T1 Terry wrote: ↑Tue Aug 06, 2024 12:58 am
jon_d wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2024 10:21 pm
Does your Jimny have the dog clutch on the rear tailshaft and free wheeling hubs on the front? Still tossing up between doing the dog clutch on the rear drive shaft or upgrading to a Sierra transferbox and the two stick conversion that adds a 2WD low range but adding a dog clutch to the front drive shaft .....
Wouldn't it be easier just buying something that works with no frigging around. ... You're running out of time to travel.
There, I've said it. Off my chest now.
We don't have anything to travel in at the moment Jon, but we do have a 2010 Jimny, a 2006 Prius and a '74 Kombi. While the insurance companies buggerise around, I might at least be able to organise which will be the towed, which will be sold and which will be mothballed for use when we aren't travelling. We could just tow a trailer and take which ever one we feel like at the time ...... but the weight rules say that if all the load is on the trailer, the weight of the trailer plus the load must be less than 2 tonne, otherwise it must have break away brakes .... just another thing to cause a drama at the most inconvenient time, so flat towing makes the most sense, then the gypsy trailer, then a very light vehicle on a very light trailer .....
As you say, we are running out of time ..... and money,
I can't afford the time or $$ to go through all the options to see which works best for us, so it's easiest to see who does what and go from there.
As anyone who has had a major insurance claim will know, you never get back what you lost, we were reduced to the clothes we were standing in, we will have to make do with what we can afford in the time we have left ...... that sort of rules out buying a Suzuki Grand Vitara with the required Blue ox set up and a motorhome already set up with everything we want to travel, after having been through that twice already, both the time and $$ will limit just what we can do as far as a motorhome and a towed ....... or maybe we won't be able to do any of it and build a house in today's crunch regarding building costs ...... the cost of building a house in Mannum, much like anywhere outside the metro areas, has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, there is virtually no way to insure against that, you don't know just what the cost will be until the worst thing you could image happens, a workshop, business, two motorhomes and a house with all the out buildings and all the gear collected over a lifetime of working, plus what you bought to replace what you lost .... all gone ... start again at 69 yrs old with a body that just wants to sit down and rest .......
T1 Terry
Terry, I think you've missed the whole point.
I speak pretty frankly and very bluntly. It made me quite famous at HP through the world. Never one to sugar coat things, but boy our team got things done and led the company in forefront of ideas and improvements.
So here it is.
Your eyes are a bit rooted, as your back is. You're getting old. The time for dreaming about modifying things needs to be reserved for coffee times in front of the fire. It needs to be put aside for the time being.
This whole recovery thing needs to be run like a project. Only with good planning, will you get it sorted.
With any project, it needs a scope and it needs boundaries. Limits. What is in and what is out. Once they are defined then you test everything to see if it it's in scope or discarded.
In a project, there are 3 typical overriding limits.
Time, Funds, Scope. Usually, one is more flexible than another. I would suggest that none are flexible. No excess time, no spare cash, however scope could change providing the time and money objectives are not lost.
I feel that you're only focused on 'scope'.
eg "or upgrading to a Sierra transferbox and the two stick conversion that adds a 2WD low range but adding a dog clutch to the front drive shaft ."
but without an understanding of scope creep. "oh, I could just do this and this and then this". Rustic come to mind and there are others. In the mean time, the time and money constraints are lost.
Unfortunately, any creep that impacts time and money is simply not recoverable. This needs to be understood and accepted.
I challenge you ask yourself some very tough questions. Starting with; Do I just want to build a way out car and tow system which no one has ever seen before which could take months or years, or do I want to travel with Margaret and see as much as I can?
Your answer and the consequential mindset will define how you recover from this mess.
I say the above with absolute love for you two, but with a lot of frustration. Please understand that it's from a friend who cares deeply for you two and who wants you to get on the road having fun.