The fairground community is like a giant co operative, when someone is in trouble people will rally around and help. The skill base is quite large so most problems can be solved by someone. When we made the move into corporate entertainment we found that this support vanished. Many events we attend with only our own equipment so there is no one else there to help dig us out of a hole. To combat this we began to purchase and build up an extensive inventory of equipment we may need. However we were recently caught out is spectacular fashion by a small piece of equipment that we (Renny ,Arthur, and I) all own examples of, but no one had bothered to load up.
The event was the reopening of NFU Mutuals headquarters in Stratford Upon Avon. The event had presented us with a unique challenge to begin with, we were supplying 14 different items of equipment for an event starting at 3.30 p.m. However, Princess Anne was visiting the site and wasn't due to leave until 12 noon. Unfortunately the helicopter landing site was exactly were we were to set up, so it left us with three and a half hours to set up and test everything, which I am glad to say we achieved with 5 minutes to spare.
The event went well and we were derigged and back on the road by 9.30 On the way back I pulled into Tamworth services for a coffee. Whilst I was there Arthur pulled up in the Transit van and trailer he was driving and declared 'One of my wheels is hot'
'How hot', I inquired
'Too *%£"&ng hot to touch' was his considered reply.
After my adventures at Glossop I knew the cause without looking, imminent wheel bearing failure. Jacking the trailer up the wheel promptly fell off, for imminent read about 20 miles ago!
Now due to a stroke of good fortune, the spare bearings I carry for one of our kids rides were the same type as we needed, unfortunately the locking nut on the stub axle was siezed due to the immense heat it had been operating under. We struggled for about an hour before we finally manged to remove the nut and most of the thread from the axle. This meant it was impossible to refit the wheel. We could weld the nut on but we had both neglected to pack a welder. It was now near midnight and nowhere would be open to sell one. What we ended up doing was driving to Nottingham about 40 mile away to borrow one from an uncle of mine.
Getting back to Tamworth we now had the relatively easy task of welding the nut on and going home. I started the generator, Arthur touched the welding rod to the nut and the generator promptly stopped due to fuel starvation, packing everything away in a rush at Stratford I had pulled the fuel feed pipe from the generator. I reconnected the pipe, bled the fuel system and turned the key to re start the engine. Nothing happened, the bloody battery was to far down to restart it. We nipped across to the services forecourt and bought one of those cheap £3.99 sets of jump leads for £12.99 and managed to start the generator from the transit battery.
We eventually struggled home at 8 am, some ten and a half hours after we set off, with a determination to add a selection of welders to the equipment that we routinely carry.
The event was the reopening of NFU Mutuals headquarters in Stratford Upon Avon. The event had presented us with a unique challenge to begin with, we were supplying 14 different items of equipment for an event starting at 3.30 p.m. However, Princess Anne was visiting the site and wasn't due to leave until 12 noon. Unfortunately the helicopter landing site was exactly were we were to set up, so it left us with three and a half hours to set up and test everything, which I am glad to say we achieved with 5 minutes to spare.
The event went well and we were derigged and back on the road by 9.30 On the way back I pulled into Tamworth services for a coffee. Whilst I was there Arthur pulled up in the Transit van and trailer he was driving and declared 'One of my wheels is hot'
'How hot', I inquired
'Too *%£"&ng hot to touch' was his considered reply.
After my adventures at Glossop I knew the cause without looking, imminent wheel bearing failure. Jacking the trailer up the wheel promptly fell off, for imminent read about 20 miles ago!
Now due to a stroke of good fortune, the spare bearings I carry for one of our kids rides were the same type as we needed, unfortunately the locking nut on the stub axle was siezed due to the immense heat it had been operating under. We struggled for about an hour before we finally manged to remove the nut and most of the thread from the axle. This meant it was impossible to refit the wheel. We could weld the nut on but we had both neglected to pack a welder. It was now near midnight and nowhere would be open to sell one. What we ended up doing was driving to Nottingham about 40 mile away to borrow one from an uncle of mine.
Getting back to Tamworth we now had the relatively easy task of welding the nut on and going home. I started the generator, Arthur touched the welding rod to the nut and the generator promptly stopped due to fuel starvation, packing everything away in a rush at Stratford I had pulled the fuel feed pipe from the generator. I reconnected the pipe, bled the fuel system and turned the key to re start the engine. Nothing happened, the bloody battery was to far down to restart it. We nipped across to the services forecourt and bought one of those cheap £3.99 sets of jump leads for £12.99 and managed to start the generator from the transit battery.
We eventually struggled home at 8 am, some ten and a half hours after we set off, with a determination to add a selection of welders to the equipment that we routinely carry.