Vehicle maintenance and Delta bison

As I’ve mentioned before, things are getting back to normal after my storage building collapse and subsequent damage to items in December 2022. The riverboat has been repaired and is running like a top according to the mechanic who tuned it up earlier this month. The small motorhome has been repaired and the furnace rebuilt, and a new set of tires installed. Now my truck needs some routine maintenance too.

As I write this, my truck is in the shop for annual maintenance (oil and filter change, fuel, and air filters, etc.). One of the tire monitoring modules went out a few days ago, so that’s on the agenda to get fixed. A couple of days ago, I brushed too close to a solid object and managed to slightly dent the passenger rear truck bed corner, breaking out the taillight. That, too, is being repaired. The “elephant in the room” item caught me a little off guard.

Last fall, when I had the truck serviced for the upcoming winter, the mechanic mentioned there was a small leak around the seal of the front differential. When I asked if it needed immediate attention, he said no, but that I should probably get it looked at the next time I had the truck in for service. I took the truck over to the shop today. They looked at things, and it turns out there were four seals with leaks. Everything is repairable, but at a cost!

Insurance covered the major damage repairs to both the riverboat and the small motorhome, but not these “extra” items. The riverboat tune-up was needed and probably long overdue. It cost around $1300. The motorhome furnace situation was not related to the building collapse and had actually been a thorn in my side for a few years. Usually, the furnace would work when needed but, occasionally, it wouldn’t. I’m old enough now that when I need some heat, I need to know I can get it. This rebuild seems to have solved that problem, but at a cost of about $1400.

Now for the truck. Without the seal repairs, the cost would have been around $500-600. The taillight alone is around $200. Breaking that was poor judgement on my part. Had I just moved a little further over, the problem would never have happened. With the seal repairs, the estimated cost is closer to $1700. I don’t want to spend that amount of money right now, but the truck needs to be in good repair for the rest of the year for towing and other activities, so what choice do I have?

If it wasn’t for maintaining vehicles, I’d actually have some money in the bank. Now I may be penniless, but at least I have some operable “toys” to use. And luckily, I had a good stash of both gas and diesel in a smaller storage shed so I can still drive the vehicles for a while even though I’m broke!

Now, I’m beginning to sound like a broken record here, but Fish and Game has released yet another news release restricting the Delta bison permit hunt. This affects permits already issued for this upcoming season.

According to the release, “The department had to reduce the number of permits issued for DI403 and DI404. During recent surveys in the summer of 2024, the department discovered that a significant number of bison died in a single event that appears to be a mass drowning accident. Subsequent surveys indicated the population was even smaller than anticipated, and too small to continue with the planned number of permits issued.”

Continuing, “The department attempts to closely manage this population within a narrow range, with an objective of 360 adult bison. Based on survey results, the population cannot sustain the planned harvest, without dropping well below the post-hunt objective. Therefore, the department has reduced the overall number of permits and changed the bag limit to bull only. The last 27 individuals drawn for DI403 and the last 29 individuals drawn for DI404 will not receive a permit for regulatory year 2024. It is necessary that these changes are made to preserve the viability of this herd.”

The release states, “…the department will ask the Board of Game to consider transferring any DI403 and DI404 permits awarded for the 2024 regulatory year that were subsequently taken away, to be transferred to a future regulatory year (likely 2026). If this permission is granted, this would allow permit winners to hunt Delta bison in a different regulatory year….”