My neighborhood problem children

[Grumpy Wookiee]

So I need some advice from ALL of you. Crash, I know that we have had our differences, but I am asking for your help as well. I know that you probobly know the best way to handle this, and can give me some good advice.

I posted a while back about a problem I had with my neighbors, and how they parked their car in front of my "driveway" when I was trying to perform some demolition. I have since asked them to stop parking there, as it blocks access to part of my property, and there is no way for me to get my RV in and out if I want to go on vaccation.

Last night, the same thing happened, and I put a note on their car (since they wouldn't open the door at my repeated attempts to talk to them). The note read, "Hi, Please do not park in front of my driveway. It blocks access to my property. Thanks, Brandon". I know its not really a "driveway" as there is no smooth trasition from the concrete pad to the street, it is actually a curb. Here is a picture so you have a better idea of what I am talking about...



Well, the gentlmen found the note and came banging on my door at 10 at night, yelling a screaming about how I dont own the street, and he can park anywhere he wants. He would not talk to me, just kept walking away as I tried to calmly explain to him why I would rather he parked in front of his own property.

The end state was that neither of us would park there in the future, but that does not mean that visitors to other neighbors will not. It is frustrating, as I am about to start constuction of a concrete pad in the back to put the RV on, it is where I park my truck, and I cant get to my RV at all if I want to go on vaccation.

The rest of my neighbors are great people, very understanding, and none of them seem to like the neighborhood problem children that seem to be right next door to me. They are fully supportive of everything I have done to this point.

Does anyone know how I can avoid this in the future? I have looked into getting a permit to expand my actual driveway all the way to my property line so that it does not look like a curb, plus it will make it easier to park the trailer. Does anyone know what that would cost, just an estimate? Has anyone done this? Besides doing that, is there some type of law that makes it illegal for someone to park in a place that blocks access to private property? Any advice would help at this point.

***Just a sidenote, I have always talked to these people very respectfully, no raised voices, no cursing, very polite. They still seem to think I am a jerk. In other words, I have subdued my Wookiee personallity up to this point, but I am starting to loose it...***

[Woodglue]

I don't know about all that other stuff, but it looks like you need to paint your house.

[Grumpy Wookiee]

Not exactly the advice I was looking for, but thanks! I'll keep that in mind...

[OLD GUY]

My brother in law had the exact same issue with a neighbor. His final solution was to get a premit from the city, (Riverside) and remove the portion of the curb. Which incidently was no problem since it would be at his cost. He widened his driveway to the property lines. Once the curb was removed is was illegal to block "HIS" driveway. The city told him that if the curb is there it is legal for anyone to park there, wheter or not you can't get access to you RV. I belive it cost him what ever 2 yards of concret coast plus permit fees. Rented a concret saw and poured it himself



P.S. Change color of house

[Grumpy Wookiee]

P.S. Change color of house

What, you dont like green????

Ok, so I contact the city, get the permit, and then I can install it myself. I used to do concrete work, but mostly on house foundations. Steve, or anyone else that does construction, do you have to lay rebar under the pad on this portion of the driveway?

[Dusty Rhodes]

I think your solution is to widen your driveway. Costs a lot I am sure, but the unvarhished truth is that if there is a curb, then that means a person, any person can park there as it is a public street. You don't own it and can't say who parks there. Is the guy being an A-holy for parking there? Oh yeah, I think so, but he and anyone else has the right to park there as it is a public street. Once you expand the driveway, though, if he parks there you can legally have his vehicle towed away for blocking your driveway.

[ddjthomas]

Fix your driveway! Don't say a word! Wait till he parks there and have him towed! Sounds like we live next door to the same guy!

Doesn't matter how nice you are they don't care!

[Grumpy Wookiee]

Since you guys dont seem to like my little power point drawing, here is an overhead from Google earth (with some improvments). I didnt like the green either, but they didnt have "burnt coffee" in the color options of power point.



