Wild and Free

How a normal person would see it happen. v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v How the media would portray it today.

I'm talking about working rigs here not little utility trailers that carry the load almost 100% with no hitch weight. Take a 20' bumper trailer and the exact trailer as a gooseneck and throw a 12K load on it and see which one pulls harder. I guarantee your headlights are going to be aiming at the stars with a bumper pull which make it pull a lot harder as well and this type of load really raises hell on rear tires versus a gooseneck. Heck pulling my pontoon around @ freeway speeds there is not a lot of tongue weight but the torque applied to pull that resistance from the big barn back there causes a bit more tire slip than if there was more weight on the rear wheels. I really notice the accelerated rear tire wear in summer on the 1500 hemi versus the cummins while pulling the same load as the hemi is quite a bit lighter thus a bit more slippage. John as far as you, I never figured out why folks need to drag everything they own around while camping or hunting. You need to look into this type of stuff as an option and quit the worrying. https://store.kuiu.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1867 this is what camping and hunting is about.

Them bumper pull trailers raise heck on tires versus gooseneck or 5th wheel for sure! Been down that road, I will personally never buy another bumper pull trailer of any sort ever again.

I have had those days. Usually in the dead of winter though. That sucks though. , the leaks are unavoidable on some stuff but nothing makes you ticked off like the things one causes like the tire. I ruined a tire on my 05 last fall, took a wide turn out of my yard with my 30' gooseneck and tire slipped off the edge of the 18" galvanized culvert and sliced the sidewall open but I didn't think much of it didn't get out and look, oh yeah it didn't let go until I was a mile up the road, so I got to change front tire in middle of road one mile from my house. There was a quick 200 bucks on a tire that still had 60% life left.

Wife just sealed the deal on an almost new 2014 VW Jetta 2.0 l. TDI 6 speed manual with only 1300 miles on it. She is a very happy camper today. Going to put the 03 Jetta 1.9 l. TDI 5 speed w/ 271K miles on it up for grabs in a couple weeks after we know for sure there are not going to be any gremlins to work out with the new one, shouldn't take long as she puts between 500-600 miles a week on her car. I can't believe how much more power this thing has compared to the 03. This thing has quite a lot more cab space than the 03 as well, seats are wider and more comfy plus heated leather which my wife is already loving the feel of. Not sure if all saw the previous thread about it but it was a collision repaired vehicle with a salvaged title but the damage was non structural and only replacement bolt on parts needed, no body work other than paint for the new hood and bumper. Figured I would share a few pics of it as it is now and of the damage. Got it for about 4500 under book value. New battery and a 30 day guarantee that the AC works since they replaced all the coolers and radiator and condenser, just wanted it in writing in case they failed to get it sealed up or charged correctly, hopefully it gets warm enough in the next month to put it to the test. Now just a test of time to see how long before there is a rooster pheasant embedded in the grill as they are just starting their spring fighting rituals in the middle of the roads and vehicles just are not in their sites at this time............................hormones.

At those pressures my pickups would be salvage units by 100K miles, total rattle traps by then and totally worn out chassis and bodies, driveline would be great but the rest wrapped around it wouldn't be good. We have something on roads out west they don't have in the eastern part of the state where you run and that is scoria rock "The red orange shale like stone" very sharp and jagged and nothing as hard on tires as that, nothing like class 5 road gravel which varies a lot as well depending on the area it was mined and crushed out of, it makes a huge difference in road surfaces some is sandy some has more clay it goes on and on with the variables and 150+ miles from the area you run in to my area. But then again the average speeds we drive on gravel is just as fast as the interstate seems like most days. Can't say I rarely drive less than 55-60++ on gravel roads. Heck the actual posted speed limits on Gravel roads are usually 50-60 mph in my area anyhow which doesn't help, we got lots of ground to cover around here to get anywhere or get anything done. Bout the only time I slow down is for the farmers grain semis running 70+ down the gravel coming at me. The glass companies make an awesome living around here.

Makes a huge difference, With all the washboards and potholes on the gravel and the frost joints and potholes in the pavement every 100 feet makes for a miserable trip not to mention it jumps and hops around so bad it is hard to keep in a straight line, pretty much like running with solid blocked suspension, this is another reason I like long boxes versus short boxes, they are a bit more stable and don't get as squirley as the short box in these conditions. Another reason I have never gotten more than 50K out of a set of shocks no matter what brand, Rancho 5000 never made it past 35K from the half dozen set I ran in the past. Now trying Bilstein for the first time on the 2010 1500 and will try them on the 05 sometime this year as the KYB on there have set a record for me of around 50K right now but the rears are shot.

