# My forklift hauler



## Georgia Tech (Dec 5, 2008)

shoooo wee thats a big expesive rig....are you a truck driver?


----------



## joethemechanic (Feb 26, 2009)

Georgia Tech said:


> shoooo wee thats a big expesive rig....are you a truck driver?



Yes and no, After years of being a heavy equipment mechanic, then a millwright/crane operator and then ending up being VP of operations for a mechanical engineering and construction company,,,,,,,,Well I had a major "burn out"

So I opened a hauling and rigging business. Just me, some minimal part time help, a tractor and a bunch of trailers, forklifts, and a small shop.

I'm not going to be on Forbes list, but I can pick and choose my jobs. If I know a job is going to be a loser, I just step back and I don't have anyone second guessing me.

The stress is so much lower now.


And yeah I drive the truck, run the forklift, weld, repair the equipment, and sweep the floor.

One thing I do miss is, I was a rep for a big industrial gearbox company near Atlanta. I never will forget the first time I saw Ga. I was in NY working on getting a 200 HP sewage pump out of a sub, sub, sub basement. They called me and said there was an emergency at the PCA mill in Valdosta.

I left NY in a cold wet dirty snow storm. And when I touched down in Valdosta the girls were in their bikinis swimming in the pool. The people were polite, and everybody wanted to feed me. I thought I must have died and went to heaven.

Joe


----------



## Wirecutter (Jul 26, 2007)

joethemechanic said:


>


 Here I am again with the questions!

What's the deal with the jacks at the back of the trailer? Is that so you can unload at loading dock height? Can you also load at the front, "gooseneck" style?

In any event, cool rig. Congrats on your job improvement situation. Envy, envy.

-Mark


----------



## joethemechanic (Feb 26, 2009)

The gooseneck doesn't fold. Here is how you drive on to load it.

And yes the "dock levelers" are to raise it up to loading dock height.

Thanks for the envy, but some days I wish I had a job.


----------



## Wirecutter (Jul 26, 2007)

That's a wild machine - clever design. So I see the rear wheels slide forward to bring the back edge to the ground. Very cool. I can imagine some real advantages over the detachable-gooseneck arrangement.

Re: the job - You can at least appreciate the benefits of a "day job" vs working for yourself. Doing your own thing, especially in times like these, is a bit of a leap of faith. It takes some nerve. I'm not one of those people that believes that owning your own business is easy. Those I know that do it are working for the most demanding bosses they've ever had - themselves and their customers. 

-M


----------

