Big Ass Station Wagon Update

 So its been a few weeks now since I bought a used Yukon XL. Did I get a lemon or a decent used vehicle? Almost right away I noticed it was pissing oil in my driveway. It didn't take long to realize it was power steering fluid. A quick text message to the salesman to confirm they'd stand behind it and then an appointment for it to be looked at. I had to wait over a week to schedule the repair because I would need a loaner. No problem, I'm a big boy and can add power steering fluid as needed.
 I showed up at the dealer and had to pull into one of their reception bays to drop the rig off. The bays are marked "trucks" and "cars". Hmmm. Nothing marked "big ass station wagon" or "oversized suv". While it would mean nothing to anyone else which bay I picked, in my mind it would forever solidify the way I feel about this rig. I was early and had time to give it some thought, then I eased on into the truck bay. Really, when you crawl underneath this thing its not much different than a 1/2 ton pickup...or is it? It turns out the loaner would be a good comparison rig. They gave me a 2018 GMC Sierra 1/2 ton with the same motor as my Yukon. The difference would be a six speed tranny rather than the four speed in the Yuke.

 The new GMC had only 650 miles on it and the sticker showed an asking price of $51K. The interior was pretty nice but I suspect not the top end package. It was nice to be driving a new vehicle but that niceness kinda wore off a few miles down the road. First I didn't care for the feel of the steering. I think this truck uses an electric pump and it just didn't agree with me. Second, and the only thing that would really keep me from buying one of these if it were in my budget, is the six speed transmission. The transmission is an indecisive little bitch and spends an awful lot of time hunting for the best gear. To me it was just plain annoying and I'd never be able to live with it. I'm not just being picky. This annoyance revealed itself right away on flat ground and brand new asphalt. Even with cruise control set the trans spent a lot of time shifting back and forth.

 So how does the Yukon compare? As far as towing goes I don't know. I haven't hooked my trailer up yet. As far as power they felt close despite the fact that mine is much more used, but I'd have to give that one to the new GMC. At times there was a considerable lag between flat footing it and tire spin. Other times it felt normal and the traction control button didn't make any difference. Not sure what was going on there. Ride comfort and drive-ability go to the Yukon. That transmission is a huge no-go in the new truck so the Yuke wins that one too.  

 The dealer ended up putting a new steering rack and pinion in my truck. They also fixed an exhaust leak I was unaware of. They claim to have done $2000 worth of repairs (or at least thats how they will claim it on the insurance policy that came with the purchase). I was responsible for a $100 deductible. I can see the new parts, I know how long they had it and they washed it afterwards. No complaints from me. That's the second time Holiday Budget Center has treated me right after a used car purchase had issues. 

 So, its been a few weeks now since I bought a used Yukon XL. Its nothing fancy but I'm liking it. 

Later.

The Search Is Over

 If you've read this blog more than once in the last few months then I'm sure you know I've been in the market for a used truck or suv. I had been following the price drops on an F250 and when it dropped again over the weekend I decided to buy it and end my search. This was a v10 powered standard cab pickup. I texted my guy at the dealership where we bought my wifes BMW and told him I would be in to test drive it after work. We set up a time but unfortunately he didn't start work till noon and another salesman sold it that morning. I guess it wasn't meant to be.
 My needs are to be able to get to work when the roads are crap and also to be able to tow an enclosed trailer. I was thinking a gasser v8, auto tranny and 3.73 gears at minimum. What I found was an '08 Yukon XL with exactly that combo plus a locking differential all rolling on 20's. Once I yank the third row seating out I'll basically have a crew cab half ton with a permanent topper. Works for me.

 This Yukon has selectable four wheel drive, not awd and it does have low range. Its kinda cushy too with a smooth ride suspension and I felt comfortable sitting in it. There are a few other options I wasn't looking for but will enjoy like remote start, sun roof and a halfway decent sound system. Oh, I came in under budget too!
 I went to look at and buy it alone. That means its still at the dealership but they said they would deliver it. Sweet. I'll post again when I know if I picked a winner or a lemon.

Later.

Used Vehicle Search Continues

 Saturday at work sucked. There wasn't any particular reason why, I just couldn't get out of there fast enough. Thats not normal and I think I'm just getting anxious to go on vacation. The next two weeks are gonna be brutal.

 After work I went for a bike ride and stopped at a few dealerships to check out their inventory of used crap that might fit my budget. I wanted to see if a particular truck was still available. It had been there for quite a while and I was thinking of making them a lowball offer just to see how that played out. On the way I glanced down and noticed I was low on fuel. I don't normally let it get this low and if I were aware that I was running on fumes I'd have been nervous. Only 23 miles to empty. I know thats a quarter tank on some bar hoppers, or a full days use, but I don't roll that way.

 When I got there I spotted the truck from a distance but something wasn't right. The truck had a bit of bubbling rust starting around the fenders and those bastards recently put flares on it to cover it up. I call them rust covers. I hate that and these particular flares look awful and are a deal breaker for me. Too bad, this 3/4 ton would have pulled any load I hooked to it.

