Ukraine Refugee Assistance

In reply to DarkMonohue :

Another announcement: we have prizes to give away!

I can only say that i completely agree with what Bill said  

Aaron, thank you A LOT!!!

the prizes are COOL!!! you guys are COOL!!!

VikkiDp said:

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

Well, said person just placed an order for a 7.5kw generator. It should be here by the 16th!!!

We're still working out the details, but it's looking like we're going to be tossing this in the truck for Dr. Julia on our Christmas run!!!

Fingers crossed, y’all.

I still can't believe that it happened... i'm still in shock... it's just... WOOOOWWWW!!!!

Fingers crossed and toes too 

At this point, I'm crossing my eyes and legs too!

We had another arrival for our Soldiers' Christmas Care Package!

We have nearly $550 sitting in our bank account right now from two very generous donors on the Kyiv Independent's discord server that will be added to the Soldiers' Christmas gifts too!

Stuff is super frantic right now.  Mrs. Hungary is shopping as we speak.  Paypal is moving the Rehab center's money, and I still have e-mails from VikkiDp I haven't looked at yet!

That's amazing on the generator! My only concern would be if the 7.5k might actually be too large and/or heavy for her mobile use in some way. But even if so, I'm sure she'll find a way to put it to work one way or another. If there was ever any doubt about the resourcefulness of the Ukrainian people, there is none now.

Driven5 said:

That's amazing on the generator! My only concern would be if the 7.5k might actually be too large and/or heavy for her mobile use in some way. But even if so, I'm sure she'll find a way to put it to work one way or another. If there was ever any doubt about the resourcefulness of the Ukrainian people, there is none now.

It's 100kg, but we had the same concern.  We got a unit with wheels,but we figure a "two man lift" will be the way forward in a pinch.

One last delivery for our Christmas Care Package to our troops:

And here is the sum total.  One side for Yaro, one for Dr. Julia.

Included are hand-written post cards sent to us all the way from Texas! 🤘🏼

And we be SHOPPIN', y'all.  

And it is frantic!  Wish us luck!

And we be SHOPPIN', y'all.  

And it is frantic!  Wish us luck!

Here are your raffle prizes, all lined up and ready to go to their new homes. You still have a little time left to contribute to this run if you haven't yet. That's all it takes to qualify!

Reminder: first prize for biggest donation on this run is the Ghost of Kyiv (I had to order this one from Yurp as the US distributor doesn't carry it). Second place is The Tractor Wins, which we'll give to the second-highest contributor. Winners of the other three will be chosen at random. Prizes and shipping are on me as my way to thank you for supporting Bill's work.

Letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo!

Awesome job as always Bill! 

There's a story in today's Minneapolis newspaper about local firefighters donating supplies to Ukrainian first responders, and I thought it was worth sharing here.   Merry Christmas to Bill and Vikki, and thank you for your tireless efforts.

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Twin Cities fire departments deliver life-saving equipment to Ukrainian first responders
The effort has been led by Svetlana Vold, a St. Paul firefighter born in Belarus, to gather necessary equipment for emergency workers fighting the war in Ukraine.

Strangers helped Svetlana Vold start a life she couldn’t have imagined.  It was 2011 when Vold stuffed her belongings into two suitcases and moved to St. Paul. It was a chance for her family to start over after decades growing up in Belarus, where jobs for women are scarce. Vold “didn’t have anything” arriving to the United States.

Strangers heard of her struggle and pitched in, donating furniture, clothes and items her family needed to get by. So when war engulfed Ukraine more than two years ago, Vold, now a St. Paul firefighter, wanted to give back the way people had helped her.

She’s mobilized people across Minnesota to collect and deliver essential supplies to first responders in Ukraine. Since then, fire departments in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Eagan and Coon Rapids have gathered scores of equipment that could make a world of difference to first responders risking their lives overseas.

