*TransmissionReplacement

I want to thank everyone who helped us out during this lengthy six-month transmission replacement saga. I certainly don't want to jinx anything, but I think I can finally deactivate this account and put the whole ordeal behind me. 

I picked up the van today. Apache Transmission, in Lubbock, called and said there was no seal on the neutral safety switch. They believe this to be the cause of the leak. They replaced the entire switch and wiring harness, drove it, parked it overnight, then checked it and drove it again this morning and it has not leaked. When I picked it up, he told me that it unfortunately didn't fix my backup lights; however, I was able to fix that myself by checking and replacing a blown fuse. The wiring to that switch was such a mess (bare wires showing and melted together) that I'd guess it probably blew the fuse a long time ago. 

At any rate, please know that I am so immensely grateful to all of you. This was becoming an enormous stressor in my life, and I finally feel more confident that I can put it behind me. I wish I could do more to express my gratitude. I send you my love.

Receipt for this most recent shop visit is below, for transparency. 

Hello, dear friends. I'm reactivating the campaign, as almost six months later I'm still dealing with a leaky transmission, and I have an appointment with a transmission shop on next Wednesday for them to get to the bottom of it. I have no idea what this will end up costing, but I'm currently pretty much living gig to gig right now, so I'm swallowing my pride once again until I can get myself in a better place financially. 

Here's the scoop: after three transmissions and lots of things that went wrong, including damage done to the underneath of my van from improper lifting, the shop that did the transmission replacement screwed me over. I was left with a transmission that leaks and have taken it to a couple of different shops with no real resolution. Last week I was finally able to get it into a "real" transmission shop here in Lubbock that syphoned out two full quarts of transmission fluid (the amount it was overfilled by the shop that did the replacement). They thought that might be enough to cause the leak, so sent me off to keep an eye on it over the weekend and report back this morning. 

While it did, in fact, lessen the leak (no drops on the pavement), it's still leaking (transmission is still wet with fluid). So I'll be taking it back to the shop next Wednesday and leaving it for "a couple of days." The mechanic there says he hopes it's just a matter of replacing some gaskets, or maybe a seal, but he will take it "step by step" with the easiest and least expensive options first and perhaps eventually, if need be, replacing the pan. He's also going to replace my neutral safety switch and wiring harness, once he's for sure he's stopped the leak, so that I have reverse lights again. 

I'm hoping for the best but fearing the worst as far as how much this will cost. I suck at asking for help but am getting a little better at just sucking it up and doing it anyway when necessary. I'm really hoping this job will be just a few hundred dollars, and I'll update everyone once I know for sure, but it may be awhile yet. 

The good news: the dogs and I have a safe place to stay while the van is in the shop again, so there won't be any lodging expenses on top of shop expenses this time around. Immensely grateful for that. 

At any rate, thank you all. That seems like not enough. Nonetheless... thank you. 

Many many thanks to each of you for helping me out with this significant expense. An update: I've paid half, with the remaining balance due when the van is done. The parts were ordered awhile ago. I'm just waiting.

The shop told me it would take about three weeks to get the parts and do the work. That would bring us to about October 28, though I'm hoping they'll get it done sooner. If they haven't called me by Friday to offer an update, I'll be calling them. 

The dogs and I were in a hotel for about a week until we found an RV for rent in an RV park and jumped on it. It's an older RV, but nice and private, and we've had fun getting to know the full-timers who live in the park. Darrell, our neighbor diagonal from us, has gotten to know the dogs, though Hazel still barks at him. :) Marshall, the owner of the RV, gave us a bit of a discount after our first week here and finding out why we're temporarily un-vanned. 

Since moving into the van full-time, the dogs and I have met a LOT of new people. Turns out when you live in such a small and mobile space, your world actually expands. Not dissimilar to backpacking. When you're on foot, always moving, you see more. Experience more. This really was the foundation behind my decision to do what I'm doing. Is it full of risks? Sure. There are many ways to run into trouble living like we do. Live boldly, and you'll sometimes fail boldly, too (depending on your definition of "fail").

But what I've learned, especially since moving into the van, is that there are so very many good people in the world who are willing to help out in whatever ways they can, be it donating funds toward a transmission replacement or bringing you a can of gas when you run out several miles outside of town. Or offering to loan you a vehicle while yours is in the shop, or providing frig/freezer space so the food that was in your van doesn't spoil while the battery is shut down. I could go on and on and on. 

I guess what I'm trying to say, other than "thank you," is that the world is FULL of good, compassionate, kind people. Do not let the news--or anyone else--convince you otherwise. Sure, there are some shitty people here and there. I've met a few. Most of them have had a pretty shitty go at life. I'm not making excuses for them. But I speak from experience when I say that our mind gets stuffed full of whatever it is we experience in life, and if life sucks, the stuff in our mind sucks, too. Some people don't get/create the opportunity to change that. I did. 

You all are proof of the good that exists in the world. And I'm grateful for my little van life that enables me to see all of that good. It fills my mind--and heart--with a whole lot of love, and you can bet that I will pay that forward in every way that I can. 

Much love to you all from the Love Dogs pack.