Awww shucks... lol

Was there too. Here are my thoughts... sorry if it gets TMI, but its interesting and still relative

I wanted to turn my 2WD into a canyon runner.. I loved taking the Ortega HWY back and forth from the Inland Empire to the lower O.C. in Cali and pushing traffic. I don't know what it was but the truck getting it sideways a lil but holding grip in a sick way was like runnin your hands down the curves of a hottie with no brakes!

For me tho.. after leaving Detroit and having a bit of a street rep for street racing. I'll tell ya.. at 21-25 I was street racing [like an idiot to some degree] and trying to get on a track or two. Drag didn't do it.. but the rush of threading the needle in traffic whether on the street or the hwy basically penalized me in the best of bad ways - Financially

Thank God I never caused an accident, wrecked a car, or caused anyone else to do so.. And when asked here whose done some dumb  . I'll be the first to raise my hand the highest and sadly with a smirk.. I did some scary dumb, DUMB, D.U.M.B.,  . Paid 10,000's of thousands of dollars in fines and court costs, spent weekends in local jail, I dunno popped for at least 18-20 times for driving on suspended licenses.. ect. But I've also been pulled over for going to slow and still gone to jail so whatever. Needless to say.. the speed thing like anything isn't any cheaper. you or someone else can still get hurt, or get stuck in the mobious loop of tickets, fines, donut parties, and/or a commemorative plate carrier for a retiring senior officer (Officer Hall, can still hug my nuts)..!

Then other things happened.. kids, marriage, some BS called "maturity" [don't believe the lies], and what not. I'm sure there is other similar stories to hear. The reason why I went the other way, lift and seeking 4WD options is matter of thought processes and not in any order, I'll be totally and brutally honest. We can all laugh later together.

• A group of all things Asian & import friends with fast & slung low cars as well as 4x4's took a liking to my ranger and invited me to go out trail riding.. I had a blast despite some small hurdles getting through some things.
• Then a small group of guys from FRF had a local meet, I went, same thing; hit some small local trails, got dirty, had a blast.
• Political climate in California was getting weird and looked bad in several perspectives as well as other parts of the nation. Not lying when i say I had a concern of SHTF and if it did my first priority would be to get back to Michigan and get to my three boys any and all costs and if the truck got me as far as it could. I have enough of everything else including contacts nationwide to toil the rest of the way, if by shoe leather express even. So I started focusing on figuring out ways to make the truck multi-functional/purpose on all levels.

[Now this is where it gets interesting]...

• I was roomies with some people. Eventually got tired of cleaning up after them, their dog, and living in a house with zero amenities and when i say that; that almost includes real running water. [A whole other Jerry Springer show]. I opted to move out, a buddy knocked up his girlfriend and instead of me paying him for rent, he opted to let her move in for free and added a mouth to feed and an ass to wipe. so dbl Fay-ul
• I already burned the previous bridge / decided to rough it out for a week or two - meaning live in my truck until another opportunity came about.
• Two weeks turned into 5 months - A great Friend [Dave R, i'll always be indebted too] and his angered wife donated the $6600 as outfitted Flip-Pac to me.
• 5 months turned into 2 years and 4 months. And in that time I was living in the hills and back roads all over SoCal. I have some amazing sights and views of city lights, Ocean cliffs, and interesting places I've slept. I was still selling cars which meant I had to be shirt and tie, sometimes suit and tie. I worked 7-14 hr shifts. I did the basics at a laundry mat, all my shirts, pants, and suit jackets were dry cleaned weekly and hung in the back of the truck on a bar. I had a storage unit for stuff I didn't need to have. I had ways to communicate, charge all devices, eat/cook foods, fix my truck with just about any aspect short of an engine failure at anytime, I ate good but cheaply in ways to keep energy levels up and not waste money.. Mind you I'm bringing in $3400-4500 a month plus bonuses and extra funds from small jobs, keeping people/mgrs certified at work to keep their jobs was at least a min of $450 a month often double that.. I wasn't broke - purposely homeless - and in a way a reset of my life as a self humbling experience to say the least. $23k available credit, 9 cards, never missed a payment the entire time.. Not on anything.
• I was self tasked for living out of the truck in every aspect, yes i had some easier things than others but what it brought me was adventures, experiences, some new and interesting friendships, and a business idea that is gaining traction.. Not a loss by any means
• 23* to 103*.. Never missed a beat in the things I needed to accomplish, that included working on the truck to working on defensive measures.
• I also grew self-reliant, got outdoors, became much of a different person than I already was and I wasnt that bad to start with.. I know - hearsay and opinionated.

Doing all the things I did to get myself off road and not be stuck down in the city/urban areas was to minimize being hassled either by policy enforcement and or attract the attention of other people without the best of intentions. I stuck to the hills and back roads, occasionally I think I spent a few days in a buddies driveway or two. But I am thankful I had my wits about me. I dealt with everything from local Sheriffs to showering with a bottle of water when I couldn't get into the gym or get to the truck stop with showers. Still showed up for work pressed and cleaned.

I think the "out doors" like situation started up quite a few things and basically kept me out of trouble if not saved me some money in the long term scheme of things, at least not by handing it over to my local courts and the State anyway.

I only wish i would have done a much more better and organized documentation of my experiences and maybe I'd have had a successful Youtube channel and making some money off that!?  So thats why I went the way I did. I had a need and the means was my way of preparation. Only thing changed since moving to Vegas is even though the first 4-5 months was similar here.. I now live in a ridiculous large $2.2M house with some business buddies and earn my keep here. Some days, I take off out of town and camp it out for a night or two - No 54,000 gallon pool or theater room but I swear its better at times.

Sorry so long and TMI.. Only one other person on here has a glimpse of this story, another a fraction of.. but I don't find it embarrassing or troubling when I have Marine friends who had been supportive and admit they themselves couldn't/wouldn't do what I was doing.. I dont feel bad for what I got from it all.

I could have ended up far worse as a co-dependent of the State of California, lost my ass if not ended up paying out the ass & nose for fines and court costs for more dumb   in another State.

Last edited on Sat Sep 15th, 2018 03:43 am by Undrstm8ed