@Lucky188 @InUnfunky @danialexis @LadyIDO

Born/raised Detroit, I never buy new. Lousy investment. Had local van/truck dealer search for 2017 ProMaster high top van with extended wheel base. Wanted only southern owners to avoid salt damage. Low mileage. They found exactly what I wanted at auction. Took about 3 months. Negotiated my price including extended warranty.

Built it out over 3 mos & traveled in it 8 mos before Covid hit.

#vanlife

@danalan @InUnfunky @LadyIDO @LnzyHou @danialexis I grew up in a river valley area with steeply inclined streets with stop lights placed in areas that made newly minted stick drivers very nervous. You learned quickly how to shift into and out of gear from a dead stop on a steep incline early in your driving career.

@cjcrew @danalan @InUnfunky @LadyIDO @danialexis

Not unlike driving in the Rocky Mountains with 5-speed Nissan pick up

@LnzyHou @cjcrew @danalan @LadyIDO @danialexis

Heh — as a Tampa boy (everything is flat flat FLAT!) who moved first to coastal CT (Long Island Sound hills) and then to SE VT…I learned QUITE QUICKLY how to go from stop to motion — driving a stick — on an incline. 😱😂

@InUnfunky @cjcrew @danalan @LadyIDO @danialexis

I still look for a clutch (fruitlessly) when waiting on a hill in my van. I knew how to feather that thing to not roll backwards.

@LnzyHou @InUnfunky @cjcrew @LadyIDO @danialexis My wife didn't learn to dive an automatic until she was 25. She learned on a stick, and we only owned sticks even after she learned.

The learning curve was brutal for her - she'd try to shift, and slam the brake. Took a long time to stop trying to use the left foot.

@danalan @InUnfunky @cjcrew @LadyIDO @danialexis

I was in my 40’s. Loved it from day one.

@LnzyHou @danalan @InUnfunky @LadyIDO @danialexis I miss driving a stick. Can you find manual transmissions these days? Besides trucks.

@cjcrew @danalan @InUnfunky @LadyIDO @danialexis

Don’t know. Google standard transmission cars for sale.

@LnzyHou @cjcrew @danalan @LadyIDO @danialexis

Dan put up a link last week, probs still in this revived thread. 🤓

@InUnfunky @LnzyHou @cjcrew @LadyIDO @danialexis

Link: https://www.motortrend.com/features/every-manual-transmission-car-for-sale/

@danalan @InUnfunky @LnzyHou @LadyIDO @danialexis Thank you!

@InUnfunky @LnzyHou @cjcrew @danalan @danialexis I am watching Ice Road Truckers now.

@LadyIDO @InUnfunky @LnzyHou @cjcrew @danialexis

I have a Class A CDL, and drove semis OTR for about 18 months. I've never had a more isolating job. There were more than one days that I drove 8-10 hours on packed snow & ice.

@danalan @InUnfunky @LnzyHou @cjcrew @danialexis I can't imagine doing anything in -40F. It's amazing to see people who work such hard jobs in such brutal condition.

@danalan @LadyIDO @InUnfunky @LnzyHou @danialexis I used to think I’d like driving a truck but I hate driving now so it’s probably a good thing I never went there.

@cjcrew @danalan @LadyIDO @InUnfunky @danialexis

I was frightened when I bought my high top ProMaster van with extended wheel base. At almost 20’ long, I couldn’t imagine how I could control the beast. A friend took me to Lowe’s parking lot & had me drive, back up, park repeatedly.

Now I wheel Big Girl Pearl around like we are one. I trust her. She trusts me.

@LnzyHou @cjcrew @LadyIDO @InUnfunky @danialexis
Always be aware of clearance, and don't blindly trust posted clearances. They often aren't updated when pavement is repaired.

@danalan @LnzyHou @LadyIDO @InUnfunky @danialexis Brings to mind a railroad bridge by the zoo in Lansing. Can’t tell you how many trucks got caught by that bridge. But it’s marked correctly, so they’re just risk takers. Or not that bright.

@cjcrew @danalan @LnzyHou @LadyIDO @InUnfunky There's one in Battle Creek too. Marked 10'3" but I swear the sign reads "do you feel lucky, punk?" to box truck drivers. Also pretty sure it's not 10'3" anymore.

@danialexis @cjcrew @LnzyHou @LadyIDO @InUnfunky

I'm still hyper-aware of "Truck Route" signs, no matter what I'm driving. The official clearance for my beloved semi, "Petunia", was 13'6". There were several times the posted clearance was exactly that height. I effing crawled through those, asshole fully puckered. 😅

@danalan @danialexis @cjcrew @LnzyHou @LadyIDO

Always fun/not fun when a trucker mistakenly gets off of 91 (CT) to take the Merritt Parkway AKA the "David Letterman Speedway." Cops have to come, shut down 1 of 2 lanes (let's say Milford, CT to NYC 2 lanes so SW), and escort the semi out so as not to damage any of those old New England bridges. 🙄 😎

@danialexis @danalan @LnzyHou @LadyIDO @InUnfunky You know, the bridge in Lansing is old so it’s probably not measured correctly either. I think the age of the bridge would make me think three or four times before attempting to go under it.

@danialexis @danalan @LnzyHou @LadyIDO @InUnfunky 😂🤣👍

@LnzyHou @danalan @LadyIDO @InUnfunky @danialexis You bought your cab before you knew how to drive it? That’s risky but you did it! That impresses me.

@LnzyHou @cjcrew @danalan @InUnfunky @danialexis when I moved back to CA from Boise, I towed my Subaru (manual) with a U-Haul. Never even practiced it before taking it on the road. Drove it through a winding mountain road as it was getting dark. Realized I didn’t know how to turn on the headlight. Parked on the side of the road to read the manual. My 2 dogs in the cab were sound asleep, not a worry in the world. If I have kids, I would not advise them to do 1/2 of the things I did @ their age.

@danalan @LnzyHou @InUnfunky @LadyIDO @danialexis I was in my late teens, early twenties when I learned. Learned in a 1956 Chevy named Moses.

@LnzyHou @danalan @InUnfunky @LadyIDO @danialexis I’m willing to bet growing up in the Rockies and learning to drive a shift stick there was harder than the few rinks sink inclines we have here, although the light at 5th and Joliet Streets is still quite a challenge.

@cjcrew @danalan @InUnfunky @LadyIDO @danialexis

Grew up outside Detroit but lived CO for 30+ years. I consider it home.

@LnzyHou @danalan @InUnfunky @LadyIDO @danialexis I lived in the Greater Lansing area for about 40 years. Just moved back to Illinois 4 years ago. Miss Michigan, really liked it there but I now need my brothers closer than 300 miles away.

@BrentSullivan @LadyIDO @LnzyHou @danialexis

Brent, you elided the "sporty."

Notice the "y" and the "..."

😜

But yes, agreed. 👍