Russ Vance
Member
Well, I am now the proud owner of a 1998 Expedition. It has been my habit to join a matching forum any time I acquire a new (to me) vehicle. This one is especially important since some moron decided he/she didn't really need an owner's manual...grrr! Ordinarily not finding an owner's manual in the glove box is a deal breaker for me, but this is a $2700 pontoon towing machine, so I'm good with it.
I'm a semi-retired teacher and fully retired ex-cop. I know that's not a typical combination, but when my crappy right knee forced me out of law enforcement early, I had to have something to do to put meat on the table, so I taught English to grades 7-12 for 20 years. I "retired" in 2010, but I typically sub 2-3 days a week unless I get conned into doing a long term deal. I hope I don't accept another one of those, but who knows.
My wife is also semi-retired and is a part time financial services worker for Trinity Hospitals. We have two sons, one daughter, three grandsons, and three granddaughters. We bought 36.5 acres a few miles from the Mississippi River a few years ago, and my wife has wanted a pontoon boat ever since...well, maybe even before. We finally found a used one in good shape, which we bought. My 5 speed 2004 Tacoma just wasn't going to be ideal for towing/launching an 8' wide barge, so we added the Expy to the fleet as well.
The Expy has 130,000 miles, a 5.4, new brakes and brake lines, newer tires, newer plugs and wires, rusty rocker panels, no 3rd row seat, decent body other than the rockers, passable interior, and one back window that doesn't want to roll down. It drives and runs great, so I may just do some slip-on rocker panels and fix the window (less of a priority).
Ford seems to struggle with the spark plugs for some reason. The 2 valves blow out of the heads, and the 3 valve break off in the heads...wtf! I'm still a Ford guy though, but I wish they'd have done a better job on the heads/plugs.
That's enough about that. I love fishing, especially fly fishing; hunting, especially traditional bow hunting; and just about anything I can do with my kids and grandkids. My wife and I have been married for 44 1/2 years, so I'm starting to think it might work out. ;-{)
I hope to learn a lot here, so thanks in advance to all!
I'm a semi-retired teacher and fully retired ex-cop. I know that's not a typical combination, but when my crappy right knee forced me out of law enforcement early, I had to have something to do to put meat on the table, so I taught English to grades 7-12 for 20 years. I "retired" in 2010, but I typically sub 2-3 days a week unless I get conned into doing a long term deal. I hope I don't accept another one of those, but who knows.
My wife is also semi-retired and is a part time financial services worker for Trinity Hospitals. We have two sons, one daughter, three grandsons, and three granddaughters. We bought 36.5 acres a few miles from the Mississippi River a few years ago, and my wife has wanted a pontoon boat ever since...well, maybe even before. We finally found a used one in good shape, which we bought. My 5 speed 2004 Tacoma just wasn't going to be ideal for towing/launching an 8' wide barge, so we added the Expy to the fleet as well.
The Expy has 130,000 miles, a 5.4, new brakes and brake lines, newer tires, newer plugs and wires, rusty rocker panels, no 3rd row seat, decent body other than the rockers, passable interior, and one back window that doesn't want to roll down. It drives and runs great, so I may just do some slip-on rocker panels and fix the window (less of a priority).
Ford seems to struggle with the spark plugs for some reason. The 2 valves blow out of the heads, and the 3 valve break off in the heads...wtf! I'm still a Ford guy though, but I wish they'd have done a better job on the heads/plugs.
That's enough about that. I love fishing, especially fly fishing; hunting, especially traditional bow hunting; and just about anything I can do with my kids and grandkids. My wife and I have been married for 44 1/2 years, so I'm starting to think it might work out. ;-{)
I hope to learn a lot here, so thanks in advance to all!