 That same lot had only one other candidate that would have met my needs.

 This Yukon was in fair condition and wasn't a full time awd. For me the third row seating would get shit canned and it would be just like a pickup with a permanent topper. When I look at this thing I daydream of pulling my bike and trailer down south on a cold winter day. I'd drive until the sun was shining and the roads were dry, then hop on the bike for a ride.

 Another dealer in the same town had a used truck lot so I decided to investigate. The first thing that caught my eye was a Toyota FJ Cruiser. I had a v8 powered fj40 decades ago and I guess its just kind of a nostalgia thing. That, and the fact that I'm drawn to ugly vehicles. Over the years I've owned a Corvair, an AMC Pacer and a Willys pickup. Its all good. Another vehicle on that lot really caught my eye. This black and orange Harley edition is a real looker.

 The last "truck" I looked at was this Avalanche. Not my first choice but I suppose it would do. A car like ride with the ability to do some light towing and even lighter hauling in its tiny bed. It was clean enough for the age and thats what caught my eye. 

 The latest news on our truck fund looks favorable in the dollar amount but I doubt the money will be available before I leave for vacation. Until then I'll keep poking around and see whats out there.

Later.

Farewell Old Blue...

...you barbaric hunk of junk. Gone are the little piles of rust that you shit on the driveway every time I close the door. Gone is the need to put you in drive for a moment before you'll even think about moving in reverse. Gone is the need for a 1200 watt sound system just to overcome the road noise from the street mudders and air leaks around the doors. You are gone and out of my life. Lets just leave it at that.

 So moving forward the search is on for a replacement. We've been putting money into a profit sharing investment that will end in a few weeks. I don't even know what my budget will be yet but I do know it will be at least ten grand. I'll find something in that range because we have no interest in a loan payment. My needs are quite simple. I need to be able to get to work even if the roads are snow covered at 2am. I need to be able to pull my 6 x 12 enclosed trailer on a limited basis. Anything else like heated seats or nicer trim levels are just wants and the budget will decide how far we can go with those. Half ton short bed pickups, Tahoe/Yukons and Grand Cherokees are the ones I've been eyeballin at the used car lots. Let me know if you see any deals out there.

Later.

Memorial Day Weekend

 If you're celebrating Memorial Day this weekend, why not take a minute to think about the meaning of the holiday. Too many people just take advantage of the time off and don't even know what its about. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

 Yesterday I had to work. The store was busy. People needed their landscape supplies to complete their Honey-Do lists and they needed parts for their lawn equipment. We're also a rental center and with the great weather a lot of equipment went out.
 Great weather? We reached record highs and will again today. It was really only great weather in the fact that it was sunny and didn't rain. The heat and humidity really kinda sucked and my Duluth Trading Buck Naked boxers had a hard time meeting the challenge butt in the end held up well.
 When I got home it was time to do some more of that yard work I started telling you about last time. A small tree had to be cut down and I wanted to load it in the back of my Dodge. Old Blue ain't run in a while and the battery was dead. It took all the extension cords I had to get the battery charger to the spot in the drive where it was parked. Once started, it wouldn't keep running. I think the idle air control unit is on the fritz because it wouldn't stay running on its own. This was frustrating as I was trying to back a trailer into a small space in the back yard. Later after the trailer was in place and the branches were loaded, the truck wouldn't start again and I was further away from my max extension cord length than before. Its frustrating when you have to spend time dicking around with shit that isn't getting the actual task at hand completed. Rant over.

 Last night might have been a perfect warm night for a dinner ride but I was just beat. We ordered in food and my wife even made the beer run for me. What a gal.

 Todays plans include a breakfast run, bike wash and day ride. Its gonna be hot but it should be a relaxing, care free day.
 Be safe out there.

Later.