When Vold was growing up, she set aside her dreams to become a firefighter.  Born in Belarus during Russian occupation, Vold’s father was a fire captain who led many first responders into danger. But jobs for women were scarce at the time, and remain so today. Vold said there are about 200 jobs that Belarus bars women from taking, including many first-responder positions. When her husband and daughter won a green card to the United States in 2011, she witnessed the breadth of opportunities.

“When I moved here I remember walking like, ‘Women cut the trees, women drive the trucks, women do [all these]’ and I’m like, ’Oh my gosh, this is my world!’” she said.
When Russia mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Vold scoured for ways to help people. She volunteered with local organizations, cooking for Ukrainian soldiers who’d lost arms, legs, and other body parts requiring prosthetics.

As she learned those soldiers’ names and stories, Vold felt inspired to do her part as an aspiring emergency responder. She gathered medical supplies to deliver to Ukraine, bringing what she could to first responders as travel restrictions limited what people could transport. When the St. Paul Fire Department called to tell Vold it had accepted her application and wanted to schedule an interview, she told them it would have to wait for three weeks.

“I said to [Human Resources], ‘I’m actually in Ukraine right now,’” Vold said, recalling that conversation, “and it was amazing because she said to me, ‘Great! What are you doing? We can work with this.’”

St. Paul Fire Department Capt. Keith Golden said Vold’s trips were an opportunity to help everyone. Golden is assigned to Fire Station 7 on the city’s East Side and helps to manage the department’s equipment. Firefighters discard items that reach the limits of their shelf life according to U.S. standards, but Golden said those standards differ in Ukraine where emergency workers fight fires with little to no equipment.

“Compassion fatigue starts to limit people’s response,” Golden said of aid to Ukraine, adding that some ambulances have been targeted there in the war and many vehicles and stations were bombed. “[When] you start feeling like the world’s abandoning you, it’s nice to get a little influx of support.”

The equipment fire departments have collected includes more than 60 sets of firefighter turnout clothing, including jackets, boots, and other protective clothing, thermal imagers, medical supplies and nearly two dozen respirators. Vold said many firefighters in Ukraine work without such gear, even as some are killed responding to flames sparked by war.

“I still have in my memory the picture of a firefighter who’s hold[ing] his dad, who’s a firefighter too, and was killed,” Vold said, adding that some first responders now wear bulletproof vests over their equipment. “We’re not talking about political views. It’s more about helping people, because firefighters [are] not soldiers. Look at it this way: Firefighters are people who rescue people.”

Mykola Sarazhynskyy with Stand with Ukraine Minnesota can attest to Ukraine’s struggles.  Sarazhynskyy helps organize shipments between Minnesota and Ukraine. The gear will take a monthslong trek, first to Poland where it will be loaded into trucks, driven across the border and brought to a postal service hub to be shipped to responders in need.  “It’s very important because they risk their lives,” Sarazhynskyysaid.

In one case, Sarazhynskyy said a Ukrainian building was bombed, but firefighters were forced to wait for the flames to cool — even as people were trapped inside.
“Once they get this equipment, they will be able to respond faster and help people right away,” he said.

Vold documented emergency workers’ struggles in person, staying for three nights at a fire department 20 miles from the war zone. Some firefighters slept atop wood pallets. Others drove to fiery scenes in dated trucks with little equipment. You can feel the war from the station’s bunker, Vold said, bringing more value to any supplies they receive.

“The need is there,” said Minneapolis Fire Department Chief Bryan Tyner. “People need help all over the place, especially in Ukraine, who as we know is at war right now, and may not have access to a lot of these materials.”

Tyner said his department may partner with MATTER, the St. Louis Park-based organization helping to ship equipment, to make the supplies an annual initiative. MATTER hopes to send three shipping containers a month to Ukraine and other countries, and Tyner encouraged other Minnesota fire departments to donate supplies when they can.

Vold said she hopes other Minnesotans help, too, emphasizing that even small donations go a long way. It was true for her family, so Vold knows that can be the case for many more people.  “I’m glad that I’m part of this country now ... [but] you still care about your past and you still want the best things to happen in your home country,” she said. “That’s why you want to bring it to them and show them, ‘It could be a different life.’”

