After-Market Vehicle Warranties - My BAD Experience

I bought a used 1984 Toyota Landcruiser FJ60 in 1988 from a Toyota dealer in MA.  In addition, I purchased a 2-year, 24,000-mile warranty from the Toyota dealer.  It was a great truck, and I had no issues.

The warranty required me to have all the fluids changed at 12,000 miles.  I cannot remember the name of the Toyota Dealer in Woburn, MA but I was working close by at that time, so I brought it to them for service.

They changed all the drivetrain fluids as required by the warranty on Friday.  That weekend it started shifting funny.  I brought it back to the dealer on Monday and they told me there was transmission oil all over the bottom of the vehicle and I had blown the transmission!!  They blamed me even though there were no issues before they had done the maintenance required by the warranty 3 days before.

The dealer told me it was not fixable so they would have to find me another transmission.

I did my own searching and found a shop in Upstate NY that had several rebuilt transmissions on the shelf ready to go for $850.  The Toyota dealer wanted to go a different route.  My Landcruiser had 57,000 miles on it.  They said they were looking for a used transmission with less than 57,000 miles on it for a replacement to satisfy the warranty requirement.  I was livid.  I called an attorney and was told there was nothing I could do based on the after-market warranty I purchased.  The dealer gave me no option.

The Toyota dealer found and bought a used transmission from a junkyard in Canada for $150 and had it shipped to Woburn, MA.  I told them I didn't want that and wanted a rebuilt transmission ready to go from Upstate NY.  They said no.  Throughout the process, I also found out there are warranty deductibles per item that I was responsible for paying.  I ended up paying hundreds of dollars in deductibles per the warranty I purchased.  IT WAS A BAD EXPERIENCE.

I currently have a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock and I started getting those vehicle warranty calls.  I talked to one company and told them my story.  The person on the phone promised me that wouldn’t happen with them!  I said I was interested but I wouldn’t sign anything until I could read the warranty agreement. 

They sent it to me.  Reading through their warranty in the middle of the document on page 5 it said, “Replacement of Covered Parts that have experienced a Breakdown may be made with original equipment manufactured parts, non-original equipment manufacturer parts, re-manufactured parts, or used parts, at the Administrator’s discretion.”

This brought back bad memories.  Hmm … let's see … an $850 rebuilt transmission on the shelf ready to go or a $150 used transmission from a junkyard in Canada.  I was forced to take the $150 tranny from the junkyard in Canada at the Administrator's (Toyota Dealers) discretion …

A Jeep Wrangler is one of those vehicles where you can modify pretty much everything.  

With that, this same warranty document, on page 10, “Section V-Exclusions – What’s not covered”.  "Any breakdowns caused by any modifications, alterations, and/or additions to Your Vehicle, or if any modifications, alterations, and/or additions have been made to Your Vehicle You are using or have used Your Vehicle in a manner not recommended by the Manufacturer, including but not limited to, the failure of any custom or add on/aftermarket parts regardless if supplied by a franchised dealer or not, all frame or suspension modifications, lift kits (unless the lift kit option is marked on the Application Page and not to exceed 6 inched of combined lift), oversized/undersized tires or wheels not recommended by the original manufacturer, trailer hitches.  Also not covered are any emissions and/or exhaust systems modifications, engine modifications, transmissions modifications, and/or drive axle modifications, which includes any performance modifications.”  There were more paragraphs after this …

You will get those calls and can purchase a warranty, or not!  It's up to you but you can LEARN FROM MY BAD EXPERIENCE.   

If you are considering one of those after-market or dealer-extended warranties, read it carefully.  I had a Toyota dealer sell me that warranty.  It was not backed by Toyota.  Read the warranty someone is trying to sell you before you throw down your cash and sign so you aren’t forced to settle for “the Administrator’s discretion”.

