RedNeckGeek
Super Member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
- Messages
- 8,753
- Location
- Butte County & Orcutt, California
- Tractor
- Kubota M62, Kubota L3240D HST (SOLD!), Kubota RTV900
Good Morning!!!! 74F @ 5:15AM. Abundant sunshine. High 104F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Tackled the speaker problem first thing yesterday, and it was Youtube university to the rescue to get the door panel off to access it. The terminals looked OK, to that meant accessing the back of the radio to check there. YT wasn't much help, as all I could find was how to remove the whole dash. I know I didn't do that to install the radio, then remembered to just take off a dash panel. To get to the radio back required bending and forcing the panel, which I didn't remember, but the wires looked OK. Back at the speaker, wiggling the wires with the radio on showed that a connector was bad, so I replaced it with a pair of Wago connector assortment I'd picked up on Amazon a while back. They seemed to work well, but they don't work unless the wire end is completely bottomed. Put the dash back together and the radio wasn't working. Pulled it back apart and a different kind of connector had come loose. Fixed it, then had to fix it again after I got back from the dump. Should have put a Wago there, but that'll have to wait until next time.
No surprises at the dump, including the rude guy that jumped his place in line, lengthening my wait. Swept out the truck bed, then emptied the guest bedroom of all the VW parts, most of it to do with the camper cabinets, stove, etc., loading it all into the truck. I also had window glass and lots of foam insulation, which packed well together, but that all went into the VW van. No sense wasting that space, and the truck was full anyway.
By then it was 4PM and time to pick up the rental car trailer. The clerk the day before warned me that they would be super busy, and to get there early. Nope, not gonna do it because the earlier I pick up the trailer, the earlier I have to return it. They charge another full day of rental if you're an hour late. So I fueled up on the way over there, arriving at 4:30, and walked right up to the counter to be greeted by the same nice gal that waited on me for the first trailer. No Line, and I was out of there in fifteen minutes. The car trailer seemed to pull easier than the utility trailers I'd rented before, but that was sort of hard to judge because the truck's controls all require a lot more effort than the van's. I'll find out today at the fuel pump.
Once home I got the trailer turned around and aimed up the driveway, always fun owing to the steep slope and 90° turn. I had an idea to use that slope to just let me coast the van onto the trailer and not use the winch, which mostly worked out with some fiddling with the alignment. Since the engine isn't running, the power brakes weren't working, either, and it got real sketchy getting onto the ramps. I approached too slowly and didn't have enough momentum to make it over the bump at the start of the ramps. Fiddled some more, moving the truck farther down the hill to try again, and called a neighbor for another pair of eyes and moral support. Brian smiled and shook his head, saying "That looks kinda sketchy". This time we got the front wheels on, but he had to give the van a little shove to get the back wheels over. Then I was on the brakes super hard to keep from over running the stops at the end of the trailer rails. We managed to get everything tied down pretty well, and retired to the back patio to enjoy a pair of margaritas.
Today looks like it'll be pretty hot, so I'll be keeping an eye on the temperature gauge in the truck. There are only two fairly low passes to get over, and I hope by taking my time everything will work out. Then the fun starts again unloading at the other end...
Hope everyone's week gets off to a wonderful start!
Tackled the speaker problem first thing yesterday, and it was Youtube university to the rescue to get the door panel off to access it. The terminals looked OK, to that meant accessing the back of the radio to check there. YT wasn't much help, as all I could find was how to remove the whole dash. I know I didn't do that to install the radio, then remembered to just take off a dash panel. To get to the radio back required bending and forcing the panel, which I didn't remember, but the wires looked OK. Back at the speaker, wiggling the wires with the radio on showed that a connector was bad, so I replaced it with a pair of Wago connector assortment I'd picked up on Amazon a while back. They seemed to work well, but they don't work unless the wire end is completely bottomed. Put the dash back together and the radio wasn't working. Pulled it back apart and a different kind of connector had come loose. Fixed it, then had to fix it again after I got back from the dump. Should have put a Wago there, but that'll have to wait until next time.
No surprises at the dump, including the rude guy that jumped his place in line, lengthening my wait. Swept out the truck bed, then emptied the guest bedroom of all the VW parts, most of it to do with the camper cabinets, stove, etc., loading it all into the truck. I also had window glass and lots of foam insulation, which packed well together, but that all went into the VW van. No sense wasting that space, and the truck was full anyway.
By then it was 4PM and time to pick up the rental car trailer. The clerk the day before warned me that they would be super busy, and to get there early. Nope, not gonna do it because the earlier I pick up the trailer, the earlier I have to return it. They charge another full day of rental if you're an hour late. So I fueled up on the way over there, arriving at 4:30, and walked right up to the counter to be greeted by the same nice gal that waited on me for the first trailer. No Line, and I was out of there in fifteen minutes. The car trailer seemed to pull easier than the utility trailers I'd rented before, but that was sort of hard to judge because the truck's controls all require a lot more effort than the van's. I'll find out today at the fuel pump.
Once home I got the trailer turned around and aimed up the driveway, always fun owing to the steep slope and 90° turn. I had an idea to use that slope to just let me coast the van onto the trailer and not use the winch, which mostly worked out with some fiddling with the alignment. Since the engine isn't running, the power brakes weren't working, either, and it got real sketchy getting onto the ramps. I approached too slowly and didn't have enough momentum to make it over the bump at the start of the ramps. Fiddled some more, moving the truck farther down the hill to try again, and called a neighbor for another pair of eyes and moral support. Brian smiled and shook his head, saying "That looks kinda sketchy". This time we got the front wheels on, but he had to give the van a little shove to get the back wheels over. Then I was on the brakes super hard to keep from over running the stops at the end of the trailer rails. We managed to get everything tied down pretty well, and retired to the back patio to enjoy a pair of margaritas.
Today looks like it'll be pretty hot, so I'll be keeping an eye on the temperature gauge in the truck. There are only two fairly low passes to get over, and I hope by taking my time everything will work out. Then the fun starts again unloading at the other end...
Hope everyone's week gets off to a wonderful start!
