I'm a GIRL, but I'm not dumb!

So, yesterday I get to take our truck to the shop.  Nothing, major, just a bunch of little things.  It is nearing 100K miles and the engine warranty will run out.  I wanted the dealer to check it out during the normal oil change, with a parking brake issue, and there was a recall on a steering part in the front end.

As always, I have 3 kids in tow.  I drove 2 hours to get to this dealer, and had my wonderful mom meet me to pick us up.  I get there and the "Service Advisor" hurries to check me in.  As I am trying to explain the front end issues and the recall, he lets me know "that he's seen this in over heavy duty trucks, like 2500's."  "You'll need some serious front end work done, not just the U-Joints in your front hubs.  You'll need a new pitman arm and some steering parts to make it stable." 

 Hmmmm, so you glance under my truck, say I don't need the recall part, even though the dealer sent me a card with my VIN number on it that says it does. And then you can tell me that I'll need $2500- $3000 worth of work on my front end?  INTERESTING, since I had my front end looked at twice in the last month by 2 different shops.  Once when I had the clutch bearings replaced before Thanksgiving.  I asked him if the front end looked good & he saw anything else that needed done.  He told me that my U-Joints were the noise that Honey had heard & they would need replaced in the next month or so.  Good deal.  When I had new front tires installed, I asked the service man at Goobs to check out the ball joints & steering, because I still noticed shaking when I hit a bump.  Goob's man said it all looked good!  He did also mention the U-Joints were going to need replaced, but that was the only thing he could see.

Interesting.  The dealer guy, Dennis, called me 2 hours, and asked "WHERE ARE YOU??".  (take a deep breath) I'm at my parents, like I told you, I was going to have someone come pick me up.  "Oh, thats right, you did tell me that."  "I was going to have you look at the underside of this truck.  It has some SERIOUS problems!"  (DEEEP breath)  "You are going to need to replace the upper and lower ball joints and the pitman arm like I told you.  And the technician says that if you don't replace them soon you're going to need a NEW AXLE"  IN.ter.EST.ing.  I take a deep breath.  The repair total had escalated to over $3000.

I told him I didn't know what to say.  I told him that it was interesting that two different people had looked at the underside of my truck and did not see that any of these things were wrong.  "Well, they weren't trained Dodge Mechanics, and they weren't inspecting the steering system"  (REALLY Deep breath)  "You know, this is amazing, you diagnosed all of these problems with a glance under the truck, that no one else had seen in the past month," I said.  He again disagreed with me that anyone qualified had looked at the front end.  (WOW, you don't have to be a "DODGE" man to tell if the ball joints are bad).  I told him that I was very frustrated and didn't know where he and I had gotten off on the wrong foot.

I'll quit going into details now, but about 2 seconds later, he called me RUDE and ABUSIVE.  Hmm, because I was questioning him, and his practice of diagnosing a problem (which there was a recall for a related part) in the driveway.  WOW!  He told me I had no Idea how a large truck worked.  INTERESTING.  Then how is it that I (not my husband) have put over 500,000 miles on 3 trucks (a 7.3L Ford F350, a 6.0L Ford, and now this 3500Ram).  I have never had to do an entire front end of this depth.  And certainly not at 100,000 miles.  I think the 7.3L had the ball joints redone at about 250K miles.

I have NEVER been insulted this much by ANYONE!!!  I was really upset and hurt by his words when I just questioned his diagnosis.

Wow, I think he just saw a little girl (I'm 5foot nothin for those of you I don't know in person) with 3 small children getting out of "her husband's truck" and heard "shakes when I hit a bump" and thought "SUCKER".  I don't believe anything a service advisor says.  I do have my oil changed by a mechanic, so they look at all the other details of my rig (I specifically ask them to look everything over).  But, I can and have changed the oil on all of my trucks myself, so that I am familiar with how everything in my engine looks.  When Honey drives, he says something if he notices a sound (like the U-Joints).  Wow, we all missed a totally ruined front end!  LOL!

Anyhow, the oil was changed.  He never bothered to check into my brake problem, and did not check the engine over (the 2 things that I DID want looked at).  So if you are in Iowa.  Do NOT go to Granger Motors, and have Dennis as your service advisor.

We will be buying a Ford again next time.  I think they have resolved all of their Diesel issues.  (We had a 6.0 Diesel last time, enuf said)


Sorry for the Total Rant!  I just had to get it off my chest.  I have talked with his manager, (he didn't sound that he was suprised) and will be writing a letter to the Dealer.  But, I will NEVER bother to grace thier door again!!

A good service department is worth its weight in gold!!!

Pairs on Snow

Whew!

Well, we've been running at full speed around here! Our list from the last 3 days...

Farm Wife Friday, It was my turn. So this means that 2 girlfriends and their kids come to the house and clean, organize, clean, eat, paint, clean, and decorate!!! WOW!! Those girls can really work!! My living rooms are now partially decorated. Yes, I know that I've lived in this house for over a year... But, I have a fear of decorating, or hanging something wrong. So, I just don't do it. My last house was done by my Grandma, after she couldn't stand (a year of)bare walls.

I will even have pictures on my walls of MY family!! I have curtains (& they're hung!!)! And Abby brought a great desk that she CurbShopped. Crazy, 'cause its a great little antique desk. MamaP is fixing some pictures for me & putting them in a custom matted frame of our last name that I bought.