Note: I had this lousy after-market warranty experience and a bad Toyota dealer service experience.  I did buy another Toyota after my Landcruiser as they make good vehicles.  Over the years I had 2 more bad dealer service experiences with a Toyota dealer in New Hampshire.  They are supposed to be honest.  3 strikes ... I would stay away from Toyota for your vehicle service.

Giving credit where credit is due, I have had positive dealer experiences over the years with a Jeep dealer, a Honda dealer, a Nissan dealer, a Mazda dealer, and a Chevy dealer.  

Beaver Brook - Hollis, NH

Kevin invited his friend Clark to go on a hike in Beaver Brook. It was a nice sunny day with a cool breeze that kept the bugs down. I quickly realized I was the odd man out when Kevin asked that I hang back 25 or 30 yards so they could hike themselves. Should I feel hurt or is it part of the journey into manhood for 11 year old boys?

We hiked to the big rock by the beaver dam. We saw a Northern Water Snake with a fish partially swallowed. We tried to maneuver so it would come out of the water so I could get a good picture. This partial head shot is all I was able to get. It ended up swimming across the brook to the other side and disappearing in the sticks.

.460 S&W Magnum - Smith & Wesson

I went to the range this weekend.  There were 6 people at the 50 yard range when I arrived.  2 were leaving so I used their stand.  When the range went cold and I set up my targets to shoot pistols and my Springfield 87M.

The 4 guys that remained must have had a dozen pistols of all shapes and calibers.  Once we were all set down range we went hot.  The first pistol I heard go off to my left was the Model S&W500.  With a 4 inch barrel it made more noise than my .44 Magnum ever did.  It was impressive.

I stopped shooting and went to check it out.  It was a nice gun. We started talking about hunting.  I said I hunted a few times with my .44 Magnum but had never seen a deer when hunting with it.  I told them the .500 was nice but the S&W .460 had the best handgun hunting ballistics so that would be my choice.  One of the guys piped in and said … OH, that’s right here ...

They had the Model 460V Revolver with a 5 inch barrel.  They told me to shoot it and handed me 5 rounds.  I know the ammo is expensive ($3.35 a round) so I said thanks but one round will work for me.  They said you don’t get the feel for the gun with just one round so shoot all 5.  I was told the gun had a light trigger so they suggested I shoot single action.

I put 5 rounds in the cylinder and got ready.  The grip felt very nice.  Since I shoot a .44 Magnum I am fine with large frame guns with some kick. 

They had a dueling tree with 4 inch plates set up 15 yards out.  Anticipating a light trigger I made sure I was aiming at what I wanted to shoot before I put my finger on the trigger.  As I started to squeeze the trigger I thought to myself “I wonder ho …” BANG” … w much pressure I will need before the gun goes off?” … and that answered my question. 

Now, to back up a minute there were 2 things.  First, when I was told about the light trigger I should have dry fired the gun to get the feel of the trigger pull before I loaded up.  Second, I should have asked if I could shoot at the 4 inch steel targets before I shot to make sure I wouldn’t blow a hole through the steel.  There are various grades of steel and thicknesses so you need to make sure the steel you are shooting at can accommodate the caliber you are shooting at the distance you are shooting.

So what happened?  Well, this dueling tree had six 4 inch plates and was set up 15 yards in front of me.  When you hit a plate it will swing 180 degrees from side to side, right to left or left to right.

In this case the top plate was on the left, the other 5 plates were on the right.  For my first shot I aimed at the second plate from the top on the right side (3^rd plate down from the top of the tree).   Because the .460 had so much power, and perhaps being so close, when I hit the 4 inch plate it swung from the right to the left with so much force one plate above and the two plates below also swung around to the left side.  The force of the plate going from the right to left 180 degrees caused 3 additional plates to swing around.  No kidding ... 4 plates turned with one shot of the .460.  "Jerry Miculek look out!!!"  hehe ... There were now 5 plates on the left and one lonely plate on the bottom right.  I was impressed.  The round didn’t blow a hole through the steel either which was lucky for me.

