You are correct on the date code. 5th week of 2010.

 

Katskins makes some really nice leather seat kits that fit just like factory. Where is your final target, I know you said Knoxville area. I'm from Maryville, just south of Knoxville. If your in Little Rock, you could have this trip whipped today.

 

I have a cabin in the hills about 7 miles from Pigeon Forge.

Used to live in a city, the traffic noise never stopped.

Now I almost never hear a vehicle, I go to sleep listening to crickets, and wake up to owls.

Still 551 miles from home, 8 hrs 14 mins according to my iPhone, but the reality is always more. It's already 7 AM here, home is +1 hour for the time zone. I think it will be about 11 more travel hours, so I could do it.

I'll be happy to get on the other side of Nashville today, and enjoy the view along the way rather than pushing to get home late today. But I won't make that call until I pass Nashville.

There are some shops I would like to stop at on that last stretch, and have not been on it in about a year. If I push, they will be closed when I pass through.

And if I do need AAA, rather experience that when the sun is still high in the sky.

 

You did read the code right (tires produced May of 2010) and the cracking is likely age related ... but nothing to worry about from the size of the checking. I wouldn't want to be carrying any kind of load in the bed though.

Take the time and visit the shops you want to ... who knows when you'll be in that neck of the woods again.

 

Man I have to admit I'm enjoying your journey.

And let let me clarify something else interesting: I am NOT a truck guy at all. I do love my E350 van, and for similar reasons some guys love trucks. It's tough, big, powerful, etc etc. But who would want an open bed instead of an enclosed cargo area?!
i say all that to lead up to the following: im jealous of your find. Healthy, non-sinful jealousy. That truck looks great. Custom bumpers, winch on the front, those marker lights on the roof, even those wheels are cool. You are blessed.

If you don't mind sharing, maybe when you're done with the trip you could outline the expenditures you have in it. Airfare, hotels, fuel, etc. I'm a numbers guy and I'd think it's cool to see.

 

Not May, first 2 digits are the week of the year.

 

Right you are ... good catch.

 

I have a '99 F250 Long bed Super Cab 2 WD and an '02 E350 15 passenger van.
Best of both worlds.
I can't carry garbage, or loads of dirt etc. in the van and I wouldn't leave things that are effected by weather in the pickup.
Different tools for different jobs.

 

Happy to share the numbers. I think the total is somewhere around $1,000 but I will get the exact numbers; I'm a numbers guy too. Here is the next fueling today:



At 286,530.1 miles. I'll do a topoff tomorrow for the total, I'm home! I got through Nashville well before rush hour, so figured I would head for Cookeville... Then Crossville. I think the shop I was looking for is only visible westbound, or I missed it. Anyway, after Crossville, it was only a couple more hours to get home, and I had a little left. And I wanted a drink in a real glass, not a plastic. And a breakfast I cooked myself! So I made it, but did not take the promised interior pics as it is now too dark. So I took this instead:



The marker lights work! I did not check any lights before hitting the road

New problem, or is it a feature(?)... Turned on the headlights as it started getting dark. About a half hour later, I noticed the dash lights come on suddenly. Had not noticed the dash lights were not on until then, as it was not that dark yet. But the dash lights did come on suddenly later.

ETA: The long day did take it's toll. My back is a bit sore, my butt hurts from sitting on my wallet, and my holster left a red mark on my side. But my drink tastes much better out of a real glass! Cheers, my friends!

 

Problems:

Cruise control: When setting, the truck picks up a couple mph rather than going the speed I set it at.

Speedometer error: Set cruise control for 60. Timed 10 miles (should take 10 minutes). Did 10 miles in 9:20.

(9 min X 60 sec/min) + 20 sec = 540 seconds

((600 sec /540 sec)*100) - 1 = 11% high

 

If I had to guess your truck has the auto headlights feature. Look for a quarter sided black sensor up by the defrosters. It is a light sensor. So you can have headlights on all the time for safety but when it gets dark your dashlisghts would be added. You should be able to look at your headlight switch and see if you have this feature.

 

We have a winner! Thanks! I see the sensor.

 

Went to Firestone in Maryville today. I like the shop, and recommend them. Unfortunately, this truck is too much for them to handle all of the repairs. Repairs? Yes:

Problems:

• Sway bar links are completely shot (no bushings left). I'll have to scroll up to issue rep points for someone here on that one.
  
• Front spring packs are shifted. Couple be broken locator pins or (jump in here, folks).
  
• Rear driveshaft carrier bearing no longer exists. Well, part of it did when I got home last night until I climbed the hill I live on. Maybe some was still left after that, but less remains since climbing it again this afternoon.
  
• Exhaust leak where a welded-on hanger broke. Hole the size of my thumb. And another hanger coming loose.

Since the rig has a lift and this was too much for Firestone, I found a shop that seems like they know how to handle the lift springs and carrier bearing. I'm also going to try and find the shop that did the lift in Texas, to try and get details.

The front end has a brake upgrade too, so even though I have the original rims for the truck, they may not fit over the larger calipers. So I will be in for a set of 19.5 tires.

Because, of these issues, all fluid changes are on the back burner for the moment. And I will get trip costs tomorrow excluding a final end-of-trip fueling. I spaced out on that coming home, and don't want to climb the hill again.

And I missed on the interior photos again. My apologies.

 

Since I live in Maryville, can I ask which shop you found? Can I also recommend Overlys off-road(A.k.a. Known as Dougs off-road from when his father owned it). He did the gears and installed the lift on my truck. 1 year warranty on the gears and no questions asked when I went back to get the traction bar re-torqued.

 

Speedometer being off is attributed to the larger tires