Tow vehicle

My ambulance/camper conversion vehicle is still in pretty good shape. It could use a couple rear tires before the snow flies, but that's about it. It's a great camper, plus all the camping stuff can easily be removed giving a lot of space for moving things. The van, powered by the old 7.3 Powerstroke diesel is a towing beast. Loaded with gear and towing a boat hardly slows it down.

Unfortunately, it's not going to last forever. New replacement vehicles with that kind of power sell for around $60,000. That ain't gonna happen. How about another used vehicle? While that's not totally out of the question, one in good condition will still cost more than I can spend. When I got the van it was an amazing deal as I am friends with the people who own the ambulance company. One cannot count on lightning striking twice.

With that in mind, my lovely wife and I purchased a sailboat that we were going to leave in a boatyard in Florida. That way we would not need to tow a boat and could travel to Florida in a small car, fly down or even take a bus. Losing the boat in a shipwreck put an end to those plans. Such is life.

How about our other vehicle? Yeah right. Our little Nissan Versa Note isn't rated to tow anything at all. There are after market hitches available, but towing anything larger than a small utility trailer is taking your life in your hands.

If the van did give up the ghost, I could get a friend to launch my sailboat on the lake in the spring and pick it up in the fall. Since I'm less than a half mile to the boat ramp it wouldn't even need a highway capable tow vehicle. Heck, it could probably be done with a small Jeep.

So what about sailing adventures down south? Once the van's gone, it's going to be tough. We could go back to what we used to do when we first started traveling south for the winter. Back then we had a tent and a canoe on the roof racks. We cut way down on our canoeing after my lovely wife had surgery on both shoulders. Plus we ain't getting any younger. Still, as long as we keep our canoeing ambitions to a reasonable level it's still doable.

Of course, I could just buy another sailboat to keep in Florida. It's still cheaper than buying a honking big tow vehicle.

This is a recovery year for us. We are rebuilding our finances and considering our options. Who knows, we might get another crazy idea and do something completely different.

-Sixbears