andydew

Congrats on the new cage; it looks great!

Saw this the other day on the freeway near Long Beach. I think we should all ride busses to save the ENVIROMENT .

This lady was lugging this poor bus so hard, it was huffin fuel through the pipes, but she had no clue she was the culprit. I bet she wrote it up for low power too

Well....

I almost have the clean up wrapped up.

What an unbelievable ordeal. Can't even begin to express how heartbreaking this is, but a picture is worth 1000 words, so here are a few:

my first real glimpse at our baby, a fully restored 1970 KW, chromed, pollished, and bada$$:

my MH damage:

my dual MIG 255 Lincoln:

Honda pressure washer:

80 Gal. twin stage compressor:

Sheet metal cleanup...

paint gun collection

2 porter cable sawzalls, and a brand new dewalt right angle blah blah blah:

my grandfathers radial arm saw...memories

Previously mentioned low rider rig:

and multiple collections of aluminum, from material we stocked, to fuel tanks, to the old rig's frame...all of it, every bit melted into drips. Aluminum has a melting point of 1220 degs....it was one HOT fire!

This is a sampling of my pics...too many to post, and too many tools to fully inventory, but this can give an idea of what we should've had insured. If any other tool guys out there see this, make sure you know what your coverages are. We've upped all our policies now, and would reccomend all do the same. We are doubting we will rebuild, as to the lack of funds, but some tools will have to be replaced asap to keep our operations flowing; and lastly, to show there is light at the end of the tunnel, my new dual MIG:

I got the costco setup too. The new dvr can be monitored from a smart phone, if that helps you any. The night vision isn't the best, but for the price, you can't go wrong.

As far as the 12ga; I'd personally go less than lethal: Just stake out with a pellet gun, and nick the little gangsta in the forehead a few times...more fun to watch him cry, than to bleed all over your new truck

Can't go wrong with a cr250. I'm thinkin about selling my 2000 cr 250...let me know if you are interested and I'll get you some pics

Nice...Didn't know about the show, but I found them on the ipod today none the less. Back in the day, I remember buying their album on the release date, and then rocking around the campfire with the tape deck on my first camping/dirtbiking trip with some buddies. They always take me back to those good 'ol days. :nana:

What did you end up paying, if you don't mind? I might be lookin for a hauler real soon

My Video, didn't take any video specific shots so mostly general riding clips here.

Where is the "Old Guys Rule" for Terry and his music... lol I'm surprised you didnt suggest Greatfully Dead or something, lol

Great video. Looks like a good spot looking back, and not too shaky either. good job

It's over by Little Dumont.

Here ya go. I made a Google map with some markers on it. Zoom in or out to see exactly where it is in relation to the dunes.

<iframe width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216857937271360156497.0004ba8916f2aa8959590&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=35.636267,-116.275821&spn=0.004177,0.006866&z=17&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216857937271360156497.0004ba8916f2aa8959590&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=35.636267,-116.275821&spn=0.004177,0.006866&z=17&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Dumont Dunes</a> in a larger map</small>

That's a great reason to get in another trip this season. I'm gonna make sure and see the mines next time up there. Thanks for the map

Here are some pics from the day after:

Notice the once chrome bumper of our old K-DUB : not much more than left left of the truck

The tally is over 75k in tools as of now. The insurance is sending a crew of guys tomorrow to start removing some of the sheet metal, in order to do an independent investigation as to the cause. I guess they suspect we torched the place, and lost 200-300k in order to claim the 30k coverage ; but eitherway, I'm grateful for that, because removing the metal is the most dangerous part of the cleanup; A lot of unseen tension in those beams, waiting to rip me in half, when I start cutting. I've been in there a few times, and everything is gone. Nothing but ashes.

On a lighter note, my middle name is Jon, but I've been teased that it should be Job(old testament referrance). Our families are doing well with it, and we are trusting that all things work together for good...trying to stay positive

Insurance hasn't allowed us in there to begin cleanup yet, but I'm getting very ancy to start. I know I'll get some gnarly pics of the carnage, once the lid comes off this bldg. I had several sheets of 3/16" aluminum for a trailer I was rebuilding, that are nothing more than a puddle...that was one hot fire.

