(This is the first post of The Tug Pages.)
The Bug Was Complete.
The Bug-out SYSTEM was incomplete.
We needed a way to care for two cats that would not drive the two humans crazy.
The solution would be a van to tow The Bug. We found it, bought it and I drove toward home.
Notice I said 'toward' home.
There had been no warning something would go wrong. The van was delivered from a sister dealership about an hour away right before I took it for a test drive out on the interstate. It performed flawlessly.
But after signing all the papers and saying our goodbyes, about two miles from the house the front end started bucking like a rodeo horse. When I stopped at a stoplight (thankfully!), I noticed smoke from the front left wheel well.
I had seen those symptoms before. That brake was somehow bound up, and the whole assembly was overheating due to the friction. I limped on the last two miles and pulled it into Bldg S-2, carefully verifying the height was going to work. It did. And it has not moved an inch since then.
Expectations and Reality
This is a thirteen year old working van with 133,000 miles on it. It spent most of its life in Washington, DC. Then it was sold down the river to Daphne, Alabama. It ended up in the hands of the Sandy Sansing dealership network down here on the Gulf coast, which is where I found it.
I had no expectation that everything on this van would work flawlessly. I am not new at this. I will be working through a dynamic list of things needing attention for a few months at least.
The van is in good shape, despite this disappointing beginning. There are some worn parts, but most of the working gear is recently replaced, or is still in solid condition.
The body has some rust naturally. It's a northern vehicle. It's not horrific, and the places that typically rust out are not. There are a couple of holes I discovered in the floorboard that I will be patching. That's just part of the project to me.
Gallery Coming Real Soon
In spite of all the bumps in the road, I'm really excited to start on this Tug project. I feel the biggest reason for that excitement is that it will complete the Bug-Out system project. It's hard for me to deal with something that is almost right, almost done, or almost complete.
And that's ironic, because I'm going to publish this post before I actually have all the parts to complete it. Photos will be taken tomorrow.
Until we get back here, I bid you adieu.
