Parts falling off the van

Just when you think you are done with vehicle repairs, something falls off. In this case it was the back bumper of the van. The van started life as an ambulance. Wheeled Coach built a nice wide heavy duty aluminum bumper. EMTs could climb up on it to get in and out of the back.

Unfortunately, the metal framework under the aluminum plate was steel and rusted away. It looked good, but didn't take much pressure to rip sections of the bumper off. Good thing it didn't fall off in the road and cause an accident.

The good news is that there was a very solid frame under the bumper. This will give me an opportunity to build a platform suitable for holding a bicycle or even a motor scooter. While it's annoyance to have one more project, a bike rack will be nice.

My lovely wife wants to learn how to drive the van. It's not really that hard, as it has an automatic transmission. The thing that intimidates here is its size. She's not too comfortable completely relying on mirrors either. There are few idiosyncrasies having to do with it being a diesel that can run on waste veggie oil. I'm glad she wants to learn as it can be a pain being the only driver.

-Sixbears