Awesome Tire Explosion

I have been unloading the ol Possum Van, into the trailer,
in an attempt to avoid air bagging the van suspension.
Now the trailer is bottomed out, which had no ill
effects, until today.

I hit the curb lots with the trailer, it is a foot wider than
the van, and it cuts corners tigher than the van does.  I am
very aware of that in traffic, I am just not very aware of
curbs.  Today I hit the curb w my bottomed out suspension, for
the first time, and a lot more weight in the trailer too
obviously, and there was some catasrauphic tire failure.  The
video says it all.  I probably shouldn't do this stuff on the job sight any more.



Besides that fun, I am crazy busy working.  I also came up
with a lot of work I need the bobcat for.  I don't know how I
lived without one before.  I will dig a basement under the
Andrew house, and I also need a second floor deck in Edmonton
to put the hot tub outside our bedroom.  The bobcat will lift
the hot tub up a storey onto the deck for me.

But the bobcat project has run in to a nasty snag.  The vw
starter is on the transmision bell housing, where the
hydraulic pump should be.  So I will have to do some red neck
engineering to fix that up so the starter mounts on the motor.
Love the problems.

Car Air Conditioning

A video for Joe, how to put AC in a non AC car
Not my video, but well done just the same.

Our New Baby

With no intervention this time, one of 15  hatched.  14 were so close to hatching, one little guy had his beak poked through.  But then the first born thought she could fly, and walked rite off the edge, exactly what we were worried about before.  I came into the coop, who knows how many days later and mom is sitting in the middle of the floor, w her chick and there are 10 stone cold eggs up in the roost.  Lots of time left in summer for more chicks still.

Looks like Momma Hen will have to raise this one cause we are leaving for Victoria in about a week.

New Addition To The Possum Fleet

Found a Bobcat wrecker sort of place in New Septra Alberta.  But they didn't have much.  Only a burnt Bobcat, that already had the motor replaced, they wanted $9000, for.  A rusty piece that needs sand blasting and paint.  Everything else everywhere is over $10,000, especially if your looking at diesel.

I finally materialized what I specifically wanted.  A complete bobcat, that needs motor work, for $1500.  It was a little south of Calgary, so we had to pull an all nighter going to get it.  It is great working for yourself, took the next day off.   

The Bobcat still sits on Rons trailer, I have to try to get it hauled out to Andrew, and  unloaded before I go to Victoria.  

 This was an unbelievable great deal.  I had planned to make a little 10hp unit, that wouldn't be worth as much as the materials cost to build.  Plus very upset the designer will not sell plans, but only a "kit" with the more complicated pieces of steel cut out for you, for as much as I paid for this Bobcat.  Plans and some steel, cost $1500, then you have to spend another $3500 to have a running home built machine.

The machine I bought is a bobcat 632.  Originally a water cooled 30hp 1600cc gasser.  Its safe working load is 1000lb, but tipping weight is 2000lb.  That is a lot of weight.  Can you imagine moving 1500lb of dirt by hand, this thing can do it in one scoop.  It will be a money machine if we get another snowy winter.  They couldn't get enough snow clearing machines this last winter, if you owned a bobcat and wanted to work, you were doing 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Vegtable Oil Hybrid Tour Of Victoria

The ol VW had some problems this week. I have put over 6000 diesel free kilometers on it in the last few months, bringing the total kilometers up towards 600,000.  And would you believe, no fuel problems at all, besides the odd leak, and clogged filter every 2000km.  But the back wheel nearly fell off this week.  In Fort Saskatchewan, 75km from home in Edmonton, the back wheel went all wobbly Saturday evening.

We were acctually 5km out of the Fort, when we got the wobble, so we turned around and went back to Fort Saskatchewan, with hopes to make it to Nappa before they close.  We made it to Nappa, and got what they said were the correct bearings.  We thought of doing the Nappa parking lot bearing change, but the job goes much faster with Beer, and a bigger selection of tools than the VW holds, helps too.

Because most of the roads are strait, and there isn't many lights, the wheel would get a nice gyro effect and roll really well, until I hit pot holes, slowed below 50km/h or turned a corner.  After a few pot holes, corners, and stop lights, the rear wheel cylinder blew out.  Would you believe the 96 VW has only a single brake fluid reservoir?  I updated the 57 with 1969 brakes, that had a double reservoir, cause running out of brake fluid sucks.  (I did notice VW has a fluid level sensor, that either doesn't work on mine, or the warning light was behind my electrical tape collection on the dash)

The brakes died just before Nappa closed, and they didn't have any wheel cylinders.  So I drove the 75km without brakes..  There was only one sketchy hill stop start, which I obviously couldn't stop at, but only do an impatient style shuffle forward and back riding the clutch, praying I don't stall, and fortunately no down hill stops, that would have been bad.  I was ready to sacrifice the VW at any moment, to the ditch, pole, or what ever meant not hitting another car, but the drive went really well.

Now I really only want to drive a standard diesel.  Made me really happy about putting all this money into the old diesel Ranger, because its perfect.  I pretty much work out of my cargo trailer these days, so my van is somewhat obsolete, except that the poor VW can't haul the trailer.  And I will use the van without the trailer all winter, but we'll have the diesel possum van finished, as soon as I get some time.

So family fun works out, in Victoria, for Aug 4, 5, and 6th.  I have been telling all my custies (customers), I will be gone that week, and it seems to be going over pretty well.  I am more upset that I can't, so far, carry enough WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil) to make it all the way there and back, therefore I might have to break my 6000km diesel free run.  But a couple of jerry cans would get me there, and I am sure I can collect some there, or even along the way.  Maybe I can scab a tank on the roof, I have a couple of days yet.

A quick old video, didn't require much editing (time), of my VW graphics.

Possum Fleet Needs A Skid Steer Loader

Looked at the skid steer in Millet.  (Love the VW for road trips, 40 liters of fuel, no big deal, not coming out of my bank account.)  The bobcat was both better and worse than I expected.  It had bigger tires than I expected for a 16hp bobcat, and the whole thing is bigger than other "small" bobcats.  I liked the size, but it came with extra weight, which I am not set up to haul at this point.

The bad is its potentially pre hydrostatic drive (invented in 1970).  Even worse than the skid steer chain clutches, which he says are brand new, it has the cursed CVT sled type belt clutch. We burn up enough belts just towing a dune buggy with another dune buggy, could you imagine pushing dirt all day?  Shure you never replaced the belt scooping cow shit out of the barn, but digging is a different story.

Even offering to let him keep his $1000 in new over priced Onan parts, and his pile of thick black grease covered engine parts,  he won't take $2000 for the bobcat chassis.  I can't believe he paid so much for virtually no motor parts at all, but he won't take less than $3000 for everything.

So it is looking like I might be building a bobcat, after the backhoe is finished.  It would just be a small unit, for snow removal and filling bigger trenches I do for underground cables.  It is either that, or I can go to the states and buy a small running skidsteer for about $3000, they seem to have too much value in Alberta, with all the acreages and money here.  In fact I constantly think I should get a big flat deck trailer capable of hauling 3 skidsteers, and haul 3 into Canada from the states.  That could make me $10,000 easily, but it would cost me $10,000 for the truck and trailer for sure, so first trip I don't make anything.  Plus I hate borrowing money in the first place

The Possum Hitch Fix

I have to give special thanks to the plasma cutter for this fix.  Without it, I would never be able to cut the oddly shaped piece of 1/4" plate steel.  Lots of trailer drama lately.  The trencher trailer is almost permanently attached to the VW, but it does fit in the back yard when not in use.  The enclosed Possum trailer is attached to the van, until winter.  I am not allowed to disconnect it in the city, nowhere to put it in the city, so it goes everywhere.  The Possum Trailer has been eating tires.  The tire machine I bought 5 years ago has paid for itself 10 times already with all the tires I change.  Then the trencher trailer axle fail, that was an all day affair, with lots of video to sort through, and pull the best 2 min of.

Long Weekend

I am more than a week behind publishing videos, with so much electrical work to do.  So today just a short clip of Ty, who we met after the bull riding at the Harry Hill Rodeo, last weekend.  He asked us to put this vid on Youtube for him.

A couple of unpublished videos include:
-The 2008 fully enclosed trailer eating tires, you should see the wear patterns on these, down to the threads w only about 4000 km on them.
-The "dump find" flat deck trailer, I paid off the dump police $50 for, completely self destructed an axle hub on the highway.  Did a little highway side axle welding replacement
-Sick of my superior fabrication skills going to waste on the lawn tractor, looked at a Bobcat thats been for sale for ever, because the motor is in a pile of disassembled pieces.  I will make him an insulting low ball offer on Saturday.
-To go with the bobcat, and superior fabrication skills, I picked up a huge, free rototiller attachment.  I don't even know how that will work with a bobcat yet
-My Possum Van hitch has been bending every week, hauling the big enclosed trailer.  So I did some glorious 1/4 checkerplate fabrication, so that it will never bend again.
-The chicken eggs that were alive, and had fully developed chicks at one point, turned into explosive eggs w just a bit of creamy goo in them.
-Getting a farm style gravity feed fuel tank, painted pink, with a big pig face on it, to store all the vegtable oil I collect.  Also would allow pump free gravity fill and filtering.
-VW gone 4000km on just WVO, Waste Vegetable Oil

I Started The Trailerable Backhoe

Picked up supplies today, for various jobs.  Also spent a few hours at the scrap yard, picking out usable steel for my back hoe project.  I purchased over 800lb of steel, and the thing is only supposed to weigh 1000 lb.  Anyway, my plasma cutter is just brilliant.  I don't know why anybody uses the old oxy acetylene torches any more.