On The Road Again

 Sorry if you thought I was referring to getting back on a motorcycle because I'm not. In fact we just got a few inches of snow the other day. I'm talking about the Subaru Outback that blew a timing belt back in November. Let me get you up to speed. After the belt broke the car sat in the garage for a while before a couple day stretch that was warm enough for me to tear the engine down and remove the heads. Turns out all sixteen valves were bent but everything else looked ok. A local machine shop went through the heads while I bought a complete gasket set, head bolts, timing belt, idle pulleys and water pump. Last week I had in my possession all the pieces and mother nature provided a few days above freezing.
 Bolting the heads on was easier than taking them off because I unbolted the motor mounts and slid the engine to one side and installed the opposite head. It was tight getting a torque wrench in there but it was doable. Actually, the worse part was that the torque sequence had me doing one bolt from the top then the next bolt from underneath, then back on top and so on. That sucked because its a seven step process per bolt.
 I think it was a Sunday afternoon and two nights after work for a few hours to get it all buttoned back up. I was working in the dark with the front of the car pointing out of the garage and just used a pen light to light my way. After making one last lap around the engine compartment I decided it was time to fire it up. Crank, crank, crank...nothing. Not a single pop. I had a check engine light flashing at me and the "cruise" light flashing too. Last time that light flashed it cost the dealer a new $800 catalytic converter. The car was still under warranty then. Anyway, I cranked a bit more hoping to hear something that sounded like an attempt to start but still nothing. It seemed to crank normal, meaning compression sounded good and no interference between valves and pistons. I whipped out my handy dandy pen light and made one more sweep of the engine compartment. Sure enough, hidden under the intake runner on the passenger side is the ignition module and I could see it wasn't plugged in. The wire harness for it got bunched up under the manifold and kinda hid there. I plugged it in, jumped in the car and tried starting it again. Vroom! It started right up!
 I was standing just outside the garage lookin in and the garage was filling with smoke. My Ultra is a big bike yet I couldn't even see it back there through the cloud. I quickly pulled the car outside. The car ran for maybe fifteen minutes and began overheating. Remember its dark outside and from the glow of the tail lights it looked like the car was still smoking. I thought it was blowing antifreeze out the exhaust like maybe I screwed up the head gasket install or maybe I had a cracked head. All those negative thoughts clouded my rational thinking so I backed the car in the garage and gave up for the night. I spent all night going through the repair and couldn't come up with a good reason for the problem. I'm not saying I'm too good to screw up cuz I make mistakes all the time but I didn't rush this job and it should have gone right.
 A few days later I borrowed a cooling system pressure tester from Al. Thanks Al. That test told me there were no leaks in the system. I fired the car up and to my surprise it didn't blow smoke but it did overheat. I started thinking logically and realized I just had an air pocket in the system. Once I got that bled out the car stopped overheating and the heater worked fine. I'm thinking all that smoke was raw fuel in the exhaust from when I initially cranked the piss out of it. I suppose anything left in there evaporated after sitting a few days. Oh, and to my surprise, all the flashing lights and check engine light just went away. Schwiiiiing!

 So this will be my ride until we're ready to upgrade the truck. I'll need the old Dodge for towing and hauling but thats about it. The only other thing the Dodge can do better is deep snow and off roading. I don't do much off roading and the chances for deep snow yet this year are slim.

Later.

General Bullcrap

 Its Saturday night, I've had a few beers and now I'm writing this blog so its a crap shoot on what you're gonna get. What should we talk about? Well its come to my attention that many of you are reading this blog while sitting on the toilet. First, that's a visual I didn't need and second I suppose its fitting that you're reading crap while taking one. This also means you're reading on your phone and I'm pretty sure the mobile version doesn't allow you to see the list of blogs I follow. If this is really the case then get on a computer and follow some of the links. A lot of these bloggers use actual cameras and they know how to take great pics. They also are good writers and have some interesting things to say. Check em out.
 What else do you want to talk about? Did I work on the tool hutch? Yes, but I'm tired of talking about it. I'll show you a pic when its done and in place.
 Hey, I got a piece of "jewelry" from Terry!

 Ya its a trekkie insignia. Science officer Scott reporting for duty. Remove that cap indoors and get a shave! Whatever. BTW, while I am a Star Trek fan, as far as you know this is the only time I'll wear it.

 In work related news, my bench is a mess. If you say that's not news I'd have to agree. I'm gonna try to clean up my act a little bit. It just makes it easier to not overlook a screw if the only ones laying on the bench came out of the current project.

 In other work related news we have finished the "tunnel" F550 project. The truck now has a new aluminum flatbed sitting on the tunnel. The hitch is ready to accept a back blade and next winter the bed comes off and the truck will get a salter.

 In still other work related news, It seems James has become the second operator to bend a back blade wing. (I'm not the other one) When the first one bent I thought there was a one in a million chance of hitting the tip of the blade just right to get it to bend rather than bounce off or break the shear bolt. Now I'm thinking the odds are closer to one in ten. At least nobody will ever hit that post again as James has decided to bring it back to the shop as a trophy. I'm good with that.

 Speaking of trucks, this is my old dodge.

 My wife used to call it barbaric. She drove it to get lunch the other day and has now down graded it to "a hunk of junk". Its gettin kinda crude and we plan to replace it some time next year so I've been giving that a lot of thought. What do I want vs. what do I really need? Well, I need to be able to occasionally tow my 6 x 10 enclosed trailer with one or two bikes in it. I need to get to work sometimes after the county has pulled the plow trucks from the roads. I need to be able to haul some stuff once in a while. I want something with decent power and rust free. Not sure exactly where the budget is gonna be on this one but I got a feeling I'm gonna be right on the edge of rust free unless I buy something with really high mileage. I don't need a diesel or a quad cab long box or a one ton dually or any other small penis compensator. I see a lot of Chevy Silverados out there that seem to be good deals but I'm really more interested in a Suburban or Yukon. I like that they are basically half tons with permanent toppers. If I decide to go smaller then maybe a Jeep Grand Cherokee or even a BMW X5 would make me happy. I've always wanted to own a Cadillac so I'm not ruling out the Escalade or EXT. I guess it just depends on whats out there once I'm ready to buy. Until then I'll just keep borrowing my wifes car on the weeks she is working from home and car pooling with her the rest of the time.

Later.

