The Forgotten Continent Expedition

[dhackney]

Makes you want to blast them, huh?
:gunt:

Actually, I haven't been too upset about it so far.

I think anyone, including me, runs through a typical range of scenarios of how you could react. You can stomp your feet, hold your breath, scream, rant, etc., but I don't think that will help much. I did say a few words stronger than shucks, but I didn't shout or yell them. I pretty much just pulled out my camera and started documenting.

Having watched the crews utilize the proper equipment required for the Fuso lift it was very dissappointing to see the damage. I knew, with 100% certainty, it wasn't a case of not having what was required available, it was a case of unprofessionalism, laziness and lax management.

We knew coming into this that the truck could not arrive at all, arrive vandelized, arrive destroyed, etc. That's just part of shipping, especially ocean freight.

I'll put up a post on lessons learned once I get some more information. Hopefully it can help others avoid or mitigate what we've experienced.

 

[dhackney]

sending good vibes your way.

Thanks everyone, for the good wishes and support. Greatly appreciated.

 

[lowenbrau]

It would be possible to design a Fuso based rig with that capability. The chassis itself will fit in a high cube (tall) container. If you built something based on the Simpson system you could drop the camper and insert it into the container, then put the Fuso in.

The camper we used for our rig is too wide for a container.

I designed and built the rig to enable removing the camper if required, but it's more for service and repair capability than shipping.

Ah I see. I misunderstood.

Best of luck with the repairs and continuation of your journey.

 

[dhackney]

15 January update

1. Our customs broker filed a damage claim with the port management company on our behalf.
2. They also booked an inspection meeting with customs and the company that manages the dock and the unloading company subcontractor for tomorrow. After that inspection takes place the truck will be turned over to customs and hopefully processed through to release tomorrow.
3. Identified, located and met with the manager of the body shop for the local Fuso dealer. He's agreed to take on our project starting Thursday A.M. with the hopes of having it completed by end of day (7PM) Friday.
4. Body shop manager gave us a 100% confidence rating / assurance that they can fix the existing door.
5. We will pull the cover tomorrow for the inspection meeting and will know at that point if the camper shell was crushed / cracked / destroyed beyond repair.

 

[dhackney]

The Fuso took some heavy damage. We think the chassis might be salvageable.

Oops. Wrong photo. Wrong chassis. Let me see if I can find the shots of OUR Fuso...

 

[dhackney]

Covers are a good idea

Before we return to our story of the Hackney Fuso vs. the Valparaiso dock crew, please enjoy this message:

Covers are a Good Idea

These shots show the Fuso parked in receiving storage. Receiving storage is the Purgatory your vehicle sits in between the point it comes off the ship and when it is released to customs. It may sit in receiving storage for days. Or weeks.

The street that runs next to the fence is a major thoroughfare filled with buses. There's a beach just around the corner so there is a lot of pedestrian traffic along the sidewalk.

The offices are the main processing offices of the receiving storage team. Three shifts of those guys had been coming and going and looking out their window at the Fuso for three days.

When I pulled the cover off they came streaming out in amazement. Not a single one of them had a clue what was underneath that cover.

Covers are a good idea.

Regardless of what you ship, LC, Taco, etc., out of sight is out of mind.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[dhackney]

Mystery of the Universe

File this one under: Mystery of the Universe

When we opened up the camper on the docks here in Valparaiso only one thing was out of place.

Our wine opener, a heavy, boxed SrewPull, was on the floor. The door on the cupboard it fell out of was latched closed. But that wasn't the mystery.

We weren't surprised to see only the wine opener out of place. Prior to opening the camper door we were pretty confident things would be in good order.

The reason we were confident was this:

I left that bottle of water there when I put the cover on the rig in Round Rock, TX.

That nearly empty bottle of water traveled, upright, from Round Rock (1st suburb North of Austin) to the docks in Houston, onto the ship, across the Gulf of Mexico, through the Panama Canal, down the Pacific coast of South America, into the docks of Valparaiso, through the destructive crane lift off the ship onto the docks and into receiving storage.

