03-31-2006, 10:13 AM
Posted on another message board.
I bought a car in Denver and had to go pick it up. I also need to pick up my granddaughter in Colorado Springs and bring her back to IL. for the summer. No problem. I bought a 28' enclosed racecar trailer and a load leveling hitch and my 89' conversion van had a brand new crate motor so I had plenty of power. All across IL. and MO. I ran with the big boys at 75 to 80 and life was good. About 20 miles from Hays Kansas I notice a lot of haze behind me and finally figure out it's coming from me. Wife is asleep so I pull over on an exit and get out to the smell of burnt tranny fluid...A guy in a pickup stops and tells me he was gonna try and pass me and tell me I had a problem, but i oiled his windshield and he couldn't see to pass. I let it cool as the wife gets hot. We run along the edge of the road and by the time we got to hays it'd barely pull at all. I went straight to our usual motel stop (by the McD's) and I dropped the trailer and started calling tranny shops. Last place I called had a tranny and would put it in the next day, SAT..I think the name was Keins and the price was very reasonable for a traveler and they also replaced the tranny cooler with a bigger one. The tranny was built for more power than stock and was guaranteed. Next day about noon the guy comes and pickes me up, I pay and hook up the trailer. I keep the tranny out of overdrive and hold my speed to 55mph. All is well and wife is almost back to normal. Cruzing along into a 35mph wind I notice I am running a lot of throttle so i slow a little and about 4 hours out of Hays (just 1 mile short of Stratton CO. exit) the tranny goes "ping" and it's not hooked up anymore. No matter where I put the shifter it is as though it's in neutral (front pump shattered). As I coast to the side of the road my wife goes off...I get out and leave her ranting and start walking to the Stratton exit and about 300 yards into this a car honks at me and it's the county sheriff. He asks about the truck and tells me to get in and asks if there is anyone else in the truck. I tell him yes but to leave her there and let her cool off..
He calls a wrecker and the rig gets towed to the motel and he drops the trailer and puts the van at my room. For $45....The wrecker guy makes a phone call and finds there is one rental car left in the next town and makes arrangements to pick me up the next day to take me there. We get there and he won't take any money cause he said he had to go there anyway..While I am doing the paper work a guy come in and tells the lady that the car she is renting me was stolen last night from the airport. I go outside and light my pipe..Guy comes out and says there is a place that might have a car, takes me there and peels out. He does have a car. I make arrangements for the tranny shop to get my van and we head to the Springs. I cal Hertz and others for a one way rental and they want $1100 so I figure I am not gonna get my car this trip, oh, did I mention I sold the trailer to a guy in Stratton when I drove past his hot rod shop in the rented car? Only lost $1k on it...I found a deal from penske on a 16' van for $600 and rented it and headed for denver with my son-in-law. It was a brand new van and had a wood floor. it's illegal to haul a car in these and there is no way to tie it down so we made a stop at a lumber yard and bought material for ramps and to crib the wheels. We nailed it to the floor. Wife drove rental car to return it and then got in rental van which had bucket seats. We searched the town over for a lawn chair, anything to sit on as we had 3 persons. Only thing we found that would fit was a big flower pot...Wifey rode 200 miles on that upside down flower pot. The van was ready when we got back to Hays and she drove it home and I the rental truck. I have been forbidden to tow anything that includes her going. I am looking for a dolley though.
yes, it's long and I'm sure boring to most but it was an adventure.
btw..I have $9k in that $5k car and wife has her new Grand Cherokee
I bought a car in Denver and had to go pick it up. I also need to pick up my granddaughter in Colorado Springs and bring her back to IL. for the summer. No problem. I bought a 28' enclosed racecar trailer and a load leveling hitch and my 89' conversion van had a brand new crate motor so I had plenty of power. All across IL. and MO. I ran with the big boys at 75 to 80 and life was good. About 20 miles from Hays Kansas I notice a lot of haze behind me and finally figure out it's coming from me. Wife is asleep so I pull over on an exit and get out to the smell of burnt tranny fluid...A guy in a pickup stops and tells me he was gonna try and pass me and tell me I had a problem, but i oiled his windshield and he couldn't see to pass. I let it cool as the wife gets hot. We run along the edge of the road and by the time we got to hays it'd barely pull at all. I went straight to our usual motel stop (by the McD's) and I dropped the trailer and started calling tranny shops. Last place I called had a tranny and would put it in the next day, SAT..I think the name was Keins and the price was very reasonable for a traveler and they also replaced the tranny cooler with a bigger one. The tranny was built for more power than stock and was guaranteed. Next day about noon the guy comes and pickes me up, I pay and hook up the trailer. I keep the tranny out of overdrive and hold my speed to 55mph. All is well and wife is almost back to normal. Cruzing along into a 35mph wind I notice I am running a lot of throttle so i slow a little and about 4 hours out of Hays (just 1 mile short of Stratton CO. exit) the tranny goes "ping" and it's not hooked up anymore. No matter where I put the shifter it is as though it's in neutral (front pump shattered). As I coast to the side of the road my wife goes off...I get out and leave her ranting and start walking to the Stratton exit and about 300 yards into this a car honks at me and it's the county sheriff. He asks about the truck and tells me to get in and asks if there is anyone else in the truck. I tell him yes but to leave her there and let her cool off..
He calls a wrecker and the rig gets towed to the motel and he drops the trailer and puts the van at my room. For $45....The wrecker guy makes a phone call and finds there is one rental car left in the next town and makes arrangements to pick me up the next day to take me there. We get there and he won't take any money cause he said he had to go there anyway..While I am doing the paper work a guy come in and tells the lady that the car she is renting me was stolen last night from the airport. I go outside and light my pipe..Guy comes out and says there is a place that might have a car, takes me there and peels out. He does have a car. I make arrangements for the tranny shop to get my van and we head to the Springs. I cal Hertz and others for a one way rental and they want $1100 so I figure I am not gonna get my car this trip, oh, did I mention I sold the trailer to a guy in Stratton when I drove past his hot rod shop in the rented car? Only lost $1k on it...I found a deal from penske on a 16' van for $600 and rented it and headed for denver with my son-in-law. It was a brand new van and had a wood floor. it's illegal to haul a car in these and there is no way to tie it down so we made a stop at a lumber yard and bought material for ramps and to crib the wheels. We nailed it to the floor. Wife drove rental car to return it and then got in rental van which had bucket seats. We searched the town over for a lawn chair, anything to sit on as we had 3 persons. Only thing we found that would fit was a big flower pot...Wifey rode 200 miles on that upside down flower pot. The van was ready when we got back to Hays and she drove it home and I the rental truck. I have been forbidden to tow anything that includes her going. I am looking for a dolley though.
yes, it's long and I'm sure boring to most but it was an adventure.
btw..I have $9k in that $5k car and wife has her new Grand Cherokee
