Am I Losing My Mind?

I must be losing my mind, or I have too much money in the bank. The latter of which can't be possible, since if you know anything about me, having too much money in the bank is an impossibility. To me, there is simply no such thing.

You see, the thing is that I currently drive a 2018 Ford F-150 pickup truck, and it's a really nice truck. Even though it's nothing fancy, just an XLT, it's got everything—well, maybe I would have preferred leather seats. But oh well.

But the seats are heated, the mirrors are heated. It's got a back up camera and full center console viewer. It's a V8, and doesn't have (sorry Ford) that crappy Ecoboost thing.

I like it, 'nuff said.

Back in around October of last year I finally took the plunge and got something I have wanted for decades. A camper.

And it's really nice too. I bought a 2019 Keystone Passport Elite MB34. She's about 7,020 pounds dry and about 38' long, is really roomy, and was priced just right. I have pulled it several times so far and my experience with it has been mainly satisfactory. At the same time, I am still quite aware she's back there, especially in windy conditions. Just 20 or so mile per hour winds can make for an interesting tow experience, although I am going to start experimenting more with the brake assist to see if that helps on windier days. 

But honestly, 20 mile per hours are not generally considered less than ideal for pulling a travel trailer. So, not sure what to think about that. It could be chalked up to lack of experience. I have never pulled anything this big before.

Or I might just need a bigger truck.

Which brings to a bit of dilemma. As I said, I like my truck. Now, I will say I have been considering having a third vehicle handy. The idea before was to keep my wife's car, a 2019 Nissan Rogue, once it is paid off—which is soon—and just get her another car.

She hasn't been extremely excited about the Nissan anyway. She's been talking about getting a Ford Explorer. Before the Nissan we had a 2010 Ford Edge, which we liked and probably should have kept since there was nothing wrong with it. It was just getting up there in miles and my wife was ready for a change.

But nonetheless, we didn't do that and here we are.

My thinking is that what I want, to be better equipped to pull the camper, is to upgrade to a Ford F-250. The question will become which do I prefer? Gas or diesel? And I am leaning diesel and leaning Power Stroke.

I just think for this purpose diesel is better and the engine will last longer. I could be wrong about that. It's only an opinion and there is no real basis for it since I am not necessarily all that versed on engines and vehicle mechanics in general.

I do assume, though, that it is not unreasonable to expect to get up to a half a million miles out of a diesel engine provided it is well maintained and all. But again, that's a guess.

Now, here's the crazy idea I have, and that's to keep my current truck and just get another one, and instead of keeping the Nissan as a third vehicle, we just keep two trucks instead and trade her Nissan in when the time comes for something else for her.

Do I need two trucks? Not necessarily. But still, I think having the third vehicle, if that's the ultimate goal, has its purpose served regardless of whether or not the third vehicle is two trucks and a car or one truck and two cars.

It is really a bit of a horse a piece isn't it?

Granted, I will admit that the cost of the F-250 will likely be more than the cost of a Ford Explorer, even though I will definitely buy a used F-250. That depends on the year I choose too, and of course the miles matter.

When I bought my 2018 it was two-years old and only had 26,000 miles on it and I paid about $32,000 for it. I was looking at some of the F-250's around 2020 and it looks like one I saw had 75,000 miles on it and was about $46,000.

Still, I am of the thinking that I can reasonably kill two birds with one stone here. And if I am looking at higher miles on a diesel, I am still going to get a pretty good run for my money. At present, my F-150 has about 46,000 miles on it, so I think it has good life left in it as well. That is despite the fact that I also believe I may get many more miles out of the Nissan, keeping it, than I will with the F-150.

I have some time yet to decide. I have three camping trips to date planned for the season this year. One coming up at the end of the month. Another in July, and a potential final one in August—even though I am sure we may plan some very close to home trips before we close up shop and winterize around October.

I said I'd shop and make a decision before the start of the camping season next year.

But the trips are telling of course, right? The one in May is about 2 hours away. So is the one in August. They are quite manageable. The one planned for August is a bit longer of a trip. Around 6 hours away. That may be the most telling of all of them since that one will provide the worst-case scenario.

How well will the F-150 I have now handle on an extended trip?

I suppose regardless of which direction I choose to go, I think at least shopping around for an F-250 should be a fun experience and gives me one more thing to do on a weekend. Shopping around on Sundays of course, since to me that's the only time to ever step foot on a car lot unless you are actually going to test drive something specific or actually pull the trigger on a purchase.

