From Bad to Worse, but a Good Day...
 

Well, I haven't bitched much lately about my current status since you are all so nice and I so hate looking pathetic so often, but I thought I could share this much.

Ever since I lost my job back at the end of May, things have been breaking right and left. As soon as the temp went over 90, our central air went out (which we had just spent $500 on six weeks earlier...compressor shot craps). We lucked out and found someone to purchase a new, commercial grade unit at cost and install it for free...so we came out like bandits on that, although it was still a $400 bite we had to scrape up.

My router shot craps about a week later, and then the transmission started to go out in my high-mileage Windstar van. Having no other recourse, I closed out my IRA, taking a 20% tax bite in the ass, and started to get the van serviced. On my way home from getting an estiamte on the tranny, and some other stuff, the engine shelled...totally. As in, probabay threw a rod through the inside of the cylinder wall. A replacement engine would have cost $4,500, and I would have still had to have tranny work done, and probably a new tranny. Final total? Would have been $6,500, for a vehicle with a $3k book value. So I scrapped it, and proceeded to look for a replacement vehicle.

After a week of research, I decided I probably wanted a Ford Explorer. We have a camper trailer to tow, and musical gear to be hauled around, etc. A car just wouldn't cut it. It looked like I was going to have to spend $7k to get a six or seven year old vehicle with 140k on it, but I lucked into a 1999 with 106k for $7,250 today. I therefore am the proud owner of a very tight, very good condition Explorer 4x4 which needs only a new light hookup for me to be off and camping next weekend.

I feel better, if pretty damn broke.

Well man, at least you're doing okay. I definitely know what it's like when the shit just keeps on coming, but what's important is that, at the end of the day, we can look back and go "Well, that fucking <b>sucked</b>, but things could be worse."

(Then, of course, hope and pray that those worse things you thought of don't happen.)

True... "could have been worse", as in, you could have already paid for a new tranny <I>before</I> the engine blew up!

Too true. Things have actually sucked enough lately that, upon hearing a news item on NPR about Liberians having to take refuge and live in the men's room of the National Soccer Stadium, I began to feel bad about feeling bad about my own situation.

Yes, things *could* be worse. They could also be a shitload better, but then, every morning you don't wake up face down on the concrete is a good morning.

And I love the new ride. I'll post a pic after I get finished gussying it up and putting my Marvin the Martian decor and Moog stickers on it.

Well, look at it this way: You've got the truck, and you've got the central air. I thought you said you were going to tell us about your 'current status'? It sounds to me like you've already tackled your problems admirably. Why worry about it? Don't second-guess yourself. You did good, man. You turned your problems into solutions. Sure, you still need a job, but at least you still don't have to take care of all that other stuff.

What about the router? Is it completely dead?

Router would function as a hub, but no uplink capacity for the incoming cable. It, too, has been replaced. Hell, it was the least of our problems.

Yeah, we're dealing with things, but this string of things has left us teetering dangerously close to a zero bank balance. I haven't had to cope with that for many years, now, and it is worrisome.

Again, things could be worse.

Before I start to appear too pathetic, I do want to say that the shit we've been dealing with doesn't hold a candle to the lengthy battle for employment that Syc had to fight, nor even remotely compares to Dave's house fire...

I am truly fortunate in many, many ways, despite being unemployed and rapidly approaching being broke. I'm trying to focus on those things.

That's about twice what it should cost.:eek:

New block from Jasper, $3.2k, installation was to have been $1.3k. I've since been told I could have gotten something done cheaper, but I would still have had to deal with the tranny, and in the end, the vehicle would still have been worth less than $2k.

Things are as bad as we think they are, or as good as we think they are.

