Tuesday, June 15, 2010

So Much to Do... A Thread Thin Budget... and... a Short Attention Span...

... Makes getting things lined out a real chore! :o)

Buuuuut... With different departure dates racing at us we're slowly putting things together... and as always... a bad case of procrastination... aggravated by inflamed hitch itch... combined with the previously mentioned Budgetary issues and attention span deficit...

... Well... They oughta have a competition at the Olympics for such doins! Anyone who can accomplish anything under such conditions is a Gol' Dang Western Hero! :o)

Picked up some good and proper boots at Bass Pro over the weekend... They'll do double duty... Look and work proper on the Bike... and serve real well for hiking and such... when we get where we're goin' on the bikes... and they're waterproof too...

Then... got saddlebags ordered for the Raider from an outfit called Osprey Limited... he happened to be building two sets of what I'm ordering... so he just rolled in a third set which he'll ship Wednesday! ... usually takes several weeks... I'll get 'em in one! Now that's the first time my procrastinating has paid off. :o) ... and considering it's pretty much a One Man Custom shop... and knowing, personally, what it's like keeping things together in such a deal... Suh-Wheet!

Made contact with Motion Windows to build us a replacement for a broken window... that I've been stalling on replacement of... and it turned out to be a couple hundred less than I expected it to be... maybe I'm getting the hang of this procrastinating thing?!

... and finally... I've been stewing over what to do about the hitch location on the truck... and how to move it... for a couple of months... at least...

Finally... I stumbled across an outfit that builds a weld in, flatbed kit for a flip over gooseneck ball setup... so I'll be getting that ordered in the next couple of days... then only have to sweet talk our friend James into helping me install the thing... so that it in fact stays attached to the truck!

This new turn over gooseneck ball setup will allow me to move the hitch location about 18" rearward... yielding enough room up front, behind the cab, to load my Red Headed Raider Motorcycle crossways... for those times she and Slick (The V Star) have to ride from camp to camp...

Now... don't ya'll go gettin' your shorts all tied up in a knot... It's safe, it's been done... and it works.

And, think about it... Ever see a 30+ foot travel trailer being pulled down the road?... well... it's hooked up to a hitch that's a LOT farther back than where mine will be, just behind the axle...

It works... and it's the only way that'll work for me to carry our two big Motorcycles on a fifth wheel rig.

It's all a matter of balancing the load, truck frame and tire capacity, suspension supplementation, wind speed, humidity and the gross weight of Coors divided by the mass of the lugnut sitting behind the steering wheel! :o)

Bottom line... I'll still be underweight on the trailer axles... and the cargo/pin weight on the truck...

So... what's gonna happen is... I'm either rolling by fits and starts... into one hell of a fine summer... or... you're likely to hear the noise... when I go slammin' into the wall goin' nine-oh-damn-this-Motorcycle-is-fast!... clear back in Toledo! :o)

Take Good Care
Brian

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2 comments:

John said...

Hi Brain, hope you post pictures of your new hitch set-up when finished.
Thanks John

Brian said...

Guaranteed! :o)