Now, that's living!

 

Well Bobby, as of today, I have 99 days left to work before October 3rd when I retire. Don't bother to look that up on the calendar. I have 7 weeks of vacation in that time which is slightly more than six months, and I'm going to take all of it.

And while I was writing this we had another earthquake in SoCal. It was 5.1 on the Richter scale and centered in La Habra, about 35 miles west of here. I hope all our buddies near there are OK.

 

On April 19th, I plan to drive Betsy in the Salute to Veterans Parade in downtown Riverside. The parade route is only about 1.5 miles, but it goes right through downtown. We had a great turnout last year (my first) and expect another good turnout this year.

My son and his three daughters will be riding in and on Betsy with me. How cool is that?

If you're anywhere nearby and want to see some cool vehicles and honor our veterans, plan to attend.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

This has been a public service announcement.

 

Joe, looking forward to the pics and video!!

 

Will we get another video of the event? How is the truck driving (lock up problem still in remission...)?

 

I can't wait to see the pictures and video.

 

That's a good goal Joe.

I'm hoping to have mine back on its wheels shortly as well. I'm ready to drive

Bobby

 

I hope to have both pics and video again this year. It'll be a different setup for the flags on the bed, as my son will be sitting back there, so the flags will have to be relocated. We have 7 flags to display, and I haven't figured out exactly how to place them yet.

As for the lockup/brake problem... I've only driven her once since I "think" I fixed that. We're remodeling the kitchen presently, and Betsy's bed is a great place to store long pieces of wood. So I can't move her without moving the wood. But this weekend, I'll be driving her again because I have to make a trial run with the three granddaughters, ages 10, 4 and 3. I have to see where everyone is going to fit! I don't think they're all going to fit in the cab.

 

Your granddaughters will fit with you in the cab. How about placing the flags in a slightly angled fan shape on the back of the bed??

 

Well, Ilya, I'm pretty sure they will actually fit in the space on the passenger side of the cab. But the younger girls may not like standing and the seat isn't wide enough for them all to sit, even though they'll be throwing candy to the crowd. That's why I want a trial "fit" while the truck is moving.

And, I'll have my hands full driving, so I can't control any emergencies. Although I did manage to toss candy out the left side last year. So we'll see.

 

Trust me. I know the feeling.

Good luck getting it back on the road Bobby.

 

Joe, I'd like to believe I'm going to be able to drive Betsy in this parade without problems. I had lock-up problems last year in this parade and thought I would have to drop out when we were taking off to hit the street from the parking lot. But once I got her moving, the parade was a joy.

And I received my king pin set from Chuck's Trucks, which I intend to install while I'm vacationing starting the day after this parade. Although I haven't found a machine shop yet that can ream the bushings correctly and press them into the spindles. I think my son knows a shop though. Maybe he'll respond to this ...

 

Maybe if you provide the reamer they'll do it. Hey, us mid-sized truck guys could pass a reamer around and it would (eventually) be paid for.
Maybe you'll get super-lucky and find a good, cheap used one.

 

If you had the reamer, you could do it yourself!

 

Anyone have a picture of what this reamer looks like?

Or where to get one?