I called the city. The lady I talked to does not think that I will be able to get a permit for the work. The City regulations say that with a 2 car garage, the driveway entrance is supposed to be 18 feet, and my driveway was built to code. There is a clause that states you can make it bigger, as long as it is not larger than 40% of the frontage of the property. When I brought that up, she was cluless. She told me to have plans drawn up and submit them to the engineering department. Luckly, I think my father can do the archetectual drawings. I have to get a permit to pour the slab for the RV anyways, so I might as well knock out two birds with one stone here, huh???[/url]

[Grumpy Wookiee]

PS-> I know its blurry, Ill try to get pictures tomorrow...

[Grumpy Wookiee]

Wait till he parks there and have him towed!

This was my first solution... I had the BEAST backed up to their little Mercedes POS with the tow chain wrapped around the rear axle and the other end on my tow bar. My nice neighbors stopped me, told me it probobly wasnt a good idea. So I wrote a note instead...

[Rekd]

Two suggestions...

Park all your vehicles in front of his house every day. All of them! Don't leave him room to park there. It's a public street, you know.

If you have a spare vehicle, park it in that space all the time, then when you're ready to take out the RV, move it, move the RV, move it back. A motorcycle works good for this because it doesn't take up the whole lane, but prevents him from parking there if done right, plus you get the *#$&*^% factor from him.

[Wolfpack]

I think what you need permit wise is an encroachment permit. They are usually no big deal and not very expensive. The only plan you need you can draw. Draw your lot, house with setback dimensioned from property lines, and the existing and proposed driveways dimensioned. That should do it.

As for the curb removal there are many concrete cutting companies around that can just cut the curb off and you don't have to pour anything back. There was an outfit around for awhile called National Curb Cut, That's all they did. Their saw was mounted on a rack on the bed of a truck, drove up, lowered the saw down, and in about 45 minutes the cut was done. Penhall is probably the largest and most recognizable demolition company but I'd bet there are many small guys in your area that will do it. Look for concrete demolition guys in your area. Tell'em you wanna' do a curb cut. They'll even do the transitions on each end smoothly by cutting then grinding them down. Done in just a couple of hours.

Here's a good place to search for one online: http://www.thebluebook.com/

Piece of cake once you get the permit.

[Dusty Rhodes]

If you really wanted to get your point across, park your RV in front of his house for the time allowed by city ordinance. Then move it back to it's rightful spot. Then everytime senor jerkyboy pulls his crap, do it again. Continue this till he calls a cease fire.

[Sandcock]

I liked rekd's approach. Also, pre-planning. When you know when you plan to take the rv out, park a vehicle in the location for a few days until you plan to leave.

Also, sometimes the city or county has boiler plate drawings for projects. They may have something for a drive ramp. Or, you can go on the CalTrans website and probably find drawings and specs which I would imagine most cities and counties probably accept/use.

If you permit through the city or county I would recommend you have the professionals do the project. You shouldn't have any problems if you go in that direction. Curbs/gutters are not the same as flatwork.

I thought you did a good job on the original drawing

scotty <><

[Grumpy Wookiee]

I thought you did a good job on the original drawing

scotty <><

Thanks Scotty, I thought it looked ok...

I will draw up some plans tonight, with all of the artistic talent that I posess (lets be realistic, my 3 year old niece could do it better). My father is the General Superintendent for L.E. Wentz, and I'm sure that he can help me with all of this. If he can't, he knows who can, plus I think he will give me a discounted price on the work (THINK is the key word there).

I would park my bike there, but it doesnt have a front tire or forks attached right now. I laid it down a few months ago, still havent gotten it back up (its a whole other story)

What really gets me is I have 3 trucks and one car, one motorcycle, 3 quads and a toyhauler. Yet, I always find a way to fit them all into my property, only park on the street when I am working on something, and never leave them there over night. If I do park on the street, its in front of my own property. Why cant others do the same?

The above passage was a response to Rekd's post, and to say that if I parked all of my cars on the street, no one would be able to park in the entire neighborhood...

[Wolfpack]

Here: http://www.yellowpagecity.com/US/CA/Mir ... Equipment#

Call Horizontal Kurb Kut, 5th one down on the left. They are in Carlsbad. You're in O'side, right? I don't know them from Adam, but their spelling is the same as the "original" guy that figured out how to do it (National Kurb Kut). It was a patented process, now anyone can do it.