Volunteers Chris Witchger, left, and Kateryna Tkachuk pack equipment to send.

Over the holidays we visited a neighborhood that is known for every house being decorated every year... For the last 75 years. Each house had the word "peace" on a sign in the front yard in a different language. One in particular caught my attention. 

Wishing you peace in the new year, Vikki.

Everyone.  Just wanted to pop in and say we're home and safe.  All deliveries successful.  Lots to report.  Give me a minute to lick wounds, and I'll catch up on the thread.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Happy holiday's to you too, Bill! And to everyone!

Hello everyone!!!  Long time no see 

Hope you're doing well!!! 

Happy New Year, my best warm wishes to you all and your families!!! Have a GREAT year!!!

Thank you all for your help and support!!! 

Driven5 said:

Over the holidays we visited a neighborhood that is known for every house being decorated every year... For the last 75 years. Each house had the word "peace" on a sign in the front yard in a different language. One in particular caught my attention. 

Wishing you peace in the new year, Vikki.

Thank you, Justin 

We all hope and pray for that!!! and i believe it will be!!! 

Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) said:

Everyone.  Just wanted to pop in and say we're home and safe.  All deliveries successful.  Lots to report.  Give me a minute to lick wounds, and I'll catch up on the thread.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Can't wait!!!  

Thank you for all that you do!!! I'm proud to have you as my friend!!! 

There's no gettin around it.  It's taking me longer to recover from these

Trip report, here we go!

So we gotta go back in time to T-minus 1 day and Murphey's Law is in full effect.  The dishwasher just broke and I had to call in the day prior to work as I was laid out sick.

The sick day turned into a blessing in disguise though as I was feeling better towards the late afternoon and was able to use that time to get caught up on the packing of the truck.  Mrs. Hungary was up and at it as well.  She was awake until 10:30 the first night, and then awake and back at it by 2:30 the next morning.  Here's our total take for our children:

I'm the only guy in the office at this point as whatever bug is going around is laying us all out.  To give a quick status update, we have our import papers needed to cross the border, we do not have the diesel generator that was supposed to arrive by now, and Yaroslav (our electrical genius)'s gift has only just arrived (right at 16:30 this evening.  Almost the absolute last possible moment).

On my end, it's "papers, papers, papers".  I have a folder and I like things to be stacked in it exactly in the order I'm going to need them.  Everything is printed in triplicate, and of course there's also the kiddo's school routine I'm juggling as well.

The night of and I'm having the stereotypical fever dreams.  At midnight my eyes pop wide awake.  My body wont move but my brain is SCREAMING.  It thinks the alarm went off (it didn't) and it is shouting at my body to get moving:

"You have to get up.  You can not put this off.  You NEED to get up.  There is no second chance.  People are depending on you.  you HAVE to GET UP!!!!!!!"

Finally my arms start to obey even though I can't fight my eyes open, and I'm pushing myself into a weak push-up position.  I reach to turn off the alarm (which isn't going off) and the clock reads 11:59.

I collapse and go back to sleep immediately.

The dreams continue and of course the memory of them disappears as soon as my eyes pop open.  This time the alarm IS going off, but I'm in much better shape getting out of bed.  The dreams leave a residue that gives me the mental image of shifting from 5th gear into 4th, but something went wrong.  Either it wouldn't go into gear, or.....  No time to dwell on that now, it's time to get in the shower and get moving.

This bear is a terrible co-pilot, and Murphey keeps his law in effect.  Before I even hit the city limit sign in our 1-horse town, my GPS has already crapped itself out.  It's on my phone and I minimized it so I can fire up my music app (Tidal) and when I did, neither my music nor my GPS was working.  I had to pull over and sort things out (mostly by resetting both apps).

On the road, things aren't much better.  The weather is dreary, visibility is low, and I forgot to get fuel so only 30-minutes in and I'm already stopping.

