I thought it wise to get an oil change, so stopped into a Jiffy Lube to get one. This is a plug for Jiffy Lube, because the guy looked everything over and said he wouldn't do it--there was oil in the antifreeze. This meant a big problem or a bigger problem, and he was sure that I would be wasting my money to even get an oil change.
So, bummed beyond belief, the next morning we scheduled an appointment at a Ford dealership only to learn that we needed $1000 in repairs--just for that problem. But then there was the oil all over the underside of the engine and that was dripping in other places that was of even more concern.
So, what do we do? Fix that problem, only to find another one, and get nickle and dimed to death with breakdown after breakdown? Do we spend this $1000, then have the transmission or something go out and basically have a pickup with no trade-in value at all?
We had talked about what we would do if this happened, because with 190,000 miles on it its days were numbered, and it was a likely possibility.
So do we patch it up, and cross our fingers that we could get back home with it? And then get another truck over the summer if we want to do this again next year? Do we get a new pickup now, and then be able to enjoy our next two months free of worry, and free of throwing away good money?
Another piece is that the old truck was very hard to drive. The handling was terrible--it was not set up for hauling a heavy camper (and it is a heavy camper, being an old one that is made with a lot of wood). It needed new shocks and springs. It rolled on curves, necessitating slowing on them which irritated a lot of drivers behind me (I am getting a little tired of getting one fingered salutes). We pulled over frequently to allow people to pass us--we tried to be cooperative in that way--but sometimes we couldn't. We slowed to almost 30 mph on mountain passes, and in fact drove out of our way to get around these passes instead of having to go over them whenever we could. And we weren't even attempting the high mountain passes. I actually dreaded the drives, and usually I enjoy driving.
In short, the old pickup was an old pickup, doing the best it could, but it was not enough. It allowed us to learn something very important though, and we'll always have a warm spot in our hearts for it because of that.
What we learned is that this is the life we want. We love the freedom and the excitement of being in new places. We love the parks where we can be almost by ourselves for days at a time, just hiking and looking at nature's beauty. We love biking in different places, on different roads. We love our camper, and living in that tight space, with no company except each other. We love making delicious meals together after long hikes.
We aren't the only ones--there is a whole world of RV campers out there who do much the same thing. Mostly couples we notice. Many confine themselves to RV parks, but a lot do what we are doing--actually traveling. Virtually all we have seen have larger and more complete campers than ours, but that suits them and our simple one suits us.
So we bought a low-end new Ford F250. Didn't get 4 wheel drive and didn't get diesel. Didn't get the high end packages. We're having stabilizer bars and extra powerful springs added by an RV place, plus improved tie downs to hold the camper on the bed.
It's not really a pickup that we are buying, though. Instead, it is a commitment we are making to this type of lifestyle. We will spend about half of each year traveling like this, with the remaining time being at home on Whidbey Island during the summer and fall when it is so beautiful there. This pickup also has the type of backseat for being able to haul grandchildren up to the mountains to camp. We did some of that, on a minor scale, with Ian and Adam this summer and it was a lot of fun.
I mentioned this morning to Vicky that I am having an unusual reaction to this purchase. It will cost us more than I've ever spent on a vehicle, yet I am not very excited about the vehicle itself. Usually a new car is a period of total excitement for me--the new smell, the new driving experience, etc. But what is on my mind this morning is not all of that, but it is the next place we will go with it--which is the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.
We will be in Mesa for a few more days, staying at a County Park and doing lots of bike riding. The parts that are needed for beefing up the suspension because of the camper won't be in for awhile, so we'll just stay here until they can be installed.
We hadn't planned on being in Mesa for so many days, but we also hadn't planned on our old pickup giving up on us. We were hoping to make it last long enough that we could get a few years from it, but as it was, it gave us what we needed--the knowledge that we will be living in this way for several years.
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A couple of shout-outs. We got the new pickup at Berge Ford in Mesa. I did a lot of (quick) comparison shopping on the internet, and determined that the price they offered us was quite fair. The trade-in was also quite fair.
Our salesperson was Mel Palmer. He was informative and helpful. We needed several after-market parts installed, and Shawn Yates helped us with this. It was complicated because we arrived there with a camper on our old pickup. The camper needed to be switched, new tie-downs installed, things moved. Not your typical situation, but both men handled everything with calmness and assurance.
At the very end, as we were moving stuff from our old pickup to the new one I had a realization--what are we going to do with the tailgate? I found it quite amusing that I had not considered this.
So I asked Mel if it could be stored there. He didn't know of a place, but said he would put it into his garage for the month we will be traveling (we're coming back to Mesa on our way home).
OK. Not the biggest deal in the world, but still an awfully nice offer. Now we don't have to haul it out of the camper every night for the next month. And he had already made the sale when he made this offer. So that's where it is now--in his garage.
Anyway, we have been very happy with the service we received at Berge Ford and from the two salespersons who helped us.
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