Keep On Truckin’

The biggest news of the past week was the result of on-going “issues” with my transmission. Last Fall I drove down to Cheyenne because of a warning message that came up complaining of “transmission issues”, and to get an oil change. I had to leave the car there for a week so they could get parts (from warehouse in Dallas) that needed replacing (per the diagnostics). A week later I returned the rental car and picked up the Hyundai.

A week later the same warning message again came up. I called back down to Cheyenne and they expressed concern that they might need to send a flat bed truck to pick up the car. I was somewhat skeptical, but I was involved on moving out of the apartment so I stalled them somewhat. (Not the least of the fact that the car was driving just fine.) I finished up moving after Thanksgiving, so I called the mechanic back, and their next available appointment was January 5th. It seems the combination of supply chain issues, mechanic availability, and holiday backups had pushed the schedule out.

Come January 5th, it was snowing lightly, but I pushed on. About halfway to Cheyenne the snowstorm was intensifying, with near whiteout conditions behind trucks. It lessened as I got further South, and it wasn’t snowing at all in Cheyenne. While they were looking at my car a gal came in talk about what they were offering for used cars (for my 2019 Hyundai it was $33,000.00). So I asked about what used trucks they had. She turned me over to a saleslady to pursue that issue.

This was the result of our search. It is a 2018 Ford F150 4WD Crew Cab. The net price was about $11K that came out of petty cash (actually out of the building fund from sale of the condo). Note that over the afternoon the snow did move down into Cheyenne; and I-25 to Casper was closed until about noon the next day.

The next day I was able to drive back to Casper.

Since it is a used vehicle, I didn’t get a set of manuals and only got one key. Fortunately, pdf’s are available online and I’ve managed to figure out most of the issues I’ve encountered.

Along with the new truck, I’m also looking at another vehicle for the homestead. Below is a Yamaha side-by-side that would be very useful once I break ground of the house.

It also gives me access to all of the property. One of the key features it has is a built-in winch which made putting the stairs up in the background of the above picture simple.

Finally, I went back to Walmart to do grocery shopping for the first time in a couple of months. There continue to be occasional shortages, but the following picture shows the pasta aisle.

I realize the Wyoming is probably at the tail end of the supply chain, but this is soviet-style stocking at it’s best.