05/17/2023
PLEASE SHARE!
As most of you know, Larry and I started this business transporting pets back in 2019. He decided that being out on the road for days and the long hours driving were just too hard on him so I asked my friend, Wes, to be my business partner. He's been a rock for us, especially last year with our multiple moves! Wes and I are a great team and once we get the van fixed we can kick into high gear and start making money.
I bought a 2015 RAM Tradesman cargo van and I was fanatical about changing the oil and doing the scheduled maintenance because we run it hard. Last March we had to replace the transmission and it took every penny we had to get it done. And it was rock solid once the transmission was done. My mechanic took care of the little things that popped up, like the brakes and new spark plugs, but in September, the check engine light came on and started flashing while we were on the road. Naturally we had to take care of the problem immediately so we took it to a local mechanic and he ran a diagnostic on it; the computer error code was for a catalytic converter failure that the mechanic assured us would be okay until we got home. The next day the cruise control went out and we could tell something was very wrong but we made it home safely. My mechanic took a look at it and, as it turns out, there's nothing wrong with the catalytic converter, the engine has a known flaw that can't be fixed, the engine has to be replaced.
A new engine from Dodge is $8,000-$9,000 plus the labor to put it in. My mechanic can put in a rebuilt engine and guarantee it for 4 years for $5,000 plus labor. We were starting to make that much in a month or two when we were forced to take a break so I bought an older Dodge Caravan to keep us on the road, but it ended up being a money pit. It needed major front end work, it won't stay in alignment so it eats the left front tire like Doodlebug eats cookies, the cruise control doesn't work, and there's always something with it. We've probably spent more time waiting for the mechanic to work on it than we did on the road since I bought it in December.
So much for saving up for the new engine!
The final blow came when we hit a deer in Wyoming and damaged the radiator. We put the stop leak stuff in and put epoxy on a dime-sized hole and limped home. So now I have two vehicles that need major engine work, one of which isn't worth putting any more money in to keep it running. (It needs a new pump for the power steering fluid, the transmission has a leak and occasionally slips so it's going out, the radiator has to be replaced, the dent in the hood makes it difficult to get to the release to put the hood up and needs pounded out, and there are a couple other things that aren't critical now but will be sooner or later. I did Google searches for everything that needs done immediately and the low end is about $6,000. Yeah, not happening!) Wes says the Caravan is either cursed or it hates us and he's probably right!
I've been denied for every loan and grant I've applied for so this is my last, desperate attempt to get back on the road. I can rent a van, of course, but I have to have significant trips planned just to break even, let alone make enough to put money aside for the engine. And here's the thing: I want to work. I like working. I have been applying for jobs since 2010 - dozens almost every day for 13 years now - and I have had FOUR interviews in all that time, which is so bizarre because all you hear about is companies complaining that no one wants to work! In fact, the whole reason we started this business was that if no one will hire me, I'll just create a job for myself! I set up a GoFundMe and posted it in groups just for these things and every single response has been a scammer; either they try to get me to pay them to make my GoFundMe go viral or they tell me that they just need a little money for their "business manager" to release the money because all their accounts are locked up after they got scammed themselves. They send me screenshots from CashApp, Zelle and PayPal as "proof" they've sent the money and they just need me to pay their manager...it's the Nigerian Prince scam on a smaller scale. I'll give them an A for effort and tenacity but an F for ex*****on - it's obvious that the screendhots are fake since they have spelling and grammar errors!
Anyway, I wasn't going to post this on my pages because I hate asking for help like this but clearly I'm not going to get help from the groups specifically for help with fundraising. If you can't spare a few bucks, will you at least share this, please? Or if you have any suggestions on where to apply for help, I'm grateful for that.
Otherwise, it looks like I'll be stuck watching TV for the foreseeable future!
TL; DR Disabled woman and homeless man start a business transpor… Shawna Clawson Chambers needs your support for We're Unemployed Unless We Get a New Engine!