I forgot I don't look at things like normal people do.:D
My tact is how much is it going to cost for how many more miles. I'm never concerned what the value is because I never sell or trade them but rather run them into the ground.
That's saved me a lot of money over the years but it's not a viable plan for many (most) people. It works for me because I always have at least 3 registered & insured, no kids to worry about if I break down and I'm pretty good at nursing them home. The biggest problem is they rust away in a few hundred K miles.
So hey, best of luck with your new toy, man. It sounds like your luck hasn't been *all* bad this summer. :beer:

Our 89 Nissan Sentra just rolled over 150K. Good little car. The body is beginning to rust and fall apart, particularly since moving north, but her heart is strong. We'll see how far she'll take us- just coasting across town now. Bought her used in 1992 with 40K, for $4000 in Wimberley, TX. Good little car.:)

Yes things could be worse ,, I have found that it ain't what happens but how we handle these things that counts
:cool:

Right, Zip. There's no problem too big for C-4.:D

Ahh yes C4 , it makes great squirle figuers , and the blasting caps keep them up right . My SSGT didn't know just what to make of the cool figuers till I reminded him of Caddy shack . He then squached it and dropped me for 50 push ups :D but it was worth it :D :D

Well, I've been out of work for over two years now. The tax bite on your IRA should "only" be 10% penalty, plus the income tax you didn't pay when you earned the money.

I know because that's what's keeping me going at this point.

Yeah, but I brought part of that shit on myself, since I had a permanent job and quit due to dissatisfaction. I'm only fortunate that it worked out in the end. You on the other hand are a victim of circumstance.

Just keep yourself level-headed, realistic and positive. It'll keep you from losing your mind.

Question, El. Since you've been unemployed, have you found yourself becoming a news junkie?
In the early 80's I was mostly home for almost 2 years, and having no internet to keep up, I found myself watching every newscast on TV. After a while I even got hooked on news radio that just repeated every 20 minutes, now how sick is that.
After I started working a real job again, I immediately stopped but not as a conscious thing, it just happened. When I realized that I'd stopped, I rationalized that at work if something important happened, someone would tell me.
I know unemployment sucks and you can't help but worry, but someday you'll look back and be thankful for the time you had with your family, both blood and Cellar. ;)

You know, being unemployed for the first time in 2000 is what made me a news junkie. I didn't watch or read a whole lot of news before then. Enough to keep me relatively well-versed, but nothing compared to now.

Shortly thereafter, I became a talk-radio junkie too.

I've always been a news junkie. Job status didn't enter into it...

New Ride
 

Well, this is about as good as it is going to clean up, with me doing the cleaning. Anyone have any experience with those little tubes of factory touchup paint? Is it functional at all, or is it just a grotesque waste of time given the amount and quality of overall appearance improvement?

And one more...
 

I need to learn how to put multiple pics in a single post. I'm not very html savvy; perhaps you've all noticed?

Elspode's neighbor on the phone- well he hasn't worked in a while and her got this fancy new car so I thought the DEA should know......:D

That touch up paint will keep the water from the metal. A very good thing.;)

Re: From Bad to Worse, but a Good Day...
 

I sympathize--my wife is very frustrated with her job (for good reason) and feels the aggravation and time away from family it's requiring has become more than the $$ is worth, and a year of looking for something better hasn't yielded any results. We've pretty much decided she'll work till the end of the year while we save up as much as possible and she continues to look for something else and, if nothing materializes, she'll give notice. It's true we'll save money on child care, but not THAT much compared to her salary, and we're all budgeted on having 2 incomes like we have ever since we moved in together in 1989. And frankly, I'm a bit scared of the prospect. Theoretically we can scrape by, but it'll be tight, and it'll mean eliminating what financial safety net we have (not much).


What kind of camper do you have? And where do you take it? My wife & I went tent camping a few times BK (before kids) and want to try it again (with a bigger tent of course) when we're ready to brave it with the kids... not quite yet, after our experience in the Poconos, but maybe next summer. No heavy wilderness survival, just a nice out-of-the-way campground. After seeing my boss's camper that he's got parked year-round at a place up in Bucks County I've even toyed with a small popup camper at some point.

I think once the DEA guy looks at the odometer reading, he'll walk away laughing quietly and shaking his head...

Re: Re: From Bad to Worse, but a Good Day...
 

We've got a Coleman Sea Pine popup camper, vintage 1998. You can see a good part of it behind the Explorer in that first pic.

I've been camping since I was a lad. I love it. If I don't get to go camping enough, I become very difficult to live with. If I don't get to go to the mountains a couple of times per decade, I get weird in ways I can't even quite explain.

The camper went to Colorado the first year we had it, but mostly we camp at Missouri State Parks, Corps of Engineers campgrounds, and out at the area Pagan camp which we work to support.

