02/26/2022
Well, last week the F350 started running rough and we decided to pull off in New Jersey to check it out. We checked it out and was blowing smoke, so we made the call to limp it home to Kentucky to our mechanic to get it thoroughly checked out. We hoped to be in and out to continue our route, but Old Heavy had a bigger problem than we anticipated: what was originally thought to be a broken injector turned out to be a thrown rod.
That was just the beginning of our problems.
On our way home the Ford dealership working on Big Bertha said that the transmission that was being rebuilt (again) was done and that she was ready to go. All they asked was that we run her around for the weekend before heading back out to make sure everything was in working order. So with 300 miles without issues, we shoot over to pick up a hitch for the black trailer (you know that one that is supposed to be retired but the show must go on, right?) Now all I can say is "When it rains it pours..... transmission fluid"🤦👎Ford has apologized for the problem and has ordered us a NEW transmission, which should be arriving in a few days and going straight into the Excursion.
Parts for the F350 are on their way to Charlie Peppers'. He was about as sick as I was when he saw Bertha bleeding out, so he was trying to crank out the other 2 trucks in his shop to get us in and out by the middle of next week. Normally he'd give us priority when we come in for anything and pushes everyone else back, but I stopped him because one of the trucks that he is working on is a lawn care guy whose business is also on hold waiting for his truck and the other is a local mom and pop pest control who also is depending on their truck. I would have loved being back on the road today or even Sunday however, these aren't big businesses, these are people that live job to job so it just wouldn't feel right to me pushing them back another 3 days.
Calls and emails are currently being made to inform everyone of the delay but as of now, we are going to be running in one truck by the end of the following week.
When Grab and Go Gaming started, I had taken extreme pride in the quality and timely transport of every order we had coming in.
But unfortunately, between last March's first breakdown and other shipping companies being shut down, we've had a massive wave of orders that have come in, which we are thankful for, it's been nonstop catch-up. Things had turned back around for us in November and we finally caught up on most of our orders, but on December 1st I ended up in the hospital and was down for a month and a half. We had finally caught up and bam more truck problems.
As of right, we are going to put a pause on new orders coming in and fulfill all of the commitments we have on the books. Once everything is back to being caught up 100% we will go back to posting upcoming routes 2-3 weeks ahead of time so that everyone has an understanding of when we should be arriving a month ahead of time, instead of being stretched too thin and zig-zagging back and forth everywhere wasting fuel and time
trying to keep up with every order that comes in.
Our overall plan is when we start back up around May, we will have two trucks running, one on each coast, and be running out of a centralized location in Texas. Stay tuned for more.
Again we are really sorry for all the delays that we have been dealing with, apparently, I'm not only running myself to death but I've officially run the trucks to death as well trying to catch up.
It's been a journey, to say the least, and I can't wait to get back on the road and being able to chat and hang out with everyone instead of rushing in and out to get to the next spot. Which entails fewer 3 am pickups and deliveries 😆 (maybe not completely 🤔 🤫) You guys are amazing, and I love that the community has trusted me with the transporting of so many amazingly rare items and welcoming me into their homes and their amazing collections. All I want is to get the trucks, trailers, but most importantly, the quality and timely shipping back up to our standards.
You guys are amazing and as always, Happy Hunting!! 👍
