We
test drove GMC Yukons, Toyota V-8 4-runners, Chevy something or
others, Fords I couldn't see over the hoods of, and just about every
combination of pick-up truck or SUV that could haul the new trailer
and still give us a vehicle we could use “off-duty.” We finally
decided on Toyota's big V-8 SUV and drove several Sequoias before
finding the dark blue unit we really liked. It only had ninety-five
thousand miles on it, and other than a couple of cosmetic issues, was
in great mechanical shape. I was surprised to find there were very
few used Sequoias with less than 100,000 miles on them.
My
dad never kept a car beyond the 60,000 miles. When it hit 60,000
miles, it got traded in before the fenders fell off or the floor
board rusted out, but that was then, and this is now since Detroit
has finally been slapped up against the side of their corporate heads
by foreign competitors. Our SUV looked like new, except for the floor
mats, which we replaced.
I
added a new brake controller and was pleasantly surprised to find the
necessary wiring was already in place, all I had to do was take off
the existing plastic caps from the wiring coiled up under the
dashboard and plug in the new controller. Nothing like planning
ahead.
I
had the Sequoia safety checked and all the inspections brought up to
date, from spark plugs to brakes. When we test drove the SUV with the
trailer attached, we knew we had a great combination. Only one thing
needed to be resolved: The ride height difference between the two
vehicles. The trailer hitch had to be lowered to keep the travel
trailer level.
The
two-inch box hitch receiver is fixed on each vehicle, but the shank
on the trailer ball assembly for the load equalizer was adjustable.
All I had to do was move the shank down and we once again had a level
travel trailer. But I had a problem: I didn't have any regular wrenches that even came close to big enough to fit the nut on the hitch.
However,
using the Ford wrench from my grandmother, yes, my grandmother, I
made the switch effortlessly. You see, my grandmother used to
build bombers. B-24 Liberators, to be exact.
Laura
Corns Mindling, my
grandmother,
worked during the war for Ford Motor Company at the Willow Run
Aircraft Plant, just outside Detroit, Michigan. She was a press
operator, and a good one. After the war, Ford kept her on at
the River Rouge plant, near Dearborn, where she worked until 1956.
She slipped on an oily floor that year and broke her wrist in the
fall. When she was finished with her medical leave, she took
full retirement, and eventually moved to Miami, living with her
husband Lou, first with us for several years, then moving not far
away
in
their own efficiency
apartment.
Laura lived alone for several years in
Miami after
Louis,
my grandfather,
died, then moved to live the rest of her life with my Aunt Ruth in
Denver.
After Laura's death, my brother and I received several artifacts and
family mementos. I received a few items, including a heavy, wrapped
bag.
Included
were two wrenches used by my Grandmother at Ford, oh so many years
ago. I like to think she used these tools to help win a war, or
build a car that perhaps someone she knew may have driven. At
any rate, today, those wrenches helped me change out a ball hitch and
a trailer shank that had me absolutely stumped. Grandma would
have been proud.
Next: On to Wekiwa Springs State Park, right in Mickey's backyard, at:
http://sleepstwo.blogspot.com/2011/08/wekiwa-springs-state-park.html
Next: On to Wekiwa Springs State Park, right in Mickey's backyard, at:
http://sleepstwo.blogspot.com/2011/08/wekiwa-springs-state-park.html
I love old tools, especially family hand-me-downs. I've still got a few of my mother's father's (Sebastian Tallitsch)gardening tools, including a big scythe that I used a few times to cut the spring grass in our little apricot orchard. There are many of my Dad's tools in my shop, including a wire-caged incandescent drop light that glows over my Triumph TR6 when I'm fussing with it. They carry the spirit of those folks, and its not just the memories they call up. Picking up one of my Dad's wrenches I can just about here him say, "Use the right tool for the job"", and, "Let the tool do the work."
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