And not actually a joke, never mind the date.
With a little help from the folks at Auto Anything, Rommie actually got herself hitched, more or less.
Still a couple of minor bugs to work out – the wiring connector has to be “relocated” because where it sits now it can’t even open, let alone take a plug. That may involve some wiring work and a bit of mount fabricating, but it’s ultimately minor.
The bigger issue is that, somehow, using just a simple 16″ breaker bar, yours truly managed to break loose one of the hitch-securing nuts welded into the frame, so THAT has to be dealt with. I’m calling this a bad weld on the nut – there was still about half an inch of slack in the bolt, and the breaker bar isn’t that long. I sure as heck didn’t Hulk out… my shoulder is still feeling the strain.
I gather from folks on a couple of trailering groups I’m in that this is a pretty common issue with blind welds made by a machine, and I’m glad I learned it now instead of with a trailer on the back.
The good news is that Anthony at my faithful mechanic shop has ideas and a couple of really good thoughts on how this might be fixed with a minimum of effort and confusion, so when I get ready to actually put a trailer on, we’ll deal. For the moment 7 of 8 bolts are fine so I’m okay with putting a hitch rack on it to carry water and the tent/tarp box if I need the extra space. I don’t even know what kind of camping trailer I want, yet, far less where/when/how to pay for it, so there’s no huge rush. I have tents and mattresses and all the paraphernalia of a tent-camper, and worse case the driver’s seat is entirely comfortable to sleep in.
So as soon as a couple of other strange things and insane people are dealt with, we’ll be back Out There. It’s looking like there may be shenanigans to be had soon.
(Obligatory marketing teaser: Look for the tales of our adventures here, over at The Other Texas, and on Instagram, where we’re @rcmwandering (using hashtags #AndromedaII, #howtostopatruck, and #attheendofthepavedroad) and also @theothertexas. I’ll toss links, snark, and occasional raging liberal political comments on Twitter sometimes, too – @rcmwandering and @theothertexas (no politics here, if that matters.)
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That completes the latest AndromedaUpdate. We now return you to your regularly scheduled lives….