07/13/2024
WATER. Most people take it for granted. You turn on the faucet... or the hose... and water comes out. And, you never think about it. Then, you get your Water Bill..... and you are mad that you have to pay for water.
Well, let me help you be GRATEFUL for your Water Company who provides you water.
Over the last 2 to 3 weeks..... I've had an abundance of "Water Bills"....
You see.... where my ranch is..... we don't have "Public Water". We have a Water Well. And, when the Well goes DRY.... We HAUL WATER in 1000 Gallon Trailers. (and our Well has been dry or virtually dry for Years. I've been hauling water since around 2011.
And, NO... digging a deeper/better well is not an option where I'm at. There is no water.
2 or 3 weeks ago..... My Water Trailer (that is OLD, and has hauled enough water to Sink the TITANIC).... had another Wheel Baring (sp?) go out... AGAIN.
I hauled a half load of water on 3 wheels to make sure all the horses had a little water... and then took the Water Trailer to Kirby's for them to repair it.... Again. They do a great job, and take great care of me. They said it was SO Worn out, that the Axel needed replaced. So, I took it to Wheeler's. After removing tires, and taking measurements... we had a Game Plan to find a new axel for my trailer.
Meanwhile.... I kept my "THREE - Legged Trailer" to haul "Half-Loads"... and Pray we didn't have a blow out. It was a Huge struggle to keep water for all the horses, cows and donkeys for many days, only hauling 500ish Gallons at a time. Water for the house was secondary..... so... no water for the house.
Meanwhile, the great folks at Wheeler's were trying to find an axel the right size. And, it did NOT exist! After about a week... we decided that getting 2 Custom Made Axels was our only choice.
Desperate to haul enough water for our livestock in 100+ degree heat... I borrowed an old truck from my Dad.... and I drug another old Water Trailer out of the weeds and aired up it's 3 existing tires.... and limped it to Wheeler's.
That old trailer had a 1000 gallon tank, GOOD Axels, but OLD/No tires, and the wheel barings (sp?)needed repacked/serviced. The wheels on it were not compatible with the other trailer.
SO.... Wheeler's helped me. We put 4 New Tires on it, and packed the barings. A few hours later... and many dollars later..... I could haul 1000 gallons per trip!
Then, the day came when the phone rang, and the new axels had arrived. I took the 3-legged trailer to Wheeler's and left it with them for the day.
When, I went back that evening to pick it up.... my old trailer had been brought back to life! New axels and hubs. FOUR Tires attached.... and they even straightened out my old jack and got it working better. I was SO Grateful for them to work so hard to get me rolling again.
It cost around $3200 to do the repairs on the trailers last week, so I can HAUL my water. That doesn't include Trucks, Truck Tires/maintenance, Truck Insurance, FUEL, or Time.
So, when you write that check for Your WATER BILL..... write a Big THANK YOU on it, and think about how EASY it was (and Cheap) for you to have Water.
PHOTO- yesterday... my daughter hauled one water trailer, and I hauled the other, and we were in line to get water. Grateful my Dad is letting me borrow one of his trucks right now, so we can haul more water, faster.
GOD is Good! We all survived the last 2 to 3 weeks with limited water.