Trash Day

 Wife: "What's your blog gonna be about?"
 Me: "That pile of shit out by the road."
 Wife: "You're gonna write about a pile of shit?"
 Me: "Yep."

 I don't know how it goes in your town but here abouts we have a "bulk pickup" trash day once a year. It's always the day after Mothers Day. The thought process here is that if you're a broke ass bum and can't afford to take your mother out for beer and brats, at least you can go to her house and clean out the basement. If you're already living in her basement then you gots to clean out the garage or attic. Either way it's a chance to do something nice for your mom.

 As it turns out, it's also a chance for broke ass bums to stock up on free goodies. I'm not looking down on anybody here. I know we're all in different stages of broke, some just worse than others. At least these people are willing to help themselves and not whine about how the world owes them a life.  Now the way I see it, unless it's actual junk like grandpas old skivvies or an unwanted toe nail collection, most people put this crap out to the curb hoping someone will take it home and use it. We sometimes arrange certain goodies by the curb in a presentable manner, kinda like the way a guy stages a home for sale, so as to make our crap more attractive. I admit to occasionally hiding a valuable goodie in a strange spot just to see if someone is adventurous enough to find it. They always find it.
 Just before I started writing this yesterday a guy pulls up, turns on some music and starts carefully picking through everything out there. He claimed a lot of stuff and he was there a long time. I thought he was gonna break out a smokey joe grill, cook a meal and settle in.
 A little later I hear the clinker clatter of scrap metal dudes digging around in my trash. I looked out the window to see a full truck, or so I thought.

  Turns out the driver claims there was plenty of room despite the pleas from his two buddies that begged him to leave some stuff behind. He wasn't about to pass up a score like this and sure enough they got most of it. A local kid snatched up a big smoker grill before they could get it loaded. The two buddies were relieved.

  That a/c unit went on the truck too. These guys were from the next town over and I would be very surprised if those straps didn't let loose before they made their destination. I didn't have the heart to tell them they weren't gonna make beer or gas money with this load. I was just glad to see they were trying.
 I still have all day today to haul stuff out there. I like the relief that comes from cleaning out the garage but I find it hard to throw some things away. I told my wife, as I hauled a tractor fuel tank out to the curb, that I had been saving this thing for seven years because I might need it for a project. I'm now having regrets and I might go see of it's still out there. Other items have been robbing space in my life for much longer. It's a tough deal because I'm looking at stuff I know I'll never use but I come up with reasons to keep it. I should either get strong or get drunk and make the decision to get rid of it. The scrap metal collectors will have it picked up way before the trash man ever gets here.

 It used to be a hard to decide what to get/do for Mom on mothers day. Her garage was in good order and she didn't even have a basement. I have a reminder on my bike and think of her every time I go for a ride. If you can get this message Mom, just know that we miss you.

Later.

Another Back Blade Update

 The GoPro camera that I monster trucked while trying to get some Back Blade footage has been replaced with a Gopro Hero 5 Black edition. This camera is a bit different than the version I had before. There is now a video touch screen that makes changing settings a breeze and allows for instant playback. I'm not sure if the case/mount is as nice but it hasn't failed yet so I shouldn't complain.
 I put together some footage to show what the back blade can do. You'll notice in some of the scenes that the blade has down pressure and can really lift that hard packed snow without gouging the gravel lot. Well, check it out for yourself...

 I wanted to get a few more angles and a full width view in daylight but when I got to work I discovered that wouldn't be possible.

 It seems the night shift had an encounter with an immovable object. The outer edge of the wing took a direct hit that made it buckle. This was the only way it could have bent without busting the shear bolt. Shit happens and we'll fix it. The good news is that my welds on the plow mount all held. Gotta be happy about that.
 Does this change the way I feel about these back blades? Hell no. That wing is built heavy enough for what it was intended to do. If it were stronger the rest of the plow mount may have bent.
 The other day when it snowed throughout the day it was my mission to keep a certain large factory clear of snow and ice so trucks and forklifts could keep moving and employees could safely get in and out of the lots. When I've done this in the past with just a front blade I always struggled to keep up. Not with the back blade. The wider path and down pressure to scrape cleaner make a big difference.
 I know this blade isn't for everyone. I don't do residential drives on my route but I can see how the down pressure would be helpful. Then again you can add down pressure to some front blades. In fact the kit came in to convert my front blade to have down pressure. This will help in certain back dragging situations for sure. I look at it like this. If you have a toolbox, you don't just put a leatherman in the top drawer and hope for the best. You fill the box with tools you may need for different jobs. A full box doesn't make a professional but a professional doesn't just carry a leatherman.

Later.

Big Gun

 I'm enjoying the sun and warmth we've been blessed with lately. It has brought me out of a slump and really lifted my spirits. So much so that I've found myself doing odd things. When I perused my phone for pics to write a blog about, I found a video I forgot taking. The other day the sun was so inviting that I was compelled to film it. Not much of an action film, just me feeling good about the day.

 I know winter isn't over and the forecast is for some real crap weather this weekend but these past warm days are in the books and you can't take them away from me. I'm writing this at 5:30 a.m. and it's 42 degrees and starry with a forecast set to break records in the 60's. I'll be taking the sporty to work. The few days of riding that I got in here in February will carry me through till spring.