They were impressed that I was able to hit the 4 inch plate with my first shot of this BIG revolver I hadn’t fired before.  At the 50 yard mark there was another steel plate set up.  I hit that with my second shot.  What a great round and a great revolver.  The trigger pull was not a problem for me but I thought it felt too sensitive for a gun this powerful (personal preference).  For hunting I would probably increase the pull a bit especially if wearing gloves.  I would love to try the .460 again at the 100 and 200 yard range.  The .460 ballistics say that distance wouldn’t be a problem.

Assessment: The S&W .460 revolver has Bark and a HUGE BITE ... I WANT ONE ... 

Chambers Bros. Fish Tug

Ok ... maybe I am dating myself as this photo is from July, 1968.  I am the kid in the grey sweatshirt in the front of the boat.  We are at the boat ramp in Saugatuck, MI about to go up the river.  My grandpa is getting us ready to go, my sister has the green jacket on, my mother is wearing the hat, and my dad is taking this picture.

In the background you see the Chambers Bros fish tug.  

Did this boat have historical significance to Saugatuck/Douglas?   I set out to research this on the internet.  Maybe it could be something for the Saugatuck/Douglas Historical Society.  http://sdhistoricalsociety.org/

I came across a web site about Fish Tugs of the Great Lakes.  Below is what I found out about the Chambers Bros boat ...

http://www.harveyhadland.com/pics145.htm

CHAMBERS BROS. 228149 A 52 ft. all-steel fish tug built by Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding, in 1929, for Chambers Bros. Fishery, Kenosha, Wis; owned by Clifford Chambers, and then his son, Keith Chambers.

Equipped with a 60-70 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine, the boat was converted to trawling after the decline of the trout fishery. Sold to interests outside the fishery, the boat is presently at Milwaukee, renamed RECOVERY, and used for underwater research.

The Loss of the Wisconsin

In 1929 the large passenger/freight steamship S.S. Wisconsin foundered in heavy seas 5 miles off off Kenosha, Wisconsin. A distress wireless message was received by the Kenosha Coast Guard station asking for immediate assistance as the 450' ship was beginning to sink. The Coast Guard tried, but was unable to penetrate the huge seas with their lifeboat.

Clifford Chambers gathered a crew together and took the Chambers Bros. through the huge combers to the location where the Wisconsin had sunk. He maneuvered the tug to allow his crew to rescue many swimmers and survivors, taking them down to the boiler to revive them from the elements. His tug full, he returned to shore to discharge his hypothermic cargo. He then made two more round trips through the waves rescuing more survivors and retrieving many bodies.

In all, Cliff and the Chambers Bros. saved more than 30 from certain death. Many others perished and were washed ashore in the week that followed.
-Steve Ceskowski


Looks like a noteworthy Fish Tug.  Another interesting site was    http://www.boatnerd.com/

Weekend Trip to the Coast of NH

This weekend we wanted to explore a bit in the Portsmouth, NH and the seacoast area.

Saturday morning we headed to Plum Island to spent the day at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.  We drove through Newburyport, MA which looked like a great little town to explore.  We wanted sand, ocean, critters, etc. so we continued on our way.  (Will visit Newburyport, MA another time).  We arrived at the visitor center to get information and a map of the refuge.  We talked to a couple people  there that gave us some great ideas for what to do. 

It cost $5 per car to get in to the refuge.  It is around 7 miles from lot 1 to lot 7.  That would be 14 miles of walking on the beach.  We decided drive and park at lot 3 then take the boardwalk to the beach and walk back toward lot 2.  The boardwalks are several hundred yards long.  We had a great time.  The tide was out so the beach was very wide.  It was windy and cold so it's good Pam brought ear muffs.  We returned by beach back to lot 3 and headed for lot 6.

