Yurt Delivery!

Our yurt arrived on Monday September 24th, via RAC Transport.  This is the second time we've received a shipment via their freight trucks.  We've been very impressed with their customer service, both in their offices and with their drivers.

The ACE hardware here is fantastic.  Super helpful folks and super nice.  For their customers, they will use their forklift to move heavy shipments for you.  So, we rented a trailer and they lifted the huge crate off the freight truck and got it onto our trailer.  The crate was 4x8x4 and weight 1000#!  The boxed rafters on top of it were another 315#.

As the forklift operator lifted the crate out of the truck I watched as the crate started to tip nose down - eep!  But, the guys were ready and it only took a balancing hand on the crate back by the forklift to balance it.  (They also lowered it so it was only a foot off the ground or so while moving it to the trailer.)

The trailer had side rails, so had to be loaded from the end.  They placed it in as far as they could reach, then retracted the lifts a bit and moved it forward again. At first, it looked a bit worrisome with all that weight on the back of the trailer!  But, with a nice solid board on the crate for protection, they were able to use the forklift to shove the crate forward.

Our little Ford Ranger towed it to the property with no trouble at all!  I have no pictures as I forgot my darned camera that day!

Next up, how to get this huge, heavy crate off the trailer???  Well, you wrap it with towing straps and then attach it to another set of towing straps wrapped around a nearby oak tree and then you very slowly and carefully drive the truck forward.  Yup, we gently pulled the trailer out from under the crate.  We did need to use pry bars to help ease the crate up over the lip of the end of the trailer where large hinges joined to a ramp.  Then we had some round poles we laid on the ramp and the ground at the bottom of the ramp.  That huge crate just gently mosied down the ramp and onto the ground.  It was way less scary looking than the forklift moving it.

So, that was that for that day.  We covered it with a tarp.  Our Yurt Raising had to wait until Thursday.