Mangled Jack Screws

The Distraction

This is a “don’t forget your task list” post. About three weeks ago, Stu-Boy’s Lemonade Emporium set up for street vending (Normally, we don’t do so because we serve no food). Three hours later we had served a total of two lemonades.

Needless to say we were a little ticked when it was time to leave. So, we did most of our normal closing chores, repack the syrups, stage the squeezers, pour the simple syrup back into its jug, put the marketing signs back in the trailer, and so on.

Two Fails

We were nearly done, and then a phone call popped just as we were getting ready to do our last task before leaving. Answering that phone call distracted us enough that we forgot to raise the scissor jacks that stabilize the trailer. To add insult to injury, I was irritated by the call and anxious to leave and failed to do my regular walk-around check — two fails.

We get in the truck, start to pull out and the trailer seemed to be stuck; the solution? Press harder on the accelerator. It was then we realized we forgot to lift the scissor jacks.

We lifted the jacks, with difficulty, and left. Once at our home base, we examined the jacks for damage. It turned out I bent the jack screws on two of them. They are usable, but they do complain about going up and down! I should probably replace them, but the distractor is that they are welded to the trailer’s frame. I don’t do welding.

Lesson Learned?

Bottom line? Don’t forget your task list. Better yet, do something physical that will remind you. For us, that means leaving the torque driver (the tool we use to lower and raise the jacks) on the passenger seat of the truck — IN FULL VIEW — rather than tucked neatly away, out of sight. Lesson learned, jacks bent.