A fellow Youtuber built a similar trailer able back hoe, I tried to embed his video, but he doesn't allow embeding.  Anyway he says he spent $5600 and 25 weeks building his hoe.  I haven't priced out the bronze bushings and mechanical tubing, but I keep coming up with a price of $2000 for almost all the steel and hydraulics.  I was a little shocked at his estimated cost, but we will see what mine costs in the end.  I expect it to take me a good 6 months to build too.  Welding is about the only thing I can do in winter, outside in my ghetto garage, helps me stay warm.

Another Chicken Vid

Our tenant moved out, no time to make videos, busy working to pay the mortgage.  A brief update on things.
The VW has gone 2000km with out a drop of diesel fuel, just strait used waste vegetable oil.
I am collecting parts (steel and hydraulics) to build a trailerable back hoe.

Still no chicks.  Our other chicken has gone broody in the fire pit basically.  The first chicken has, I think been sitting for more than 30 days.  At one point, two weeks ago, the eggs tapped back when we tapped on them.  There definitely was chicks in her dozen eggs.  Maybe we'll take the eggs away later this week.

Toro Stunt Driver

I have a lot of work to do, wiring expensive houses.
We just trenched the longest most difficult trench ever.  650' through rocks and clay.  Every day the trencher broke, and I was off to the tractor shop at 8pm spending another $100 on it.  It was a good thing it was a work shop we were wiring, because we put it to good use fixing the trencher in there every day.  I got to know the trencher quite well, we had it in little pieces.  If I had replaced the cutting chain ($1000) I'd say I have a new trencher now after all we replaced.  Perhaps I will get time to put a video of those repairs later.

For now a fun video, cutting the grass in Andrew.  The video started with Michelle hitching a ride on the hood of the tractor from the back yard, then she just carried on cutting the grass.

Dead Chicks On The Floor?

Somehow, really not trying, I got a lot of work to do for random customers that saw my sign somewhere.  I'm supposed to be in Victoria tomorrow, but I have to keep my few customers happy.  My trencher self destructed today, and I have 3 customers waiting for trenches, including the site its on rite now with a 650 foot trench.  As if that wasn't enough, we have tenants that want to move in to the Andrew house in 30ish days, which is not nearly ready.

Michelle has opened a new Youtube account, so I am posting one of her videos here, since I don't even have time to upload from my Iphone, let alone edit and upload to Youtube.  So this is the video I have affectionately renamed "Dead Chicks On The Floor" but don't tell Michelle I named it that.

New Used Windows

No long weekend for Possum Electric!
But then the suppliers were closed so we ran out to Andrew to try and get the hardest window replaced.  I have almost a dozen good wood frame double pane windows, salvaged from various places, all for free.  I found two of the biggest ones together was the same width as our living room window in Andrew, so Joe and I custom made a pressure treated window frame.  We had to cut down the wall another 2', but it will be a glorious window.

Neighbor Guy saved the day with his table saw.  We had measured, 2 panes will fit, but then we only had 2 extra inches from side to side with the windows.  So we ripped our 2x4 down with guys table saw, so we have a quarter inch between the windows and and they both obviously fit.  We didn't realize we needed to do that until we had the huge hole in the wall.

Dune Buggy disaster

What a Saturday, to start off the long weekend.  Drove out to Andrew with Joe, the Father in law.  Joe helped me get three dune buggy's running.  Then we went for a crazy dune buggy ride w a friend on a quad.  Quad was the first to break the rear end, or transmision, we don't know.  Then Michelle blew out two front tires on the buggy.  So with the buggy in tow, lifted in the air towtruck style, and 3 passengers, I blew a belt on my tow truck buggy.  3 out of 4 ATVs broke.   I really don't feel bad about owning 6 dune buggys.

So as Joe was driving me back to the house in the last workin buggy, I got some video of the dirt road and the Iron horse trail, as I am sure people wonder about the Iron Horse trail.  I had said we  could do  buggy tours down the Iron Horse, very soon, because it wouldn't require transportation.  Being out of Andrew would be its downfall.

Carter Buggy Repairs Completed

Non stop calls for electrical work.  It is going to be hard to get away to Victoria for June 1, but we are going to try.