We bought it brand-spanking new for $6,500.00. It is still in very, very good condtion, and let me tell you, it really beats tent camping. No air mattresses deflating beneath you as you sleep, no stinking sleeping bags, and NO GETTING WET in the rain. You can stand up to change clothes, you can store and use a porta potty, and some of these things even come with *showers*.

We've been through some simply incredible storms in this baby, and nary a damp spot to be seen afterward. In fact, at the large Memorial Day Weekend Pagan Festival we attend each year (an event widely known for the stupendous deluges which traditionally occur), we once had 13 people in our camper riding out a major storm. We've had refugees from the weather beg to be allowed to sleep in one of the unused berths on more than once occasion on dark and stormy nights.

Good used popups are around all the time, at least in the Midwest, and at reasonable prices. The things tend not to get used all that much in the grand scheme of things, and so they can be very old and still look and work very good. In fact, I saw a 1973 Starcraft at Fest this year that I would have classified as a B+ condition, which the owner had purchased for $500. This thing was nearly show quality, if they actually *had* camper shows.

Keep in mind you'll need a suitable vehicle to tow with. Although popups tend to be very lightweight (ours weighs just under 1800 lbs. before we load all our crap into it), I recommend nothing under a big six-cylinder for towing. My recently deceased van had a 3.8 liter and the Explorer has a 4.0. The great thing about the Explorer is that the step bumper hitch is adequate for towing my loaded camper (3500 lb capacity with the camper coming in at no more than 2800 lbs), so I don't have to have an expensive hitch installed...although I do have to get a light connector put on tomorrow.

Can't go too far wrong with a decent popup...

I was towing a buddies pop-up over I-80 at about 70mph with my full sized '74 van. A trucker came on the CB to tell me one of the trailer tires was blown out. This thing towed so easily, I had no clue to the problem with the tire. Nice rigs.

The next time I go back to St. Louis, I definitely have to take 2 days to drive to KC and hang with Ep.

Anyone on The Cellar is cordially invited to drop by the Chambers hovel anytime you're in KC or anywhere nearby. We're pretty simple folk around here, I'm afraid, but we're honest and we'll feed you.

Hmm thanks for the tips... towing could be trouble... I kind of assumed my minivan would be enough to tow a popup, but the manual suggests a max towing weight of 1350LB if you have "3 - 5 people and luggage".. course who knows what they're assuming for the weight of the people and the luggage, and I'm sure there's some CYA factor in there too.

But it's academic, any such purchase is a LONG way off. For that matter, I don't ever recall seeing any kind of RV around where I live. For all I know the township has an ordinance against parking them. Still, it would be great... my idea of a fun vacation is getting away, period. I don't really care where I go, and sitting out in the middle of the woods with a pile of books I haven't read yet is as perfect a use of my time as I've come up with.

What sort of minivan and what sort of CL displacement does it sport?

It's a Dodge Grand Caravan and it's got a 3.3L V6 engine. (If that answer doesn't make sense, it's because I didn't understnad the question--cars aren't my strong point!)

Hmm...well, the 3.3 might be a little light considering that the Grand Caravan is a biggish minivan, and so it has its own weight to consider. Looks like the max tow capacity is 2,000 lbs on that engine size, which is indeed problematic, even with a popup. Mine weighs 1,800 lbs empty, and that isn't much of a margin, I'm afraid...

Time to shop for a new tow vehicle before picking out the perfect camper!;)

Your pop-up is pretty plush too. There are lighter models, aren't there?

The Blue Hole!!

Mine is a twelve foot box, and it is one of the more nicely appointed popups, but by no means the largest or heaviest. There *are* lighter units around, but lighter almost always means smaller.

The whole reason we went with Coleman over, say, Jayco, was the build quality. There is really just more *there* there, if you know what I mean. Colemans are made by Fleetwood, a builder of mobile and modular homes, and I think some of that solid building ethic carries over to the popup line. The frame on my Sea Pine is pretty massive compared to other units around, the roof supports are heavy duty stainless, and the top is a one-piece molded ABS shell instead of an aluminum multipiece construction. All of that does add some substantial weight.