SOS!!! park failed, rolled back into road, jacked knifed trailer, damage!!!!

[Cubey]

but I'd say get a early 80s Mazda truck with a diesel and put a camper shell on it. Then you'd stay with the diesel theme, it's light weight, and you could have storage.

Those trucks would still weigh a ton, especially with an IDI in it. You do know that classic Beetles/Super Beetles are ~1800lbs or less, right? An IDI engine is 1,000lbs just by itself. The hitch on my RV is probably rated 3,500lbs (typical for Class C RVs). Going by an 89 Ford Ranger (rebadged Mazda B series) they are around 3200-3500lbs by themselves.

I may put off selling the truck/buying a Beetle a while longer, since I do need to deal with all the crap I pulled out of storage and have loaded in the trailer. A lot needs to be sold, some needs to be maybe moved in the RV, etc. So going to the LTVA is probably still the best option for the short term since I can be there for many months, working on that daily as I feel like it.

 

[Jesus Freak]

Well, okay.....if Lucy is good with that, it's her adventure. I mean, as a collective, you know where you're going to go, she's just in it for the ride(and to tear the still beating heart out of anyone that tries to mess with you). I do recommend a Super Beetle, mid 70s I think, they're bigger. If you could go to Mexico, you could smuggle a much newer bug back into America and have a more solid piece of steel. They made the Type 1 bug well into the 90s if not later down there.

 

[Cubey]

Well, okay.....if Lucy is good with that, it's her adventure. I mean, as a collective, you know where you're going to go, she's just in it for the ride(and to tear the still beating heart out of anyone that tries to mess with you). I do recommend a Super Beetle, mid 70s I think, they're bigger. If you could go to Mexico, you could smuggle a much newer bug back into America and have a more solid piece of steel. They made the Type 1 bug well into the 90s if not later down there.

The problem with Mexican Beetles is that with the import fees and all? Eh. Not the best option really.

Yes, I'm familiar with Super Beetles. They have better front suspension (McPherson) and have a bit more cargo space under the front hood due to being a bit longer up front.

 

[Cubey]

Well heck, I guess I wasted $30 (kind of) on that trailer jack. It won't fit the hole on the trailer for the existing, ancient jack. I ended up finally just bend the handle back some so I can use the original jack. Maybe I can get $20-30 for it later since it's in good shape and it's a higher quality one. I dunno how I'd bore out the hole bigger without major effort. That's probably the original jack from 1958, since the hole is nicthed for the exposed gear teeth that stick out from the side. I would have to pay a trailer shop to replace the whole A-frame coupler to get one that has the proper sized hole. Not worth it, unless this coupler begins to fail. It's the spin on type for rental trailers, and I got a new replacement kit in 2020, and it seems to hold up fine, so I don't see that happening.

 

[Jesus Freak]

The problem with Mexican Beetles is that with the import fees and all? Eh. Not the best option really.

Yes, I'm familiar with Super Beetles. They have better front suspension (McPherson) and have a bit more cargo space under the front hood due to being a bit longer up front.

Take it apart and hide it in the grey water tank.

 

[Cant Write]

@Cubey, I recommend an ALH VW TDI. Although I think hey weigh around 3k, They are pretty durable little machines. I sold my 2002 New Beetle with 347k on it, and I just tried to buy it back. It has 365k on it and the woman told me NO .

That way you can have your diesel and your beetle. Mine would consistently return 48 winter and 52 summer. That was driving without economy in mind. Running the AC, passing when I needed. You can lay the rear seats flat and have a wonderful spot for Lucy!!

 

[Nero]

Can confirm, ALH is a bulletproof engine. Mine had more than double the hp/tq mods on it, had 365k miles on it, and purred like a kitten still. I miss it sometimes, but in the high traffic area over here I always felt like I had a bullseye on me for angry drivers....

 

[Cubey]

@Cubey, I recommend an ALH VW TDI. Although I think hey weigh around 3k, They are pretty durable little machines. I sold my 2002 New Beetle with 347k on it, and I just tried to buy it back. It has 365k on it and the woman told me NO .

That way you can have your diesel and your beetle. Mine would consistently return 48 winter and 52 summer. That was driving without economy in mind. Running the AC, passing when I needed. You can lay the rear seats flat and have a wonderful spot for Lucy!!

If I was going to get something newer, I'd get an early 2000s Chevy Malibu. The AT can be flat towed and they aren't expensive cars. They are way more expensive and harder to do major repairs on, however. And I want something that won't cost me $3,000 to set up for flat towing. (Look up prices on Blue OX or similar tow bars & baseplates for newer cars. Plus wiring etc)

I want to get an Autostick Beetle because I don't like clutches. They need more TLC to keep working properly but they're decent. They can be flat towed. Tow bars are a only $200-300 and wiring up the tail lights for towing would be very easy.

