[RHClarke]

After loading the truck and trailer on Thursday night, Bob, Grant and I headed to southern Ontario on Friday morning to recover a CMP. After traveling the equivalent of the breadth of the Province of Saskatchewan, we arrived at our destination near Godridge, Ontario. We pulled into Gord Yeo's farm a little after 5PM to load up a new (to us) CMP truck for Bob, and to drop off an engine for Gord. Gord's truck was the stable mate of the truck we picked up in Paris, Ontario a few years ago. Hopefully, Bob will chime in with that story later.

Prior to the loading of the truck, Gord gave us the nickel tour of the farm and his vehicle repair/restoration workshops. Along with the requisite finely restored CMP, Gord also had a deuce and a half (M35 series), a few jeeps and some Iltis trucks in various stages of restoration. We were impressed with the quality of work of these restorations.

After loading the CMP, Gord mentioned that he had some old Dodge M37 parts that were heading to the scrap yard. We saved him the trip and loaded every M37 part we could put onto the trailer. Gord was in a very giving mood and provided some additional CMP parts. I guess it was his way of doing a clean up, and we were more than willing to help.

By this time it was closing in on 7:30 PM. With the truck firmly knitted on the trailer, we headed for Guelph where we would stay overnight. On the way we spotted one of Bob’s favourite restaurants – Swiss Chalet. After carefully parking the truck and trailer, we enjoyed a good chicken dinner - Bob was particularly appreciative of the breasts. Then it was on to the hotel for a good night’s rest.

The next morning we checked the chains and headed down the road to Acton to take in the militaria show. No sooner than we had pulled into the parking lot, then a gent came up and asked Bob “How much for the truck?” Bob wasn’t really in the selling mood so it remained chained to the trailer. Inside we found the usual suspects flitting from table to table wheeling and dealing. There were some good deals to be found and after our newly purchased items were stashed away in the truck, we headed back to Ottawa.

Along the way we ran into some road construction and we experienced a few good sized bumps that shook the truck. This was nothing out the ordinary, so off we went down the 401 and then onto the 407 drag strip. Just short of Pickering, Bob could be seen peering out at the side mirror with a quizzical look on his face. When asked what was up, he mentioned that it looked like the second wheel on the drivers side of the trailer was protruding somewhat. Now this was odd, but we soon came to the end of the 407 and pulled in for some lunch. We checked the tires and noted that the rear tires on the trailer were warmer than the lead tires. We decided to eat first then get dirty checking tire pressure and tie downs.

After lunch, Bob in his usual understated way said “Uh-oh! We have a problem”. The rear axle of the trailer had been pushed back slightly on the passenger side causing both tires to run at an angle to the direction of travel. We determined that this situation was just a small problem now, but it could quickly turn into a major problem at highway speeds. There was no question that the trailer had to be repaired before we hit the highway, and Bob decided that it was best to find a place to park it until the repairs are completed. Safety first is more than just a sentiment with the Hammond Barn gang.

Fortunately, we were close to the world famous “Chicken Ranch”, so we decided to take a nice, slow, short trip up to the ranch. There we chatted with the land owner who gave us permission to park the truck and trailer until we could get back next week to repair the trailer. It is good to know so many people in the hobby; else we would have had a big problem on our hands. The Chicken Ranch was a welcomed solution to that problem.

With the trailer unloaded, we jumped back into Bob’s Ford and headed back to Ottawa. We pulled into the Hammond Barn at around 6:00 PM. This was a milestone recovery – the first trip where we failed to bring home a recovered CMP. Despite the inconveniences the trailer situation caused, we were happy with the trip. We are in this hobby for the enjoyment factor, and we do not want to be part of any unsafe activity that could impact others.

The happy ending will have to wait until next week.


Photos:
1 - Gord giving a guided tour.
2 - The prize.
3 - The view we normally have heading home.
4 - The view we had Saturday...not so nice.