Monday, October 14, 2024

Made it safe to SF Bay Area on the Coast

 When we arrived here on the northern Coast it was like Fall or Winter Weather in that it was foggy and only about 63 degrees which was really different than what we experienced driving north from Santa Barbara.

It was sunny by the time we got to Buellton and got gas and stopped at the Starbucks there for some food. Then we headed north through Santa Maria and San Luis Obsipo to the Paso Robles area. It was 84 in Paso Robles up to around San Ardo or further and then slowly from about King City to Salinas the temperatures slowly started to drop. By the time we got to the coast it was foggy and drizzly and about 63 degrees.

It almost felt like rain the mist was so thick as we unloaded my 4 wheel drive truck from our journey to Santa Barbara.

We found out before we left that one of the wheels on our Ascent all wheel drive was bent on the inside where I couldn't see it and likely we shouldn't drive it far until that wheel is replaced. I got a new set of All Weather Mud and snow tires made by Michelin on the Ascent which is how I found the problem of the bent wheel inside. I remember stopping to check the wheels after we hit a large pothole at freeway speeds but because I'm now 76 I don't usually crawl under the car to spot things like this anymore like I used to when I was younger. So, it was distressing to have missed this problem with one of the wheels. Luckily, there was no vibrations or anything like this it cause and we were also lucky since more tires are tubeless that air hadn't leaked out of that tire from the bend in the wheel. So, we ordered another wheel.

Cars these days mostly have aluminum wheels which cannot be rebent without causing breaks in the aluminum wheels.

However, most larger trucks still have steel wheels which sometimes can be hit with a mallet and go back into place from hitting something. But, aluminum is strong but also can be brittle if you  change it's shape after it has been manufactured. So, replacing the wheel was the best course of action even though new wheels are usually 300 to  500 dollars each for most newer car wheels.

So, to make a long story short we took my older 4 wheel drive truck south to Santa Barbara instead of our Ascent. But, it can carry a whole lot more weight than the Ascent too for hauling things so this was good too. Also, our Tundra has one of the best rides of any truck I have ever ridden in. It has a ride like a big luxury car often has which is really nice. And yet it is also a really great 4 wheel drive too.

It has 2 wheel drive, 4 wheel drive and 4 Low four wheel drive so it can go almost anywhere I need it to and has a 6 speed transmission that can be manually shifted if I need to also. Great Vehicle!

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