How have these EPA trucks affected your marriage and or general well being?

[trdodd07]

The Wife and I sold our house and basically live out of a mandated truck in hopes of paying off all our debt and build a better future. We both are wanting to start a family, but don't want to do anything until the truck is paid off, and our debt is gone. For the most part things have went pretty well, but every time there is a break down, it puts off our plans longer, and longer. We both understand that things break, and set backs are going to happen. But, when nearly every breakdown we've had has been due to some component(s) related to, or a part of, the emissions systems, and the fact that the repairs for these systems can kill your maintenance fund off, right quick and in a hurry due to the lack of knowledge and random guessing at solutions by repair shops and dealers, it causes friction. She's feeling like we're running out of time for kids, and is getting frustrated that things have to be put off longer.... I'm getting frustrated because I'm doing all that I can to make this happen, but feel like She's blaming me for holding up progress on our plans... Before I found this forum and YT videos, it was a game of luck each time I turned the key to this truck. Never knew what to expect for the day, and when Sh&%t hit the fan, I had to dip into the stealer to get it repaired because I didn't understand what was going on.

I feel for those that step into this and have a family, house, ect... only to barely scrape by on whatever money they have left afterwards. You think that you failed your family when it gets so bad that you have to walk away from your career and try to find a different one to enjoy, or simply deal with. I'd imagine you'd feel like you could never cut it as an O/O and would never try again. Yet, if these systems were any bit reliable, things would have gone a different direction.