On our way we spotted a Snowy Owl.  Several people were watching it feed on a duck it had killed. 

We continued to lot 6 and thought we would again walk the beach to lot 7.  Lots of nice shells.  We saw 6 unbroken sand dollars (lots of broken ones also) along the way.  One was still alive (maroon in color with little spines).  I brought my hunting GPS which said we walked almost 5 miles.  

Late afternoon we headed back to Portsmouth to check in to our hotel and make dinner reservations.  As we drove out the Snowy Owl was still enjoying the duck. 

We checked in to the hotel and headed out for dinner.  I wanted seafood so we went to Jumpin Jay's.  I had the best scallops I have ever eaten.  Portsmouth is very pretty at night so we walked around after dinner.   

I was up early on Sunday.  In fact, when I went to the hotel dining area the front desk person and the chef were watching television.  I startled them by being up so early.  I told them I was just there for coffee but they hurried to their stations.  I wanted to take pictures of "The North Church of Portsmouth" before the sun came up and people started moving about. One police car passed me and one guy walking.  Doesn't anyone get up early when they go away besides me ...

As it started to get light I headed for the water.  The center span of this bridge had been removed a few weeks back.  I took a picture of this tugboat, Miss Stacy.  In the news 2 days later there was a story and a picture about this tugboat that had gotten caught in the current moving the barge and ended up being pushed into the pier, took on water, and almost capsized.  

I continued looking for a fishing pier to take pictures. 


When I returned we checked out and headed out to explore.  We stopped at Fort Stark in New Castle.  It was used to protect Portsmouth harbor from the British in the 1700's and again in WW1 & WW2 from enemy subs.  There were a couple more fort's in the area we will explore next time.

We thought we would continue South along the ocean.  We ate lunch along the rocks.  The tide was out so the seals were sunning themselves on the exposed rocks.  I looked but no shark fins in the area. 

We arrived at Hampton beach and headed for home.  It was a relaxing and fun quick trip. 

Messin' with the Family

A photograph captures an instant in time that will never happen again.  From that moment forward it's history.  It's what happened ...

For years I fought the industry standard of juicing pictures such as replacing a washed out sky for a nice one, changing backgrounds, colors, adding things that aren't there, etc.

I take pictures because it was a moment in time I experienced ... not a made up thing.  I finally caved in and started playing with Photoshop and may take out power lines or enhance a washed out picture BUT I keep it simple.  

I do like joking around with my family and poking fun at them.  This is a casualty of me being their dad.  I may see an event or look for a photo to mess with my family.

From Cigar Guy to sports, I may change something or add a head or two where they may not have been.  It’s all to poke fun.  I like a good sense of humor.  I can poke fun at myself like I do in some of my blog posts, and poke fun at family and friends like I may do in my blog posts. 

I am not a Photoshop expert and on my best day can't compete with the likes of an expert. 

I didn't have a blog post to place said pictures ... BUT NOW I DO ...

Two Christmas Tree Hunt and Kill Family pics ... New England Patriots ... Hunting ... Olympics ... Cigar Guy ... Chara - Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins ... Gronkowski ... Starting my own family "Duck Dynasty" show ...

Smelt Fishing - What's with the name?

Rick, Doug, and I went smelt fishing in Maine on Saturday.

I have no idea what Smelt taste like. The name “Smelt” doesn’t seem very appealing. Who picked that name anyway? Rick said “You fry them up.... fabulous!” I guess I will find out!!

We are going to the River Bend Smelt Camp in Bowdoinham, ME. It’s about 2 1/2 hours north of us. The camp supplies a fishing hut, wood/stove in the hut, and bait. We will fish the incoming tide. Saturday low tide is 8 o'clock AM. Our thought was to be up at 4:30AM and on the road by 5:30AM. Doesn’t everyone do that on a Saturday?

Rick called the camp to find out more. They said we don’t need to get on the ice until 11:00AM. It takes that long for the tide to come inland to where we will be fishing. Rick brought venison stew. I brought the coffee pot.