Or any one of the others. It's not a big deal, or very expensive, to have done.

Edit To Add Pic:

[ddjthomas]

Here: http://www.yellowpagecity.com/US/CA/Mir ... Equipment#

Call Horizontal Kurb Kut, 5th one down on the left. They are in Carlsbad. You're in O'side, right? I don't know them from Adam, but their spelling is the same as the "original" guy that figured out how to do it (National Kurb Kut). It was a patented process, now anyone can do it.

Or any one of the others. It's not a big deal, or very expensive, to have done.

Edit To Add Pic:

The city just went through our neighborhood bringing all of the side walks up to current code. This is what they did everywhere the new code requires a knockdown for pedestrians. They did about 40-50 of these things in my neighborhood in about 2 weeks start to finish. I think the cutting was done in about 2 days, the rest was busting up the side walk and waiting for the cut then repouring the sidewalk.

[Sandcock]

that's totally cool

[Voice]

The answer is so simple....

First... purchass one of these:


http://www.firehydrant.org/links/replica-hydrants.html

Next... padlock the thing down right there where the guy is parking.

Finally, paint the entire curb red...

It would be wise to do the installation and painting late at night.

[djw]

First off: Voice good one, thanks for the giggle. =D>

2nd: looking at the sat photo, how come there's nothing parked on your lot, but it seems your neighbor has a full driveway. Humm... mother-inlaw condo in the garage?

[Grumpy Wookiee]

2nd: looking at the sat photo, how come there's nothing parked on your lot, but it seems your neighbor has a full driveway. Humm... mother-inlaw condo in the garage?

I don't know what they have in there, but I wouldn't put it past them. I have never seen their garage door open since we moved in...

[Doorlord]

They don't ever open the garage door?
Do you smell anything funny coming from their general direction?
Does the sound of their electric meter spinning keep you up at night?

[BHenry]

...What really gets me is I have 3 trucks and one car, one motorcycle, 3 quads and a toyhauler. Yet, I always find a way to fit them all into my property, only park on the street when I am working on something, and never leave them there over night. If I do park on the street, its in front of my own property. Why cant others do the same?...

I have the same problem on my street. No one seems to use their garages for their cars, and they have too many cars for their driveway space.

[Woodglue]

It's sure a good thing GW's neighbor doesn't live next to me.
As of last weekend, my trailer is actually on my neighbors property... a little.

My house on the left, my neighbors house on the right. Property line runs right under my trailer.


My trailer on the left, my neighbors house on the right.


My house on the right, my heighbors house on the left.


I have a super cool neighbor!!!

[Grumpy Wookiee]

I have a super cool neighbor!!!

Man Ill say! He never complains?

By the way...



Is that a log? Can you move it, or is it permanent?

[Woodglue]

The green thing is a cable box, as in for TV. Neither me nor my neighbor need it, so I took the liberty of opening it up, removing the steel supports, folding it flat to the ground and now my truck can 'straddle' it.

The mail box was there on Saturday when I backed the trailer in. It was such a fiasco that I pulled out a pipe cutter on Sunday and retrofitted the base to make the mailbox removable. Now, there's just a 2" stub sticking up out of the sidewalk.

My plan now it to pull [almost] streight out while straddeling the flatened cable assy and the mailbox post. Time will tell if that will work [-o<

One thing for sure, it's sooo nice to not have the trailer in front of the garage anymore!!!

[Grumpy Wookiee]

The mail box was there on Saturday when I backed the trailer in. It was such a fiasco that I pulled out a pipe cutter on Sunday and retrofitted the base to make the mailbox removable.

I think I am going to "retrofit" my neighbors mercedes to make sure it is removable in the future as well. I think all I am going to need is a tow chain and my truck. Or I could just drive over it.....

Washroad and I were thinking about towing it out to Glamis so that I can have an obstacle to play on in the BEAST! How would you guys like to see a free monster truck show in the dunes...???

[Dirt trap]

Do you know the difference between a porcupine and a Mercedes? Just a joke, don't want to really offend any Mecedes owners, the joke was supposed to be BMWs.

