Today marks the first day of my journey down the road towards a mobile operation. Phase one, the securing of a solid, heavy duty trailer of specific proportions has been completed! I have been searching Craigslist for the past 3+ months, waiting for just the right opportunity to present itself. One of the many perks of working at home is being able to check it regularly, or even dedicating one monitor to the open browser window constantly refreshing the latest posts. Several days ago, such an opportunity arose, and like a savvy gardener, I plucked that rose right off the stalk.
It took a few days to connect with the seller, and a few different bargaining discussions to finalize the deal. I find it hard to approximate value on an item I’ve never seen, but the ad said best offer, and it was clear from the one low res jpeg that this was indeed the trailer in my future. My first offering grabbed the attention of the seller, but fell short by a few feet. I upped the ante with a couple custom pies and a favorite beverage to accompany and the same dollar amount. No go, today’s economic times churn the pangs of the wallet, not the stomach, and my second offer was rejected.
I stared at the screen, and debated my next move. The choice was obvious, it had been a few days now since I first saw the posting, and I really couldn’t get it out of my head. It was the same color as my truck, it was the exact size, and it has a tremendous weight load capacity. Any doubt that remained was quickly washed away as I made the final pitch. I upped it $50 and threw the dice. Two days, a weekend passed, and no word.
As anyone knows with Craigslist “bidding” there is only a short window to make the transaction, so I was fairly certain my game had ended. A better offer had surely swayed my seller away from me, more cash, no doubt. I had been out-bid. I did mentally give up for just a minute, and tried to let it slip away. I’ve found over the years this is the best course of action when a loss is inevitable. Give it away in the mind, and the material world may just right itself. If you love it set it free, that kind of thing. So away it went and I stopped checking the email and headed for Tahoe, one last ride this season.
Well guess what? To make a short story even longer, I got the trailer, the seller agreed to my final cash offer, and now its mine, mine, all mine. Just as I had seen it in the dreams. He was just out of town and hadn’t returned emails! Woo hoo! So, that was the easy part.
Now to build a second oven, and find some knowledgeable metal fabricators who love pizza and can help me secure it to this beast. Its all steel frame, square tubing, nice and phat. It’s got a little rust, but it’ll clean up nice. I’ve got a plan in the works, and am actively seeking welders and fabricators who can help build the chassis to support the oven and hold all the wood!
huhuhhh wood.
Heres a couple pics! Holy shit, its starting….