If I had to run 60 pounds or more in the fronts I would need to buy stock in Loctite and invest in my own alignment rack to keep everything held together on the rig with our road conditions we have along with needing to replace my spine and teeth from being pounded out along with it. Fastest thing that eats any and all tires is being wet. Driving on wet gravel is the fastest way to kill a tire hands down. Like adding oil to a razor blade makes them get cut up sooooo much easier than dry conditions. The only times I ever saw my front tires hotter than the rears during normal driving was while driving around town with constant start stops and the transfer of brake heat to the wheels and tires. I have to admit after I thought about it I only got 60K out of the last set of tires on my 2010 1500 but it sees about 50+-% of its miles on gravel as a DDer to and from work, about 200 miles of gravel a week with going to the farm on the weekends on top of the work commute. I rarely tow with it on gravel either, it mainly pulls the travel trailer and pontoon in the summer, maybe pulls a pickup box trailer with fire wood on occasion on gravel, most of the gravel towing is with the 05 with the gooseneck flatbed and stock trailer.

http://www.callthecops.net/police-officer-district-attorney-defense-attorney-hit-contempt-court-cops-testimony/ An officer testifying in a Drunk Driving trial has landed multiple people in jail on Contempt of Court charges. These charges stem from a breakdown in decorum during the officer’s testimony. Courtroom laughter over Officer’s Name lands three in jail. Officer Harold Beaver had just taken the stand when the trouble started. The district Attorney started direct examination in the normal manor. Below is the official transcript of the trial… Once order was restored the testimony continued without any major issues. That is until later in direct examination the video of the arrest was played. Below is a transcript of the video that was played in court. Prosecutor: Please state your name and profession for the record Officer: Officer Beaver, Police Officer for the city of Pizda Prosecutor: Sorry officer but we need your first and last name. Officer: Sorry… Harold is my name, but most people call me Harry. Defense: Laughter Judge: You find something funny councilor? Defense: No your honor… was just taken a back by the fact this officer just admitted on record people call him Harry Beaver… Full Gallery: uncontrolled laughter Judge: Order… order… I demand order… the next time anyone laughs I will be finding people in contempt! The courtroom then once again erupted in uncontrolled laughter. It should be noted that the officer does have male pattern baldness and as a result has a noticeable comb over. Officer: Sir based on your admission of having a few beers I need you to step out and perform some tests. Defendant: OK Officer: First I will need to check your eyes. Please stand with your feet together and your hands at your sides. Now I need you to keep your eyes on the light here at the tip of my pen. Can you see the light. Defendant: wait… is your name Beaver Officer: Yes… now… can you see the light… I need you to follow the light with your eyes. Defendant: You have a receding hair line… Officer: Sir… please focus…Can you see the light… I need you to follow the light with your eyes. Defendant: Ever think about shaving what little hair you have? Or are you embarrassed about being a bald beaver… Even members of the jury were laughing at the dash camera video. The judge had to end court for the day. But he demanded that the three people he viewed as responsible for the outrage in his court to remain. The judge then admonished the prosecutor, the defense attorney and the officer for allowing such an obvious joke to be perpetuated in his courtroom. When Officer Beaver spoke up that his name was not his fault, the judge handed out his first order of contempt of court. A $500 fine and one night in jail. Quickly the lawyers were arguing about how this was not their personal faults. As lawyers they could not control what happened in the past. The judge though was not impressed. He also ordered the defense and prosecutor in contempt also. Due to the tainting of the jury the judge has called for a miss-trial. The trial date has been re-scheduled for next month.

I did a few times years ago and even with no load on the rears at the same to +-15 lbs more air rears were always at higher temps than the fronts by a few degrees but not enough to make a big difference. I must be doing something right as I have gotten 80K on average out of almost every "E" rated tire brand I have tried and this is with a lot of gravel and trailer towing.

Plus you have to figure in as much as 5 psi variable in different el-cheapo pressure gauges as well. I only buy high quality industrial dial gauge type tire pressure gauges and I usually see 1-2 psi difference between them and the gauge on my compressor itself. I have never found a stick type pressure checker I was confident in as far as accuracy.

Wife is dealing on it and 17,500 is their bottom dollar with a new battery. She I think may close the deal today but with me working night shift have not talked to her face to face for a couple days and I can't break free to get to town to help her. The green is deceiving, we had an extra mild fall through November and no snow so things stayed green up to December. OK just talked to her and she now owns it and is picking it up tomorrow, they are giving us 30 day guarantee on AC system in writing as that is one thing I wanted to make sure was charged and working as the front was replaced. They are installing battery and cleaning it up today. Any body looking for an 03 Jetta TDI 275k ish miles, will be going up for sale in a couple weeks after giving the new one time and feeling confident in the new ride being trouble free.

Any external seal leaks on the steering sector gear hoses ect. this can cause air In the system and cause foam and over flow but after it cools and separates again it will be a bit low.

Wife just called me to ask what things to deal with them about. She is going to talk to them and make an offer I think. She likes the car and the deal apparently. I am sitting here at work on the edge of my seat just waiting the outcome of her dealings after giving her a few items to ask for while possibly making a deal.

Brake fluid level staying full ?

