Floating Gears

You will know you have not floated the gear correctly when that second drive shaft comes floating down the road beside you.

 

Oil field companies need drivers, badly. Often they pay a hand to get their CDL and turn them loose, driving trucks to job sites.

First time I made over a grand for a days work was rescuing a new driver that had snapped a three foot section of drive shaft. Snapped is a polite way of saying that three foot section blew up the catwalk and embedded itself in the cable spool of the winch.

They don't teach things in CDL Mills you need to know, like how and when to engage the power divider. He attempted to pull a 20% grade on dirt without the PD engaged, crossed a cattle guard, spun out, stalled, floored it after popping the clutch, etc. All that at 100K lbs gross.

A bulldozer pulled him off the cattle guard. It was my job to tow his tractor six miles to the oil pad, then go back and pull the trailer up to the pad. That young man sat in my passenger seat and I taught him the basics of off-road driving.

 

Following is s text I sent to all my Leaf fan friends before the game:

“Guys I talked to coach Babcock today. The Leaf D will cross check kidneys in front of the net until the Bruins forwards piss blood. Leaf forwards will go to the net with vengeance and fury. Marchand, Bergeron, Pasternak are marked men. Goal is to only lose by a couple”