First, thanks to John, Ben and MyRedRacer specifically for your kind words (and Ben, for giving that girl the job!) I decided a few weeks ago to write a book about my decade on the road alone. My current neighbor is just the last in a long line of men who literally take tools right out of my hand. I have never once invited him to do any of the work and somehow he always ends up taking over. Yesterday I had to *ask* him if I could put my own tire back on as every time I do it I get a little better at it. He says, "Be...my...GUEST" like he's just worn out from helping me and would rather be anywhere but there. (?) never mind that I am not in any way *his* guest -- he's actually mine (and uninvited at that) Despite all this he mentioned that he should look into getting himself some cotter pins to keep on hand so when I went to pick up some for myself I picked up four for him also -- steel pins, exactly the same size as what I pulled out) and he wouldn't accept them, said he wanted bigger ones, that they weren't actually the same size...the ones at auto supply are better...oy. I also picked up a paddle bit at the hardware store and the guy there actually asked me if I had a drill. Seriously? No, I thought I'd just get a good grip on it and start stabbing away at the wall. I once prepped the hitch on my rig for four days, grinding and sanding and couldn't wait to get to the painting part and this neighbor guy comes over just as I'm testing the spray on it after two trips to the hardware store to get the right color of paint (barbeque black) and takes the can out of my hand and has at it -- the part I'd been aching to do for days now through all the dirty work. I had it taped off w/ a drop cloth to protect the rig but he sprayed all over the pin box and the breakaway cable which I planned to protect. I still haven't recovered from that one. And the first shot he took at it he had the nozzle facing the wrong way so he ended up with a handful of paint. Yeah, everyone loves to have at a beautifully prepped hitch but it never occurred to him that maybe I would have enjoyed that too. Freakin' dinosaurs....Yo...People...don't ever take a tool out of a woman's hand unless she actually says she would like help -- got it? Grrr...
John, yikes...the bushing thing looks a little intimidating. But then most things do at first. Glad to finally have the lock nut figured out. I love this stuff. Learning how to not only do all these things but do them well and knowing you can help someone else somewhere down the road...feels so good. It was actually the front tire that was the most loose. The back tire was about 1/4 of the front one.
Does *any* manufacturer use the better bushings? Alpenlite has impressed me in that they didn't cut a lot of the corners that others did.
