My first visit to the new TM plant in SD
Bill - You may want to move this to another place if you think it would fit better there. Thanks for all that you do for this site! Kemper
I meant to write about this last summer, right after my visit to TM but my job swamped me for months. I hope late is better than never.
In mid-July I was returning east on I-90 when I noticed that the front rubber pads had worn completely thru and the top shell was resting on the bare metal frame. I bought a pool noodle and cut it into sections as a temporary measure. I stopped for the night in Mitchell, SD. After very strong storms the night before, I awoke the next AM to a flooded (2-3") campground. While waiting for the water to recede, I went online and saw that the address on the TM site was not far away. It took a little over 30 minutes to arrive at the address listed which had a sign that said "Old Elm Springs Colony" but no TM sign. I drove around to a building that looked similar to the building on their website but the only sign said "OES Industries". A man in a pickup stopped me and I told him why I was there. He looked sort of perplexed and told me to go in the door under the "OES" sign.
Inside, I met Jeff (Geoff[?]) who explained to me that the OES Colony bought TM but they were already maxed out making industrial-type trailers so they farmed out TM to the Upland Colony where all the TM equipment was shipped and set up. The two are over 35 miles apart. Jeff gave me directions and I headed out.
On that day, going from one colony to another turned out to be quite an adventure due to the rain the night before. There is no way to get to the Upland Colony without driving on dirt roads. Normally, they are in very good condition. However, on that day they had been saturated with the rain. On several occasions I had to "power thru" low muddy spots with my TM fishtailing behind me. Then I came to an intersection where it was obvious the road ahead was impassable so I was forced to turn. After working my way around a second such road, I stopped and was confused. I was thinking that it was not in the cards for me to go to the plant, when a FedEx truck drove up.
I flagged down the driver and told him my destination. He laughed and said "You can't there from here!". He then added that he'd just made a delivery at the TM plant but it was very tricky because of the rain. It took him over 5 minutes using his FedEx app to find a route for me to take. He knew which roads were passable.
It was a joyous time when I finally saw the TM sign. I had planned to buy the pads and put them on myself later, particularly since the front and bottom of my TM were coated in over an inch of mud that was like concrete (it even had small rocks in it). They insisted that they'd put them on for me for no charge. It took at least 10 minutes to get the mud off to where they could get the work done. Four or five guys came over and asked me all about my experience with my TM. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them! They seemed to be determined to be successful. l must say that the building they built is impressive. It's bigger than the plant in Lake City.
BTW - They told me that they were completing two TMs a week. I'd met a truck carrying two of them west on I-90 in Idaho a few days earlier.
As I was writing this, I started to think, I wonder if any other TM owners have visited all four TM plants? I have: Lake City, TN, Jacksboro, TN, Hartington, NE, & Artesian, SD
When I get a chance, I'll write about my 2nd visit to the SD plant on my way west.
Kemper, the XC ROVER
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Kemper
2008 2720SL - 7 cross-country trips so far + ventures into western Canada
2002 2720SL - 70,000+ miles before being retired to the farm
2015 Ford F150
"A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot and realize how blessed you are for what you have." -- Author Unknown
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