Clean truck...

Anyone reading for any length of time probably has an idea that I enjoy working on our vehicles. I have a vast assortment of tools, and like using them. One thing I don't like so much is cleaning the trucks.

Within a few minutes of both the office and our house, we have good car washes that do exterior only washes. I'm not talking the deal where you put a couple of bucks in, pull in and stop while the wash goes back and forth. I'm talking the pull in, food off the brake, car in neutral, and it runs you through the tunnel with the cloth deals, rinses, dries, and spits you out the other end. As a result, both trucks are usually presentable - on the outside.

Well, last weekend, I rode with the bro-in-law in his Tahoe. He bought his a couple of months after we got ours. They are both the same interior color, so the interiors are almost identical (mine has a sunroof, his is 4wd). Anyway, his was immaculately clean. No dist, no trash on the floorboards, and the cup holders were even spotless. Well, I was ashamed at how bad I had let my truck get.

This morning I hit the local Auto Zone and picked up a few supplies, then stopped by the car wash on the way home. After the exterior was cleaned, I hit the free vacuums and cleaned the floors of everything that would come up. Once I was home, I shampooed the carpets, put leather cleaner / conditioner on all of the seats, cleaned all of the other plastic and vinyl surfaces (dash, door panels, console, etc). After doing that, I put the shiny stuff on the tires and the black trim on the front and rear bumpers. I even pulled the floor mats out and cleaned them with soap & water. And yes, the cup holders are free of random debris and are spotless. It does look good.

Shelly has informed me that her truck is getting done next weekend. Her Expedition is the "Mommy Car", so that's a big job. There are probably 20 lbs of cheerios stashed around in the various nooks and crannies in that truck.

One other thing... You know that 3rd brake light that all vehicles come with? The one on my Tahoe is right above the rear window. About 2 years ago, it crapped out on me. Simple enough, right? Wrong. I took it off of the truck to see about replacing the bulb(s) in it, only to figure out that it is a series of a bunch of LED lights. You can't replace the bulbs, you have to replace the whole light. No big deal, unscrew 2 screws, unplug the deal, and put the new one on. Yes, it's that simple, but the new ones are a dealer only item, and they are over $150. Too rich for my blood. They keep inspecting it each year, so it's been burned out for a while.

Well, I was perusing Craigslist the other day and hit pay dirt. $20 later, I'm back in business. That's a good deal, but I don't understand why Chevrolet had to get all fancy with the LED lights when they could have put in a deal that takes standard tail light bulbs. I could have fixed it 2 years ago for about $1.

I might strut all the way to work tomorrow. The truck is clean, and all lights once again are working.