January 19, 2017
Underground Adventure!
A new and exciting adventure today!
Whistle driving, Hooper taping, and Mojo scoping out the new surroundings, we made our way into the underground industrial park just outside Kansas City, Missouri. This used to be a limestone mine back in the day and has since been converted to an industrial park with more than 2 dozen tenants. It was first used as underground storage for paper files and now has expanded in all avenues of businesses.
Another fellow driver had already been to this location and gave us a few tips, which was a wonderful help, Thanks Gord!! Before entering we moved our tandems (the axle on the trailer) all the way forward and moved our 5th wheel setting so the nose of the trailer was closer to the tractor. Both actions shortened our overall wheel base enabling a tighter turning ability. This was a definite necessity due to the pathways not being designed for a nearly 80’ long set up to maneuver through them.
We got to the location of the business from which we were picking up, and Whistle started with his set up and initial backing. I got out to spot and he got out to see his parameters. We were met by a gentleman to assist in the backing. He was the manager and was a previous semi driver, so he was very knowledgeable in the backing process, although our longer wheel stumbled him a bit in the directives he gave. It was a tight blindside backing spot. In the video you will hear my sarcasm regarding this issue due to being told repeatedly in school that ‘you won’t blindside back in the real world’. Now, in defense of the school, which I think was an awesome school, the reason I believe we were told this is because Grant got bored with regular backing and tried blindside backing. For him it wasn’t an issue really, but they couldn’t have other students thinking that was an option to practice because they struggled fiercely with regular backing.
So back to the story, I will say this…Whistle had it nailed with his first set up and would have had it backed into the dock with minimal amount of pull ups and corrections. Instead he gave the gentleman the respect of listening to his experience backing drivers into his dock. Backed in, we were loaded quickly. After we were loaded, the gentleman got his golf cart and gave us a mini tour around the back of his ‘building’ to where they had a cave in. This was an intentional cave in done by specialists. They regularly monitor the fissures and stability of the walls and ceiling. They deemed it better to create the cave in and stabilize then let it happen on its own. In the photos you will be able to see both an intentional cave in and a natural one.
The temperature remains around 65F with moisture in the air. They have sump pumps located throughout to help pull some of the moisture out of the air. He said it was nice not having to worry about the snow on his vehicle during the winter or the unbelievable heat inside the car during the summer. However, his doctor did say he had a Vitamin D deficiency due to lack of sunshine.
This was a fun little adventure, not as tight as we thought it might be, especially since Whistle still remembers his journey to the antennae farm on the top of Cheyenne Mountain (in Colorado Springs) in a loaded concrete mixer. That road is all tight corners, full on mountain switchbacks, here only a few tight corners and narrow passageways.
https://www.facebook.com/hooperandwhistle/videos/1664724497161793/
https://www.facebook.com/hooperandwhistle/videos/1664727060494870/
https://www.facebook.com/hooperandwhistle/videos/1664726500494926/