I've already ordered a new welder and plasma, as I need those to keep our operations running. I customized the order with some sick looking blue (real fire style) flames. I think that is gonna be my theme on most of my tools/ boxes.

Kinda easy to think the whole world is against you after something like this, so Thanks for all the well wishes! I'll post more pics as we dig out in the weeks to come

freakin sweet. I haven't been to the mine yet. I didn't even know what they'd mined for, but a cool piece of history there Looks like a killer day ...I'm jealous!

Yup, I'm jealous too; can't wait to see them

The size might prove to be helpful for ya

So I'm not really sure why, but if it weren't for bad luck...I wouldn't have any at all.

I got a call at 2am Wed. My Shop caught fire. I was there in 5 min. to discover it was gone. Fire capt. says the cause is undetermined.

It was a 40'x60' bldg. I built my old bus in there, my atc 70 in there, and hundreds upon hundreds of other projects. I had 20 years worth of tools: welders:mig, tig, arc, a plasma cutter, mills, drill presses, compressors, saws, air tools, etc. We had truck parts, tires,etc. Worse, we had our vintage Kenworth, restored; our first rig now serving as a trophy, burnt to the ground. Been real busy since dealing with claims adjusters, and contractors, and every looky-loo in the neighborhood. The fire capt. estimated it at a 300k dollar loss. I probably had 50k in tools. I'd been collecting tools since I was 14 working odd jobs. Kinda lookin like dune season is over

We got a call today from the insurance, and they can only cover the bldg, and not the contents, due to the business nature. Let everyone learn from our misery: insure up, and read the fine print

I got the good camera over there now, so I may post up some pics in a few days of the aftermath, but these are what I snapped on my phone that morning:

The big flare up was the when the rig lit up . There were 5 engines/crews there, and they did a fantastic job The newspaper says the call was placed at 1:53, and claims the flames were under control by 2:16. They were onsite until about 5 to control any flare ups.

The MH got blistered paint, and melted tail lights, but is otherwise ok, but uninsured....

No one was injured, so we are thankful for that, but WOW! you never think it'll happen to you :pile:

Me and my boy got to do a boys run to Glamis. I was up 22 hours on friday to get work to a point where I could leave for 2 days, and sleep depravity got the better of me: I was hitching up at 2 am sat. , and APPARENTLY, I didn't get the hitch on the ball all the way before I latched the pin . We were doing 60-65 down the 86, and we hit a bad bump, and....holy crap. I reached back and chest planted Jake into his seat and said" hold on, we're gonna crash". The trailer had come loose, and we were getting tossed all over the road. I felt the trailer rear end the truck once, so I decided to coast to a stop, and not touch the brakes after that. The back end of the truck was yanked to one side, then the other...It was terrible. I thought we were gonna be jacknifed in the ditch. It came to a stop, and everything was ok...not even a scratch on the truck. Only damage was the Jack's handle got bent when it reached under the truck's frame and rear ended the truck. A little road rash on the jack pad, and everybody is fine! Do I have angels watching over me or what? The chains did their job, and the wiring was intact. About 20 minutes jacking it back up, and rehitching, and inspecting the latch and I was back on the road. Took a minute or two to figure out what happened, but best I can tell, I messed up, probably with it being dark, being in a hurry, and tired. A word to the wise, re-check your hitch each trip

Once we were there, we had a great time.

I forgot both my cameras at home, so the iphone was all I took:

Went to the drags, and saw Mike's wife's new funco...awesome!

We headed over to the flagpole, for the first time in a while:

Had a great time. The sand was wet and ruff, and it was pretty busy, but anytime not at work is good

I read on GD there were 2 fatalities down at Glamis over the weekend as well.

Yup,

one was right in front of our camp. Don't know too much for details, but an older vdub rail came flyin through, and tangled up with a quad. Nothing official as to who was at fault, but after the impact, the rail came to a rest in a bush a distance away, which implies he was going way too fast IN CAMP Life flight circled around, but was called off(already dead I assume). CHP showed up, so I'm thinking somebody was arrested.

Completely avoidable, if people just THINK, and slow down near camp.