I got the Carter buggy put back together for Cliff.  I put together another video for him, but it worked out to be 9 min of high definition excitement, which equals about a 6 hour upload.  So he's not going to see the video till he is riding the buggy around.  I have to have a bid ready for another commercial shop in Lamont, and do a 4 hour job in the morning.  Cliff is picking the buggy up at noon tomorrow.  Here is the 9 min of riveting buggy repair frustration.

Another Buggy

Looks like these repairs to the Carter cost me money after all that work.  Only because he mentioned the 2007, black Hammerhead SS for sale in Maidstone Saskatchewan for $1700.  This was hard to believe, since there is only one other SS for sale on Kijiji for less than $4000, and its $3500.

Even though these people didn't have a digital camera to send me a picture, it was worth 7 hours of driving and filtering some 60 liters of stinky old used vegetable oil, to drive down and take a look.  As it turned out, the machine was pretty beat, needs some cosmetic welding work, and needs some tuning, but 4 tires hold air, its got a good battery, and it starts rite up.   It seems all three of my existing 250's need a new battery this spring.

Just to recap, we now own 4, 250cc buggies, one 110cc buggy, and one 1500cc buggy.  The 110 has got to go, and the 1500 has got to be put back together.  But we pretty much have 4 good working 250s, after this last weekend of buggy repairs.  I do need to go buy 3 buggy batteries.  I feel really good about this last purchase.  Not only was it the best deal yet, but it brings my average cost per 250cc buggy down to $2275.  That puts me in a position to easily make back 100% of the original purchase price when I decide to sell them.

Until that day, all that holds me back from doing buggy tours today, is transportation to the sand dunes.  I realized that the Andrew house is rite on the "Iron Horse Trail", the old train tracks, which is a point of much confusion.  This trail is advertised and well used as an ATV trail, but then there is a sign on it saying "no motorized vehicles". Once I get that clarified by the po po, we could be looking at some Iron Horse weekend tours.  Not nearly as exciting as the sand dunes, but fun still.  The Father in law is coming up from Mexico this Friday to be the first dune buggy tour victim.

Carter Dune Buggy Repairs

Took a well deserved break from Electrical work this week.  Cliff finally brought his kids broken Carter buggy over, from Athabaska.  It has been broken for years, and "nobody can fix it."  I had said it is not a big deal, just weld it up, without a clear understanding of the problem.  But it looks like it really is that simple.

Cliff also pointed out there is a "divorce sale" hammerhead in Saskatchewan for $1700, which happens to be black, the one colour I don't own.  So that would complete my buggy collection.  If she gets back to me today, I will probably drive out and buy another dune buggy, complete the rental fleet.  A closer look on Kijiji reveals the next cheapest Hammerhead 250SS is $4000, so there is some good resale potential there too.

Break In Next Door

Now all the snow is melted, seems the baddies are on the prowl.  I have spent over $200 on padlocks, for everything in our yard, and my van.  A quick video of next door, two more of her windows gone now, she needs a total of 6 windows replaced.  It seems she is just postponing the inevitable $70,000 plus loss she has to take when she sells the house next door.  Her loss is just getting bigger and bigger.

Snow Is All Gone

We got back from Toronto a few days ago, been going 12 hours a day catching up since we got home.
Our flight was somewhat eventful, because we were 24 hours late for it.  2 new tickets were $1400, but Westjet just charged us the $50 flight change fee.  They were so helpful, we will no longer fly on any other domestic airline.  Even to Mexico, Westjet has direct flights, competitively priced, but I am happy to pay more to fly with them.

One of our chickens went broody.  She found her way into a ceiling cupboard in the camper they live in and she has been sitting on 12 eggs.  We don't get   quite enough eggs from the 2 chickens, so we'll take a shot at raising some chicks.  We can sell them, or sell eggs, or eat them.  We can't lose.  Except we might be taking chicks in some sketchy 12v incubator on our road trip to Victoria in June.  If that happens you know we're building a chicken coop on Parker island, and leaving three behind.

Our room mate has found a better deal, and is moving out in June.  Besides having to pay our own mortgage, we won't be able to just leave for a week or two to go here or there, because someone needs to take care of the dogs, G-pigs, and potentially baby chicks. 

Looks like I am going to have to sweep my own street, since the street sweeper must have come by wile we were in Toronto, and I didn't get to move the van and VW.  A video of that.

The Calls Don't Stop

Tried to get away for 2 weeks to Toronto, but I keep getting calls, from my signs, seeing my van, my crappy google add campaign.  What would happen if I actually paid for some real advertising?  I will have a packed couple of weeks when I get back, besides a few jobs that I had to turn down because they need electrical help now.

My other stairway lighting idea, didn't work out as sexy as the ones in the first video, but perfectly functional.