2014 at the Hammond Barn

[RHClarke]

The latest addition to the Hammond military vehicle fleet is the M37 that was recently put up for sale on MLU. This recovery operation was perhaps one of the easiest we ever had as the truck moves under its own power and getting it on and off of the trailer was dirt simple.

We set off on Friday morning past and headed to the wilds of Stittsville, where the truck was being stored. After unwrapping it and putting a bit of fuel down the carb, the old girl fired up. We had a slight sprinkling of rain, which made the ramps a bit slick and I needed two attempts to get the truck up onto the trailer. The second attempt was in four wheel drive and the truck crawled up the ramps with no problem whatsoever.

After chaining her down we headed towards Orleans to drop the truck off for its safety inspection. She should be on the road by Monday and will head out to the barn for its first run as a Hammond Barn stable mate.

My thanks to Grant for providing the truck, to Bob for providing the trailer, and to both for the helping hand.

Photos:
1- Safely on the trailer
2- Bob and Grant chaining up
3- Shot from the rear
4- Pre move inspection
5- Heading out

[RHClarke]

Yesterday morning we had ice on the puddles and frost on everything else. So much for summer! Today's weather was much more reasonable until about 5 PM when the skies opened up. To sum up the summer, it was too hot and too wet. We really did not get a good run of dry hot days so our activities were limited to whatever the weather permitted. The Farmer's Almanac predicts a cold winter with lots of snow, so we are hoping that the fall makes up for the summer and potentially poor winter to come.

This week Bob was working on putting in the wood for the coming long winter. He and his neighbour Bruce cut up last year's supply of logs and ran wood to each other's garages. Grant got the engine to his radio truck up and running - from all accounts, she runs like a top.

My focus was on sea container number two, which was delivered earlier this week in a torrential downpour. It was exciting to watch the driver swinging the big rig that delivered the box down the trail to the barn. He almost put the truck in the creek on the way in and on the way out. The box was dumped near my first sea can waiting for today. Bob and Grant helped me rig up the sea can axle set that Bob designed and built. Bob then lifted the front of the sea can with the three point hitch on his tractor and swung the box into the correct position. This box will now house the M37 and spare parts.

The rest of the day was spent fabricating parts for Grant's truck, chatting about upcoming sewing classes (Bob will have to explain), and maintenance chores. I also got some time to do some work on the M37's steering, which was due for an overhaul. As mentioned, the rain came around supper time and put a damper on everything, so we all headed home.

Photos:

1 - Bob's deadly wood cutting machine;
2 - Sea Can 2 in position;
3 - Sea Cans (note space for third can...);
4 - M37 Heaven - a runner with a spare parts truck; and
5 - More Dodge money shots - the ambulance body (or parts thereof) is for sale.

[RHClarke]

I had a good reason to go to Toronto earlier this week so after business concluded, I decided to take a quick jaunt up to visit Gord Yeo's farm near Clinton Ontario. He had some M37 parts that I could use, so I did some shopping. While I was there I got the dime tour of Gord's fleet of military vehicles. I am astonished at the level of workmanship and with how quickly he gets things done. I was particularly drawn to the big truck as I know the condition it was in when Gord picked up from the Ottawa area.

My thanks to Gord for taking the time to help out this new M37 nut.

The attached photo shows a line up of Canadian army trucks ranging from the 1940s to the 1980s.