Research has shown us that treatment can last 5-7 years, and some sites say he could struggle with it most of his life, but yes, this is far better than the previously discussed outcomes.

We are definatly looking for the opportunities to spend time together, such as our trip to the regatta. I'm sure I missed out on a few of the events, but getting him on his quad all by himself was more rewarding, given the circumstances, anyhow. Also, Jake and I are making this weekend a "boys run" in Glamis for a couple of days. Got a few neighbors going out, and I'm already jonesin bad.

Thanks again

Got back from another day at CHLA. Met with a couple of the surgeons that worked with Jacob. Thought an update is in order...

We have a diagnosis. ..finally...after over a year of pain, and limping; and it sounds like a logical explanation. They are calling his condition a CHRONIC RECURRENT MULTIFOCAL OSTEOMYELITIS. Heres a link if anyone is curious: http://en.wikipedia....l_osteomyelitis It's a very rare disease, that for boys, is one in 6 million...how's that for odds? It is a reassuring diagnosis in that: it isn't fatal, however it can reoccur, and even appear in different areas, but we are celebrating none the less. We are scheduling follow up visits, and routine follow up MRI's, but no more hospital stays! He is prescribed pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds...all oral( no more needles or central IV lines). Not sure how long he'll be on them, but what a relief after the docs, at one point, were talking about possibilities of a prostetic implant, at worse amputaing, and then the assumption of cancer was discussed...what a nightmare this has been emotionally. My first post on this was at a very ruff time for this dad, and although I tried to hold back, and be strong for him, those emotions came out...maybe too much; but thanks to all for the encouragement. Life has a lot of challenges, but there is no pain like watching your child hurting, as some of you know firsthand. We love our little guy so much, and we are so thankful this rollercoaster ride is assumably over.

Jacob has been doing well through all of this, and for those that met him at the regatta, you would hardly notice the issue now. He's been on the anti-inflammatories for a month already, and the swelling is down, and other than the occasional incident, he is close to pain free with these meds.

After the appointments were done, we visited with a few of his nurses on the oncology floor, and he gave them a valentines teddy bear and a long stem rose He promised one he'd come back and marry her someday(He's 4 btw)...

All of this happened yesterday, on Valentine's day, so we feel like God showed us his love for us, in a very special way! We believe this has been an answer to prayer...our prayer...and I just wanted to thank those of you who have prayed for him, wished him well, and to those that asked about him at the regatta. It has meant a lot to my wife and I.

Gas Buddy.

Lists current gas, or for me diesel prices. You can search closest to where you are at, or a given city or zip you are heading towards, and it will list prices chronologicaly. I use it all the time trying to chase down 5 or 10 cents; burning 200-300 week right now, so it has saved me a bit

I forgot to check it before the regatta, or else I'd have brought 2 totes and ran into pahrump and filled them up @ 3.69( 4.09 @ home)

Eitherway, if you are hatin the rising prices, check it out

Custom all the way! OEM stock is nice, but tell me that drag bike doesn't turn a few heads...just sayin

I was ridin my trike around yesterday, a little too fast, and the muffler came off. Sounded so good, thought about building my own drag bike

It's been a long week at work, but that video reminds me of some good times . Awesome footage; that crash was sick...hope you're ok.

Also, I rewatched the fuhrer in the suggested videos at the end...frickin awesome

Our prayers go out for his family and friends. So sad to hear

Just measuredit. Looks to be about 1 1/2". The setup in the link is about $35 shipped, but looks 1000 times better than what I had...for sand anyway.

yah, that looks like what I saw...thanks I'll be ordering soon

So I'm taking Jacksters advice and ditching my cheapo chrome air filter, which probably just put a whole bunch of dust thru my new 125, and I'm looking for a good filter and outerwear/ prefilter. I know I saw a few outerwears on some trikes, but now that I'm home, I can't find anything that I'm thinkin of, that I know will fit. Checked ebay, and a few sites, but hoping somebody can get me a link from their experience. Looking for 2 or 3 sets, either foam or K&N style, with an outerwear.

Just want to make sure it's the right one that'll work, before I pay for shipping.