[DSTMULE]

Sorry to hear you have those kind of nieghbors next to you. It seems you may be past the stage of having a conversation with them and reasoning with them so they understand your situation. Too Bad.
Widening driveway, great idea but i thought that was very expensive?? In HB ...seems it has to be reinforced also....this is just things i've heard.

I would take the High Road, have a chat with him when your both calm and explain why him parking there makes it difficult to move trailer and for your construction plans. Seems they might have gotten a Burr up there A## after you moved in for some reason.

GEEEESH........I must be getting old....and Mellower

But.............some people do need the fear of God put in them...
it occasionally does work. Baddabing

[gelwell]

I am sure you can go thru the permit effort and get it done. The Rekd approach I used when I lived in Mission Beach for my own parking control. If anyone has lived in the beach areas knows parking can be a real issue.

Another cheap solution is get yourself a can of RED paint and paint the curb just enough to where it does not look so obvious that you are taking up the whole block. But just enough to get your rig out. I would do this while the jackhole or anyone else is not looking. If you get questioned tell him you called the city and reported an unsafe condition where you could not see getting out of your driveway and they painted it! It is all in perception and propaganda. It is worth a shot. What's the worst than can happen?

[Grumpy Wookiee]

So I called up the company in Carlsbad. They charge a minimum of $300 for 10 Feet, with a $20 charge per foot after that. But here is the kicker, since I am not replacing the curb, and just cutting the existing curb, the company does not require a permit to do the work. They say they dont care if I have a permit or not, and it will take about 1.5 hours to do the job.

She says that if I get a permit, then I have to have it inspected, etc etc, where if I dont, and just keep it quiet, then I should be good to go.

Now, what are the repercussions of not getting the permit? Do I really want to take a chance with this jackhole neighbor I have? A permit is going to cost me about $100 minimum, but is it going to save me money in the long run?

[Woodglue]

From all my experience in tv watching, I think your project can get 'red tagged' / cited if you don't have a permit and are caught.
I don't know if you would need a permit for this type of thing, but I wouldn't listen to what the cutting contractor says either. Him telling you that you dont need a permit can be likened to the Weekend Warrior dealer telling you that your Ford Ranger can tow that 34 Fifth Wheel without a probelm.

[Wolfpack]

A permit is going to cost me about $100 minimum, but is it going to save me money in the long run?

That's a no-brainer. You're legal. Let him chirp all he wants when you call to have him cited or towed. He'll get the picture after a couple of tickets. Maybe.

If he turns you in for not having a permit, you'll pay not only the original fee, but a penalty as well. Heck, they might not even issue you a pernit and make you replace the curb and gutter both.

Get the permit.

[Grumpy Wookiee]

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking. I talked to my dad about all of this breifly (hes at work). He told me not to even go with the curb cutting, that there is an easier/cheaper way to do this. I know that if anyone knows how to do this right and cheap, its him. However, even though he is my dad, his council is not free. Therefore, I came to you guys.

Thanks for all the help and free advice. I will keep you posted as to what happens...

[RX 4 INSANDITY]

However, even though he is my dad, his council is not free.

WHAT??!!

[Grumpy Wookiee]

Why is that so supprising? My dad is the greatest person alive, and is willing to help with anything. However, if it does not cost money, it costs emotional grief, as he is very judgmental and a perfectionist. Especially when it comes to any type of construction.

He has raised me to be a responsible, self-supporting person, and not look for hand outs (just the way he was raised). He has never taken a hand out from anyone, while he is willing to help anyone. Even his friends and family he pays for services. I would not feel comfortable not paying him for his expertise, nor will I want to live with the comments that would come from a job that was done less than perfect or in the wrong way.

That is why I am asking everyone here. If I aproach him without doing every bit of research, look at every possible angle, and get advice from others that know more than I, he will know and it will make me look bad.

Maybe I should have clearified more prior to posting what I did about him. Its not that he demands payment, its that I want to pay him.

[LoBuck]

You will most likely need a permit to do any work on the curb or sidewalk. Remember that that those are City (or County, depending on where you live) property.

You will most likely be required to have the work done by a licensed contractor as they will need to get the permit and have the job inspected, again because it is city property.

