Van is just about shot
Jul. 2nd, 2008 08:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
custerI found the blown hose. Unfortunately it seems to be one of the fat ones where it connects to the engine block, and is buried where I can't really get to it without ripping a lot of stuff apart.
All I can do between now and Saturday is just carry a lot of water in the van and replace it after every drive. Fortunately it shouldn't have to go farther than 8 miles in any given 6 hour period of time.
Its a 1988 vehicle, of which I'm reminded every time I look at the "Jimmy Carter" odometer. Only goes to 85, with a big red mark at 55. For this particular vehicle that's actually just fine as it physically won't go any faster than that.
We paid $5500 for this used in 1995. At this point I actually doubt it has any real value, its got a huge engine, just about everything in it shows 20 years of heavy use, and it has a lot of "deferred maintenance" that's never going to get done.
Its looking more and more like I'll be buying the motorcycle in October and just donating the van as a tax writeoff. Its reached the point of being "beyond economically repairable" meaning its not worth what the repairs would cost, even if I still had a use for a 12MPG camper at this point.
The original reason for buying the camper in 1995 never materialized. I never went skydiving again, where I wanted to have a place to sleep other than a tent after skydiving all day and partying at the DZ bar most of the night, which was my chosen form of entertainment in the mid 80's. As far as overnight camping trips go, its now cheaper to drive the car and stay in hotels than to camp.
Its been our "tertiary vehicle" for most of the 15 years we have had it. Something I drove on overnight Tuesdays at the COSCOM,or when one of the two primary commuting vehicles was in the shop.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
martes never drove it in the entire time we have had it, as it pretty much requires truck driver skills to operate.
Lot of memories with thsi thing, a lot of good, a lot of bad. I just have to keep it going for about another three months, and as much of a pain in the ass thats going to be, I don't really have a choice.
All I can do between now and Saturday is just carry a lot of water in the van and replace it after every drive. Fortunately it shouldn't have to go farther than 8 miles in any given 6 hour period of time.
Its a 1988 vehicle, of which I'm reminded every time I look at the "Jimmy Carter" odometer. Only goes to 85, with a big red mark at 55. For this particular vehicle that's actually just fine as it physically won't go any faster than that.
We paid $5500 for this used in 1995. At this point I actually doubt it has any real value, its got a huge engine, just about everything in it shows 20 years of heavy use, and it has a lot of "deferred maintenance" that's never going to get done.
Its looking more and more like I'll be buying the motorcycle in October and just donating the van as a tax writeoff. Its reached the point of being "beyond economically repairable" meaning its not worth what the repairs would cost, even if I still had a use for a 12MPG camper at this point.
The original reason for buying the camper in 1995 never materialized. I never went skydiving again, where I wanted to have a place to sleep other than a tent after skydiving all day and partying at the DZ bar most of the night, which was my chosen form of entertainment in the mid 80's. As far as overnight camping trips go, its now cheaper to drive the car and stay in hotels than to camp.
Its been our "tertiary vehicle" for most of the 15 years we have had it. Something I drove on overnight Tuesdays at the COSCOM,or when one of the two primary commuting vehicles was in the shop.
martes never drove it in the entire time we have had it, as it pretty much requires truck driver skills to operate.Lot of memories with thsi thing, a lot of good, a lot of bad. I just have to keep it going for about another three months, and as much of a pain in the ass thats going to be, I don't really have a choice.