Bleh.

After fuel comes the highway.  The truck is heavy, but I have no problem getting up to speed.  Traffic is kind of weird though and I'm still having trouble getting "into my groove".  It's weird because with the European "keep right except to pass", I can usually set a speed (110kph to 120kph on the speed-o) and just fall naturally into a rhythm.  This isn't happening this time, and I blame the heavier than normal traffic.

I try taking a few videos of me driving with the bear in the co-pilot seat, but it's all not very interesting at this point, and not worth sharing.  This is the boring part of the trip.  Just sit back, work the throttle, and let the kilometers pass by.  Stop for fuel as required...

and that's how we progress.  From 5am when I started to just before 8am when things went down-hill fast (well, up-hill really)

Somewhere in the Czech Republic I was driving up a hill on the highway and I downshifted into fourth gear to maintain speed on the highway.  My speed in fifth had dropped from 110kph to about 100kph, and this is normally where I drop a gear to keep my speed up.  Nothing out of the ordinary.

Once at the crest of the hill though, I noticed the gear lever didn't want to move anymore.  Pushing on it to try to get it back into neutral was like pushing on a solid wall.

Clutch in, push?  nope

Losing speed now, but clutch in and PUSH?  nope

Ok, clutch out.  Let's get our speed back up and think about things...

I pour over what might be happening in my head and come up with a few ideas.  The third to 4th gear synchro hub could be caught on one of the sychros and maybe I can un-stick it by loading and unloading the gearbox by working the throttle.

nope.

Ok...  Intelligence didn't work, lets see if I can REALLY force it.

Nope.  But not only "nope", I'm going to break something else if I keep pushing on the gear shifter this hard...  Whatever it is, this is my gear and this is where I'm stuck.

Speaking of "stuck", I'm still in the EU.  This is great, but how darn much is it going to cost me to get a tow truck out here???  Could I just keep going like this?  The devil pops up on my shoulder at this point and whispers "hell yeah, you can!  Let's do it!"

I'm inclined to listen but there's that other voice in my head "Listen.  You're still on your home field.  You've got a fault that's only going to get worse the further you go.  There's still a chance you can save this if you can limp the truck home"

I decide that's the one I'm going to listen to.  I'm not 20-years-old anymore, and mad thrashes in broken vehicles takes its toll on me on the best of days.  I look at my fuel gauge as it's dropping near 1/3 of a tank and decide the ultimate decision will be made when I stop for fuel.  If I can get this out of gear with the engine turned off at the fuel pump, then I'll continue into Ukraine and just not shift into 4th gear (for fear of it getting stuck again).

I begin looking at the exit signs for fuel stations.

The next fuel station is at a clover leaf and I could kiss someone for that sort of luck.  I'm envisioning a stop and then the option to continue through the clover leaf (for a U-turn) or to continue ahead as planned.  When I take it though, I'm quickly given a lesson into how dire this situation is as the fuel station is a left turn across an oncoming lane of traffic.  What's worse is that there IS traffic and it's an uphill climb on this off-ramp to get up and over the highway to make the clover-leaf u-turn.  Naturally, I've slowed to take the exit and now my engine is STRUGGLING to accelerate with the throttle wide open and a full load of supplies in the back.  It's everything the two of us can do to keep what little speed we have to crest that hill and begin accelerating, now in the opposite direction on the highway.  I honestly didn't think we were going to make it.  By the time I'm merging into traffic, I've only managed to get to just under 80kph.  This isn't even semi-speeds, but I'm breathing again.

Luckily, there's no traffic at this point in time and I'm able to merge safely without much "do".  Taking in the situation: I still need fuel (and the station needs to be in-line with the direction of traffic.  No more funny turns), starting the truck from a stop is out of the question, 85kph is about 2500rpms, and now I'm following a semi.

With the big-rig infront of me, I take the opportunity to send a voice message to Mrs. Hungary via whatsapp:

"Hey, this is the sit-rep.  I need you to contact VikkiDp.... this is where I'm at now and this is what I plan to do.  I'll be stopping as soon as I can for fuel and will give an update then!"