Remember that four screws and a screwdriver rode on the other end of this bumper for over 75 miles of rough mountain roads during our test loop.

We think the Bigfoot bumper must be some type of special warp in the space time continuum where gravity is both suspended and extended.

But, regardless of how it worked, it is definately a Mystery of the Universe.

 

[dhackney]

We returned to the docks on Wednesday, 16 January, 2008.

We were scheduled for an inspection meeting involving three of the parties that operate on the docks: MARVAL, the overall operating company; TPS, the German company that operates the portion of the docks that our ship came into; and San Francisco, the subcontractor to TPS that unloads the ships.

My task was to uncover the rig so we could inspect the camper shell to see if it was compromised, i.e. destroyed, by the improper equipment used to lift our rig off the ship.

Top corner of camper that was pinched in by the lift cables.

Drip rail / rain gutter bent in by lift cables.

Camper top cargo rail de-bedded by lift cables.

Dent and scratches on cab from lift cables.


I could not find any cracking or crushing of the camper. Until I get a hose and some water on it I will not know if it is leaking.

My conclusion is that Bigfoot builds very strong 3000 series products.

I think an aluminum camper shell would have folded up like a beer can if exposed to the crushing forces of four lift cables holding the weight on our rear axle.

TPS signed off on a document detailing the damage and accepted responsibility for same. If we are lucky, we may be compensated within a few years.

 

[dhackney]

This is the lift frame that should have been used to lift out our rig.

It is stored about 150 feet from where the crew unloaded our rig.

 

[dhackney]

After waiting for the paperwork to be processed, we were finally released from receiving storage.

All four us us (Steph, Jorge, Mario and myself) climbed into the Fuso cab.

We then ran the gauntlet of the docks.

Next stop was customs, where the inspector needed to verify our three VIN numbers (Fuso & two bikes) and issue us our temporary importation documents.

She wondered at the sacrifice we were making by traveling for three years. That's the first time we've heard it referred to as a sacrifice.

The last hurdle was the exit gate. They were taping a scene from a Chilean soap opera just outside the gate. I thought that was fitting, considering what we'd been through the previous week. It had been, in some respects, a real soap opera. And here the Fuso would be in the background, an extra, in a real local soap.

The gate inspector came out and eyeballed the two bikes in the garage, and finally we were through, released into freedom.

At approximately 9PM / 21:00 we rolled through the exit gates of the Valparaiso docks.

Our first stop was the plaza in front of the Chilean Navy building & monument.

 

[dhackney]

Our next stop was the local Fuso body shop, where the door will be repaired.

We pulled in about 9:45PM. The manager had stayed and waited for us. Had that level of service in the U.S. lately?

 

[Desertdude]

Thanks for you detailed documentation. Your photos really tell the story.

Great tip on the cover.

Hope its a smooth operation at the Fuso repair place for you. :smiley_drive:

 

[kcowyo]

Wow, so sorry to hear about the damage from the cables and small lift frame. Your never say die attitude serves you well again. Had that been me, I probably would have landed myself in the middle of some international incident.

On the flip side it is so great to see the Fuso rolling down the streets of another country. It's all so real now. Hitt and Idaho were one thing, SA is a whole different animal. And of course your unloading at the docks fiasco is what makes for the spiciest stories.

I'm another one sending good jou-jou your way for the repairs. And I eagerly look forward to the next update.

Godspeed and safe travels - :beer:

 

[articulate]

File this one under: Mystery of the Universe

. . .
That nearly empty bottle of water traveled, upright, from Round Rock (1st suburb North of Austin) to the docks in Houston, onto the ship, across the Gulf of Mexico, through the Panama Canal, down the Pacific coast of South America, into the docks of Valparaiso, through the destructive crane lift off the ship onto the docks and into receiving storage.

:lurk:
That's an awesome story. I love that crap.

 

[HMR]

Go Go Go!!!

I love your attitude! Your rig is well prepared and equipped for the road ahead and it's obvious the two of you are just as well prepared mentally. This trip has already been a bigger adventure than 99% of the population will ever see.. and you've only begun.

Keep up the good work and thanks for "bringing" us all along. :luxhello:









And remember: