Lucky Brakes

With all the little weaning sessions that we went through over the last five months, the bull pen is once again stocked up. Two of the bulls have been sold already but are still going to be hanging around for a month or two so they can mature a little more before moving on to their own herds.

The rest of the fellas are busy growing as well and we have place our regular ad in the Capital Press (our local Pacific Northwest Ag Paper) announcing their availability. The nine yearlings scuffle, jostle and scrounge around each feeding inside the manger area of the barn. Eating is a big deal to these growing boys and they each make sure they get their fair share. The hay stockpile and the ton bags of grain are going quickly.

With a break in the weather and rain scheduled, Mike called ahead to assure The Feed Palace had our mix available and headed south on the holiday to the Rickreall/ Corvallis/Harrisburg/Philomath area of mid-Oregon. Likewise, those others seeking a little refuge from their own places had been on the road also from the reports it sounded like the highways look on summer holiday weekends, but Mike was not to be deterred because we had empty feed bags at home with very hungry bulls awaiting.

With the short winter days, Mike had to start out from the farm a little after 4am in order to be able to get back home and unloaded before the evening chores and the end of the daylight. All was going well, or so I thought, until I got a phone call after noon. Mike was lumbering the laden pickup home and had made it as far as McMinnville when he pulled into a Les Schwab Tire outlet to assess why he was having trouble with braking and had a burning smell coming from the tires.

The issue was quickly diagnosed and the calipers were fried.

Another looming issue was that this particular Les Schwab Tire facility is one of the busiest ones of the whole chain and are booked full constantly. They had the parts needed but no body that could do the repair, it was expected to be a two hour wait before a time slot along with an open bay would be available. There could be no driving home without secure braking ability, no way to unload two-one ton bags of grain, nothing to do but wait until a technician could begin the work.

Less than 20 minutes into the wait, a cancellation appeared. The pickup was moved into the open bay and before Mike could call me with the good news, the pickup was hoisted, the tires removed and several technicians were magically doing their thing (I am paraphrasing here because I do not know what a caliper is much less how it is rebuilt, replaced, fixed or made more caliper-like). Within the hour my phone pinged with the bill. The total charges were $0.00!

We had replaced the calipers about a year and a half ago at our local Les Schwab so they were covered under warranty. It was truly lucky brakes all around not only to be able to drop in during a very busy holiday into a very busy facility but one who had the parts handy and a staff that could handle the emergency quickly and completely. With a zero balance to boot!

Mike was able to get home and get the grain bags unloaded just before it was time for the evening chores.