Well, there's that, and hey, look on the bright side. I get to bring you all along for the journey as I shop around. Plus, maybe all of my writing about it may also flip the bill for me. Okay, that's quite a bit of a stretch. 

Besides, I will leave open the possibility that I may actually be losing my mind. So, anything is possible.

Like the way I write or the things I write about? Follow me on my Facebook page where I compile many of the things I write about from the places where I write them. I'd love to see you there, and we can chat too. 

Writing on the Journal is Tough

Let me be straight up and say that no matter the audience, I enjoy the process of writing. And that goes for anything I might write about. The mindless drool I write here is not without its level of pleasure and enjoyment.

As I often say about writing, the general thought is to just keep the pen moving. And while The Journal here may not have a strong audience, and for whatever reason Google has decided not to let me monetize it like my other blogs on the Blogspot platform, it is—for all intents and purposes—not a waste of time for me.

But it's tough. 

It's tough because fewer eyes land here. It's tough because—well, let's face it, I want to be able to monetize it. It's tough because it doesn't really advance my other, more serious writing. It's tough because I prefer to share that other writing on my Facebook page devoted to sharing the things I write about.

At the same time, I still don't mind doing it. In fact, there are times when the well runs just a little bit dry. It happens! And just being able to write about anything and nothing at all helps to spark something that maybe leads to something else that is more productive.

And can be monetized.

Just because it is tough does not mean I won't still spend time here, doing what I do. As I have said here and in other places, I almost have to write just as much as I have to breathe. It's a part of me and an extension of me.

It's what I am and what I do.

And ultimately, for whatever it is worth, people actually do still land here from time to time, and I suppose that helps to make it worth it on some level. It's not like it is totally dead here. The Journal simply doesn't get the same fanfare that my other blogs and writing do.

It's tough, but I will continue to do it, for whatever that's worth, and for whatever prying eyes land here to see what I have to say.

And now for something completely different, check out one of my song releases on Spotfiy, "Where Do I Go." https://open.spotify.com/track/7At3eSWGYR47va1nbwDx6m?si=08e896555c124cdc

Can You Believe These Gas Prices?

Remember just a short time ago when you looked at your fuel gauge with a little bit of panic? First thought...oh shit. This is going to hurt like hell to fill this tank. AND lucky if I can afford to go anywhere with this gas once I put it into the tank.

But here we are, and gas prices are under $2 a gallon! Granted, like anything, it is probably a short-lived thing. Enjoy it while we can is what I say. It is nice, though, to be able to fill up and not worry whether or not you'll need to mortgage your house to fill the tank—and hell, think of all the extra useless crap we buy with the money we're not spending on gas.

Ah, the wheels of the economy will churn much like the wheels on my car. And I have two of them to fill mind you. An F-150 and an Edge.

What with the lowered taxes and jobs a plenty, raises galore and bonuses galore, things are finally looking quite dandy when all is said and done on the economic front. Let's just hope that for whatever any of this is worth it can last a little bit.

I'd like to see gas stay at under $2 a gallon for as long as it possibly can.

Is This Thing On?

Blogs are a dime a dozen on the Internet. Anyone who has dabbled in blogs for even just a short time knows this little fact all too well.

And then there's this stuff. Blogs containing total useless garbage and horrible writing. I make no bones about it. This blog is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE BRILLIANT, and it is not supposed to give James Patterson or Stephen King a run for their money.

It is simply a place to write something and share it.

When I first started writing anything, and honing my craft, one of the very first things I learned is that in order to find your voice, and hone your "craft," is to simply keep the proverbial pen moving. Write something. Write anything. Who the fuck cares what it is you write about? Who the fuck cares if it is any good? And frankly, who the fuck cares if anyone actually reads any of it?

I just started back on THIS blog. A journal I call it. It's a blog really about nothing at all. Will anyone find it? Will anyone read it? Will anyone leave any interesting comments?

I have no freaking clue!

I do think, however, that one way for something like this to get a bit more notice and attention around the Internet is to post often and frequently. Somehow I swear I read somewhere that updating a blog quite regularly helps it to get better placements in search, even if it is about nothing at all like this one is.

We will see how it goes. It is a work in progress. It will probably fall on deaf ears or blind eyes, if it gets found at all. If nothing else I suppose I can just have fun clacking away at the keys here hoping maybe one day it can find a place in this vast world wide web.




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