You may also need a traffic plan as you are closing the sidewalk and the parking lane on the street.

For San Diego County, this company can tell you what is needed. ACME Safety & Supply: 619-299-5100. I don't work for this company, but I did just have them do a traffic plan for a street crossing we did in San Diego.

[crash]

Any time you are in a road easement, roughly 10-15 feet from the edge of the road, the city/county is going to be VERY anal about how the work is done. As LB says, this is technically public property. I think Rekds idea would probaly be the cheapest. The general rule on permit violations that I have heard is a doubling of the permit fees. Also when concrete is involved you will have to prove to the inspector that it has been done to code. If you don't have pictures of the concrete being poured over the rebar they may make you remove ALL of the work and start over. If you do it, get the permit. Have the work done by a professional company. One of the other problems with not having a permit for work is that when the house is eventually sold it can hurt the property value substantially if the unauthorized work is discovered by a title company.

I have had neighbors, as well as inspectors, accuse me of having unpermitted, illegal buildings on my property. Trust me. Permits make for better neighbor/inspector discussions. They also tend to be pretty short conversations.

I have towed a car out of my RESERVED parking spot in an apartment complex before using the method you suggest. The guy came pounding on my door wanting to know where his car was. I said "follow the skid marks" He of course left his parkng brake on. It was in the church parking lot next door.

This same individual ended up burning down our apartment that I shared with three other room mates. He claimed it was an accident, but the gasoline container in the living room said otherwise.

I would do everything I could to diffuse the situation....through legal means.

BTW- I DID have a nice vacation. Thanks.

[Grumpy Wookiee]

Thanks for the advice. As of right now, I have not had any more problems. I think we have finally come to an agreement. I was parking my truck in that same spot, which I hated, but it seemed to make him even more upset. I was apparently blocking his view as he exited his driveway, and he did not like that. Yes, I did it on purpose for this very reason. So as of now, I dont park there, and neither does he. Works great for me!!!

Im glad that I came to all of you for advice. I dont want to decrease the resell value of the property in any way, so there is no way I will do this work without the permit. I didnt know that the easement was 10 to 15 feet from the road either, that is really big!!!

Now when it comes to the plans that I submit to the city, my father was telling me that they will probobly want them to be drawn up by a civil engineer. Anyone know of any civil engineer typs that could get me a discounted price on those drawings? I know that they will cost a pretty penny, so this work may have to wait longer than what I anticipated. Looks like it is going to be about $1000 more than what I had planned, if not more...

Glad you had a good vacation Crashy...

[crash]

Find an experienced draftsman in your area. This should be a slam dunk and not require anything out of the ordinary. If he/she can do it, it will save you a ton of cash. We had our entire plans for our house drawn up for under $5000.00 including grading plan, septic, everything. We had to have engineering calcs done seperately, but this is a standard thing so I can't imagine them requiring anything more than a testing of the concrete at most. Of course a pre pour inspection of the rebar, trench depth, and forms will be required. As someone else suggested, check with the planning department. They may have a standard drawing for curb/gutter/sidewalk. I know these are available in my area for most standard things like wall footings, fences/walls, and driveway entrances.

The easement varies depending on things like if curb/gutter/sidewalk is planned or in place. If there is road widening planned or not, etc. If you really want to know, take your APN # (accessors parcel number) into the appropriate city/county planning department and ask to see the property map. Usually this info is also listed in the title that you recieved when you bought the house/property. You can find the APN on either your title or on your property tax bill.

[Sandcock]

Crashy...

Any time you are in a road easement, roughly 10-15 feet from the edge of the road

I thought it was the center of the road That get's me into trouble

Crashy.....how was Sequoia

[Wolfpack]

This might be helpful for parcel maps and more: http://www.sangis.org/sangis/IntMapping_main.htm for San Diego County residents. I've not used the SD County one so I can't say how valuable it is.

The Riverside County system is awesome. I've used it many times and it is very good: http://www.tlma.co.riverside.ca.us/gis/index.html

[crash]

To the best of my knowledge, yes, they ARE measured off the centerline of the road as the easement is usually split equally between adjacent properties. However, I think the map is the appropriate place to look as sometimes roads can be shifted from where they are officially supposed to be. If you want to get technical, you would have to have it surveyed and measured.

