good deal because the car battery the guy was using, wouldn't spin the engine fast enough to start, and there was an air leak in the shifter so it was stuck in low range.

It is bad enough that the nephew quit using it to haul hay. Kept falling through the holes in the bed I suspect. I have been using it haul fertilizer. I got stuck when we had the thunderstorm and got 2” rain in 15 minutes.
The front tires sank to the axles in the hay field so I just left it until I could get help to get it out.
A month later, someone got it unstuck and drove it out to the field road.

Only problem was the left front tire was flat came off the bead.
I had to get fertilizer so I ended up fixing it.
I couldn’t get a jack under the axle with the tire flat. I was a little worried about taking the forklift down the hill with no brakes.  Then I had a grand idea! 

The Crane Truck.. 

 

I lifted the left side off the ground, found a can of starting fluid and a lighter and popped the tire right back on. Only a small amount of flames. Pretty slick concept really.

The next day I topped off the air and set off to get fertilizer. 

Our formerly local cooperative, which is now owned by some company from Idaho, has decided to rebuild the local fertilizer plant. Apparently the new thing is to close all the small plants and move to one big location so as to be less convenient for 80 percent of your customers. Great idea! 

Since I had to drive a half hour to the other soon to be closed location, I just continued on another ten minutes to the competition who are slightly cheaper. 

On the way a wasp nest dropped off the sun visor on me.  

I killed it. 

Then my neighbor called me and somehow I ended up driving right past the dealer whose box I was using and driving 2 miles out of the way to get one bag of of Orchardgrass seed that turned out to be $200 for 50lbs. Of course they only take cash or check…but I have cash from chicken feed so no worries. Maybe I will get a planting job.

I had to pickup 6,000lbs dry 40-0-0-6 (urea based) and 400 gallons liquid two different types in 350 gallon tanks. 
The guy at the fertilizer plant had a tic. He would suddenly, and with no provocation, jerk his head to the right and go “uurrrrp!”
Scared the heck out of me the first time it happened. Of course I jumped and turned to see what he was looking at.
Freaked me out. After that I pretty much managed not to react. Nice guy I didn't mean to be a jerk.

But I digress... 

Now, you need to keep in mind, It was a good half hour drive to the fertilizer plant in a 1972 Ford LN8000 with a loud under powered Detroit 6-71 engine and a 13 spd transmission that you have to shift for every little hill to maintain 54 mph.

Right out of the yard the shuttle tanks I was using to hold fertilizer started sloshing so bad I thought I was going to lose one off the side. 10-34 fertilizer is like 13lbs to the gallon, so 200 gallons sloshing is a big deal.
I stopped and added straps. Not a big deal but the winches did not line up with the tanks. I finally found some clamp on winches in the bottom of the tool box. Now I am one my way.
So, I took off down 99W and about 2/3 of the way home the accelerator goes to the floor and won't return. Later I was to discover that the alternator broke off and fell on the throttle causing the diesel engine to run wide open. Not a big deal as it is an old Detroit 6-71 and you pretty much run it up against the governor anyway. BUT To shift I had to reach down and pull up on the accelerator pedal. 

A bit dicey in downtown Amity… 

When I got home I popped the hood. 

A few minutes with the welder and I am back in business. Of course the tire went flat again so there is that... 

Spreading fertilizer on oats for hay. I should have spread fertilizer and then planted through the fertilizer but wasn't able to coordinate getting a spreader. We really need a working fertilizer spreader. Hopefully we have enough days left for good growth on the oats.

 

 

No Peace in the Valley, 60 days of fertilizer failures, out of nine lives I've spent seven... Actually only four days but it seemed like a lot more... Another obscure song reference to drop my readership

Farming seems to be a series of cascading failures.  Somehow you over come them but only with sheer determination and sketchy practices. 

Fix it or walk two miles has always been a motivator, or in this case, fix it or dig 5,000lbs of 46 out of a bin with a five gallon bucket...

I think it is something kids are not learning nowadays. 

I have been attempting to spread fertilizer. I think I did about 170 acres since last Friday. It has been a struggle.

Our local fertilizer plant provides Wilmar double-spinner ground drive spreaders for their customers. Last year they decided to start charging per day as people tend to take the spreaders and never bring them back. This money, I was told, was to provide maintenance on the spreaders. 

I hooked the White 2-155 FWA to the spreader this year for the benefit of GPS FWA and horsepower. I did not get stuck. Sadly the spreader may have left ruts in one or two hay fields. I should have waited two weeks. But last year we did that and it never rained again. This is Oregon

 

I have not noticed an improvement in spreader performance from two years ago... Not to be a crank...

I took the quiet Louisville, (1974 Ford LN8000 with a inline 671 Detroit and a 13 speed) to get the power bin. This will hold 10,000lbs of 46-0-0. We are too poor to be able to afford 38-0-0-7 like in the old days. By the time I get the box on the truck and loaded with fertilizer it will be close to 4 p.m. and I thought I had the spreader reserved for the morning.

I as I was leaving I saw the office lady and asked to reserve the bin. She said I needed to get it now as people just hooked up to them and took off with out telling anyone. Said they were going to put GPS trackers on them so they could at least find them again.

So I cruised home at high speed, actually got it up to 45 mph on Hwy 99W before I had to start slowing down for my road. 

When I was pulling out onto 99W I was a bit cautious. It is always embarrassing to miss the split right in front of the office so I didn't want to speed shift. Plus, this truck is slow with even a measly 10,000lbs. So, I did check both directions carefully. I even checked Northbound lanes so I could swing wide.

Just before the first corner I had time to check my mirrors and I saw a Dodge Dualie 4wd big arsed pickup coming up behind me fast. I continued with my shifting. Meaning, I kept my foot to the floorboards per usual shifting Detroit Diesel shifting instructions. The pickup kept comming...

I was just thinking about hitting fifth (gear 11?) and solidly into the corner when I glanced out the window and saw the pickup truck neck and neck with me and a Tesla coming head on. I decided to just split shift this one and opted for gear 4.5 (10?) rather than risk and embarrassing no-clutch shift gear grinding in the midst of a serious race.

The Tesla headed for the ditch and the pickup truck zoomed on by. When he got in front of me he raised a clenched fist out the back window. My windshield was dirty so I don't know if it was raised in triumph or anger or if he was telling me I was number one!

My stop was just ahead so it was time to start downshifting anyway so I really didn't spend a lot of time guessing. I turned into my road home and pulled over to let anyone else behind me go around as I really feel bad about inspiring suicidal drivers.

I went back with the pickup to pick up the spreader. 

I should have known better than to take spreader number six. But, I saw the liberal amounts of grease applied and I visualized success. 

As I was leaving with the spreader behind my pickup the super helpful hispanic guy (who I can finally understand after a decade) suggested I fill up to save a trip. 

I thought about my favorite quote from Ronald Reagan, "Trust but verify..." I opted to bring the spreader home empty.

This was a sensible plan. What would have been an even better plan would have been to pull the drive trip in the parking lot to see if the drive engaged, and to pull out the PTO shaft to make sure it wasn't stuck, and to make a sharp turn on the pavement to see if the drive axle would shift two inches to the right and knock off the drive chain. 

But I didn't do that...

Suffering was to follow...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHMp_HV6a4s

"The Shape I'm In," has been stuck in my head for a week. Perhaps I can pass the pain on to someone else...