Major repairs Maintenance on a newer car would be a lot more expensive vs a Beete too. Autostick Beetle transmissions tend to be $100 and are stupidly easy to rebuild since they are just slightly modified MT transmissions. It uses an external servo to operate the clutch, and also has a torque converter, so you can stay in gear with your foot on the brake when stopped without operating the clutch. The clutch is only operated by the servo when you want to shift gears, by way of an electronic switch in the shifter that you press down on to activate the shift servo.

Oh and I have loved classic Beetles since I was a little kid, so there's that.

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[franklin2]

I used to play around with the old beetles also. But that was years ago when they were still fairly cheap. Now like you said they are "classics" and they want too much money for them. Getting one rust free is another problem.

 

[Jesus Freak]

I saw a super Beatle in Freeport yesterday, it was rough.

 

[Cubey]

I used to play around with the old beetles also. But that was years ago when they were still fairly cheap. Now like you said they are "classics" and they want too much money for them. Getting one rust free is another problem.

Like anything, there are good deals with less rust if you're patient. Later models (68-76) are less desirable, Autosticks are wildly disliked, and furthermore Supers are less popular, so finding a 71-76 Autostick Super Beetle for a decent price isn't that bad. Standard Beetles with autostick pop up for good prices too.

 

[Cubey]

Ugh, I can't wait to get the new grey tank installed. I haven't had a shower in a week. I stopped at a truck stop to go pay for one today, but they only allow CDL drivers to shower at that indie shop. Weird as hell. No other truck stop, including indie ones, have been that way. Being Saturday, campgrounds are all full. Not gonna pay $100 to a motel just for a shower. Likewise, I don't care to spend $65 to Planet Fitness ($25/mo, $39 annual fee, $1 startup fee) in order to take a shower. They do offer a free day pass if I wanna pretend to be interested in the gym, and get toured around it first, etc. Mildly tempted to do that. Go get on the treadmill for like half an hour, so it's less obvious, then go take a shower after that. Or just put off a shower for a couple more days. At least it hasn't been hot, so I don't feel too awfully yucky.

It looks like it's gonna be a pain to get the pipe fed into it due to how they plumbed it, but oh well. The pipe entering the tank is at a wye, right at the floor, inside of a cabinet, that's very hard to reach. Plus someone went nuts with expanding foam to seal around the pipe, so I'll have to try to reach in and get that crap off. I'll be replacing that wye, more than likely. What's fun is I get to basically install the tank itself on the hangers, then use a marker to mark the area where I have to drill the hole for the inlet grommet/pipe, then drop the tank again to drill the hole and install the grommet. All by reaching deep into a cabinet with drawer slits and not much more access than that. The black tank was easy, by contrast, since it was all out in the open on the floor.

 

[Cubey]

Oh I forgot about this... I saw a larger (older?) two axle Nationwide trailer at the RV salvage yard, being used for a parts shed.

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[IDIBRONCO]

It looks like that's about all it's good for these days.

 

[Selahdoor]

Ugh, I can't wait to get the new grey tank installed. I haven't had a shower in a week. I stopped at a truck stop to go pay for one today, but they only allow CDL drivers to shower at that indie shop. Weird as hell. No other truck stop, including indie ones, have been that way. Being Saturday, campgrounds are all full. Not gonna pay $100 to a motel just for a shower. Likewise, I don't care to spend $65 to Planet Fitness ($25/mo, $39 annual fee, $1 startup fee) in order to take a shower. They do offer a free day pass if I wanna pretend to be interested in the gym, and get toured around it first, etc. Mildly tempted to do that. Go get on the treadmill for like half an hour, so it's less obvious, then go take a shower after that. Or just put off a shower for a couple more days. At least it hasn't been hot, so I don't feel too awfully yucky.

It looks like it's gonna be a pain to get the pipe fed into it due to how they plumbed it, but oh well. The pipe entering the tank is at a wye, right at the floor, inside of a cabinet, that's very hard to reach. Plus someone went nuts with expanding foam to seal around the pipe, so I'll have to try to reach in and get that crap off. I'll be replacing that wye, more than likely. What's fun is I get to basically install the tank itself on the hangers, then use a marker to mark the area where I have to drill the hole for the inlet grommet/pipe, then drop the tank again to drill the hole and install the grommet. All by reaching deep into a cabinet with drawer slits and not much more access than that. The black tank was easy, by contrast, since it was all out in the open on the floor.

The good news is that it looks like it is supposed to clear up pretty quickly, and even get into the 80's by sunday. So you guys shouldn't have to work in wet dreary conditions!