For instance the road easement on my property is 30 feet. The road easement is 60 feet total, shared between me and the neighbor accross the street. The current road is only 30 feet wide, so that leaves about 15 feet where I need an encroachment permit to put anything except an entry way which has it's own standard set of rules.

However, there is another road on my property that is supposed to be shared between myself and a neighbor yet it is almost entirely on the other neighbors property. I discovered this when surveying for my house. It is important because the easement actually goes from the surveyed lines and therefore my setbacks are much larger than if I just measure from the center of the road. We're certainly not going to change the road as it has been ther for 30+ years, but if it is ever widened, it will be coming my way.

It all depends on how well laid out the property is and how developed the neighborhood is.

Sequioa was GREAT!! Saw 4 bears, went in crystal cave, saw big trees, and hiked a little.

[Wolfpack]

[quote="Sandcock"]I thought it was the center of the road That get's me into trouble /quote]

On improved roads (those with at least curb and gutter) the public easement is typically delineated on maps measured from the curb face, extending back toward the private property some distance (10', 15', it's variable). In unimproved areas the centerline is often used as the reference point. It's really a matter of convenience, the centerline is really the key component.

Your property does typically extend to the curb face, and an easement has been granted along your frontage to the public for access across your property and for utility installation. This easement prevents you from blocking it off or building any permanent above ground structure on it. It's your land, but you are severely restricted as to what you can do on it. Driveways across it are allowed (with a permit). No walls or anything like that can extend on to the easement. In newer developments you will often find a pin driven into the top of the curb at your side property lines. That's your property corner.

That's my take on it anyway.

[Grumpy Wookiee]

You will most likely be required to have the work done by a licensed contractor as they will need to get the permit and have the job inspected, again because it is city property.

Little confused, do I get the permit, or does the company I hire to do the work get the permit? When I contacted the company about curb cutting, they told me they didnt require a permit, and would not secure one prior to doing the work.

[OBSESSED]

Screw the cutting of the driveway...

Question for you:
Do you need to park [and re-park] your trailer every day?

Why do battle with the neighbor?

Ideas for you:
Wait for neighbor to move his car, and you move your car to the exact same spot.


Just send [anonymous] letter to city saying there is illegal activities coming from the garage.

Drive around your city and look for cones from road work being done. Cone off your neighbors/your parking spot.

Give up the fight, let it ride for a week, then hit him with a surprise attack: Small pebble's in two caps on his wheels valve stems. Tighten ever so slowly until you hear the hiss of air. Loosen slightly, [let just a tiny air leak happen], as he drives, he will sooner or later get a flat, when he goes to add air, pebble will fall out. If you do this to two tires he will have two slow air leaks, and two flats.

If you get lucky, he will have flat in front of your house, so you can watch.
When he has jack out and almost tire off, come out and offer him some air from your compressor!
He'll think your a swell guy!
Then he’ll get a flat again tomorrow on another tire!??!

Keep saving him, and giving him free air!

Steve

[crash]

You will most likely be required to have the work done by a licensed contractor as they will need to get the permit and have the job inspected, again because it is city property.

Little confused, do I get the permit, or does the company I hire to do the work get the permit? When I contacted the company about curb cutting, they told me they didnt require a permit, and would not secure one prior to doing the work.

All depends on how your contract reads with the "contractor". Most smaller guys like the homeowner to be responsible for permits. Larger companies will do the permitting for you......and charge a bunch for standing in line. It will be cheaper if YOU get the permit. If you have the time to waste.

To give you an idea. I once waited 6 hours for my "appointment" that I had scheduled that morning. It was supposed to be at 8:00AM. At 2:00 PM a woman comes out and says to everyone that the computers were down and that we could either come back tomorrow and wait in the counter line or make another appointment for the next week!!! Needless to say I was not the only one who let the messenger know how I felt about THAT!! Time means NOTHING to the planning department.

[Grumpy Wookiee]

Screw the cutting of the driveway...

Question for you:
Do you need to park [and re-park] your trailer every day?

Why do battle with the neighbor?

