Time to drop off my little '04 at college

[PropellerHead]

We've shared a lot of road trips on this board. I can't even recall the 1st one, but I know we've been along RT66 at least a few times in my 2004 4.8is. I do recall pictures of my baby girl (born in 2004) who was then too small to sit in the front seat. Ahhh, the memories!

And so, it is as they grow into the front seat and then what seems like a few days later, they're into the *left* seat. My observation here is that getting their own transportation is a fine preparation for the empty nest in a couple years. No more rides to and from soccer, LAX, Golf, school, and wherever else they wanna go ends with the handover of the keys. I've been saying goodbye since that day.

The 1st thing we did to prepare for her departure was to repair a dent she got from an uninsured driver. Of course, if *I* am gonna make a repair on a BMW, I'm gonna choose something very subtle to the unwashed, yet very obvious to those of us what know a thing or two ab BMW's. And don't worry if you don't know about the E82 1 series. Not many folks do. But here's what she brings to school. We bought and drove it from a guy in California. He called the little E82 "Bambi" because of the goofy front eyes. People hate those. Naming it Bambi made the weakness a strength. The plate, 'Bamb1' was her idea. Once she said it, I had no real choice. I just loved the creativity.

After that was complete, I next addressed a frustration that many of us have with teenagers: the nearly dead phone battery. I found a nifty little bit that adds inductive charging to the storage tray on an E82. Two observations:

1) Had I known the console was coming out for install, I would have never done this.
2) Had I realized how slow the charging is, and how inconvenient it is placed, I would have lowered my expectations on the efficacy.

But I didn't, so I went ahead and finished the project. Makes for a cool couple of pics, anyway.

Ug:

All done!

I don't think she's used it since this 1st test.

And that was just a couple things necessary to put my head in the right place. The journey is what it is. Daddy's head isn't even the one that matters.

The last bit of prep for her car was some rear brakes. It's been 207 degrees after 8AM these days, so I decided that the $100 difference in DIY vs service was worth it. I don't have pics of the fairly thorough paint polish and sealant exercise from this past week, but I hope to manage her maintenance needs on her return home rather than something unexpected. Drive an N62 X5 and you'll understand preventative maintenance.

I have more to share. This includes the adventure I've shared here about towing something that isn't a bike rack on the E53.

But for now, I am exhausted. We have a few hundred miles of towing a UHaul again tomorrow. Even as this adventure has been so far relatively problem free, we and the E53 are only 1/2 way done. I'll share soon the story of my 1st ever long haul with the 4.8is.

This does seem like a good place to share the borrowed redneck hitch. Yeah, the X5 is dirty, but with a hitch like this, what ELSE do you expect? More soon on our return to the empty nest:

[PropellerHead]

After some practice with a buddy's trailer and some rewiring of my back-em-up brain, I was ready for the trailer pickup. It was lighter than my buddy's somewhat laden trailer, so there was more noise and jumping around of the UHaul than I expected. Also, being enclosed, I quickly realized that using my mirrors while in drive was going to be just as key to using them in reverse. This may be the best use of euro side mirrors I have ever had. I can see well beyond the sides of the UHaul from them. There is nothing of use to be seen from the rearview.

Minutes later, I was in front of my own driveway, wife, and child. It was time to show and this time with a crowd. Nervous? You bet. But even though we have a tight squeeze in reversing a trailer, it went very well. Even my little wifey was impressed.

The trip to school is one we have made dozens of time. It is my wife's alma matter and the midpoint we have stayed after Christmas vacations for years. Wouldn't you know that THIS time- hauling a trailer- would be the one that was most hectic. I thought the 30 minutes in traffic for a stalled rig was a the problem. But alas no. The rig had stalled as IT was waiting in construction traffic that saw another 30 minute delay. Just up the road? Yep. More delays. Ug.

The all-aluminum Zionsville radiator I installed ten years ago did great. I never saw temps over 222 degrees. Once the road temps reached 100 degrees, I turned on the A/C instead of letting my hair fly free in the open window cabin. I had raised the rear air pressure on the 315's by about 5lbs. The Android radio's TPMS doesn't like this and there's no way to tell it not to worry except after each turn of the ignition and click of the (fairly obnoxious) warnings. I found this annoyance comforting, though. This is exactly the kind of thing I'd need if my pressure went wonky with a slow leak.

One gas stop at a Costco, and another at what has become my favorite along the route also went without trouble. There's a lot of talk about the brisket sandwich at Buc-ees. Having sampled a few dozen of the best places in Texas I was skeptical. Indeed, while the legendary bathrooms were as clean as a whistle, the brisket was a flat 'Meh.' It was acutually well prepared and not over cooked- which is the hardest part. I think a sauce that I enjoy would have made the sandwich one that I would try again. As it is, I have had my experience and that was enough.

Once at our destination, I found a spot without too much risk and tried out my skills again. I haven't worked in well over a year. But I think I could back up trailers for a little while. It feels good to learn something new- especially just a few years off from AARP status.

So of course, I spend the next 2 days telling everyone I know how awesome I am. A buddy of mine sends me HIS rig and I am then both humbled and shutty'ed. No way I can handle THIS thing:

This is probably as good a time as any to answer the question my uncle- and everyone else- ends up asking. In truth, we could have done it all with a larger vehicle or a truck bed. I don't expect we'll need a trailer like this again, but for now we had the comfort of knowing there was nothing we couldn't take along, even if a few bring-a-longs ended up being thrown away once we arrived.

After a few days of arm loading into the dorm, cleaning, hauling trash and decorating, we had our dinner last night with my daughter, her roommates, and their families. It was time to say goodbye. As I type, my bride is reluctantly packing her bags for the ride home. My daughter's custom-made playlist for daddy awaits.

I am not sure when it will hit us. A very quiet house awaits. No 'Bamb1' means I regain the E53's rightful spot in the garage next to its 4.4 sibling. Writing this little bit has me in mah feelz, so I think I'll distract myself with a few hundred miles in tow. This time, however, it'll be with my ole best friend, my little wifey of over 25 years. We got along pretty well the 1st time we had an empty nest. So well, in fact that we added to it. 19 years later, it's time to remember that feeling with a different kind of baby bird distraction. Off we go then.

[Bottomfeeder]

Wonderful trip report and well done on the successful drop-off! I'm with you on the Buc-ee's brisket ... it's exceptionally good gas station fare, but pretty low-end if we're talking real BBQ. (But then I'm spoiled from being a TX resident.)

Thanks for sharing -

Chris
Lockhart, TX

[X5chemist]

Cool story. Ha, I think I've seen those parking garages!

[Homerlovesbeer]

Love the tale