Later.

Back Blade Update

 A few posts back I reported the addition of an Ebling Back Blade to my plow truck. I've really only had a few chances to play with it but I can see it will be a big time saver and a very useful weapon in the battle against accumulated snow.

 In true greasyshoprag fashion, I have provided you with a craptacular picture of the truck the way it sits today.

 The front blade is a SnowEx power plow that extends from 8'6" to 11 feet. I talked about how I hate handheld controllers and that I was gonna permanently mount the one that came with this blade.

 I had an old bracket from the car-phone days that worked perfectly for mounting the plow controller to the door panel. I can comfortably lay my arm on the arm rest and operate the snow plow. I'm liking it. In this pic you can also see the back blade controller in the front center of the seats. It is mounted to the bottom of the bench seat and moves with the seat. Above that is the salter controller mounted to the lower dash panel.
 When we told the manufacturer of the back blade that we wanted to mount a salter on the same truck as their blade, they basically just wished us luck. In very early custom designs they used a dual cylinder lift to raise the back blade. This made it possible to use whatever salter they were working with at the time. We didn't want to reinvent the wheel here and wanted each piece of this puzzle to work independently as they were intended. That is, if the blade comes off of this truck it can be mounted on another without any problems. Same for the salter. Everything has to be plug n play. This is what we came up with.

 If the plow comes off it will not change anything with the salter. Right now the salt drops between the rear hitch of the truck and the power unit mount for the back blade. We replaced the short spinner shaft with the optional longer one and it now just clears below the mount and back blade. We're gonna make a new shaft about two inches longer to get things "just right". You can see the spread pattern is decent but we don't have the spinner mounted correctly. There are two holes in the bottom of the spinner shaft. The top hole is where the spinner bolts through the shaft. The bottom hole is for a cotter pin and catches the spinner if the top bolt shears. We have the spinner bolted in the bottom hole right now and need to lengthen the shaft to fix this. It's just one of those things you have to deal with when trying to make your own rules. The salter can only mount so low before resting on the plow mount and changing the length of that shaft was the easiest answer.
 About the electric salt spreader. This unit is a dual electric motor setup. One motor spins the auger and one runs the spinner. Back in the day we ran gasoline powered spreaders and thought we had the world by the balls. Never mind that remote controls for gas engines always had issues or were froze if cable operated, or that you had to roll down the window and try to listen if the engine was cranking or that batteries went dead or the problem of running out of fuel. I don't miss any of that shit. Sure, my first reaction to the idea of an electric spreader was that they would be weak and not stand up to the abuse a commercial snow relocation technician would throw at them. I was wrong. These units are simple, reliable and plenty strong. The squeaking sound in the video is coming from the spreader but it's because I added a thick piece of rubber to the spinner shaft above a pillow block bearing. This was to protect the bearing from salt. I need to open the hole in that rubber as it's too dang tight right now.
 I plan to take some video footage of the blade in action. I have the camera, mounts and such. I just need mother nature to provide some decent snow.

Later.

Ebling Back Blade

 It started out innocent enough one day when I decided to mount the snow plow controller in my work truck in an unconventional location. I'm a "head hanger".  I like to crank the heat, roll down the window and watch the snow roll off the end of my blade. Ya, it doesn't take much to amuse me. My truck has a hand held electronic controller rather than a permanent mount like we had back in the day. In fact way back I had a jeep that just had a hydraulic hand pump mounted between the front seats. pump, pump pump on the handle till the blade raised. Turn a relief knob to lower it. "Hydro turn" used to mean you got a wet foot when you got out of the truck to manually pull a pin and turn the blade.
 The rest of the guys in the shop were giving me crap because I told them I leave the controller hanging on it's hook while I'm plowing. I hate fumbling with the controller and muscle memory allows me to always find the correct switch in an emergency situation. Trust me, when you plow for 8-12 hours or more in one sitting, you run into emergency situations whether real or self induced. So anyway, to get them to shut up I told them I've seen how slow they plow and if they ever advance to the next level they would know what I'm talking about. That started it and of course it didn't shut anyone up, but we now joke a lot about what level someone is plowing at. When I learned Greg had a break down during a sanding mission, I immediately sent him a text telling him losing a wheel drops you back a few levels from commercial snow fighter to mere plow jockey.

 The boss has decided to upgrade my plow truck. The old dodge I'm running has a power plow that extends from 8.5 feet to 11 feet. It also has a v-body salter/sander. The replacement Ford F550 will get those same type units installed plus an additional blade hanging off the back of the truck. We wanted something that would reach under the front of parked semi trailers and our choice was the Ebling back blade. This blade is 8 feet wide with a pair of 4 foot wings for a total width of 16 feet. Ya, thats a whole lotta blade!
 Of course when we decide to do something it never seems to come easy. Ebling doesn't make a quick attach mount for our model of truck so we had to order universal pockets that we welded to the truck.

This is the Ebling back blade in box configuration. We will pull loading docks with this.

