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E-26 cross country.

Shelman

Member III
Blogs Author
I have officially been unemployed for about two weeks now. We loaded up the boat and left Coos Bay Oregon a week ago. We have been driving for most of two days now and have made it to Sacramento. We hope to stop in Utah to see family if the weather permits and then back on the road towards Florida. The boat has been towing well but we dont go over 55mph so its going to be a long long long trip.
We've had some lengthy setbacks already, we lost a tire on the highway, had the trailer come un hitched from the truck and get drug allong by the safety chains for a hundred yards. Then the carpet in the truck caught on fire due to a faulty catalitic converter overheating, which then took half a day at a mechanic shop to get repaired. Next we had a bad alternator and consequently a dead battery which led to 8 hours waiting for a tow truck and then annother half day at the mechanic shop to get fixed, and finally a spun trailer axle which prompted a two day stop at a trailer repair shop for all new springs and perches.
We are hoping the worst of our troubles are over.
 

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Shelman

Member III
Blogs Author
IMG_0923.jpgIMG_0909.jpg

Almost forgot to mention being snowed in for two days, and then backtracking for a half day due to 55mph winds in Northern California. Yup its a real adventure already!
 
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footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Have a safe delay free trip the rest of the way. Heck of a time to go diagonally across the country, too.
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Be sure to check those lug nuts on a regular basis particularly after a tire has been changed. The twisting of the wheels while turning puts a lot of pressure on them and they have a tendency to loosen up. I always carried five extra lugs and nuts in case of lug problems. Had to use them once over the years . The rim was wrecked but I was able to carry on with the spare. If one lug breaks, replace them all. The all were overstressed.

Holly cow, it is an iffy time to travel. Northern California just got Snowcopilipse . There are pix of the resorts actually digging ski lifts out of snow banks so they can be run. Southern California and the Southwest has had high winds and such fun. If you are lugged down in bad weather, watch the tranny temperatures and be sure snow isn't blocking the cooler.

Good luck with the trip and you may want to consider the far southern route this time of year. Sunshine instead of snow and ice.
 

Vagabond39

Member III
Luck

Sometimes if it weren't for bad luck, you wouldn'thave any.
I hope that you got it all out of the way now.
Bob
 

Shelman

Member III
Blogs Author
We got a flat tire on the trailer coming through the mojave desert and now we are getting a new spare in vegas.
 

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toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Check the bolts on the springs periodically, too. Especially if they've been messed with. I had one start backing out on a x-country trip and wore almost through a tire before I noticed.
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Wow, I just saw this. Lots of challenges!

Good luck on the rest of the journey. Just keep thinking of the sun and warmth at your destination...

I had to have my car towed this morning when a pulley siezed and threw the serpentine belt off. I was glad not to be pulling anything!
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
View attachment 21038 Beautiful place though.

Beautiful country!

I sure hope that the next stages of your trip are less "interesting."
:)
Best of luck.

Loren

ps: that photo reminds me of the final scene from the Terminator... as Sarah Connor drives her Jeep onto that highway with her dog and a loaded pistol.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Yeah, but if she'd been towing a boat, her son would have wound up in Waterworld.
 

Rocinante33

Contributing Partner
At 55 mph???

Going as slow as 55 mph on I-15 or I-40 can be a harrowing experience in itself. Big rig trucks will blast by you going 80 and they will practically blow you off the road and into the ditch! Even if you were going as fast as 65, you would get passed by them. Be careful out there.
 

Shelman

Member III
Blogs Author
Yea its true! 55 feels like a good pace untill a semi passes you at 80!
It took us three hours in vegas to find a new spare tire because it is aias ply and not a radial. But we made it to Richfield Utah. We had the automatic transmission dipstic tube break in half somewhere arround vegas so we are having a local mechanic install a new one and do a trans flush. We are also having some of the steering components replaced to make the test of the drive a little less stressful. A little slop in the steering seems fine on back highways but in the middle of LA traffic at rush hour towing an oversized load on the worst pavement this side of the Mexico border it diddnt seem fine at all.
IMG_0941.jpg
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I'm trying to follow your route, Shelman, but you won't hold still. So--it was Oregon to Richfield, Ut, then Las Vegas, but now--Los Angeles?

I apologize for those concrete expansion seams on the 10 Freeway, it was the first thing I noticed 25 years so when I arrived here and my teeth are still rattling.
 

Emerald

Moderator
You are writing a book about this, aren't you? :rolleyes: The first chapter is nearly done, and you haven't even launched! Hope you stop fulfilling the old U-haul motto, "Adventure in Moving"..... :devil:

May the last bit of the journey be smooth and safe.
 

Shelman

Member III
Blogs Author
Up until this point I hadn't considered that my trip might be interesting enough for a whole book but it is growing into a story all on its own lol.
 
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