Monday, September 10, 2007
Touch A Truck 2007
Held on Sunday, 9/9/2007 at Diamond Hill Park, spponsored by the local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge. They get local construction companies, landscapers, fire houses, Army units, wreckers, etc., etc., to bring their gear to the park and yank some fuses before turning the town's kids loose on them. the ice cream shop across the street brought their van, too, and handed out free ice cream to everyone.
Last year it rained slowly all day, and they askled $1 from everyone; by the time we got up there right before it ended, the trucks were gone and they given up on collecting money. This year, though, was warm and dry and bright -- yay! there were more vehicles than we could see in an hour: we only passed by the line of dump trucks and rescue gear oin our way out. The giant forklift was neat; the land-clearing beast (with a winch, a small blade, and a pir of giant tongs on an arm) was my favorite; and the little purple Bombardier pleased the kids by being just their size. They loved the monster excavator (pictures below), and also the flatbed hauler down at one end with an ear-splitting horn that every child honked incessantly.
Can you believe he crawled up there by himself? (that's what my wife told me, anyway):
Equal opportinity: she gleefully beeped this thing's horn as much as her little brother had.
The guy helping kids climb in and out of the cab on this monster told me all about its fabulous new features: single point for lubrication (which is done automatically), the scale built into the scoop, and radio telemetry that alerts the vendor when service is required.
Oh, and that radio can also be used to remote-kill the loader if you fall behind on your payments. "Pretty much like OnStar," the guy said cheerfully, and then went on to point out the rear-view camera. (That's him in the background, arms crossed.)
How cute is this? And how huge is that tire
Here's the whole crew in their crunchy plastic construction worker helmets (which, I was amazed to notice, do not bear a disclaimer warning you not to wear them while doing real consrution work):
Last year it rained slowly all day, and they askled $1 from everyone; by the time we got up there right before it ended, the trucks were gone and they given up on collecting money. This year, though, was warm and dry and bright -- yay! there were more vehicles than we could see in an hour: we only passed by the line of dump trucks and rescue gear oin our way out. The giant forklift was neat; the land-clearing beast (with a winch, a small blade, and a pir of giant tongs on an arm) was my favorite; and the little purple Bombardier pleased the kids by being just their size. They loved the monster excavator (pictures below), and also the flatbed hauler down at one end with an ear-splitting horn that every child honked incessantly.
Can you believe he crawled up there by himself? (that's what my wife told me, anyway):
Equal opportinity: she gleefully beeped this thing's horn as much as her little brother had.
The guy helping kids climb in and out of the cab on this monster told me all about its fabulous new features: single point for lubrication (which is done automatically), the scale built into the scoop, and radio telemetry that alerts the vendor when service is required.
Oh, and that radio can also be used to remote-kill the loader if you fall behind on your payments. "Pretty much like OnStar," the guy said cheerfully, and then went on to point out the rear-view camera. (That's him in the background, arms crossed.)
How cute is this? And how huge is that tire
Here's the whole crew in their crunchy plastic construction worker helmets (which, I was amazed to notice, do not bear a disclaimer warning you not to wear them while doing real consrution work):
