The trip to Eglin went well. Some 240 miles each way with the family in a Ram 2500HD 4x4. I cannot stress enough how much better the trip went and I felt spending time the day before getting the truck ready.
New tires, new rear U joint, oil and filter change and A/C recharge (slow leak). I also made up a tool bag of things for both the truck and the generator should I need them. This included wrenches, spare u-joint, 8K tow strap, electric compressor, fix a flat, flashlight... the list goes on. It all fit under the rear seats. Packed a first aid kit (for me, not the truck). I am happy to report that I did not need any of it.
We got to Jacksonville the night before and I unloaded the trailer. The Hilton .5 miles from the GL site is great and cheap. Went and had good Thai food less than 2 miles away.
The next morning I arrived at the GL site at 8:15AM. I called on the way and made sure they had time to help me. The people at the Eglin GL site are outstanding. Have your paperwork and license ready. When you pull in past the green fence, keep going straight not right like I did at first. You want to check in at the "guard shack" and get a visitor pass. From there you will need to go into the building just past the guard shack with your GL paperwork. They called back to the forklift operator and gave me instructions on where to go to pick up the generator and the printers (two different sides of the facility).
I got back in my truck and drive through the truck scanner. The sign says to maintain 2-3MPH. They did not need to weigh my truck. I found the area were generators and other large items ok to sit outside reside. The forklift operator arrived moments later to help me. She only had a small chain to lift the generator so I offered a 8K tow strap which worked perfectly with the fork lift. I could not just fork it on since I used a lawn maintenance type trailer you can see in the pictures. People complain about GL breaking things... she had no issue getting the load leveled and spent extra time to make it just so. No sense in strapping down a 1000 lb generator yet, worked out well since I had to move the generator again (more on that later).
While I was at this portion of the facility a man showed up to pick up a nice mep006 with a F-350 and no trailer. I am surprised the leafs did not bend backwards.
Next I was off to the other side of the facility for two large printers. Now these were on pallets, 300lbs a piece. The forklift driver again impressed with pallet moving, pushing etc all without damaging items or trailer. The printers are in good shape, well except for a little damage on one from me not taping the lids down well (fixable). To get the printers on I had to ask to move the generator forward more.
I spent the next 20 minutes tying down. A guy and a semi came through and he said if I didn't want to be stuck there for hours to move soon. I asked for 15 minutes and the pleasant truck driver said matter of fact that I had as long as I needed as he can move the truck at any point.
Loaded up I proceed back from where I came in, back through the 2-3MPH scanners and to the guard shack. I turned in my badge and proceeded back to the hotel to get ready for the drive home.
The drive home was a bit longer than the drive there, having a bit more weight. We hit one snag, an accident just south of Jacksonville where I had pulled off to fuel up. An 18 wheeler got into a head on with an 80's full size van, a very unpleasant sight. This diverted us down some interesting roads where my load balancing and tie down ability was tested. All passed, and the next 240+- miles were uneventful aside from another fill up and a stop for food. I did see two CUCVs on the road, which reminded me to check my watch list on GL when I got home.
So in summary, it was a great trip. So good my wife agreed to come along next time (this summer). It was nice having the family along to see the sights. Oh and we stopped at a theme park on the way there
Next post; About the generator, questions...
New tires, new rear U joint, oil and filter change and A/C recharge (slow leak). I also made up a tool bag of things for both the truck and the generator should I need them. This included wrenches, spare u-joint, 8K tow strap, electric compressor, fix a flat, flashlight... the list goes on. It all fit under the rear seats. Packed a first aid kit (for me, not the truck). I am happy to report that I did not need any of it.
We got to Jacksonville the night before and I unloaded the trailer. The Hilton .5 miles from the GL site is great and cheap. Went and had good Thai food less than 2 miles away.
The next morning I arrived at the GL site at 8:15AM. I called on the way and made sure they had time to help me. The people at the Eglin GL site are outstanding. Have your paperwork and license ready. When you pull in past the green fence, keep going straight not right like I did at first. You want to check in at the "guard shack" and get a visitor pass. From there you will need to go into the building just past the guard shack with your GL paperwork. They called back to the forklift operator and gave me instructions on where to go to pick up the generator and the printers (two different sides of the facility).
I got back in my truck and drive through the truck scanner. The sign says to maintain 2-3MPH. They did not need to weigh my truck. I found the area were generators and other large items ok to sit outside reside. The forklift operator arrived moments later to help me. She only had a small chain to lift the generator so I offered a 8K tow strap which worked perfectly with the fork lift. I could not just fork it on since I used a lawn maintenance type trailer you can see in the pictures. People complain about GL breaking things... she had no issue getting the load leveled and spent extra time to make it just so. No sense in strapping down a 1000 lb generator yet, worked out well since I had to move the generator again (more on that later).
While I was at this portion of the facility a man showed up to pick up a nice mep006 with a F-350 and no trailer. I am surprised the leafs did not bend backwards.
Next I was off to the other side of the facility for two large printers. Now these were on pallets, 300lbs a piece. The forklift driver again impressed with pallet moving, pushing etc all without damaging items or trailer. The printers are in good shape, well except for a little damage on one from me not taping the lids down well (fixable). To get the printers on I had to ask to move the generator forward more.
I spent the next 20 minutes tying down. A guy and a semi came through and he said if I didn't want to be stuck there for hours to move soon. I asked for 15 minutes and the pleasant truck driver said matter of fact that I had as long as I needed as he can move the truck at any point.
Loaded up I proceed back from where I came in, back through the 2-3MPH scanners and to the guard shack. I turned in my badge and proceeded back to the hotel to get ready for the drive home.
The drive home was a bit longer than the drive there, having a bit more weight. We hit one snag, an accident just south of Jacksonville where I had pulled off to fuel up. An 18 wheeler got into a head on with an 80's full size van, a very unpleasant sight. This diverted us down some interesting roads where my load balancing and tie down ability was tested. All passed, and the next 240+- miles were uneventful aside from another fill up and a stop for food. I did see two CUCVs on the road, which reminded me to check my watch list on GL when I got home.
So in summary, it was a great trip. So good my wife agreed to come along next time (this summer). It was nice having the family along to see the sights. Oh and we stopped at a theme park on the way there
Next post; About the generator, questions...
