The plan was for me to drive up to Kirksville last Saturday with a buddy of mine, and he'd follow me back while I drove the Suburban. I knew this thing had basically been sitting in a barn for 5 years, but the owner said that he'd have it running, and he thought it *just might* drive all 190 miles back.
I had bought some motor oil and transmission fluid, figuring we'd change those fluids before driving it. Otherwise, I just had my fingers crossed that we'd get there and it actually would run.
So Saturday morning I get a call from the previous owner. I call him back, and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but he says he can get it started, but it won't stay running. He thought maybe the fuel pump was bad (mentioned that in my previous post).
Fine, fine, fine. I'll rent a Uhaul and a trailer to go pick it up. Kinda takes some of the adventure out of it though...
Anyway, we get up to rural Kirksville and follow the owner through the thawing, muddy field to the barn where the Suburban has been kept. He opens the shed... and man, this thing is huge! I've owned a late model Suburban before, and I know they're big, but this thing is like a Unimog. It's got probably 6" of lift blocks under the springs, and 35" tires. I'm 6' tall, and I have to very literally climb up into this truck.
After 45 minutes or so of trying to get this beast loaded onto the trailer, we finally got it. And I mean, we barely got it. We rented the largest auto-transport trailer that Uhaul has, and if this Suburban were even 6" longer or a few inches wider, it wouldn't have fit.
After ratcheting the axles down (the straps are supposed to go over the tires, but they wouldn't fit), and securing the safety chains, we're ready to roll. By now the sun is setting though. It's been a bit foggy all day, and by the time we make it back to the highway, it's completely dark, and the fog has settled in.
This story is longer than I thought it would be. More to come about the drive back to St. Peters...
No comments:
Post a Comment