The Trailer

While Meg and I continue to work towards making Future House Farm a present day reality, there are a list of little things we can do in support of our eventual long term goals. One of our projects during the interim is to become a reasonably effective one-vehicle couple.

When we decided to pare down to one vehicle; we had to make sure that we bought one that could meet our transportation, camping, and gardening needs. Since we drive very little, fuel economy naturally took a back seat to our ability to haul things. We did look at possibly buying a pickup, but when it came to maintenance and versatility, we decided to go with a Jeep. The only set back to the Jeep is that it would require a trailer in order to meet our hauling needs.

The set back is no more. Thanks to Craigslist, we got a great deal on a homemade trailer that should last us forever. The axle looks like it came off of a car, it has leaf springs, and the frame is solid and primered. It doesn't have a title yet and we had to install the lights at a Park-n-Ride just off of the highway. After we get a title and install a gate, a lot of projects around here will finally become a reality.

Beaver Blogging: Haulin'

A while ago Kelly and I sold our crummy old cars and bought a Jeep–since we can both take the train to work we only need one car, so we decide to get a rugged one that we can have forever and use for garden stuff. Judi and Dan got us a brand spankin' shiny new tow package for Christmas, so on Saturday night we took advantage of Dan's access to the Beaver Borough garage and went to get it installed. We put the Jeep up on the lift and raised it up:

And then we dumped out all the tow hitch pieces to see what was what.


Then Kelly and I messed around with some nuts and bolts.

Until Dan and Derrek and their actual knowledge of cars came to get some real work done.


Meanwhile, we found this super tall funnel on wheels and changed the oil. If you don't have a big industrial mechanics' lift and a super tall funnel on wheels, I recommend that you get both immediately.

It's really so much easier.


Also, you should get a 55-gallon drum full of oil so you don't have to run out for quart bottles every time you need an oil change.


And while we drained out the old oil, Dan and Derrek got the bar on and installed the wiring.


And then all we had to do was stick the pretty new hitch on.

And now we're ready to steal an abandoned trailer and haul some stuff.