my first spartan, by sam harkness aged 42

1955, spartan imperial mansion, 43 foot long - 

picking this lady up and dropping her off was always going to be logistically and horizontally challenging but on the flip side potentially rewarding.

first ups, i needed a wrecking co to get her out of the mud and get some new rubber on those split rims for the journey. Hovis Truck Service fitted the bill, as not many folks like to touch the smaller split rims -

already late evening Hovis held the trailer over night and we hoped to be on the road to port early in the morning.

but a sudden major pile up on the motorway meant we no longer had priority and Hovis Truck looked like a ghost town while all staff hit the highway. while slightly frustrated, we began to realise how bad the pile up had been.

we decided to hit the breakers and find 5 wheels that would last the journey, easier said than done. but despite the remote location and the weather, we managed to get what was needed and finally hit the road, albeit a little behind schedule.

destination baltimore, full steam ahead.........

opps...

two of those wheels had rusty lug holes and had wore out the threads on the on of the hubs..

time to drop the drum off and find a repair shop plus a new rim!

very frustrating, as it did not mention this could happen in the troubleshooting section of the spartan home owner's manual -

time to hit the road again, baltimore 21222 here we come.....

the rest was photographed but because of the port security we are unable to share the photos with you :-) ....

then came southampton, because of towing regulations, we drafted in some help  -

then a little more help to get this old lady to bed after a long journey east -

well, what a journey.......

the funny thing is 'it has only just begun'

stay tunned, my next one involves a newspaper interview int he mid west......