Mrs. Hungary hero's up and takes charge.  VikkiDp is contacted and she sends a voice reply back that she's up and standing by to assist if she can.  Now the only question-mark is that fuel stop, but I have an idea...

Pulling in to the next available fuel station was a breeze.  Come in a little hot, clutch in and let it coast to the pump.  Thankfully there was no one at the pump, so I could pull right up.  Also thankfully, if my math is correct then this station is exactly 1-tank of fuel away from my driveway (and I've done a lot of math at this point to determine this much).  If I can get this thing moving again, then all I have to do is mind the fuel consumption, avoid traffic, and I'll coast into my driveway in just under 4-hours. 

Here goes.

Fuel is paid for, and a push out of 4th gear is attempted.  No dice.

Ok, failing that we're going to need to start from a full stop.  No dice.

I don't have to try this more than once to know that even if I absolutely COOK this clutch, the truck will not move from where it currently sits.  It's just too... damn... heavy...

I had a back-up plan though that I was hoping I wasn't going to have to use.  I put the transfer case into low-range and am able to get moving with no problem.  Unfortunately, 4th gear in low range is a lot like 2nd gear in high-range and this means I'm going to top out at about 40kph.  Add in that the gears in the transfer case aren't synchronized and I know that I'm going to grind these like a (youknwowhat) when the attempt is made to get it back into high-range.  BUT, since 40kph on the highway is a non-starter to begin with, we're going to have to do this.

So get the truck away from the pumps and behind the station is a long lane made for semi-truck parking.  It's a lot like a rest area.  I use that lane to accelerate to top speed in low-range.  I push in the clutch to unload the gears and attempt to shift into "high".  No dice, too much grinding and I don't want to damage things further.  Still off the gas and slowing, I keep 2-finger pressure on the transfer case shift lever and it pops into "high" around 30 to 35kph.  4th is absolutely BOGGING at this point and the engine is somewhere 800rpms (if even that).  I can feel every cylinder hit, and could probably count them on my fingers, there's so much time between.

All while this is going on, I'm still moving the t-case shifter through 4-high and back into 2wd.  I'm successful without anymore grinding, but quickly decide I never want to do that again.  None of this changes the fact that I am still going WAY too slow by the time I hit the on-ramp.  It's uphill and even though my entry speed was about 40kph (quicker than the speed limit in that rest area, I'm sure), the engine is still struggling to climb beyond 1100rpms.  To keep speed, I'm using every trick in my book:

1) Get on the gas as early as possible.  Stay there.

2) look ahead.  The further you look the faster you can go

3) don't just hit the apex's, absolutely HIT them.  Make the track as straight as possible.

The slight bend in the onramp would have slowed me on any normal day, but today I don't mind beating the curbs to death with my tires.  I was nearly able to make a straight shot onto the highway and we're back near semi-truck speeds again.  When my GPS tells me it's 38km until my next instruction, I feel like celebrating!

I have a lot of time to think at this point.

Might we get lucky with a quick fix?  Or should I build up that spare transmission I have sitting in the garage?  How the heck am I going to get pointed back east, maybe over winter break (Dec 25 through the 28th)?  Oh snap!  How am I going to get through those small cities off the highway between me and home???

Like I said, I have lots of time to think of solutions at this point, so that's what I occupy my mind doing.

3000rpms and 100kph.  This is the minimum speed to be able to use the motorway out here, and I'm JUST able to do it.  To mask my efforts (or inability?) a bit, I'm following the big semi trucks and only passing the ultra-slow ones.  I figure doing so will keep the RPMs down and save the engine.

At some points, I'm being passed by other semis

This doesn't feel normal at all, and it's incredibly weird being on this side of an elephant race, but I guess this is where are now...

At some point we had to slow for construction and I go into a mild panic.  "What if we have to stop for traffic?????"

