SpeedAgent
Adventurer
Good example of tax dollars at work! I sure wouldn't want any foreigners gettings ahold of an old trailer and attempting to dominate the world!
buying a surplus trailer, step by step
- Thread starter jcbrandon
- Start date
lowenbrau
Explorer
jcbrandon said:
I bought a really cherry example of an M101-A1 in Anchorage in 2001 and presented it to a friend of mine as a gift in exchange for a lot of help he had given me preparing for the trip. He hooked it up to the back of his Cruiser and drove it home to Calgary where he stopped in at the local registries place, showed the bill of sale and got a lifetime trailer plate for about $75. It still gets used regularly for all kinds of jobs. Absolutely no trouble with the black helos at that time. Things certainly have changed.
I like that trailer so much that I bought a Canadian spec one and modified it as a bed on my FJ45. They are a bit big for some of the hardest trails but can be pulled over some surprisingly nasty stuff by a capable vehicle.
I had similar issues with the 'document'. My DL couldn't be read so I had to camera shot it with a digital camera and I just sent that through email. I also didn't fill out the document correctly. Refilling it wasn't too hard and I made the 2 corrections as necessary.
I also gave a gift to a friend...
I also gave a gift to a friend...
jcbrandon
Explorer
Right about here is where I had hoped Martyn would jump in with his mad graphic design skills:lowenbrau said:
Martyn said:
And your tinfoil hat will probably be most welcome as well.
My wife just popped in as I was writing this. Said she was happy for me that I have finally found a group of people who are almost as eccentirc as I am. I'm feeling the love today.jcbrandon said:
jcbrandon
Explorer
Paperwork processed, money collected
Just happened to check the status of my trailer purchase on the Government Liquidation website. Pleasantly surprised to find that late yesterday my End User Certificate application was finally accepted. My credit card was charged immediately. I await further communication with the secret contact information so that I can go collect my treasure.
Here's the timeline to date:
June 11, won auction
June 12, received notification of winning bid and request to complete EUC
June 16, faxed completed EUC and supporting documents
June 18, received request for corrected information
June 19, returned with corrections; application forwarded to US government
July 7, EUC returned to US government with a problem resolution (I was not involved in this transaction)
July 29, EUC approved and payment collected
Just happened to check the status of my trailer purchase on the Government Liquidation website. Pleasantly surprised to find that late yesterday my End User Certificate application was finally accepted. My credit card was charged immediately. I await further communication with the secret contact information so that I can go collect my treasure.
Here's the timeline to date:
June 11, won auction
June 12, received notification of winning bid and request to complete EUC
June 16, faxed completed EUC and supporting documents
June 18, received request for corrected information
June 19, returned with corrections; application forwarded to US government
July 7, EUC returned to US government with a problem resolution (I was not involved in this transaction)
July 29, EUC approved and payment collected
Last edited:
jcbrandon
Explorer
Home stretch, picking it up in two days
Almost there. I've got an appointment to pick up my trailer two days from now.
I waited two days for the incoming confirmation e-mail after my credit card was charged. No word, so I e-mailed the person who had been so helpful managing my End User Certificate application. Still have not received a reply.
After three days I went to the Government Liquidations website looking for some contact information. I found that they have a live help chat system which worked quite well. The person on the other end reported that my paid in full invoice (the magic ticket to collect the prize) had been e-mailed on July 29. I think it may have got lodged in my spam filter and never arrived. In any case, the help desk had a copy in my inbox in less than a minute.
Today I called the army base where the trailer is located to find out about picking it up. Seems like that only happens Monday through Thursday and this Thursday won't work because of something or other. Anyway, I have an appointment to collect my surplus trailer at 11am this coming Wednesday morning.
I have been warned to bring my drivers' license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance to get inside the gate. Now I need to arrange for a rental car-hauler trailer and buy a couple of big ratchet straps. Ooh, baby, it's gonna be a party.
Almost there. I've got an appointment to pick up my trailer two days from now.
I waited two days for the incoming confirmation e-mail after my credit card was charged. No word, so I e-mailed the person who had been so helpful managing my End User Certificate application. Still have not received a reply.
After three days I went to the Government Liquidations website looking for some contact information. I found that they have a live help chat system which worked quite well. The person on the other end reported that my paid in full invoice (the magic ticket to collect the prize) had been e-mailed on July 29. I think it may have got lodged in my spam filter and never arrived. In any case, the help desk had a copy in my inbox in less than a minute.
Today I called the army base where the trailer is located to find out about picking it up. Seems like that only happens Monday through Thursday and this Thursday won't work because of something or other. Anyway, I have an appointment to collect my surplus trailer at 11am this coming Wednesday morning.
I have been warned to bring my drivers' license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance to get inside the gate. Now I need to arrange for a rental car-hauler trailer and buy a couple of big ratchet straps. Ooh, baby, it's gonna be a party.
CoastalDefender
Explorer
Holy Crap! This makes my M101CDN licensing fiasco look easy.
An in the absence of an appropriate smiley, I give you "Señor Teh Cow"-
:cow:
An in the absence of an appropriate smiley, I give you "Señor Teh Cow"-
:cow:
jcbrandon said:
Yah, the onsite manager has more to deal with as a job. Lots of working with the base personnel for storage, relocation of items multiple times a day, logging in of other new items, registering the new items and setting up info for Gov Liq hdqtrs, calls, family, other employees, machine use, etc.
Why rent a hauler? Is the trailer not pullable?
I just add magnetic lights and secure them (boucing will make them fall off), load onto my lunette coupler and pull home. Last one had no air pressure in 1 tire as the valve couldn't be seen.
At least now, you will have something to work with. Got plans?
jcbrandon
Explorer
jagular7 said:
Several reasons. I haven't seen this trailer and don't know what might or might not prevent it from rolling on its own wheels. The round trip drive to collect this thing is over 200 miles. It's located 50 miles from the nearest well-supplied town. All reasons to plan on working on it at home rather than on the sweltering pavement at the Army base.
And there are several known obstacles to towing it on its own wheels: It's not registered for use on public roads. And it doesn't have lights, brakes, or a coupler that will work with my tow vehicle. I could buy temporary lights and a pintle hitch for my truck, but I will probably never use them again so prefer not to.
The expense and complication of renting the hauler is minor compared to the risk. I've seen enough clapped out old trailers sitting on the side of the road with exploded tires or burned up brake drums or engulfed in flames or even upside down to know that this risk is real. And easily avoidable.