Working Ranch Blog
The Grey Ghost by Brett Haas
Jul. 3 2010, 6:31 PM
Jul. 3 2010, 6:31 PM
Change is a frequent event on a ranch. Seasons come and go, cows are culled, heifers give birth, and bulls are sold when they just can't get the job done anymore. We're haying now, but it seems like winter just ended. Soon enough Cowboy Christmas (weaning time) will be here. Yes, life moves pretty fast sometimes. Some changes, like this Spring after a long, hard winter, are easy to take. Some, like a cow who has faithfully weaned off a 600 pound calf for the last eight years, coming up open, are harder to swallow. I've recently encountered a change that I have mixed emotions about.
Here is old Shirley just before we shipped her. I'd say we got our money's worth.
As you all know, this last winter was one for the record books. It pushed everything including the critters, the hay supply, our patience, and our equipment to the edge. Some lived to see another winter. Some did not. My old chore truck ended up somewhere in the middle. Now old Shirley was, and still is, a good truck. She's a 97 F350 with a 7.3 diesel. The ranch bought her new and I'm about the fourth hand she's been through. I've been patching her up here and there for the past six years. I've reworked the doors a few times, put a new second fuel tank in, and a new water pump. Heck, I even had the A/C going at one time. I had just put a new seat in when a neighbor stopped me and told me it looked like I was driving crooked down the road. The cross member had rusted out and caused the frame to bend and in the process broke my rear springs. Then, right after we got that fixed, I was driving a bale out to feed and kept hearing this popping noise. After I cleared some mud and snow, I discovered that the frame on the other side had sheered right in two behind the cab. I had it patched up for $40 by one heck of a welder. Shoot, it was stronger than new now.
Well, the snow and mud eventually left and I thought old Shirley had limped through yet another winter and would live to feed another day. That is until I went to the car wash. After I got the old girl cleaned up it was apparent she was in need of a little more T.L.C. The frame was still twisted and my new springs were starting to move again. The seal in the front differential (axle) was leaking and apparently required the entire front end to be removed. And last, but certainly not least, the tranny was starting to go. You could still drive it, but you had to let up on the gas to shift out of second. After talking it over with Kirk, we decided that maybe it was time for old Shirley to go feed some cows up on the range in the sky. Besides, I hear Jesus is a miracle worker with duct tape.
So now the hunt was on. The good news was that the Grey Ghost was still going. I even hauled bulls to the vet with her. That and it was summer time, so she wasn't needed everyday. This was a good thing on account that I had no idea how hard a regular cab, single axle one ton would be to find. Apparently Ford made about five of them. Now, I know what you're saying. Why not go with another brand. Well, given the recent financial troubles coming out of Detroit, and the government's "assistance" we decided that since Ford was the only company doing things the old fashioned way (making money) we'd go that route. That and I wasn't sure if I wanted to fill out papers in triplicate and have to get Congressional approval if I happened to need parts someday. That I'm sure they'd be the wrong ones, cost three times more than what they're worth, and make the problem worse. I'm just saying.
After about three weeks of pulling my hair out trying to find something that wasn't a dually, with six doors, 50" tires, and 500,000 miles I located a nice little dealership down in Wellington, KS. Yes, I live in Kansas and had to look it up too. Turns out it was just south of Wichita, which is just about a 3 hour tour from here. (Hey, maybe I should have had Tim O'Byrne sail me there! Arrrrr, Matey.)
Anywho, the folks at Koehn Motors were nice enough to meet me in Empor-I-A to give her a spin. She was just what we wanted and everything checked out o.k. Also it turned out our local bale bed dealer had a used Hydrabed that was only a year old. A gentleman had bought it for his eight cows and realized that he didn't need such a pricey contraption to haul bales to the feed rings. So, we worked a deal and traded old Shirley in for the used but practically new bale bed.
Here's my new blue beast. I bet she won't look this perty come January.
It may sound silly, but there is a part of me that's gonna miss the old Grey Ghost. That is, if I can figure out exactly which part of me that might be. It could be my back that felt like it'd been run through the round baler after choring in her all morning. No, that's not it. Maybe, it'd be my fingers that about froze off filling the front differential with fluid all winter long. Nope, I don't think my fingers will mind. It might be my arms that would ache after rolling down the window all winter long and opening the door with the outside latch because the inside one had broken off for the twelfth time in a month. No, I don't think...
Can you believe it's July already? Are you ready for winter again? Tell me at thekansascowboy36@gmail.com, or look me up on Facebook and Twitter.
Here is old Shirley just before we shipped her. I'd say we got our money's worth.
Well, the snow and mud eventually left and I thought old Shirley had limped through yet another winter and would live to feed another day. That is until I went to the car wash. After I got the old girl cleaned up it was apparent she was in need of a little more T.L.C. The frame was still twisted and my new springs were starting to move again. The seal in the front differential (axle) was leaking and apparently required the entire front end to be removed. And last, but certainly not least, the tranny was starting to go. You could still drive it, but you had to let up on the gas to shift out of second. After talking it over with Kirk, we decided that maybe it was time for old Shirley to go feed some cows up on the range in the sky. Besides, I hear Jesus is a miracle worker with duct tape.
So now the hunt was on. The good news was that the Grey Ghost was still going. I even hauled bulls to the vet with her. That and it was summer time, so she wasn't needed everyday. This was a good thing on account that I had no idea how hard a regular cab, single axle one ton would be to find. Apparently Ford made about five of them. Now, I know what you're saying. Why not go with another brand. Well, given the recent financial troubles coming out of Detroit, and the government's "assistance" we decided that since Ford was the only company doing things the old fashioned way (making money) we'd go that route. That and I wasn't sure if I wanted to fill out papers in triplicate and have to get Congressional approval if I happened to need parts someday. That I'm sure they'd be the wrong ones, cost three times more than what they're worth, and make the problem worse. I'm just saying.
After about three weeks of pulling my hair out trying to find something that wasn't a dually, with six doors, 50" tires, and 500,000 miles I located a nice little dealership down in Wellington, KS. Yes, I live in Kansas and had to look it up too. Turns out it was just south of Wichita, which is just about a 3 hour tour from here. (Hey, maybe I should have had Tim O'Byrne sail me there! Arrrrr, Matey.)
Anywho, the folks at Koehn Motors were nice enough to meet me in Empor-I-A to give her a spin. She was just what we wanted and everything checked out o.k. Also it turned out our local bale bed dealer had a used Hydrabed that was only a year old. A gentleman had bought it for his eight cows and realized that he didn't need such a pricey contraption to haul bales to the feed rings. So, we worked a deal and traded old Shirley in for the used but practically new bale bed.
Here's my new blue beast. I bet she won't look this perty come January.
Can you believe it's July already? Are you ready for winter again? Tell me at thekansascowboy36@gmail.com, or look me up on Facebook and Twitter.
