Category: vehicles

18 Meters and 10 Tons

On By JohnIn tiny house, travel, vehiclesLeave a comment

We don’t like overnighting in parking lots. But, when there are lots of miles to go and limited days to be someplace, our long travel days sometimes end at a Walmart, Cracker Barrel, or a Home Depot.

Tonight, it’s the Home Depot in Davenport, Iowa.

We’ll get Ohio on another trip, but we’ll pick up Minnesota on the drive to Sioux Falls tomorrow.

In other news, today was the first day pulling the new mega-bunkhouse. (Doing the final checks, in the rain, above)

It’s big.

Really big. (Side by side with the Jayco)

We’re nearly 60ft long now, and, at the moment, 20,000 lbs. – probably a touch over. We’ll be about 1,500 lb. heavier when we empty our storage unit.

The 2002 SRW/2WD Duramax does pull it, and at a reasonable speed, too. Though mileage would improve slightly if we set the cruise a bit slower.

Regular Maintenance

On By JohnIn vehiclesLeave a comment

UPGRAYEDD started displaying an annoying symptom when we were up at deer camp recently: stalling shortly after starting.

Been there, done that – just hadn’t got round to repairing the issue just yet.

Helpful onlookers would say, “oh, that’s your injectors – those Duramax engines are notorious for that. That’s too bad.”

Oh, injectors! $600 each and it uses 8 of them…and one would need to tear down all of the intake to get valve covers off to replace them. It’s more expensive and time consuming than it sounds.

But, no, it isn’t. And, no, they aren’t.

Actually, the biggest problem with the Duramax is that it doesn’t have a lift pump to push fuel up to the motor and instead uses vacuum from the high pressure pump on top of the engine to suck diesel fuel uphill three feet through 16 foot of fuel line.

Means it’s very, very prone to sucking air.

Very.

Solution?

1. Check for and correct loose fittings on the vacuum side. $0

2. Ensure it has a properly installed fuel filter and WIF sensor. $0 – $25

3. Rebuild the fuel filter head. $20

Usually campgrounds frown on doing much more than maybe checking the oil in your tow vehicle. But I knocked out all three this morning before most people got their day started.

Time-lapse Drive

On By JohnIn photography, travel, vehiclesLeave a comment

Miles and miles and miles look like this. Sometimes more barren. Sometimes less.

Last day’s drive for awhile–only 700 miles today. That may not seem like much, but when pulling your house, your belongings, your family, and coordinating fuel and meal and bio-breaks for four people and a dog, anything more than about 500 miles is more than I want to drive.

We’ll need to make things more efficient and find a way to stay in locations longer to minimize travel times.

Rerouted!

On By JohnIn health, travel, vehiclesLeave a comment

We were on our way down i80 in Wyoming just past Laramie on Monday … and red lights started flashing ahead: I80 is closed.

A couple checks of weather and news and there was a pretty large pileup, a hazmat burn, and all routes through southern Wyoming are now blocked.

So, we headed back toward Cheyenne to go the northern route.

The flu holds on: I’m all kinds of stuffed up now. My ears seem to be stuck at 6000ft.

Found out UPGRAYEDD isn’t charging the trailer. No idea how long it’s been that way as I’ve honestly never checked. Only noticed when I turned on the house lights and they dimmed noticeably when the water pump ran.

We overnight in Sheridan and pick up some parts to run an electrical bypass.

MINI unveils its 3 latest camping concepts

On By JohnIn travel, vehiclesLeave a comment

MINI has chosen the height of the British summer to unveil its new motoring-cum-camping concepts aimed at music festival goers and outdoor types in need of what the company euphemistically describ…

Gizmag brings tell of MINI’s “Overnight Solutions” cars & campers. If you’re looking for a full-time micro-living camper, these might be them.

That teardrop, by the way, does look like it’s well-fitted to the MINI.

MINI unveils its 3 latest camping concepts