We were in Hut 7 which was a 3 person hut. It was set up well with the stove on one wall and the ice channel on the other. There were 14 lines with a double hook set-up above the channel. We changed many of the hooks, put a piece of worm on each hook and lowered the lines. We started to heat up the venison stew and put the coffee on. The wood stove kept us very warm.

What depth do we drop the lines? How do we know when a fish is on? Do you set the hook or just keep pressure on the line when pulling the fish up? We had no idea. It seemed like we had more luck when the bait was closer to the bottom. When a fish gets hooked the line starts moving in a circle. We lost several fish pulling them up as they shook loose.

Smelt are schooling fish so you would think when one is hooked you would catch a whole bunch. They say that does happen but we were only catching one at a time. The guys in the hut not far away caught 100 fish. They were using jig poles with different set ups.

We fried the smelt we caught right on the wood stove with flour, salt, and pepper in a hot skillet with some oil. So here goes! The name “Smelt” does not sound very appetizing but to my surprise they were excellent (similar to haddock or cod).

It would be a lot of fun with families and kids. Next time we will set up jig poles as well.

Vermont Hike - Bear In The Woods

In 1983 I was introduced to a group of guys that liked hunting and fishing. We called our group "Sportsman's Fellowship". We started out hunting, fishing, and having Bible studies together. Over the years we have become the best of friends. Some of our group have come and gone because of jobs, moving, etc. but our core group hasn't changed. Our siblings were also included at a very young age and some are now adults carrying on the hunting and fishing traditions. Years ago we thought we would have a wild game dinner with bear, venison, caribou, salmon, trout, etc. Great idea but a bit unprepared when 95 guys showed up. Needless to say we ran out of everything.

We have loads of stories about our experiences in camp, in the woods, on the water, and on the ice.

Here is a true Doug story.

A few years ago there were several of us staying in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. We were scouting for deer season.

Doug decided he was going to hike to the top of Gore Mountain just north of Island Pond. I do believe there is a trail to the top that is 4 miles or so but Doug wasn't going to take the trail.

Gore Mountain is one of the highest mountains in the Northeast Kingdom at 3,330 feet. Coming from Rt. 114 (around 1350 feet) it's a steep climb. If you hike to the back side it is a bit easier but much longer.  Doug is pretty strong and in good shape.  I remember Doug helped Pam and I move to a condo. I was in the condo and heard a loud bang. It was Doug. He had taken our queen size pull out couch, mattress and all, off of the truck and proceeded to carry it on his back to the second floor by himself. He got hung up in the stairwell going through the door hence the bang.

Anyway, anyone who knows Doug will tell you he can cover more distance, rough terrain, and hills than most men in a very short amount of time. (i.e. South Rim of the Grand Canyon to Phantom Ranch and back in 6 hours.)

It was raining on the Saturday he asked me to hike Gore with him. With bad memories of past hikes and having good common sense I declined. Rain + a steep climb + a long distance + a very fast pace + average conditioning on my part + DOUG = A BAD EXPERIENCE. I dropped him off on Rt. 114 for his climb.

Doug said he hiked for a long time and stopped at one point as the rain let up. He said "I was tired!" This meant I would have been hobbling a half mile back most likely trying to get back to Rt. 114 and probably lost (pre GPS).

Because of the rain, walking was very quiet in the woods. As he stood there he heard a noise Shhhhhh ... Shhhhhhhhh ... Shhhhhh ... Shhhhhhh ... He looked around and thought "What in the world is that noise" ... Just then he caught a quick glimpse of black in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a black bear run straight away from him crashing through the brush.

It was black bear season but it happened so fast Doug said his .44 pistol (named Bertha) never cleared his holster.

