We bought an 91 Cruise Air II by Georgie Boy. What a name! As we were driving it home (I was in our Jeep, DJ was driving the Wallowing Sow..erm..RV) we were talking to each other via GMRS radios , kinda like walkie-talkies. I was Viper 1, and he was Galactica Actual. True geeks we are. I miss that show. It was only one of three I watch on TV: Battlestar Galactica, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and 18 Kids and Counting. Odd mix, yes? My mind is so all over the place I just can’t stay entertained by TV and I find the commercials SO OFFENSIVE that it becomes impossible to watch. Mostly I DVR the program then speed through the commercials. I am sure anyone listening to our convo on their scanners were really confused.
“Galactica Actual, this is Viper 1.”
“Go ahead Viper 1″
“Galactica, you are wandering all over the road like a Wallowing Sow. I am concerned that the CHP will pull you over for drunk driving.”
“Viper 1, you should try it from this side. No comments from the peanut gallery, especially until you’ve tried DRIVING this piece of crap.”
“10-4 Galactica. Viper 1 out.”
See what I mean?
Ok, back to the point of this. So, the guy we bought it from. He is a certified Tin-Foil-Hat wearing dude. We are talking full court conspiracy, with FDR, the gold standard, the UN, Admiralty Law, invalid contracts, fiat money, you name it. He was shocked at all get out that we could follow his conversation. We were still edging backwards as he foamed, don’t get me wrong, but we could understand him. I love a good conspiracy theory, and am up on many of them but that does not mean I BUY any of them. I just enjoy reading about them. While we were there he got a call from his girlfriend. Apparently the IRS would like to talk to him. I wonder why 
So, I talked to him for a while, and he really warmed up to us but we could not come to a price. He wanted $9000, we did not want to pay that. We ended up parting ways and did not expect to hear back from him. He called a few days later, offering a lower price. DJ, being the savvy dude that he is, told him “Sorry, we only have $4000. That’s all we can offer.” The guy was incensed, and told DJ he could not do a penny less than $7000. Daniel agreed to disagree, they parted ways amiably, and we washed our hands again.
A few more days go by, and Guy calls again. $5000 is a fine offer, he said. DJ patiently explained to him we have $4000 and regrettably could not offer more. The agreed to disagree AGAIN and I though “That is IT.” The next day, Guy calls back. “$4000, and you have to come get it TODAY.” DJ told him “I can’t come until Monday”. This was Saturday The Guy finally agreed and we picked it up on Columbus Day, the day before the storm that Attempted To Destroy California. (Hey, wait until I leave!) We lost two trees in that storm, and made the local paper for the awesomeness of one of the trees falling, destroying power poles and phone lines and blocking roads.
We paid $4000 that day, and drove it to a tire place in Placerville near Guy’s house to get new tires on it. 6 of them for $1000. KaChing! Just doing our part to stimulate the economy. I registered it yesterday: $475. Darned California and exorbitant fees. That even shocked me, as jaded as I am
The brakes were squishy so DJ took it to the local shop to have them looked at. Master Cylinder out, special part needs to be ordered, $585 for part/installation. Bam. Can you feel my pain?
It has to be smogged on Monday to pass California emissions compliance. You and I both know that 1) it will not pass, and 2) it is gonna be over $500. Ouch. We’ll see how my predictions go.
I insured it yesterday: one bright note. $35 for 6 months, with the minimal coverage and a promise to never hardly EVAH drive it. At least we both have good driving records. Phew.
The ignition needs replacing, but that will be cheap. The hydraulics are not working but it appears to be a problem with the fuse casing, and will hopefully be a cheap fix. The transmission gasket has a small leak, and DJ is going to fix that as well. The inside is in great shape, and everything works. Phew! I think that is everything so far!
I will post pics when I get it back from the shop on Friday. We are taking it out for an overnighter in a full facility campground nearly to learn how to use all the hookups and equipment
2 Comments
October 24, 2009 at 2:12 am
Ha! Funny post! LOVE the scanner conversation! Don’t you just love meeting those kind of people? Makes me wish I lived closer so I meet that guy! Too funny. But congrats on the RV! I’m sure you’re going to enjoy it.
October 24, 2009 at 8:52 am
It’s still in the shop for the brakes! Now we have to reschedule the appointments for smogging and other goodies while we wait for the darned part to come in. I can tell already that RV ownership is going to be a burden!