A piece of C channel was bolted then welded to the side of the draw bar mount.

The other unpainted piece is the universal pocket that is the actual plow mount. It will be welded to the C channel.

Here is the blade mounted to the truck. It doesn't just drag behind, it also has down pressure.

Raised position

Fully extended to 16 feet.

 Worn steer tires on the back and we were still able to pull a full box of wet snow. I think I'm gonna like this truck.
 Back on the topic of controllers. This blade has its own, plus the one for the front plow and the one for the salter. We're also adding a rear facing camera. It's gonna be pretty busy in that cab and I'll show you how I dealt with it in a future post.
 Also, stay tuned for a post about how in the heck I'm gonna mount a salt spreader on this truck and not have the spinner jammed up in that box full of snow. We have to figure this out because failure to mount that salter is not an option and right now I only have a few unproven ideas.

Later.

Bumpy Ride

 We had a few days of snow, rain, sleet and general crap this past week and that meant I spent time in a plow truck. At times the snow was coming down pretty heavy and many people claimed they haven't seen flakes that big in a long time. I'd say the largest were sized anywhere between a poker chip and a bar coaster. For those of you that don't drink or gamble, that would be about the size of a key fob and a sport bike drive sprocket. For those of you that don't drive or fix sport bikes, they were bigguns. Ya I stretched the truth but it's my blog, I can do that. Call it fake news if you want.

 Visibility was crap but that really didn't seem to keep people off the roads. I think for the most part people got caught in it. We had a few 10 minute bursts that would produce an inch of snow for a total of three or four inches on top of the rain we had for the previous eight hours. It was a huge problem that still exists in gravel lots that are built up with ice, but I think we'll be able to clean those up this week as the temps are supposed to get into the 40's. I wonder if that will be some kind of record?
 During all this snowfall excitement we have to keep trucks moving in the loading docks at a nearby manufacturer. Sometimes it can be like a carnival ride.

 The asphalt is rutted from the trucks moving in and out of the same spots for years. This makes a pretty bumpy ride for the first few passes. Still, I wouldn't trade it for a desk job. In fact, it could snow every day this winter and I'd be fine with that.

Later.

Go Pack Go!

Water, Lead and Good Fortune

 It was one of those rare January days where the temps soared into the upper thirties. We had light rain and snow was melting off the roof at work and forming a large puddle outside my shop door. We've given this puddle a few different names over the years because it really does become a pretty good sized body of water during a heavy rain. This "puddle" has given me a wet foot on a few occasions and today was no exception.
 So I squish, squish, squish my way through the workday trying to ignore the case of trench foot developing in my right boot. I did a few repairs including some work on one of those compact suitcase generators. You pretty much need to be an ambidextrous, double jointed contortionist to work on these things. If you're not, then you have to be willing to do a lot of tedious wrenching to do even the simplest tasks. In this case, a recoil repair. The once compact generator was now not so compact and spread out over the entire workbench. Eventually I completed the repair and reassembled the unit to damn near its original condition. No leftover hardware is always a good thing.
 Lunch came and went. I don't remember what I ate but I can tell you with no uncertainty that it wasn't a healthy meal. Afterwards I worked on our social media for a while. Yes, that's part of my job. I don't claim to be good at it but I enjoy it and nobody else wants to do it so it's kinda a locked in position. Nobody bucking for the job but no room for advancement. It's a wash.
 Five bells and I make like a banana and split. It's a twenty mile drive home in a heavy mist but my trusty (that should have said rusty) old dodge is up to the task despite some pretty seriously misaligned headlights and wiper blades. Come to think of it, that truck really wasn't up to the task. Anyway, everybody that commutes knows their route and becomes used to the particulars of that route including where the cops usually park and eat their donuts. For me there are two specific spots that could be considered speed traps. For whatever reason, I was day dreaming as I sped through one of those areas.
 I miss the soft glow of the old bubble gum machine globes on a squad car. These days we are subjected to the annoying glare of high intensity led lighting. I pulled over and waited for Johnny Law to catch up and make his case as the piercing lights filled the dark recesses of my cab. I didn't even need my dome light to search the glove box for my registration and proof of insurance. We had the standard conversation where he asks questions and I plead ignorance. I mean I wasn't even looking at the speedo and he was shooting radar. I should have asked him if he knew how fast I was going. As it turns out, he did know and it was a number I was a little surprised about. I chilled as he returned to his squad car to scrutinize my papers and investigate my driving record. As fate would have it, everybody I know passed by and saw me sitting like a rat with one leg caught in a trap. I could run but it would have required a lot of chewing and I wouldn't get far.  Instead I passed the time answering texts from those that drove past and saw me stuck there. Think about that for a minute.
 When our public servant returned we had a discussion about my driving habits and decided the best course of action was to provide me with a warning. I happily agreed and continued on my way.
 When I got home and took my boots off it occurred to me that I had somehow changed a wet foot to a lead foot that acted like a rabbits foot. Lucky me.

Later.

