0615 Start. Too early to be up and about, but there's a bit of sorting out at the yard to do before anything is going to happen. I'm second in and the yard is chocca with machines, strategically barricading the gateway with intertwined dipper arms making a steel spiders web of sorts. There's a couple of big machines to shift so we can get the gate open, and then it's a case of finding a space to dump the car in and collecting paperwork.
We're all loaded ready, I've got a 6t Kobelco and a 6t dumper on board. It's dark as anything in the yard, but I have to climb up into the machine and fire it up so that I can swing it round and get the arm inboard (we'd left the arms placed on the ground over the holiday, so as to delay and disrupt any attempts to steal anything)I find the lights and get it all safe and secure. A quick look round the chains and straps and I decide to see if it'll fire up.
I'm hardly surprised when it doesn't start, it's completely dead. Our two six wheelers are parked side by side so I nip round and whip the battery cover off, only to find that Scania have fitted two little restraint straps on. It's never had them on and doesn't need them as the cover takes some wiggling to remove, It irritates me why they'll go to the bother of fitting them and miss out things that you have asked them to do.
There's not much joy getting the other one going either, the only way now is to jump start that from the lowloader which is on the other side of the diesel tank. 3 sets of leads are joined together and eventually we get the cables on (even though we can't get the battery cover off as the crane leg is in the way)It takes a few minutes before there's enough juice flowing down the long patched up cables but finally the yard echoes to two Scania's.
The jump leads are now passed over the other side and we try and start mine from that one. After about 20 minutes of running, there's absolutely no chance it's going to start. By now our fitter has arrived so I send the other wagon away and we put his battery booster on. It's pulling 40 amps so we put the have a brew and let it charge for a while. After about 20 minutes it's still not going even on full boost/charge so we bring a 20tonner round and connect jump leads too. That's finally enough to get the thing going and I'm finally able to leave the yard about 0800.
I'm off to Gravesend and luckily the traffic is OK, as not everyone is back working yet. I score a minor victory at the Dartford tolls when they incorrectly ring up £1.80 and my 4 wheeler tag opens the barrier(although it doesn't make up for the times when I'm empty they put it in at £2.90 and the multi axle tag jumps in)Luckily the gang who want the machines are not delayed by my late arrival (they passed me on the A12) and I'm soon back at the recreation ground and unloading. I'm back in the yard around about 1000 and reload with a 5t Yanmar.
It's a quick hop down the A12 to Colchester to a site in the Dutch Quarter, reinstating a machine there after the break. It's off and so am I, back to the yard to reload for the 3rd trip. Back at the yard there's a postponement, but I load up ready for the morning anyway. After a couple of errands I leave for an early one at 1445.
Distance 228Km
Thursday.
0630 Start. There's a reception commitee for this morning, the other driver and the fitter are waiting to see if the truck starts. The cab lights are nice and bright when I open the door but a two second shot on the starter, goes from healthy sounding to dead just like that. It doesn't start on jump leads either using 24v, but just jumping from one good battery to one of mine gets its going. One of my batteries is completely shot and the good (!) one is the older of the two. Hopefully I'll get a couple of new ones as this cannot continue.
My first drop is the two machines I loaded yesterday, a 3t digger & dumper. It's a barn conversion near Billericay and I'm there waiting for someone at 0730, eventually I get in just before 0800 and park the machines before heading over to Braintree to load at a groundworkers yard.
I'm loading a Volvo BL71, in my opinion the best of the wheeled diggers to transport. I hate them all but at least this one has got chain eyes on the back and front, something that JCB could easily put on theirs for the price of a simple piece of metal. All on board it's off to Bury St.Edmunds in Suffolk along the winding and arduous road through Halstead and Sudbury. Tipped off by 1030 I make my way back to Braintree although this time I take the longer but faster A14/A12/A120 via Colchester route.
It's into Greenshields JCB to load this new 535-140 headed for a girls school in Southend. (Can I teach them how to drive it, pleeeease) It's actually new building at the girls school and it's closed anyway.
After tipping it's back to the yard to get a new phone kit fitted and to see if there are two shiny new batteries. No batteries yet, but apparently they're coming in the morning. There's only work for one wagon tomorrow as we're still officially on holiday, but I take the chance to earn some extra and give the other driver the day off. Finshed at 1600.
Distance 309Km
Friday.
0730 Start. No hurry this morning, I've got to wait for 2 new batteries to arrive before I can leave, but I get the truck started and load an 8t Yanmar on ready for the off. Our man arrives with my batteries and we struggle them into place and thankfully it fires straight away. Hopefully that'll be the end of those problems.
It's off to Takeley near Stansted Airport where I'm swapping our machine over for one that we'd crosshired in before Christmas.
As usual it's break time when I arrive so I have to wait before I can the JCB 8t machine out that I'm collecting. By the time I'm loaded there's a couple more wagons waiting to get in, so I pull out of the way and chain up round the corner.
It's then back to Jovic plant at Chelmsford to offhire the JCB before the next job at nearby Bicknacre. We've got a dumper at a farm there and after reversing about half a mile up a narrow track I find the gate locked. I ring our office and get told that they knew there was no-one there and I'd have to come back to the yard empty.
There was another collection to make but that got postponed, so I called it a day at 1400 and went home.
Distance 75Km
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