Tracker Towing

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Dane Allred

Tracker Towing

Those who know me well know I love my Tracker. Not tractor. Tracker. It’s a jeep kind-of a all-terrain vehicle made by Geo, but really made by Suzuki. Think of the Suzuki Samarai, just made for Chevy. Chevy even puts its own brand on the Tracker now, but I got mine back in the bad old days when everyone was worried they would flip over. I’ve never had that problem, but then again, I’m not trying to flip my car on its roof.

A steal when I bought it 15 years ago, I have squeezed every penny out of what I was charged for this car. I like it so well I put another engine in last year, and now have 15,000 miles on the second engine. The odometer reads 220,000 miles, and I hope to see 400,000 but you never know. I have had many repairs done on this car, mostly from wearing out water pumps and other parts never designed to last more than 100,000 miles.

It was brand new when we bought it, but now it’s 15 year old. There’s a rust-spot on the back where a daughter backed into something and broke out the rear taillight. I replace it myself, which is another thing I really like about cars. I like fixing things myself if I can, but I am repairing less and less as the years go by. I have a loose belt right now, and I know it’s an easy adjustment to tighten one nut, but I have also banged my knuckles on nuts and bolts enough to know it may be worth the twenty dollars I’ll pay.

I was once young and stupid enough to think I was a great mechanic. Our Volkswagen broke down in Las Vegas. The quote for overhauling the engine was ridiculous. I could have towed the car back home and overhauled it myself for half the price. Which is exactly what we did. We rented a U-Haul and a tow bar, and pulled the car back to the house. Here’s a good hint for those prepared to do the same. If your steering wheel locks unless the key is in, remember to put the key in so the steering wheel can turn. I forgot, and since I made a “U” turn just before returning home, the steering wheel turned a couple of times – and locked. Now that the front tires were turned, I dragged the car for the next 500 miles. If you drive long enough with the wheels turned sideways, the tires heat up, the rubber begins to peel, and when you arrive you may notice the tires are very hot and the rubber actually rubs off like an eraser. I must have worn off 20 or 30 thousand miles of tread.

I bought a manual called “Volkswagen Repair for the Complete Idiot”. It was a great book, and I followed the directions on how to overhaul an engine, which included the instructions to lower the engine to the ground after removing the four bolts holding it. You place the engine on a piece of plywood, jack-up the car and drag the engine out. It only weighs a couple of hundred pounds, and the plywood makes it easy to move.

I did my best, but the car still wouldn’t start. I took it to the dealer, who spent 10 hours diagnosing some electrical problems. I am proud to say the car did run again, and we put at least another 20,000 miles on the rebuilt engine.

I use my Geo Tracker to haul my windsurfer to the beach, and sometimes I get to do some surprising things with this little vehicle my daughter calls my “Barbie Car”. It really does look like the car Ken might pick out for Barbie. But it does have some surprising get up and go.

When I drove up and saw the Ford truck stuck in the sand, I knew I could help, but you could tell the other drivers were dubious. I just pulled out the hook with the flat rope and hooked it around the truck. Moments later, they were unstuck and I had proved smaller is not necessarily inferior.

It happened again a couple of months later. The big truck was stuck, and up I drove with the little Barbie car and offered to pull them out. They looked at my all-terrain vehicle, and I could see the doubt in their eyes. But they were stuck, and really didn’t have any choice but to let me try. I assured them I had pulled another truck out of the sand, but they still looked doubtful. Seconds later, with the torque of the small wheel base, they were unstuck.

Insert your own joke about size here.

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