I have a hard decision to make

[gandalf]

you haven't been on the receiving end of the phone from her........
for 14hours straight.

Somehow I just knew that was going to come into the conversation.


Electric clutch--- I once drove a Renault, I believe it was, with what must have been an electric clutch. I had to manually shift gears, but there was no clutch pedal. When you touched the gear shift the clutch was automatically engaged. However, that car had a distinct problem. That clutch didn't work right. You let go of the shifter and it was exactly slipping your foot off the side of the clutch pedal, popping the clutch. Now, that might have worked, showing a great deal of care, with a larger engine, but that Renault had an engine smaller than my lawnmower. I had to get the revs up quite high, let go of the shifter, and maybe, only maybe, the engine wouldn't stall. What a POS that car was.

 

[The Warden]

you haven't been on the receiving end of the phone from her........
for 14hours straight.

What he said. I've seen the results of her wrath, albeit not for 14 hours, but I've seen enough to know that Justin's wife is bat-guano crazy to the point where she makes Kim Jong-Il look normal

 

[92F350CC]

I've always wondered, maybe it's been said somewhere, but is there an underlying reason(aside from insanity) why she is so adverse to him owning a truck?

I agree with everybody else, don't let a good truck that you've put so much time/money/effort into go just for a 4 month healing period. Get a $500 beater or drive your van. How bad could 4 months of commuting be on it?

 

[towcat]

Get a $500 beater or drive your van. How bad could 4 months of commuting be on it?

thanks to Obama, kali smog buyback laws and laws of economics, a $1000 or less currently reg'd and smogged beater is a thing of the past. as much as I don't like them, I keep about two or three Japanese 4door 4cyl slushbox beaters around that have been reconditioned to the point you can feel safe taking on from SF to LA and back routinely. they rarely stick around at the $2500-$3000 pricetag especially when school is starting in the fall.
Nutless has a rather unique commute. he lives by the coast and works in the sillycon valley. separating him from work is a small hill where you start from where he is at and goes to the 1800ft mark and back down to sea level with a total drive time of 20 mins. throw in a few(many) twisty curves and bends, he's got little room for error let alone a marginally maintained vehicle. it may sound like a hassle to most of you landlocked souls, but for most of kali's nutcases, we do like the sound of real ocean waves.

 

[Exekiel69]

Keep the truck and heal properly then decide if You want to sell it.

 

[wmoguy]

Well, after all the time and effort I have put into the '94 truck, it may soon be time for us to part ways.

Not because of any fault of the truck. Because of a bad foot... No joke.

Some years ago I fell off a ladder at work and broke two bones in my left foot. They set it on a metal splint and all was good.
It should have been put in a cast, but this was a workers comp. issue and the crackhead occupational clinic I went to didn't want to be liable for me being on disability.

Well lately I've been having terrible pain in that foot, almost constant and unbearable. So, I go to the good doctor and they do x-rays and decide that one of the bones did not heal correctly. So I am going to have to have surgery, possibly a couple surgeries. And since this is the left foot (my clutching foot) I am not supposed to drive my truck for about four months...

I can't be out of work for four months. So I am going to probably have to track down some slushbox vehicle.

I could keep the truck and try to come up with the cash for another car, but that would require me living in pain until I can get one...

What is a fella to do in my situation?

Come out to Colorado and I'll swap u my built auto for your zf5

 

[The Warden]

I've always wondered, maybe it's been said somewhere, but is there an underlying reason(aside from insanity) why she is so adverse to him owning a truck?

I'll let Justin answer in detail if he so chooses, but the short version is, the "insanity" stories actually have little to do with him owning a truck.

 

[RLDSL]

Have you thought about option C... I remember many years ago back when I was driving a big truck, I broke my left ankle and after 2 weeks in a cast sitting around watching daytime tv at that time, I was ready to slit my wrists. Went back to the doc and told either he cuts thecast off or I do and I wrapped it up good and tight and went out and bought a nice new pair of REAL stiff high top logger boots with a full leangh steel shank running through the footbed and part way up the back ( toppers boots, not hard to find when living in WA state at the time Laced those suckers up good and tight with a splash of tape at the top for good measure and you wouldnt believe teh support. It's like clutching from the knee. Works great for a temporary stop gap measure while lower foot is healing., but if you just aren't going to have use of the foot at all, then you really dont have any option other than to swap in aslushbox or grab a spare car, because even a super light clutch like I have in mine isnt going to help if they are going to be repeatedly cutting into yer dang foot and leaving it with bulky crap hanging off it that makes it useless. That nifty Soft Kevlar clutch combination the folks at Ft Wayne Clutch rigged up for me is wonderful it'll pull anything and allows me to keep the sticks with blown out knees, but if yer foot has a pile of wrappings attached to it from surgery, I'm afraid it wouldnt do you much good

Option D might be if they have one of those rent a wreck places around there where you could temporaraly rent a small slushbox car by the week till the cutting and pasting is done on the foot. there's a good chance by the time you figure in fuel difference at one of those places, it might not end up costing a whole heck of a lot out of pocket.

 

[89greendiesel]

why is no one voting for the van?! COME ON....rock the VAN!

 

[SparkandFire]

Thanks for all the suggestions...

My wife did get over the truck-hatred after my last job had us travelling all over the west coast for work. It pulled the trailer we all lived in and kept the family together. She does appreciate it now after all that.

I've wanted for some time now to get something solid to drive up and over the hill every day, but still keep me out of harm's way, since as Calvin put it my commute to work is... interesting... to say the least.

I was thinking back to the 300D I had, I was happy with that rig. Plus the wife would want to drive it when I get back on my feet...

I've really held off on getting rid of the truck, I get offers literally ALL THE TIME from people I run into, I had a guy at home depot want to trade me his '99 cummins 4x4 for it, but I sensed a fishy aroma on that one...

 

[hesutton]

Dang Justin! That stinks.

I too vote for getting by with the van, and/or small cheap commuter car and get back in the IDI after your done healing.


Heath