Vehicle Drama

Almost October and we haven't had any snow, or even cold weather yet her in Edmonton.  But you know its coming.  I'm in a panic to get the vehicles ready for winter, somehow still working 12 hour days wiring stuff for other people.

I made a list of vehicle problems and required maintenance issues.  The VW list is 2 pages long, so its just getting parked for the winter.  I don't want to be changing bearings and CV joints on the side of the highway in the winter, for an example.  The VW saves me a lot of money on fuel, but the van makes money, plus its better in deep snow.

Edmonton has announced they will not be plowing roads down to bare pavement this year.  Its too expensive, and last year the piles got so high you couldn't see round corners, and roads got too narrow.  So if I understand that correctly they will just be grading roads, as if they were dirt roads, but snow.  Look out for the new show, Ice Road Truckers Edmonton.

So I got new steel leaf springs for the van, along with 4 extra leafs, and coil over shocks.  My van should be good for a ton plus when I am done with it.  Then new brakes for the back, I need to get a new block heater in it, heavy lug snow tires with studs, and I think its good to go for winter, for maybe under $1000.  Sounds simple when I write it down.  Its getting those leaf spring bolts and stuff off that takes forever.

The VW will live on.  We will see what comes up for sale over the winter, probably no diesel station wagons for under $3000, in which case the Jetta will get fixed in spring, or I will put its motor into the first possum van.  Oddly enough, that would be a lot cheaper than fixing the jetta.  The total required Jetta repairs will be close to $2000, if you count a new set of tires at $800, not so much needed for summer.  But I got the whole car for $1000 and got almost 40,000km out of it, saving me almost $4,000 for fuel.  Plus I still have the perfectly good turbo diesel, which, with a new clutch, could go in a bigger vehicle, haul more, tow more, and save another $10,000 in fuel over a couple of years.  That makes me more excited somehow.

We are going to put Michelle's Hyundai on the road so we have the "personal" vehicle, and I don't have to drive the company van everywhere.  I will be declining work out of the city for the winter.  My favorite out of town builder leaves for Arizona for the winter anyway.

I will be sure to get some videos of my new van springs and stuff.  When the snow falls work will probably slow down and I can find some time to post those videos.