AMAZING!! (& Honey even liked the house, its more AMAZING!!!)

Then after the girls left, I got a phone call that I was late to take Freedom & Ultimate to be ultrasounded. So, we hooked & loaded & ran. It was only 7 miles away, but I detest being late. (nevermind, that Honey forgot to tell me about the appointment).

Saturday, we left the house at 8 after choring & set up a portable Corral at the pasture and drove all the cows to the corral. We sorted & hauled 3 loads of cows & 2 loads of calves home. Just Honey & I with all the munchkins in the truck. Then we did chores in the dark & had Squeak's 2nd birthday party.

Yup! Momma's sad! My little man is 2!!! No longer a baby!! As I type this he is running around the house chasing J.Cowgirl with a rope, while he is wearing nothing but a hat & diaper. TOOO CUTE! Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie, NIECE, & nephew came down & celebrated with us too. It was wonderful, even if we were sooo tired our eyelids were drooping.

Today, we rolled out of the house at 7 (after choring) and hauled 3 more loads home, then went to work feeding everything & watering. We sorted & weaned the calves & rolled out hay for 3 groups of cows. The calves are eating ok, & went to the hay right away. Winter has hit, so we have to check all the waterers & put in tank heaters in some tanks, & chores generally take twice as long.

But, I LOVE THIS LIFE!! It was a wonderfull weekend working side-by-side with my Honey and kids! Even though, we're all dog tired, it was great!!

Water N Poo

I love this little video. And after the RAINY wet day that I had, I was thankful that I wasn't covered in Pig Poo like I have been in weeks past. So, I thought I might direct you to Water N Poo. I can't figure out how to just put the You Tube Video in my screen....
So you'll have to click on the link.



TRUST ME, Its Cute!!

Hope your day isn't as wet as mine!!

wow, nothing to Say

I've been gone.

Kansas City Royal - Went well

2 more calf sales - Market is really wierd!

Custom Cows sent home - Good RIDDANCE!

went to Dentist yesterday. very. bad. deal.

Finding Good Help

Well, we live in the middle of nowhere. When I drive out to go check cows, this is my view for about 2 miles.

I enjoy living out in the country, but it is hard to find good help. But, having a family farm, means that I DO have some help.

My help is little right now, but they're learning! My Cowgirl is great. She can open gates, and with the help of a good dog, she can move cows pretty good!

Here are our cows grazing after being moved to some fresh grass. Now is once again a busy time of year. We are starting to wean, and get some club calves ready to sell, and the beef calves have been banded.

We are also going to harvest some GROUND BEEF this month. We have some 100% grass-fed animals that we harvest for GROUND BEEF or Steak-burger, as some call it. This is a premium product that is MUCH leaner than you can find in any store. You will have to add some water to get this meat to cook, its THAT lean.

If you would like to have some of this STEAK-BURGER, e-mail me or leave a comment, and I'll give you a blogger (*smiles*) discount and if you're close, I'll deliver it free too!

Pasture Pictures

A week or so ago, we invited Diana to come take pictures while we moved cows. (She's designing a super fantastic website for us)

I didn't really tell her what to expect, other than, we were going to move cows.

When she was close, I asked her if she or her husband could drive a stick shift, & what type of vehicle they drove. Well, yes, her husband can drive a stick, & they brought the van. I told her we'd meet her in town & they could take the Jeep from there. Oh, but they could drive there she assured me. I apologised & explained that we would be driving through a mile of pasture before we even got to the place where we would ride to the cows.

So, her husband was excited that he would get to drive the Jeep (CJ-5 & he had one in High School). The followed us the 7 miles to the pasture & we explained (the basics) of what we were going to do & where they should drive & follow.

So Honey & I rode out about 100 acres with them following in the Jeep. We got them parked a little back from the eventual gate & we went to gather the cows. Honey went South & I went North. We grouped the cows from about a 130 acre piece. Great, we had a new calf. But Momma Cow wanted nothing to do with us putting the calf in the saddle with Honey. So she was a little slow moving with a still-wet calf. That's ok, we like to walk them if they're moving in the right direction.

Then the cows saw the Jeep! The headed straight for it. I didn't know if Diana & her husband would get nervous or upset. & Heaven forbid they honk the horn. We wouldn't get any pictures then, because they would have to go in front & lead the cows (honking) the rest of the way. But, I was able to get the cows off the Jeep and headed back towards the gate.

As usual with a group of cows once an old cow found the gate, she knew where she was going. Thank goodness, because we had added about 20 new cows, who didn't know the way.

We were able to keep the little calf going with his cow & eventually herded them to the gate. Honey hopped off his horse & tried to grab the little guy again & throw him in the saddle, but Momma-Cow wanted to eat his lunch rather than let him grab her calf. Koda jumped right in front of her without any nudging (Thank GOD for a great Cow-Horse!). So, the little guy got to wade across the creek on his own.

Below, you see the picture that I have always wanted. Us moving the cows up the hillside. The first time we moved cows up this hill, I thought it was BEAUTIFUL. And Diana captured it beautifully!

So, I hope you enjoyed our little cattle drive. I sure did! And once again THANK YOU DIANA for the beautiful pics. They will look great on our website (& on our wall)