Do I need to move my RV on a daily basis, no. However, I do like to park my truck on my property, not on the street, and the only place that my truck fits, due to length, is in front of the RV.

Plus, I have had incidents when I wanted to take the RV out, and he was parked in the spot in question, and I had to wait for them to come home to move their car before I could go about connecting the trailer, getting ready to go, get on the road, etc... if I am late to Glamis again, you will all know why.

I like the pebble idea, however, I dont think I would give him air. I hear what you are saying though, and if he thought I was a good guy, it might help. But I have already been caught saying that I dont like them and I think they are idiots (probobly cause I said it to their face). This was right after our second to last incident...

DISCLAIMER: This is a story, so if your bored by me, stop reading now.

I came home one Saturday a few weeks back from the parts store, about 9 or 10 in the morning. There was a strange looking man (bald headed, goatee wearing, white guy, wife beater, just looked like he got out of prison, etc) trying to jimmy the door of a car parked in front of my neighbors house. I got out of my truck, and approached the man, asking if everything was alright. As I walked toward him, he nervously looked at me, then turned, and walked to his own car. About this time, I noticed two teenaged girls standing by the car in pajamas. The man turned back, threw the clothes hanger and keys at the girls, cusing them out the whole time. This upset me. As he turned the car around, he stopped and asked me if I had a problem. My obvious response was, "Yes, and you need to leave my neighborhood before it gets worse" (I paraphrased that, there was much more cusing envolved). He drove his car up to me, yelling about how he was about to kick my butt. I was walking back to my house at this point. When he stopped in front of my house and threatened me, I turned around. He was unbuckling his seat belt and trying to get out. I got to his car before he got all the way out, slammed the door on his left arm as he was exiting, held it there with my right hand, and started choking him through the window with my left. I calmly told him to leave, to never come back, and if he did, the cops would be there trying to find his body in my back yard. (maybe not the smartest thing I have done).

Well, the man left without another word, and I went back to the girls who were crying histerically. I told them I was sorry for my over reaction, but I hoped that they could understand. I called AAA to get a locksmith to get them into their car. About an hour later, as we were waiting for the locksmith, my neighbors finally came out of the house. They were oblivious to what had happened, still in their pajamas, even though the rest of the neighborhood was outside when they heard the raised voices. They didnt even know that the two girls had spent the night there with their 18 year old worthless son, or that there was trouble. They chastised me for getting envolved, even though I was trying to make sure no one was breaking into THEIR car, and then told me it was not my place to call AAA to help the girls. I didnt say a word, just rolled my eyes and walked away. The girls later came over to say thank you for helping, and I found out that the man was their father that they have not seen or talked to in over 5 years (he had been in jail). They did not want to approach my neighbors about them locking their keys in the car, as they did not think they would lift a finger to help. So they called their mom, who called their dad, etc...

For "religious" people, my neighbors sure seem odd to me... this is not the first trouble that they have caused in the neighborhood apparently. A few years ago, there was a neighborhood petition trying to straighten them out.

Next step, cones...

[Sandcock]

Crash said

Sequioa was GREAT!! Saw 4 bears, went in crystal cave, saw big trees, and hiked a little.

So you able to get the 5ver in with room to spare? And about the hiking, if you went to Crystal Caves I know you had a hike Stalagmites and stalagtites, pretty cool huh

[crash]

So you able to get the 5ver in with room to spare? And about the hiking, if you went to Crystal Caves I know you had a hike Stalagmites and stalagtites, pretty cool huh

The rangers were really cool. I ended up putting the rear tires on the dirt so I could fit the truck in in front on the pavement and it was no problem. After the hike out from Crystal Cave where my wife and I had to carry the kids on our shoulders, we were pretty much done with the hiking. Did the General Sherman and the Big Trees Trail, but didn't get to see some of the waterfalls we wanted to get to.

BTW- This was the first trip with airbags on the trailer. This improvement has got to be a tie with the solar for the best upgrade. Nothing gets tossed while traveling, allows the rear ramp angle to be low, allows the trailer to be easily leveled to the truck, makes leveling about a one minute process once parked, and rides niiiiiiiiiiice!