Upkeeps and Updates

Everything in life degrades with age; this is an obvious fact to the majority with a brain. We knew there were going to be some issues with Gus-Gus, but we didn’t know we were going to fall into a semi half-dug pit of them.

When we went to go check the big guy out, we were already in love with him. It helped that the previous owners did some inside renovations to make it look more modern. We also knew in the end the main reason we were even going to take it home was because it was going to be mechanically sound. The other stuff wasn’t an issue for the time being.

Before we even called the previous owner we knew it was an old babe of 24 years old (now 25!), there would be degradation through out with a bit of rust on top. All in all, looked great for the age though.

But even with that knowledge that it was an old Bessie, the last owner lied and lied again about certain conditions:

• “I don’t know why the gas gauge is all of a sudden not working, it was last time. Maybe just drive it around a bit, that should bounce it back”.
•  “Oh, those water marks that look like previous leaks on the ceiling? All patched up, nothing to worry about”. By the way when we came to check it out the top was covered in snow and ice so there wasn’t much to get a good look at.
• “We winterized all the pipes, so everything should be A-Okay”.

Okay, so you’re reading this and you’re like, ‘these people really need to stop buying vehicles without proper babysitting’.  I’d also like to defend the fact that even though it was indeed a Craigslist-er and they can never be fully trusted, this was still a decently awesome buy.

My one point I suppose is not to just ramble on about the misfortunates of Gus-Gus, but to be truthful. Especially since the buyers (i.e., we) knew there were going to be obvious issues with such an oldie. We were probably going to buy it any ways you (i.e., the seller) doe-doe brain.

Fix ups to date:

• Screwed down and siliconed in the leaks over the cab
• Got the water to finally work after replacing a pipe, or two… or three, and a few other nozzles and such.
• Got the hot water working after a few weeks. My first hot shower in about a few weeks as well… Heaven.

Yet to do:

• Gas Gauge – May or may not ever get fixed. We made it 1300+ miles without it, so I guess why waste $500+ if we don’t technically need it?
• Big nice hole on the roof over the back room. It’s pouring out and thankfully we have some god sent neighbors that let us borrow their giant tarp to prevent more leaks. Supplies needed to correct this issue have been ordered last night and should be here within the next two weeks. Yay.

On other happy notes; Mike has gotten word that he will be passing on to the real interview for the company he applied to. Giggles. Me, alas, from the nine places I applied to haven’t heard anything yet, but there I one I have absolute confidence in that I will be hearing from soon that I actually applied to about 3 hours ago. I’d like to also say that I’m thinking they all have the vibe that I only have a bike for the time being which is the reason I haven’t heard back. Dang transportationists. I really have no issue with riding a dozen or so miles to and from work.

It’s been slow other than that. Where we are staying is quiet, but on the weekends the people around get a little rambunctious and play the country oldies just above medium on their radios. Their all wonderful people, and Monster has a lot of other dogs to sniff out occasionally. There’s a laundry area that costs $3 a load to wash and dry, but absolutely no way to get quarters unless you want to trek the 5 or 6 miles into town. Aside from that, this is Mike’s favorite part; they have a fishing dock. It’s about 120 ft. long and at the end it spreads out into a nice patio area with a few benches, chairs, and about a dozen reel holders. Mike can fish and I can try to get rid of my Michigan white legs once in a while when the sun is out.