It's only 8:53 now...

Then I begin to wonder:  What is traffic like in the big cities at noon?  Bratislava is the only big city I see on the GPS map, but if it's "stop-and-go" then I'm screwed.

I'm following a van pulling an empty car trailer now, and am feelin jealous.  What I wouldn't give to be able to flag him down and let me drive up on the back.

The construction clears and we make our merge onto the next highway, and now we have 33km until the next GPS instruction.  When things slow, I drop back a little and open the gap between me and the semi in front of me.  This allows me to keep my speed up a bit (or at least to not slow down as much).  If the semi leaves me in the dust, then I find myself on the weird side of an elephant race as another one passes and I simply stay on his tail until we need to rinse and repeat.

Only once did we need to stop for traffic on my way back to Hungary.  At first I was able to slip the clutch a bit to keep things in gear, but eventually I was forced back into 4-low which meant a complete stop while traffic slowly crept forward.  I was only in that gear for a mad minute before I was grinding my way back into high-range again and cursing my bad luck for having to shift.

And you would think that was the hardest part, but you might be wrong.  About an hour to go until my exit in Hungary and the urge to use the bathroom came on, and it came on STRONG.  It's been three hours at this point, and I hadn't given it much thought.  But here we are on the home side of the Hun border and I have really got to stop to pee.

Bad news is, traffic is slowing again, and then it comes to a complete stop. 

The first time this happens, I drop into 4-low.  What's funny is there's a Mercedes sedan that's having a worse time than I am and I end up passing him (he pulled onto the shoulder) as we accelerate and I work my way back into 2-high.  The next time we slow, I'm only 500m from my exit so I decide to idle in 4th down the shoulder to make my turn.  Thank goodness there were no police.  They're HUGE on busting people for doing exactly this around here.

Ok, but now a new problem.   This city has a speed limit of 50kph.  It's not "small" and I have at least 4 roundabouts to get through, all with their unique challenges (traffic, various exits, some have traffic lights for pedestrians....)

First roundabout, here we go:

I need the first exit.  This is the roundabout that will have the most traffic.  Again, I'm looking WAY ahead and can slow enough early enough that I can get back on the gas super early.  My plan works, and I absolutely NAIL a 4-Runner size hole in traffic.  The apex of the turn  gets kissed by my driver's side tires and I'm out the first exit at almost normal speeds (again, majorly bogging around 40kph but climbing slow).

The guy behind me passes on my left.

Second roundabout:

Not much traffic this time.  Most of the oncoming traffic continues straight so all I need to worry about is keeping speed up.  It's a 2-lane roundabout and I'm in the right lane (so, the sharpest turn).  I enter at 50kph, and REALLY let the truck lean while the weight transfers from side to side.  My foot stays flat on the gas as SOON as it's off the brake and I absolutely PUNCH the apexes of the turn with my tires.  Coming out the other side I'm back at 50kph and looking towards the next roundabout

Third roundabout:

Still about 400-meters ahead, but I see what I've been dreading this whole time.  Red-lights for pedestrian crossing....  I lift off the gas and start to slow WAY early.  I keep the engine speed around idle (1000rpms) in gear and traffic behind me passes on the left.  The light turns green and there's that moment where the cars need a second to get moving.  The vehicles that passed on my left are braking as they enter, but I'm going slow enough I don't have to.  As soon as I see the last car in my lane come off it's brakes, I'm flat on the gas again.  The apexs get some love from my tires and out the other side, I'm perfectly distanced with traffic.

Fourth Roundabout is as easy as pie.  Now for a 20minute break before I hit a smaller town with two roundabouts.  The second of which will have me pointed toward my driveway.  Just like in the bigger city, I plan WAY ahead and just like the big city, I hit them both as smooth as butter.  Nothin for it now but the second star to the right and we're off till morning:

No time to waste.  Tomorrow we start our tear down:

Well, that doesn't sound stressful at all...

In reply to Driven5 :

He he.  *yet 😎