Snow

 Unless you've been hiding in a warm room with no windows or access to media, you're aware of the cold blast and snow that just hit us. I've been plowing snow for what feels like forever. I just did the math and "forever" is 25 hours in the truck for Friday and Saturday. We rotated shifts so we could be on the job around the clock and that worked out pretty good. In the past we had times where we tried to push right through and that left everybody wasted for a whole day afterwards. With only seven hours of sleep in the last two nights I feel fine. I hear some of you don't get much more sleep than that anyway with your weak bladders and fears of what the stock market will do.

 This was my view for quite a few hours. Pulling loading docks. Drag snow out, back in and salt, repeat. Keeping a factory moving during snow storms isn't like keeping a gas station open. If some dick head in a rusty chevy gets a wet foot cuz the pumps weren't clear then he gets pissy. There's a special kinda of pissy that comes if you're paying hundreds of factory workers to wait around while truck tires spin for traction trying to move trailers.
 I had a broken a tranny line. Had to dump some oil in to get back to shop for the repair. We had a big tractor get stuck in a retention pond. Another truck had a seized brake caliper. Pretty much a normal snow event. Stuff happens and this was all fixable. On a good note, the mystery electrical problem in the wheel loader was cured with our last repair effort.
 I need to wrap this up and go snow blow my own driveway. It's nine below zero out there. Brrr.

Later.

33 or Higher

 The forecast for today is wet. I know this time they got it right because the rain is pounding on the roof so loud that I had to look outside and see if it was hail. I knew this weather was on the way so I've been riding to work as much as possible. You know, just to get in as much seat time as I can before the snow flies. My basic rule for how cold before I won't ride is 32 degrees so you can imagine my excitement when I discovered the temp was a balmy 33 yesterday as I left for work. I didn't see any other bikes on the road and haven't seen any on my morning commute for a few weeks now. For the most part I can stay warm but my knees and thighs are exposed to the wind and get pretty cold.

Another craptacular photo brought to you by the GreasyShopRag. This one is
actually a frame from a GoPro video. The dash says 33 degrees.

 The bike has got a pretty thick coat of dirt and grime on it. My plan for last weekend was to wash it but as is usually the case when the sun is shining, I rode it. My wife and I went out for brunch and then to the hardware store. The wife agreed to carry some five foot plumbing parts on the way back. Such a trooper.
 The plumbing parts are for our bathroom remodel project. It's coming along slowly because I only work on it for an hour each night after work. No problem because if we get done before Thanksgiving then I've met my goal. While doing this project I've discovered my woodworking tools are just adequate. The table saw I'm using is the same one my grandfather used on his house. Kinda nostalgic but I wish gramps would have invested in a better saw. My sabre saw starts smoking after cutting more than a few inches and all the big batteries for my Milwaukee power tools are shot. As much as I like new tools I don't think I'll replace any wood working stuff unless I absolutely have to. I'd use them for this project and then they would (hopefully) sit for years unused. Then again there has been talk about other projects around here. We'll see.
 I've been waiting for a break in the rain but it's coming down as hard as ever. I want to unhook the trailer from my truck but I may just pull it today so I don't get soaked disconnecting it.

Later.

Dodge, Salt and Spyders

 Earlier this week I snapped a pic from my truck while heading home from work. Hey, at least I wasn't texting.

It's not much of a pic because I just whipped the camera up and clicked the shutter without taking my eyes off the road. Anyway, this one boring pic actually says a lot if you read into it, like why am I in a truck when the weather supports bike riding?

 Also, no snow! We just had a small blast of the white stuff and everybody tried to use up their salt supply. This means the roads got hosed pretty good with salt and there is a lot of residue on them. The temps went up, the salt never fully dissolved and it's still laying everywhere. When this guy on the Spyder passed me you could see the salt dust flying as he crossed back over the center line. According to the locals in the restaurant the other day, we need three good rains to wash the salt off the roads. I don't think I can wait for three rains but I can wait for at least one. I trashed a bike once  by riding in the salt and have no plans to do that with the Ultra. The Rat Turd is almost completely painted with truck bedliner and that should be good for protecting the bike from salt. I'm thinking I'll roll that bike out of the living room this coming weekend. There is rumor the temps could rise to 70 degrees and I want to take advantage of that.

 In other news, yesterday after work I installed a rebuilt steering box in the old Dodge pickem up. This is the latest in a series of attempts to make this dang truck go straight down the road. Last year I upgraded all the steering tie rod ends to 1 ton pieces. I also replaced the wheel bearings. Oh and we can't forget about the exploding ball joint incident. That was when a stubborn ball joint had to be heated and pounded out. It hit the floor and laid there about a minute as the grease inside was expanding. It finally let loose with a loud bang and flew across the room, denting a steel door. Ya.
 The steering box install started like most projects when I realized I didn't buy enough parts. The existing power steering hoses needed replacement as well so I ran back down to the parts store. The next series of cuss words came when the pitman arm wouldn't come off. I decided to skip this step and move on with the removal of the old box which went ok. Reassembly sucked as most of the threaded holes had paint in them and I didn't clean them before trying to hang the box. I pulled it back out, cleaned things up and bolted it back to the frame. The new pressure hose was stubborn to get started but after a half hour of dinkin around, the threads finally meshed.
 Now that everything else was put together I just needed that pitman arm. I put the puller back on, fired up the torch and heated it up until it "popped". Simple.
 The test ride was what I was hoping for. Considering the "alignment" was nothing more than me using a tape measure to set toe in, it rolls pretty decent down the road. I'll pay for an actual alignment and it should steer like new. Some may think this is a waste of money to fix this old truck. I should just "run it till it dies". I don't want to spend the coin on a newer truck, at least not now, but I do want something I can trust rolling down the road so I'll keep tinkering with this old Dodge.

