Everybody seems to be doing it EBay &045; even Freeborn County.

By the end of this month, Freeborn County government will do what thousands do: try to sell property on eBay, an Internet auction site.

&uot;That’s what government should be doing. They should be using the Internet,&uot; said Ron Gabrielsen, Freeborn County administrator. He said he didn’t know of any other local municipal governments using the site.

People have used eBay to sell everything from Star Wars memorabilia to cars, and have even attempted to sell their souls and body parts at one time or another.

Freeborn County’s property is a rare 1963 all-wheel-drive International Harvester Travelall 1200, a six-and-a-half-ton truck. The county acquired it in 1963 with federal and local matching funds, intending to use it to respond to emergencies. But the county has rarely used it.

The monster &045; painted in brown and tan with the sheriff’s emblem on the side &045; has spent most of its life in various county buildings accumulating surface rust underneath and a few tiny rust flecks on its sides. It has about 6,000 miles on the odometer, some of it from being driven to various storage sites over the last 40 years.

Gabrielsen said he had read about EBay, and thought it would provide a chance to find a Travelall enthusiast who might pay a high price. He said he’s still researching were to start the bidding.

Sheriff Mark Harig said the vehicle has spent some time at county fairs, but thought it could fetch some money since its so unusual.

He said it was intended for emergency situations, but most emergency situations are medical emergencies, something for which hospitals typically have the necessary transport vehicles. He said he has only used it once &045; in the mid-’80s during the Hormel strike in Austin when a news crew crashed their helicopter. Before the FAA arrived to conduct an investigation, he ensured that the crash site wasn’t altered.

With the car getting so little use, it was often difficult to start, making deputies use other county four-wheel-drive vehicles when needed.

He said it’s impractical as a vehicle since its gears are so low, with a top speed near 50 mph. &uot;It’ll go through anything, but it won’t go through anything fast,&uot; Harig said.

Rick Glancy, owner of Super Scout Specialist in Springfield, Ohio, which specializes in selling late-model International Harvesters, said that Travelalls from the ’60s are rare but aren’t as sought after as other models and later years. He had no doubt someone would want it, but warned that it’s a buyers market. He said they’ll usually fetch about $1,000 to $3,000.

However, &uot;there’s people that might chomp at the bit for something like this,&uot; he said, &uot;and they’ll pay whatever you want for it.&uot;

He said he might even be interested but he couldn’t say without having seen it. He may see it next month on the Internet.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock @albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)