Living the life of the nomad, as I do, can be a very interesting way to live. But it can also have its challenges - and indeed this week, being 250 miles away from my base, gave me an interesting problem to solve. Driving back from the Lakes District meant crossing several cattle grids and these do vibrate the tires no matter how slow you cross them.
I suspect it was one of these that shook the right front wheel bearing dust cap off. Such an innocent little object but so hard to get hold off. And really it is not a good idea to drive around without them since the bearings can dry out and it wouldn't be a good day if the wheel scrorched itself off the axle and took its own route down the road. So I rang several places but no one had them in stock. I even tried a few car wreckers but no joy. This is how it is when your vehicle is over twenty years old.
Driving from my campsite into Huddersfield on the way to work in the morning, I noticed a car washing site that looked like it could be a gypsy site and noticed several disused transit vans dotted around the site. After work I pulled into the site and indeed the workmen appeared to be Irish travellers. I asked the lead man if he had one I could buy off him. After examining my wheel, he shook his head and said 'Doobt it, but go and ave a look at the yella transit rnd da corner'
And so that is what I did and to my delight it looked to be the right sized grease cap. I went back and asked him how much he wanted for it. He look surprised since he didn't think it was the right one - but he had thought I was after the entire wheel, not only the grease cap. He said I could ...'Ave it for Nowt'. Great stuff and so I retrieved a flat edged screwdriver from my tool box, ran around to the van and wedged the cap off. I gave the man five pounds anyway for a pint, fitted the cap and drove back to my camp site a very happy man. Us nomads can be easily pleased.
I suspect it was one of these that shook the right front wheel bearing dust cap off. Such an innocent little object but so hard to get hold off. And really it is not a good idea to drive around without them since the bearings can dry out and it wouldn't be a good day if the wheel scrorched itself off the axle and took its own route down the road. So I rang several places but no one had them in stock. I even tried a few car wreckers but no joy. This is how it is when your vehicle is over twenty years old.
Driving from my campsite into Huddersfield on the way to work in the morning, I noticed a car washing site that looked like it could be a gypsy site and noticed several disused transit vans dotted around the site. After work I pulled into the site and indeed the workmen appeared to be Irish travellers. I asked the lead man if he had one I could buy off him. After examining my wheel, he shook his head and said 'Doobt it, but go and ave a look at the yella transit rnd da corner'
And so that is what I did and to my delight it looked to be the right sized grease cap. I went back and asked him how much he wanted for it. He look surprised since he didn't think it was the right one - but he had thought I was after the entire wheel, not only the grease cap. He said I could ...'Ave it for Nowt'. Great stuff and so I retrieved a flat edged screwdriver from my tool box, ran around to the van and wedged the cap off. I gave the man five pounds anyway for a pint, fitted the cap and drove back to my camp site a very happy man. Us nomads can be easily pleased.
Sometimes it's the simple and unexpected things that give us the greatest pleasures, also possibly a man thing, I was very pleased last year when I received a tent peg puller as a present!
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