Have a "Safe" Trip

A couple of weeks ago, I bought two safes on eBay. They were sold by Washington State Surplus Sales. The safes were located at the DSHS office in Pasco, WA ... about a 2 1/2-hour drive from home.

Last week, I rented a motorcycle trailer and drove to Pasco to pick the safes up. I figured they weighed around 300-400 lbs., each. The motorcycle trailer was rated for 750 lbs.

I had the foresight to hire a safe mover company to remove the safes from the DSHS office and load them on the motorcycle trailer. When the movers arrived and saw the trailer, they just laughed. It turns out that the smaller safe weighs 1,500 lbs. and the larger safe weighs 3,000 lbs. Both safes, therefore weight FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED LBS.

So today, I rented a car carrier trailer, rated to carry 4,500 lbs. and headed back to Pasco. About 60-miles from Pasco, as I passed the small town of Kahlotus, WA, (pop about 1,000, I'd guess) I saw a huge plume of smoke from the rear as the trailer veered and slapped back and forth. I pulled over and discovered that the pin holding the hitch in the truck receiver had dropped out and the hitch separated from the truck. (So where was the clip that held the pin in? That's another story!)

Fortunately, the safety chains held the trailer, but unfortunately, the tongue of the trailer jambed up under the truck and into the right rear tire, blowing it out and locking the wheel.

After quite a bit of work and with the help of a road crew and three high school students, I got the trailer out from under the truck and the tire changed. With a temporary bolt to pin the hitch, courtesy of the State of Washington road crew, I proceeded on to the town of Connell, where I bought an new hitch pin and locking clip.

Although three hours late to pick up the safes, the movers finally got everything loaded and I drove home uneventfully.

Tomorrow morning, a forklift with arrive and unload the safes. We plan on keeping one and reselling the other. Want a good safe? The going rate, I'm told is $1 per pound.