The fulltiming adventure begins

[overlander63]

The bathroom lights are in, and working. I'll have to post a couple of photos tomorrow while Marie is at work. I was late getting home from work because I had to replace the fuel pump in the B van. If I had to hazard a guess, I would guess the new Gasohol mixture we now have here is wreacking havoc on older fuel systems. I had to replace the fuel pump on the truck, now the B van.
I'll be battening down again tomorrow on the off chance the latest hurricane decides to take a swipe at us on its way to flattening the New Orleans area.

[overlander63]

Since, among other things, we are going to be towing Bertha to Georgia in a couple of weeks, and the tires on the truck are 4 years old, and tread depth is very close to minimum (3/32"-4/32"), I headed over to Firestone to get a new set put on. There's nothing like the feeling of fresh new tires on your tow vehicle...
However, the tech assigned to put these tires on is almost as old as the truck, and had no idea how to drive a manual-transmission vehicle. Enter a substitute tech. He successfully got the first tire off the truck, but was having trouble getting the tire off the wheel. After a few minutes of struggling, he managed to whack himself in the face with the iron bar he was using to remove the tire, and knocked himself unconscious. He also got a smashed nose in the process. The score so far: Truck 2, Firestone 0. The tech got hauled off to the emergency room, but should be back to work in a couple of days. Maybe the truck was getting even for all those recalls a few years ago.
So, on to tech #3...He managed to get the tires off and on, but when he parked the truck, he couldn't get the key out of the ignition. I walked out, and hit the release lever, and removed the key. The score: Truck 3, Firestone 1.
After I paid my bill, I got in the truck, and headed home. I have to drive on the Interstate to get there, and, of course, the tires were not balanced properly. I now feel like a milkshake at speeds over 60 mph. I'll be heading back there in a while for a re-do of the balance. So, the final score: Truck 4, Firestone 1. They fought the truck, and the truck won.

[CanoeStream]

hoo-boy. Are you sure hotLAVA isn't writing this saga?

[richinny]

i feel bad for the kid that got knocked out but my gut hurts from laughing! i'm sure glad you got the "trained" technician.

did you get the 'chinese' valve stems too?

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by richinny

did you get the 'chinese' valve stems too?

I got the metal stems. With any luck, they'll hold up.

[Gene]

Great story. When I run into a store like that, I never go back. I hope you can miss the next hurricane and the next and the next…

Gene

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Great story. When I run into a store like that, I never go back. I hope you can miss the next hurricane and the next and the next…

Gene

We'll see after the hurricane after this one. It is supposed to turn North either over or near Florida. I'm heading back to make Firestone rebalance the tires on Sunday (my first day off so I can do this).

[overlander63]

Now for the news. I am departing my job in this area in a couple of weeks. This was supposed to be a temporary stopover on our fulltiming journey, and we have been here nearly ten months. It's been a long day, with a steady stream of employees finding excuses to come by my office today. With all the long faces, you'd think Elvis had died again.
Now, I have been offered a less physically demanding position at a facility that caters to the RV crowd, so after we get Bertha and the B van ready to get underway again, we'll be heading out in another direction, maybe at the end of this trip we will find someplace we can again call home.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Now for the news. I am departing my job in this area in a couple of weeks. This was supposed to be a temporary stopover on our fulltiming journey, and we have been here nearly ten months. It's been a long day, with a steady stream of employees finding excuses to come by my office today. With all the long faces, you'd think Elvis had died again.
Now, I have been offered a less physically demanding position at a facility that caters to the RV crowd, so after we get Bertha and the B van ready to get underway again, we'll be heading out in another direction, maybe at the end of this trip we will find someplace we can again call home.

Congrats on the new voyage and the new opportunity. Its nice having a house with wheels sometimes isn't it?

[richinny]

is sophie changing jobs too?
in any case, all your recent friends will miss you and your new friends will be pleased to meet you!

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by richinny

is sophie changing jobs too?
in any case, all your recent friends will miss you and your new friends will be pleased to meet you!

Sophie and Marie have both tendered their resignations effective September 25. Where we are going, it will be too long a commute.

[utee94]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Sophie and Marie have both tendered their resignations effective September 25. Where we are going, it will be too long a commute.

Good luck Terry, you and Marie will be in my thoughts, and I'm sure you'll keep us updated on your whereabouts. As always, your help for this rookie has been deeply appreciated.

-Marcus

[sd90mac]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Sophie and Marie have both tendered their resignations effective September 25. Where we are going, it will be too long a commute.

Let me put it this way. They took my resignation, but not Sophies!

Marie

[vswingfield]

Best wishes to all 3 of you!!!

Keep up informed.

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by overlander63

maybe at the end of this trip we will find someplace we can again call home.

Hmm, "home?". Full timers are home every minute, or they should be.

[eikel1we]

Congratulations!! Where are you heading to ........ or is it a secret surprise for us??!!

sue

[CanoeStream]

Sue, I guess ... well, we gotta guess. I'm guessing Terry & Marie will still be fulltiming and probably don't have enough raccoon coats to make it in any of the states that claim Paul Bunyan lineage. Or at least I'm guessing Michigan has a bit of that too. Northern tier. I'm sayin' they aren't going to the northern tier. If you look on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's I think you'll see an image of Terry like this - .

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by eikel1we

Congratulations!! Where are you heading to ........ or is it a secret surprise for us??!!

sue

We are heading to the Promised Land.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by overlander63

We are heading to the Promised Land.

That must be Colorado!

Gene

[Mike Leary]

Keep in touch.