Before and after pics. http://www.s2cars.com/volkswagen/jetta/14296856 http://www.ckauto.com/Profile_14ND21F_2014+Volkswagon+Jetta.aspx

Wife is still pondering it, she has driven over 550K miles in the last 20 years in only 2 smaller cars " bought a new 1995 dodge neon put 310K on it and current 03 Jetta TDI @ 250K of her own miles" and is maybe wanting something a bit higher and bigger and more comfy going forward, lots of people do not want to ride with her to places due to her car sitting too low and being small and hard to get in and out of not to mention all the stuff she is hauling around all the time, back seat and trunk are always packed to the gills, she would really like a wagon or hatchback of some sort. I can get the 2014 Jetta for 17,500 which is about 4500 less than book, not as low as I would like but in trade off it does only have 1300 miles on it. But in the end it is my wife's decision, she has to drive it not me.

Some times its the simple things that work the best. Took me a few years to find the all around sweet spot in pressures that all my 2500's with E rated tires like on the front end. Set it and leave it on the fronts unless one had a slide in camper would change it up though, rear changes with load. It would do even better if you max out the control arm caster cams to get as much positive caster as possible.

Saw pics of the damage and it was pretty much bolt on replacement parts it needed, hood was the biggest along with all front nose components meaning grill radiator coolers bumper ect, other than headlights didn't look to be damaged, looked like they took on a deer or pole dead center front but not enough to pop any air bags, talked to them about why the salvage title and they said on new vehicles some insurance companies just total loss them and send them direct to the auction rather than deal with fallout from angry owners over issues of new vehicles being wrecked and not repaired to new condition or their standards or what it may be. They buy a lot of them this way, near new with little damage but ins co. total lossed them instead so they have a salvage title for this reason alone and not because of the dollar amount of damage. I talked it over with my insurance provider and he confirmed this and ran a VIN check and said no problems on insuring it either, he said that the company that did the repair is his top pick for a lot of repairs and has total confidence in their work as well. Wife test drove it today and really liked it, still thinking it over hard yet.

Come Monday I am going to make some calls and do some more investigating as to the terms of the state laws ect. and if it actually had enough damage to be a salvage title or if it just needs a damage disclosure from my learnings they are 2 very different things and want to clear it up with the place selling it and get more details from them first. Possibly I could get factory warranty on a damage disclosure vehicle versus a salvage title vehicle, this would change things up a lot.

Every leveling kit I added still retained just a bit of rake to the front except for my 02 with the OEM plow package springs it sat almost perfectly level. One absolutely doesn't need all of what you think, if you do you are lifting it not levelling it and you are well past the 2" levelling kits. Be careful what you are buying. Just to give you an idea, my 05 has a 1.5" leveling kit and here is what it looks like without airbags and roughly 25K lbs on behind it. Hauled this JD 5020 with full wheel weight package 100 miles at 70-75 mph and it handled like a dream. The 05 with the 1.5 levelling spacers and ranch hand bumper sits about 3/4 inch higher than stock height w/o RH bumper and spacers and still has a slight rake to the front when empty.

From the linked document. @ 23000 it would need $9200 in damage to meet the 40% of retail or $8000+, so at shop labor rates of around $100 and hour around here on average plus parts it is easily attainable without a major structure damage. My wife and I have been in very minor fender benders over the last few years and it is truly amazing what little it takes for a $3K bill a small dent that requires some body work and paint and maybe one bumper and light assembly ect and $3k is gone quickly so again 8-9k is easy for a frontal damage where they had to replace radiator and coolers a fender and a hood and bumper plus painting them all. I looked it over and the VW dealer looked it over and we were both amazed at the like new condition it is in yet, was a very quality repair job which this shop is known for in the first place. How much damage does there have to be before it is required to be disclosed? Damage that equals or exceeds the greater of $8,000 or 40% of the pre-damage retail value of the motor vehicle as determined by the National Automobile Dealers Association Official Used Car Guide must be disclosed. This does not include body or structural modifications, normal wear and tear, glass damage, hail damage, or items of normal maintenance and repair. If the damage is more than 75% of the pre-damage retail value, a Salvage Certificate of Title will be issued.

Been hashing it out on another forum and it has to have had considerably more damage than they led on according the this document from the ND DOT for a brand new car to have a salvaged title. http://www.dot.nd.gov/divisions/mv/docs/faq-damage-disclosure.pdf This sums it up for me about now. lol

My wife has been looking at newer vehicles to replace her 03 VW Jetta TDI with almost 300k miles on it and she found a nearly new 2014 Jetta TDI with only 1300 miles on it but the problem is that it's a repaired car with a salvaged title. I test drove it this morning and it is an awesome little rig but having never bought a repaired car I decided to test drive it directly to the VW dealer to see if VW would still warranty it, they said on a salvage title used car no warranty unless it was repaired with 100% VW parts and even then it would be tough to get VW to honor factory warranty. I will not buy a newer vehicle without a warranty so it is out unless there are warranty companies out there that are willing and able to put coverage on a car like this at a reasonable rate, It was a minor front collision, no body work needed all was bolt on replacement parts and no bag deployment, they replaced front bumper, radiator and coolers and hood and one fender. Question is does anyone know of or recommend a decent warranty co. that would work with a car like this?