I dodged a (hydraulic) bullet today; leaving at 6, driving 2 hrs., and after working 4 hours then another 2 hours to get back to town to lift a deck roof on the back of a house I'd set trusses on a few days before. Then right before my third job of the day, another 1 hr drive, one way, away, while hooking up my ball to the front bumper sling, I notice the ground was wet......Turns out I had rubbed through (road vibration, 110,000 miles, with original lousy routing of the hoses) one of the lines to my rarely used/needed front stabilizer. It could have happened on setup on my 2 hr drive in the morning, (making the drive a total waste of time and diesel) or before the porch job, but it happened at what was the most convenient time, and only 5 minutes from my crane yard. Once the PTO was disengaged, the leak stopped of course, and I was able to pull the lines and make it to the local hydraulic hose shop 5 minutes before closing, and the guys stayed 10 minutes late to get me back on my way. I got every green light across town, there and back. I will make my 7:00 job tomorrow morning as scheduled, then my pushed back grain mill job later, pretty good day for a Monday.
I failed to note which line went where to the front stab, and though only one line had a hole, I am replacing both, and I have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. My guess is no harm will be done if I get it wrong, that right?