Well guys, in my days on patrol duty.<br><br>If I pulled an &quot;old&quot; person over, actually age has nothing to do with it. <br><br>We had the authority to write up a &quot;retest order&quot; for DMV, this included &quot;eye test only&quot; and or &quot;full retest&quot; which included manual, vision and drivers test like you were 16 years old.<br><br>If the affected driver did not show to take the required tests, they were automatically suspended. <br><br>If you did show up, and failed one of the above, you were suspended. Many times until you could get a doctors order to allow you to retake the tests etc.<br><br>I can't even begin to tell you how many family members came to us to have us intiate the above procedures on family members that were no longer able to operate motor vehicles.<br><br>They could do this anonymously if they came to us and we did the paperwork for them. Many a son/daughter/wife came away happy after the person that was scaring the daylights out of them driving failed and DMV lifted their license to drive.<br><br>You can't believe how many came to us and said you &quot;saved&quot; &quot;my dad&quot; &quot;my sister&quot; &quot;my mom&quot; etc, as they could no longer drive, safely.<br><br>Personally I think it is a wonderful program, it keeps the family outta it, so they think the State is the big bad guy when the drivers license gets lifted. And I was most happy to be the bad guy! Lives saved<br><br>Ok Fiver, expect a note from Florida soon <br><br>Hunter<br><br>

 

Hunter - had to reply to your &quot;old&quot; string. Let's see - I'm 68 next month - retired from airline flying in '94. Spent the next five years cruising our sailboat throughout the South Pacific with just my wife as crew. After we came back to dry land I bought a dwarf car to race. Although I drove years ago, I wasn't in competition since 1963. But - driving in the Northern California Dwarf Car Association races for the past two years, I finished 15th out of 34 drivers in 2001 and won rookie-of-the-year against 7 other rookies, the youngest being 16. I think that age is sort of a state of mind, but must admit that I was very pleased when my wife was able to get her father off the road - he was a menace. God Bless my friend.

 

Blue<br><br>Thanks! see how it is a blessing to get the driving impaired off the street, keeps your loved ones around longer and they don't &quot;take out&quot; someone elses loved ones!<br><br>Hunter

 

Whew!<br><br>Trouble comes in threes they say, so glad to be over with it!<br><br>Brakes are getting a workout for sure <br><br>Or, Daisy has some kinda animal fetish<br><br>Been elk hunting all week and no success, dinner last night with brother who lives 40 minutes away. Coming home in the black of night........<br><br>See a flash of orange on the right, no time to even attempt to brake and pulled her left. 30+ elk standing on the shoulder of the highway, and some milling in my lane. Wife said closest elk butt that went by Daisy looked to be 1' away from her when it went by. <br><br>No brakes, god was willing again, good steering and still got a few reflexes I guess<br><br>Good morning all, gone huntin' (last day)<br><br>Hunter

 

My condolances, Hunter. &quot;Been elk hunting all week and no success,. . .&quot; Daisey's trying to get you one and you won't let her. &quot;30+ elk standing on the shoulder of the highway, and some milling in my lane.&quot;<br><br>It's that time of year. Six point buck was on the road last night surrounded by some 20 does. Think he was saying, &quot;take a number girls, no need to shove&quot;. <br><br>I think I'd be staying home for a couple of days, don't want to test your luck.

 

Well, gearing up for travel now Phil.<br><br>Can't wait to get Daisy pulling. How much did you notice your load when you first got rolling (virgin trip)<br><br>Did the power, perfomance etc. seem to improve the more you towed etc.?<br><br>Not sure what you had prior but I had a tired 7.3 Ferd. This is gonna be like driving a Mack truck in comparison me thinks<br><br>And, spent the afternoon spit shining Daisy etc. so she gotta stay home next Saturday when the wifes elk season opens<br><br>Got a little 1986 Ram to do the honors<br><br>Hunter

 

Hunter, on virgin trip towing as I remember it toow about the first two hours, 100 miles, to get the feel of the 2003 towing. Getting readjusted to stick towing took the longest, up shifting and down shifting at the right time. My previous tow vehicle was a 5.9 L v-8 gasser with 4.10 axle with auto tranny. <br><br>When I leave my house the 1st half mile is 10 % climb, then the next one mile is 14% down grade. After that it has a gradual downgrade, all of which is on narrow two lane roads with trees next to the pavement so I'm watchin out those side mirrors constantly scanning and watching ahead for Bambi. Steep down grades I took in second gear. Thank God and D-C for those big 4-wheel dual caliper disk brakes. After 14 miles I finally reached the freeway, Hwy US-50. The 10 % grade at the start she climbed in third gear picking up speed all the way to the top.<br><br>The first real pulling test was going from I-5 across a mountain range by Clear Lake to US-101 just north of Ukiah. It pulled these grades in 4th gear without a whimper. It was about this time that I began to really get the feel of the vehicles.<br><br>With the 4x2 and it's rack and pinion steering it was so responsive on curves that I didn't feel I was towing 11,000#. This can be a problem with all the power you have underfoot, tendency to go faster. Gotta hold them horses back. <br><br>On level stretches I would tow in 5th with cruise set. As I would approach a grade if a downshift was a possibility I would cancel cruse and downshift to 4th. Since you have HO you will be able to take most is overdrive. <br><br>Under load towing I up-shifted above 2000 rpm so that I always maintained 1400 rpm minimum (max torque). <br><br>On the second day I felt right in the groove towing with her from the start.<br>Yes, she did seem to loosen up more and more with each day. Changes were not so dramatic from day to day after the first 500 or so miles of towing.<br><br>The only time I started out towing in first gear was on an uphill grade, otherwise 2nd gear. ( 2nd gear on manual is a lower gear than 1st on 47RE tranny.)<br><br>Once you get in the groove towing you will relax and enjoy the ride and view ahead instead of dreading the next hill.<br><br>Phil<br><br><br>