Itinerant Air-Cooled

. . . . . . '05 . . . '06 . . . '07 . . . '08 . . . '09 . . . '10 . . . '11 . . . . 2012
Visits ... 52 ..... 32 ..... 35 ..... 46 ....... 37 ...... 57 ..... 54 . . . . . 48
Gross .. 15.9 ...11.5 ... 11.9 ...15.7 ... 13.1 ... 23.9 ... 20.0 ... 19,460
Fuel ..... 3.9 ..... 2.4 ..... 3.0 .... 4.0 ..... 2.6 ...... 4.0 .... 5.3 ..... 3,462
Ldgng .. 4.0 ..... 2.3 ..... 2.7 .... 3.4 .... 2.9 ..... 4.8 ..... 4.6 ...... 3,418
Net/Call 152 ... 207.... 174 .... 179 ... 213 .... 265 .... 194 ........ 262

Total Miles ................................................... 17,408 ( - 8,973 )
Actual Work Weeks ............................................ 21 ... ( - 6 )
Average miles to each call .............................. 363 ( - 125 )
Average fuel expense per call .......................... 72.00 ( - 25.76 ) ( .20c/mile )
Average fuel economy was ............................... 17.8 mpg @ 3.55/gallon ( - 0.2mpg )( - .05 cents )
Average lodging per call ......................... 71.00 ( - 14.00 )
Average net income per week .................................. 599.00 ( + 212 ) @ 2.2 ( + .2 ) calls per week
Highest net Kubelwagen @ 440.00
Lowest net Will Klein @ 28.00
No calls were a loss this year.

The mandatory full day helped my efficiency (you who got a half day > hush ). The anemic little Chloe turned in only .2 mpg less than the BobD, and did not get in the way of my calls-per-week, which turned out to be 10% greater than last year (the Oregon traverse to pick up Chloe did reduce last year's efficiency). Pokey Chloe did, however, utterly eat up my posting time at Starbucks/Panera/wifi cafes, as this year's lack of stories attest. Apparently, I need to post while the events are fresh, or I demure because I will not do stale recall.

I had an excellent time this past summer. As I chewed through thousands of receipts and did that damn hateful "check-sum" on all of these long long columns of numbers, I was able to conjure the entire itinerary from beginning to end, if I could do a speeded-up time-lapse video of Alexus ripping up to Syracuse then down through Virginia's two calls and Maryland to Atlanta where I picked up Chloe to do a trial run to North Carolina, then back to Atlanta for Sylvester and to get the BobD to rip to Gadsden Alabama for Rumdum call, then back to Atlanta to pick up Chloe to get to Memphis Tennessee for the least profitable call of all due to my terrible inefficiency, then Texas generators at the Blairs! and off to Los Alamos and north of Denver and Utah and Los Angeles and Napa and Nevada and Eureka CA to see Airkooled Chris and the roller derby spirit and Portland Oregon and Camas Washington and Anaconda Montana and Ogden Utah with Vdubluvah before hitting Minnesota beer-lover's gang with the Miz and his horrendous oil leak, zoot off to Wisconsin engine drop where I felt Fall In The Air before going to Chicago and another engine drop and off to Indiana and golf courses and Vermont! Rain! Maine! Past the Freedom Tower in New York City to New Jersey back in Maryland again to adjust valves on a Porsche 356 engine with one of the nicest bunch of people I have met and hot humid Miami Florida and Pensacola with an honorable lawyer then Georgia got chilly then warm at election week then had to pick up ALexus to go to this cold damp foggy mountain lair, really . . . what a summer. Good people too!

Some pictures! Maybe already posted elsewhere!













Currently, I am sitting here:


Just finished writing out the 2012 Itinerary Receipt Reconciliation/Log/Profit-Loss tables.I have hand-written every log entry since 2004, which may seem quaint or insane to you, but it tunes up my fine dexterity muscles after a summer of wrenching, and it helps my neck to remember what it's like to sit at a desk all day:


Must get back to this:


And who sent me this? I did respond at the time, but I can't remember. This little eggshell diorama has endured thousands of miles and storage here and storage there and it has been hanging on my drawing lamp the whole time. Heck, the drawing lamp (coated with backlite foil further up) has been with me since the day I opened up my Rochester New York business. It used to be an executive lamp . . .

Colin, I admire your dedication and transparency. Way to go!

That beard is a little more grey then i remember old man.

-seventythreeisthirteenyearsolderthenme steve

It's a good thing that you don't eat otherwise your expenses would have been worse! Get to that book so we can see you again in 2013. We need to rebuild my transmission and my slider door is a little "clunky".

Oohhh, glad to see the numbers are looking up! Looks like the "daisy chain approach" helped out greatly and cut a lot of miles out of the trip.

One of these years I'll be in town when you visit... I may even have a bay by that point.

thenexttownshend wrote:That beard is a little more grey then i remember old man.

