As some of you know, I quit my job with Cat in May and left my belongings in SE Iowa(Libertyville), and moved back home to SW Iowa(Lenox), to build my family a new home. The spring was brutal with too much rain, and spring work drug on until July. We were able to get our crops planted and they are turning out ok. 4th of July I started digging our basement and after much more rain, trials and tribulations Dad and one of my friends and I were able to get the basement walls and floor poured, and all the other things done to a basement. We installed the septic system, water lines, drain lines, electrical. Finally on Sept 8, we received our new Modular home, and it was set on Sept 10th. I then hooked up all the drains, water lines, and electrical. Yesterday, my wife and I, a couple of friends, my dad, and my inlaws went to SE Iowa and picked up all our belongings. We loaded a 42' van trailer with household items, a 25' livestock trailer with my garage stuff, my 32' trailer with 2 pickups and a lot of scrap iron, and a 25 foot flatbed with yard equipment. Everything was stacked high, full and heavy. We had my first gen, my brothers 96 12 valve and my buddy's 08 6.4 hooked to the trailers and dads t600 on the van trailer. We made a spirited trip across Iowa with no troubles what so ever.
We rolled into Creston Iowa, and there is a stop light at the bottom of a hill, and another stop light at the top. If you get stopped at the bottom of the hill at a red light, and the light goes green, if you lallygag along you will get to stop at the red light at the top of the hill. My dad pulls up with the KW to the red light, my brother pulls up beside him, the 6.4 behind my brother, and I switched lanes and pulled in behind dad. The light went green, Dad lit off the old detroit and let the smoke roll, and the race was on. My brothers 12 valve was smoking and the straight pipe blaring, the 6.4 let out some smoke and got it all on, and my old first gen lit the Super 40 and away we went. Even loaded, we did not have to stop at the top of the hill, made it through on green. I still wonder what everyone at the intersection thought of the display of power. FWIW my old truck will run with a stock 6.4 with no problems. I suspect in a hard pull, my truck would be the winner, but it was hard to tell without knowing weight and wind resistance.
I joked when we left, it looked like a Modern Day Clampit's move to Cali-fornia!!
Today we will start moving into our new house. I still have to pour the garage floor and build the 30x30 garage, and gravel the driveway. It has been a long trip this summer, and a lot of work, I will be glad when its done.
Michael