Itinerant Air-Cooled

Rural, as in small. Everyone delivering is driving a personal vehicle. The USPS isn't providing company rigs in small rural markets. Yet. Six seconds a mailbox was mentioned. Unless you drive the route backwards, in the wrong lane, crossing lanes between deliveries, you have no option but an automatic driven with your left foot, sitting in the passenger seat, left-hand reaching and driving, well, think it through folks. Bucket seats with a high tunnel and an automatic in drive crushing any hope of future family are considerations to consider for the vehicle up to the job.

Everyone that enters a USPS job enters as a sub/part-time position.


neal

Too much clutch burnage with all the stop-n-go? Leading to mailperson downtime? Who knows. I loathe automatics too but have to admit I'd probably opt for one with a mail job.

Neal cleared it up earlier, right? A manual's okay if it's RHD. Autos only for LHD. Which makes sense.
/hijack

Still. I think I'd take an auto if I had to stop hundreds (thousands?) of times per day.

I'm 42 years old. Kids need to learn to drive manual transmissions. It's the government's fault. Neal, get a car with a good stereo.

I got the stereo. Waiting on the car. It's getting a new carburetor and holes in the floor patched at this point.

neal

If you get to pick it up in time, come torture us at Nehalem with it this weekend. That'd let you give it a shakedown and get some time behind the wheel. I hear that driving RHD in a LHD world is .. interesting.

BellePlaine wrote: It's kinda sad that most Americans don't know how to drive. And no, driving an automatic is NOT driving.

...true, but I still can't wrap my brain around the idea of driving a RHD manual trans vehicle.
...trying to remember to look to the left to see in the rear-view mirror was quite enough for me

Jivermo wrote:Jeeps durable? Please. My very expensive Grand Wagoneer caught on fire twice.

Sorry about your Grand Wagoneer. We're talking about Wranglers and the small Cherokees. Different animals.

In any case, looks like the decision was made. Good luck with that quirky thing, Neal. If it's as reliable as it is cute, you'll do well.

Thanks hippie. The pedals are the same as a LHD, but the turn signal is on the right. I kept turning on the windshield wipers during the test drive. Otherwise it didn't seem that odd. It was a short drive though, as it would die at idle. They hadn't gone over it yet, just driven onto and off of the flatbed from arrival.

neal

ruckman101 wrote:...It's getting a new carburetor and holes in the floor patched at this point.

neal

I noticed my '81 Vanagon has a couple holes in the floor on the passenger side---recommendations?

I'd like to see the vehicle. When you get it working send an email, and I'll see if I can make it up to the wilderness for a look.

Philip

So the carb they ordered ($400) was the wrong one they tell me today. I'm rapidly losing confidence in them. Wouldn't you look at the part number on the thing and order the same?

Today they're talking about bastardizing the new with the old for an operational unit. ??

As for the holes in the floor, they were talking POR 15 with a silicon sealant/caulk. The interior floor has a plastic one piece sheath/cover they felt was a monumental pain in the ass to even try to look under. Phhhht. What, take the seats out and a bit of nuance about the gas and brake pedals?

It isn't a done deal yet.

Gonna have to give it another test drive before inking anything.


neal

pj wrote:I'd like to see the vehicle. When you get it working send an email, and I'll see if I can make it up to the wilderness for a look.

Philip

No worries. Would love to have you up.



neal

Eh, still no vehicle. No word on progress with the vehicle.

But today "shadowed" the delivery route I'll be covering one day a week and on-call the rest. She drove a LHD Toyota RAV4 automatic with her left foot, sitting on the emergency brake. We saw a bald eagle overhead, and reunited a distraught dog owner with their dog that had run away. I sympathized with the dog on that one.

First step. An opportunity to bail. Next, a week of training at the big hub in Portland. But not next week, because next week is a four day week because of the national Presidents day three day weekend Holiday.

Hurry up and wait. I got seven hours on the clock, on a route that pays for nine. I didn't slow her down too much.


neal