Hey everybody, I'm the new guy. I go by Retro on the CB radio, so that's the username I picked here as well. I was referred to this forum by Sidewinder. We live pretty close to one another, and have worked together on a couple of scrap metal jobs that were too big for me to handle by myself. I live in a rural county in eastern Kentucky. I served 6 years in the US Army, 1 of which was in Iraq, and received my honorable discharge in 2012. I also have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Upon coming back I've worked several different jobs, and haul off scrap metal to supplement my income, especially when regular work is scarce. Sometimes I use it just to have a little extra pocket money for the "extra" things I want.
I use a 1999 Dodge Dakota, 3.9L V-6, 5 speed manual transmission, 2WD, with 211,000 miles as my work truck. I have a toolbox in the back with everything in the world to help me load scrap metal, rescue cars, and generally get work done. I've got a CB radio in it with a 102" whip antenna that I use for communicating with friends and family members, especially while driving because it's a lot less distracting than a cell phone.
I enjoy hunting, talking on the CB radio, working on my truck, scrapping, etc.
The project that "really" got me into hauling scrap metal was a camper trailer my uncle used to live in. My uncle Earn died several years ago, and he lived the majority of his life way out in the woods in a small 16 foot camper trailer. The guy who owned the land, about 10 years later, told me that he wanted it moved, so he told me if I'd get rid of it and clean up for him, I could have the metal. So I cut the aluminum siding off, burned the wood and paper parts, and bagged up the insulation and glass to take to the local waste management people. When I got down to the floor, I realized that the frame of the thing was 2x4" C channel steel that was still in pretty good shape, even after sitting in the same spot for 30+ years, and the axle even still had grease in it and the bearings were in good shape, so I took a bunch of deck boards and put a fresh floor on it, put some brake lights on it, and turned it into a flatbed trailer to pull around with my truck for hauling everything from my riding lawn mower to scrap metal. That first scrapping project made me a couple hundred dollars in aluminum, and got me a trailer with an insanely strong frame that I've used ever since for all sorts of other projects.
Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself as the FNG. Looking forward to being an active part of the community, :-)
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