I just wasted a BOATLOAD of gas!
 

Found an old GMC motorcoach online and fell in lust.

Made the arrangements to go get it. It wasn't a runner but that didn't sway me- I'd haul it on my 18' flatbed!

Google maps said almost 1,000 miles... ONE WAY.

Did lots of "deferred maintenance" on the F150 in preparation: new: u-joint, ignition lock cylinder, headlight switch and multi-pin connector, battery, starter, radiator. Four new tires on the flatbed.

And I'm off!

First of all, Google maps is a liar. You can check a box for a route withOUT toll roads so I did... started off on that route... came upon a TOLL. :mad:

Found out that it's a tough system to beat as the so-called routes outside of the tolls SUCK. I mean, I had no idea, no conception, that it was possible to have so much suck all on one route. :mad: "One route" being, 97 different roads and side streets, none of which have been paved or worked on since 1951. Not counting the DETOURS. Detours for what? Are they really working on the road? :confused: I put more wear and tear on the pickup in 10 hours on "Route 20" than I did in the last 10 years of MN driving COMBINED. Stop start stop start stop start stop start stop start stop start stop start. People live like that?!?

Drove straight through. 26 hours. Only gas and piddle stops. NOT recommended. :/

But I made it! Saw the coach. Evaluated the coach. It was FUBAR. Decided that not only does every square inch of it need work- far above my pay grade- hauling the heavy pig would destroy my truck and trailer besides. Gut instinct said to run away as fast as I could. Gut instinct finally heeded.

Set out for home. Paid the damn tolls- about $70 "worth". Quite the scam Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois have going- 10-20 cents/mile? Ursurious rates and the toll roads still suck.

It's not like the benefit was lower gas prices from lack of State gas taxes to pay for roads. Crap roads AND 40 cents/gallon higher! That's a wow.

Found a second (or was it third?) wind and kept driving. Got lost in Chicago. Quite easy to do, especially for one that hasn't driven in a metro area for decades.

Found a way out that wasn't a toll! :eek: Drove and drove and drove.

43 hours and 1,900 miles after setting out, made it to Mom's. Barely. I was a very poor driver towards the end with several micro black-outs. No collisions or going in the ditch, but either could have easily happened. Only stops were gas, piddle, and that hour of looking at that GMC. Zombilicious.

I would not recommend this to anyone. Except perhaps someone I hate.

$240 in gas; $70 in tolls. About $1000 in work to truck and trailer. For naught.

Lesson learned. I hope.

Pics or it didn't happen!

No, seriously, I want to see what lured you on this adventure.

Also: thanks for "deferred maintenance." :D I'll be using that line in the future.

did you take the cat with you?

Is your truck still in better shape than before your "deferred maintenance?"

Yeah, I wouldn't say the work on the truck was "for naught". Plus you got to have a ... fun? road trip. Plenty of people blow more than that on an evening drinking.

Good story. You would've been more poor if you bought the POS

Yeah. I don't know who designs their mapping algorithms, but last time I checked, their chosen route from my place to San Jose involved driving a good few miles north to Reno, taking I-80 to Oakland, then I680 south, going around three sides of a rectangle on roads that are often heavily congested. Completely ignores Calif 88, which is shorter and where the only congestion is an occasional deer or bear.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...psezbjbakc.jpg

I'm up for a challenge and I knew going in that it was cosmetically challenged. What I didn't appreciate was that every square inch of it was bad, as in, even the gelcoat on the fiberglass was bad, leaving exposed 'glass fibers swaying in the breeze. The windshield is broken (expensive), the gutters are gone (removing them is a huuuge no-no), and I was hoping for a gutted interior as a stock GMC would overload my trailer but no, the interior, while destroyed, was all in there.

As you can see, part of the allure was the ****canning of the stock 455 and slip-slidey a/t in favor of a turbodiesel 5sp m/t! I'm also all-in on the bogey delete. I liked the way the mods were headed and was ready to carry the torch to seeing it through to completion. Until the enormity of it all set in.

There is no cat. R.I.P. Cecil. :(

F150: I smoked the a/c clutch or the belt or the compressor, not sure which at this point. Haven't gone out there to look at it. I probably finally destroyed the stock OEM brake pads and shoes too. If it didn't need tie rod ends and/or ball joints, it does now. The transmission had been gradually declining and this trip put it over the edge. I can drive it "home" but it needs an overhaul.

The happiness level started to deteriorate upon the discovery of that first toll. One could say it "took a toll". :rolleyes: It never recovered after that.

I drove for hours and hours with my jaw hanging open, such was the shock, the utter disbelief, the near state of speechlessness, the sheer DEVASTATION of the environment the area suffers!

The only correct decision I made during the entire ordeal was leaving it there.

If I ever propose to go out on similar "fun", I hope someone smacks me hard upside the head.

This sounds like the worst possible version of one of my stories. I am very sorry you had this experience. I hope you are able to take care of your truck relatively easily.

I took a shower, got out of those clammy clothes, and basically slept for 26 hours straight. I feel better now. :)