The Adventure Begins

Currently I am sitting in a Dodge dealership in Independence, MO, waiting to hear on the status of the truck….

Grandma Moulton and I finally got going yesterday around 2:30. I had to wait for the UPS man to bring me my Superchip Flashpaq that makes it easier on the truck to tow the trailer by changing the shift points. I think it really helps with the shifting! Not so sure on the gas mileage though. I drove down to Bethany, MO before we stopped for the night at Family Budget Motel. It cost 57 bucks for the night and was a really nice place. Pretty simple continental breakfast but it was good. I don’t eat much while I’m on the road. I didn’t have supper last night except for a banana, granola bar, and a soft fruit bar.

Truck issues started yesterday about the time we hit the Twin Cities. On the hills, I noticed a ticking noise when we were pulling up hills. It wasn’t an RPM thing, it seemed to have to do with how hard the engine was working. We cruised along at about 63 mph on the flat land. Hills I took at about 55mph depending on the grade, to avoid the ticking as much as possible. I suppose it’s one of those “if it doesn’t happen things can’t be going wrong, eh?”. In southern Iowa, I noticed that the engine oil gauge had dropped below where we originally started out. Keep in mind I just had an oil change and they said the vehicle had only a miniscule engine oil leak that was nothing to worry about. Well, I didn’t even have enough oil to touch the dipstick! After about 2 quarts of oil, I was just above the “add” line again. We stopped for the night at Bethany. This morning, there was no oil under the vehicle, and everything seemed fine. We got going down the road about half an hour and the gauge dropped pretty good again. Once again, no oil on the dipstick! 2.5 quarts later I’m to the damn “add” line again. I searched for a Dodge dealership on my smartphone (sure do love this thing for traveling). Found one that was on the freeway but had bad reviews. So we went out of our way to Landmark Dodge here in Independence, MO. I have the trailer parked in the back.
I’m sitting here next to grandma snacking on foods, typing this, and listening to music on headphones. Sitting next to an old guy with a cane and reading a book with tiny print. It’s interesting the generational differences here. I’m loading down with gizmos and gadgets and he’s just got a cane and a book. An older fat lady is across the way reading a book about food (go figure). She’s snacking on Cheetos and a pop from the vending machine. I’m eating crisp wafers, an apple and water. People wonder why they can’t stay in shape, LOOK AT WHAT THEY EAT! I digress, I imagine since we are burning oil (blue smoke, and soot in the tailpipe) that I have a bad rings on cylinders. That’s not good. They would have to rip apart the engine and that’s not cheap. We might be staying in the trailer tonight. I also have a cousin (that’s on the Moulton side) that lives half hour from here. We’ll see….