Zombies

  Let me just say I don't get it. What is the fascination with walking dead and zombies and such? All I know on the topic is the hype I see on tv and online. It seems like a waste of time and thats my official position on the topic.
 Next topic. The weather yesterday. Temps got up over 50 and I saw a lot of bikes on the road. I would have liked to get out and check out my GoPro helmet mount but I chose to do something else which brings me to the next topic.

 Yesterday was my birthday. As much as I hate the thought of getting older, my friends and family made it an enjoyable day despite the way it started. See, my truck dang near left me stranded at the bar friday night and I had to replace the starter before I could move on with other plans. As long as the truck was on the hoist I changed the oil and rotated the tires too. So, thanks to everyone that baked treats, bought beer, offered well wishes, gave me shit, took me out to eat and made me feel good. My brother Uncle Tommy slipped me a gift card for the tool store an I applied it to the purchase of this:

  I have a 10 ton porta power kit and this is the "auto body" kit that goes with it. It has the smaller rams and also the pull (rather than push) rams and hooks. Schwing!
 After the tool store my wife and I stopped at the Duluth Trading store where she offered to buy me some new pants if I promised to throw out an equal amount of worn out jeans once we got home. I agreed and still need to follow through with that. While we were there I wanted to sample the scents of their beard oil. I currently use Dirt. Lumberjack smells a lot like Dirt but not quite as good. Datenite is just too foofy. It stinks like perfume. The other one they offer is Leather but they didn't have one to sample so I'll just have to stick with Dirt which pretty much agrees with my personality anyway.
 Later.

Six Speed Down

 I mentioned that I now have a gopro camera and that I needed to figure out how to use it. Last week we got a bunch of snow and I decided to mount the camera in my plow truck and capture some footage. I have a larger battery in it so the plan was to just turn it on and forget about it. I got two hours of video before the battery died and now all that was left was to edit it. Having never done anything like this before, I was in for a treat.

 My goal was to get that two hours condensed into a two minute video. Yaaaa, that ain't gonna happen. I did get it down to 15 minutes but that's still way too long. I wouldn't watch your 15 minute video of snow plowing and I don't expect you to watch mine. I did however learn a few things about using my video editing program and I wanted to post something. I made a short video of a broke down truck. The video sucks and was really just an exercise in editing. Having done this once I now have a better idea of the mechanics of using the gopro. For example, I should have used the skeleton back to better capture audio. I also have a better idea of the viewing angle and how boring a video can be when the camera doesn't really show any action from the point it's mounted. If my plowing video had showed even a little bit of me or the steering wheel it would have been much more interesting.

 My plan is to make and edit a few of these before riding season gets here and maybe provide you with some motorcycle footage worth watching.

Fender Install

 A while back I reported squirting some paint from a rattle can onto a pair of new fenders I purchased for my dodge pickup. Now I'm not a body man but I figured I could easily swap out a couple of fenders and headlights. I mean, how freakin hard could it be?

 Well it turns out that if you're a moron like me then it can be quite difficult. I needed fenders so I ordered fenders. Turns out not all fenders are created equal. The fenders I bought didn't have the inner steel fender section on them. How lame is that? I mean they are welded together so why offer them separate? Cost I suppose. Anyway, by the time I realized this dilemma I was already committed to finishing this project if I wanted to use the truck on Monday. Thank goodness the Packers had a late start that day.
 I chose to leave the inner section on the truck and separate the two halves in place. This involved the use of a cut off wheel, air chisel, pry bar and BFH (big freakin hammer).

 It ain't pretty but I got it off of there. From here the job was pretty simple. I just had to bolt the new outer fender in place and weld the two halves together.

  I remember when this body style first came out in the early '90's. It was such a radical change from what the big three were offering in the 60's, 70's and 80's and a lot of people just had to have one. My work truck at the time was a v10 version. I liked the look then and I still like it now.
 This project turned out just alright. I knew the paint would not be an exact match and I'm ok with that. The old headlight was so yellowed from age that the parking lights were brighter than the headlights. I picked up these low budget lights from Amazon and think they look alright I guess. If they illuminate the road in front of me I'll be happy. Earlier in the week I ordered the special nylon pop rivets needed to secure the plastic fender liner to the steel fender. That should be a two minute job.
 I think when I'm ready to take on the passenger side that I'll remove the inner and outer fenders together and do my separating and rewelding out in the open. That really was a pain in the ass.