-seventythreeisthirteenyearsolderthenme steve

Ya young punk! You were one of my first customers, of course you remember my pretty years. The joke here is . . . I have BEEN where you ARE, and you have YET to get to where I AM. And you WILL get here. You will enjoy the forgetfulness, the piddly-dribble drip-drip bladder, the old man breath, the shrivelled . . . you'll see, the nose hairs that grow luxuriantly, the forever dry eyes, the gas oh the gas it just always toots and toots, you can't blow your nose any more because it is so stringy that you'll never get a clean wipe, the liver spots, the eyebrow hairs just go wild, the insomnia, did I mention that the toenail fungus is terrible, and worst of all, you will be compelled to count small change in the grocery store line. You'll see.


When I Was Your Age:


When Life Had A Go At Me:

Would anyone like to chime in on what sort of pricing they would accept for next year's itinerary?
Colin
( don't be shy)

I think your pricing is fine. My problem is my own availability; we're gone so often in the summer it's difficult to cross paths with you...

sped372 wrote:I think your pricing is fine. My problem is my own availability; we're gone so often in the summer it's difficult to cross paths with you...

When is the best time for you? When is your second best time? Would you ever consider an appointment out on the road?

"Your pricing is fine" thanks, but "would anyone like to chime in on what sort of pricing they would accept for next year's itinerary?" was the question, you know, to stay ahead of the living costs curve?
Colin

Amskeptic wrote:

sped372 wrote:I think your pricing is fine. My problem is my own availability; we're gone so often in the summer it's difficult to cross paths with you...

"Your pricing is fine" thanks, but "would anyone like to chime in on what sort of pricing they would accept for next year's itinerary?" was the question, you know, to stay ahead of the living costs curve?
Colin

At this time, I personally would start thinking twice if the cost crept north of $500. $440 or even $480 feels more acceptable than $500, but some of that is probably the old salesmanship routine of $4.99 vs. $5.00.

Amskeptic wrote:When is the best time for you? When is your second best time?

It's hard to say with any certainty. It's not that one particular month or season is better. We typically plan out the summer in late winter or early spring (March-ish) and then just follow the schedule as the summer progresses. The last few times we've happened to be away from home when you've been through the area, but it has just been by chance. Usually during the week would be better, but many times we take long weekend trips that cut into the week as well.

Amskeptic wrote:Would you ever consider an appointment out on the road?

Yeah, actually I think I would. I think we were only a couple hours from each other at one point last year when we did the big Colorado/Utah loop and it intrigued me. I think the idea of an at-the-campsite appointment warrants consideration. Drawbacks include not finishing a job that's necessary to make it home, but hey, maybe some of us work better under pressure. : )

I'd pay what it costs, the service is worth it. It's hard to put a number on it.

When im facing some project I know id like to tackle correctly and quickly, id gladly pay $500 to have you here on that day. It would cost me a hell of a lot more to take it somewhere to (god forbid) have them do it - and it would cost me a hell of a lot more than that in my own time if I did it myself (2-3 hours of work, 90 minutes of manuals and internet browsing, repeat for 4-5 days.)

The problem is that your fixing yourself out of a job. The bus is running so well lately - it doesn't matter the weather or anything else. I turn the key and it roars to life, eager to go go go giggidy go. Rest assured ill screw something up before next summer though.

I do have this nagging memory in the back of my mind.... The PO saying to me when I bought it "That gas tank is going to need to be cleaned soon" .

i agree your cost of living should increase per year. what about 475.00 for a full day visit? i would pay this for sure.

Maybe even next year, i can finally meet you and we can work on the '68. If not, i am sure i will at least be giving a donation like this year.

I think $500 is probably the upper limit at this point in time.

And would you like flies with your steak?

Tim

Would you consider a second-consecutive-day discount? What about a group class on common problems like a slider-door refresh? How about a list of the ten or twenty most common jobs tackled by the Itinerant Air-cooled Mechanic to help new local potential customers visualize what you can do for them? Let’s improve your efficiency by getting more appointments per 363 miles.

I’m not rich but I’d pay a modest increase broken up over three or four easy payments.

BellePlaine wrote:Would you consider a second-consecutive-day discount? What about a group class on common problems like a slider-door refresh? How about a list of the ten or twenty most common jobs tackled by the Itinerant Air-cooled Mechanic to help new local potential customers visualize what you can do for them? Let’s improve your efficiency by getting more appointments per 363 miles.

I’m not rich but I’d pay a modest increase broken up over three or four easy payments.

Second day discounts have generally been provided to those who ask, usually in the range of 10-25% depending on the travel expenses.
I feel much less focused and useful when I have to amp up to "performer mode" to broadcast to more than one person. If efficiency dictates that I must do a class, I would need a host person to help me provide a foundation to the day.
No list of jobs. Anyone who is interested can PM me and I can thumb through the 2,989 jobs currently available for perusal. "You want the Diet Coke can shim or are you ordering a real part?

I have done payment plans for people who *need* it.
Colin