Return to the Regularly Scheduled Program

That's a long enough break from blogging.  

Being broken down in southern Illinois affected me in a number of ways that were unsettling.   I didn't like being stuck without transportation one bit.  After 80k miles of dependable service, the Nissan Frontier failed me.  Additionally, it was becoming clear that it was the first in a number of problems that were about to occur in a vehicle with 140k miles.  

Noises that probably had been going on for some time began driving me crazy with worry.  Transmission?  Engine?  Rear end?  Front end?  Suspension?  Anyway, the long and short of it is that I lost confidence in my vehicle.  But what to do next?  

The blue book value of the 2013 Nissan Frontier had dropped over the years.   Out of curiosity, I tried out the Carvana system to see what it was worth, and they offered $5100.  I could feel the Nissan's shocks and springs sag a little more.  

So when Julia was in Africa, I went and checked out the new and used truck market. I quickly ruled out new.  More on that in a future blog post.

Julia had a great time in southern Africa.  She spent most of her time in South Africa, but also visited Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia.  I think the highlights of her trip were visiting Capetown, the southern-most point of South Africa, and the safaris.    She said I would have loved Capetown but would have hated the safaris.   

While in the back-country, there was no opportunity for exercise/hiking.  Because of the wild animals/predators, they  needed an armed escort anytime they were out and about after dark, even in camp.  While I like viewing animals, long, hot days in a jeep without exercise wouldn't have suited me.  Also, it was Africa-hot, she said, which means temperatures up to 102 Fahrenheit during the day and very warm nights.  Scheduled power outages were frequent during the day and night.

I'll post a selection of her photos below.

 

Dinner prep

Caterpillar--Protein Staple

Not Julia's favorite dish

Cheetah

Close enough

Julia and her companion had a great time, although traveling 24 hours to another continent did not go without a hitch.  Elizabeth missed her flight from California due to a mechanical issue and had to be re-routed through Germany, arriving a day late.  Julia's luggage was lost on the way home but eventually found its way to our house.  The airline claimed that she had failed to pick it up at her New Jersey connection, but Julia had placed an Air Tag inside the suitcase, so we knew exactly where it was (still in Africa).  It was interesting watching it make its way back to us with the airline still in denial.  

I didn't ask for a souvenir from Julia's trip, but she bought me one anyway.

Zambezi is Zimbabwe's national beer.  I drank it last night with some crackers, hummus and cheese spread.  A clean-tasting lager, it wasn't bad and would surely have been refreshing on an Africa-hot day.

Buying a Different TV

Tow vehicle, not television.

My 2012 Ford Escape had a towing capacity of 3500 pounds, a tongue weight capacity of 350 lbs, 4 pin wiring, and a 1 1/4″ hitch.

Towing capacity is fairly self-explanatory.  If the trailer weighs more than 3500 lbs, fully loaded with gear and liquids, the Ford Escape could not safely tow.  Additionally, one has to factor in the gear and people added to the Ford Escape.  The tongue weight is the weight that is on the trailer tongue that attaches to the Ford Escape.  Four pin wiring is the kind used for small utility trailers or boats.  All of the trailers that i have looked at require 7 pin wiring, part of which is the wiring for trailer brakes and to charge the trailer’s battery. Finally, the smaller hitch receptacle size was inadequate for using a weight distribution hitch, recommended for smaller tow vehicles like the Ford Escape.


I could have made the Ford Escape work-probably.  However, it would have required modification/expense to change over the Class 1 hitch to a Class 2 hitch, change the 4 pin wiring receptacle to a 7 pin receptacle, and to add a weight distribution hitch which redistributes the weight of the trailer over the weight of the tow vehicle.  Even after those modifications, I may have been pushing the towing limit after factoring in water tanks and holding tanks.

For safety reasons, I decided to upgrade.  The 2013 Nissan Crew Cab below has 6100 lbs towing capacity and a 7 pin receptacle.  It’s a bit of overkill, but that isn’t a bad thing. We will have the flexibility to add solar panels, batteries, bicycles, and not have to worry about filling up with water or waste.

The first new vehicle that  I purchased was 1986 Nissan pickup.  We took that truck on all kinds of adventures across California where we lived at the time.  In some ways, it just felt right to go back to a Nissan truck for the next round of adventures.