It turned out Doug stopped in the middle of a beechnut grove. Doug didn't realize it but there was a black bear up in a beechnut tree eating beechnuts.  The bear didn't see Doug, and because of the rain, the bear didn't smell Doug or hear him walking. As Doug took a break, the bear must have spotted or smelled him and became nervous. The Shhhhhhhhh ... Shhhhhhhh ... noise was the sound of the bear sliding down the tree to escape. 

I took a picture of this beechnut tree with bear claw marks on it when I was hunting.  It's one of my favorite trees in the woods.

Doug continued to the top then down again to Rt. 114. I got a call to pick him up. He was so hungry we headed straight to the store for some food.

A black bears senses are so good they typically smell or hear a person coming and move off. The odds of seeing a bear in the woods is rare. The odds of keeping up with Doug on a hike is also rare.

ActionshotsNH - Photography Collage

I enjoy taking pictures of activities my family and I are involved with.  Several years back I decided to make a collage.  Would it be a theme, a recap, or what?  I would use one of my photos for a background and add my subject photos to show something.  I really like the individual photos but there is something about a collage which makes a good summary of an event.  They would make nice posters. 

My first collage of skydiving parachutes.  I had a couple good sky photos and some colorful parachute canopy pictures.  I tried to create some kind of flow showing the parachute canopy colors so I took the skydivers out.  I get a lot of views on my blog for this so people must like it.

Kevin and I enjoy the 2012 AMA Pro Hillclimb event in NH.  I put this up on facebook and many of the riders tagged themselves to the photo.

After an excellent year of trail camera pictures I saw a fresh boot track on a trail I cut with a fresher deer track in it so I used that as the background adding the trail cam pictures from my hunting buddies.  The trail camera pictures were from Ryan, Derek, Stephen, and Ray. 

The NH ice fishing derby on Lake Winniepesaukee has been tradition for several years.  We have had large groups and small groups.  Great time, cold, fishing, food, and some nice ice shanty's.

We have been going to the Vermonster 4x4 mud races.  I decided to make this Vermonster collage. 

Vermonster also had a hill climb event at Whaleback Mountain.  No mud ... but snow ... had fun taking pictures and put this together.

Kate likes the Ford Mustang so this collage is for her.

This Crash & Burn Collage has some of my crash pictures with a parachute cut-away picture I took.  Which is worse?  A parachute malfunction with a cut away, cracking up a motorcycle, or rolling/crashing a car/truck/monster truck/snowmobile ... All have the potential to be painful.

This is from the 2013 AMA Hillclimb.  I took several pictures of Anthony DeHart so I thought I would do one of him.

I could go back over my adventures and do quite a few of these. If we continue going to some of the same events I may make another collage for a specific truck/car/rider/etc.

Over the years Pam's grandma made afghans for all her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  I took one of my sky pictures and made this for her.  I also did a Vermonster Monster Truck collage with the BIGFOOT truck in the middle.  

Had a great time at the 2014 AMA Hillclimb during Bike Week in NH.  

While exploring on vacation I spotted a garden by the ocean with lots of bird houses.  It was oceanfront property with no house.  On the fence was this sign.  The gate had a private keep out sign so I took some pictures from the street.

For years Mike and Lauren have been gracious hosts to us during hunting season.  I made Mike a hunting collage with some of our people pics.  Great memories.  Some big bucks from the group over the years and I thought "Buckwacka" was appropriate. 

I recently went to a car show and saw some very nice cars.  When I saw a lobster boat with the name "three E's" it reminded me of my 3 daughters.

I shoot pistols at my Fish & Game club a bit.  These black and white targets are 5.25" in diameter and the black and green targets are 4" in diameter.  At a distance of 12' to 25' who says I can't hit the "Broad Side of a Barn?"

When you go to the top of my blog to "Search this Blog" you can use key words to find the event I blogged about; skydiving, AMA hillclimb, hunting adventures, Vermonster, ice fishing, Monson Village, Whaleback ...

This is a work in progress ...