04/18/2020
If anyone is interested in what has been happening at Waste Away Septic, here is a quick update. After about 3 years of debating what to do about an upgrade to my familiar old "Flag truck" due to the inevitable rust and rot that attacks our New England vehicles and a brief intent to build a new truck about 2 years ago (some of you might remember the Mack project I started) I decided that the best thing to do was to stick with what I believe is about the best septic truck on the road in these parts and give the old girl some much needed lovin'. The plan was to replace the entire frame of the truck along with any and all worn or tired parts, plus refresh the tank and vacuum pump and fix a bunch of little issues at the same time. Let me just say that most people are not aware that my truck is a 1998 cab and chassis that I purchased in 2002 with 50,000 miles from a grain company in Minnesota and I had the tank built by Andert Inc in Eastford Ct., a premeire septic truck builder, and this truck has been on the road faithfully and driven only by me since being put into service in May of 2003. This is a truck worth keeping.
The following work took place;
- Employ Jolly John's Truck and Equipment Repair in Moosup Ct. to do the major overhaul for Waste Away and replace the double and triple rail frame with a new, thicker 1/2" single rail frame. A single rail can be touched up inside and out while a double rail frame is two frames bolted together for strength and rust forms between the rails making it impossible to control.
- Rebuild the baffles inside the tank itself.
- Refresh the original vacuum pump with new vanes and seals
- Refinish the pump bracket, pump exhaust muffler and tool box brackets. One tool box bracket I had to make new as it was too rotted.
- Replace the two 3" intake ni***es and valves
- Clean and repaint the undercarriage of the tank with chassis paint and sealer
- Strip, repair and resurface the rear bumper
- Replace any and all suspect airlines, hoses, fittings, valves and hangers under the chassis.
- Replace the fuel lines and fuel filter housing to eliminate an air leak into the fuel system
- Replace the A/C condenser and related components to refresh the system.
- Replace the front main engine cover seal to address a longstanding oil leak
- Replace the left front quarter fender that was ripped back by heavy slush 3 winters ago
- Replace all airbags, shocks and any suspect suspension components
- Install a new tag (3rd, liftable) axle
- Replace rotted steel wheels with all aluminum wheels
- Do some touchup to the paint on the tank in a few places
So on February 12th I took the tank off my truck and the clock began to tick as Waste Away was essentially out of business until this rig was back on the road. I had 4 fellow pumper companies who agreed to back me up if any customers were in an emergency situation and needed service right away.
What I hope to post is a photo story of the events that took place. In the end I am very happy with the results and I want to give a shout out to Jolly Johns for a job well done. If you have a heavy truck, farm equipment, diesel pickup, backhoe, giant excavator, forklift....almost anything with an engine, these guys will treat you right. I couldn't have done my end of things without Bob and Gary Studley's help. They removed and reset the tank for me as well as provided a shop and place to work on it things and loads of support. Thanks guys. Mike from MP Welding for the crash course in welding and the equipment to do it with. I spent 3 days inside that septic tank but it was worth the effort (and you wonder why I'm not afraid of a little Covid-19). Mike Perry Septic, Mumford Services, Ocean State Cesspool and Rick Nunes for providing the backup when I needed it. Lots of good guys in this industry if you know where to look.
And last, I want to thank all of my loyal customers for their patience. After 21 years in business and 17 years with this one truck I finally had to ask for a little down time to rebuild so I can confidently offer another 15-20 years of reliable service. Thank you to those who stuck with me. I got my truck back around 4pm on Friday the 10th of April and worked in my shop until just after midnight and got the vacuum pump and brackets mounted and ready for the tank the next day. Saturday we set the tank on and fixed a power steering fitting that was leaking. Saturday night was a little earlier as I tapped out around 11:30pm. I got the wiring done Sunday morning and put the finishing touches on everything and by about noontime Easter Sunday I struck out to begin getting caught up on my work. It's 12:09am on Sunday 4/18 as I type this. I think it will take me 2 more weeks of long days to be where I need to be with my customers. Oh, let's all remember the mad Toilet Paper Rush of 2020....I'm pretty sure I know where it all went.
