Hi all,
Thought I would do a little trip report from a trip I made to tofino last weekend.
It was my first real "road trip" in the Cruiser since I acquired it in August.
The week previous to departure I had been giving it a fair amount of TLC. I had installed a recently acquired Hard top/ new doors, as well as an oil change, new fuel filter and primer pump (bosch), and air filter. I also finally got a proper full size spare and jack, and a nice little tool kit for the road, and extra fluids and odds and ends. I was set. Right?
Well, I unfortunately made one crucial mistake.
I had the front drive shaft out to replace the pinion seal previously, and had not reinstalled it as I intended on replacing the U-joints while it was out. The weather has been so mild, and for some reason it did not even cross my mind that it would be an issue. I was playing tennis in shorts and a t shirt and hour before I departed. I would not need my front wheel drive. Right?
So, by the time we got to Port Alberni, the rain and wind were relentless. And as we began to gain elevation through the pass, snow began coming down. Hard. At first we were laughing at the freak snow storm, as it was not yet sticking to the road. That changed quick.
Soon there were 10 Centimeters of heavy snow down on the road, and my passenger side wiper stopped working. Great.
What ensued was an hour and a half of awful driving. I maintained about 25kmph for the duration of the storm. After a few near losses of control, we came to steep hill where there were 8-10 vehicles not getting up, and several in the ditch. I managed to make it up on my first attempt, although just barely.
To worsen the situation, we had no cell reception, so we lost contact with our friends for over 3 hours...
Luckily soon after "the hill" the snow turned to rain, and the roads cleared.
Aside from a few scary close calls, the worst part of the situation for me was not being able to help out others, due to my lack of preparation. My friends in a Volkswaggen Golf behind me were not so lucky. Although they had chains they were delayed over an hour getting up the hill.
Many cars were left abandoned for the night, and I feel fortunate that I was able to make it, but had I had my front drive shaft in, and chains , I could have really helped so people out. ( At least saved them some tow truck costs by winching them out of the ditch)
Lesson learned : We live in Canada. We get snow in April. Be prepared.
- other than that, the cruiser ran great, the trip was fun( although the weather was not so good).
Cheers and Happy Easter,
Irah
Thought I would do a little trip report from a trip I made to tofino last weekend.
It was my first real "road trip" in the Cruiser since I acquired it in August.
The week previous to departure I had been giving it a fair amount of TLC. I had installed a recently acquired Hard top/ new doors, as well as an oil change, new fuel filter and primer pump (bosch), and air filter. I also finally got a proper full size spare and jack, and a nice little tool kit for the road, and extra fluids and odds and ends. I was set. Right?
Well, I unfortunately made one crucial mistake.
I had the front drive shaft out to replace the pinion seal previously, and had not reinstalled it as I intended on replacing the U-joints while it was out. The weather has been so mild, and for some reason it did not even cross my mind that it would be an issue. I was playing tennis in shorts and a t shirt and hour before I departed. I would not need my front wheel drive. Right?
So, by the time we got to Port Alberni, the rain and wind were relentless. And as we began to gain elevation through the pass, snow began coming down. Hard. At first we were laughing at the freak snow storm, as it was not yet sticking to the road. That changed quick.
Soon there were 10 Centimeters of heavy snow down on the road, and my passenger side wiper stopped working. Great.
What ensued was an hour and a half of awful driving. I maintained about 25kmph for the duration of the storm. After a few near losses of control, we came to steep hill where there were 8-10 vehicles not getting up, and several in the ditch. I managed to make it up on my first attempt, although just barely.
To worsen the situation, we had no cell reception, so we lost contact with our friends for over 3 hours...
Luckily soon after "the hill" the snow turned to rain, and the roads cleared.
Aside from a few scary close calls, the worst part of the situation for me was not being able to help out others, due to my lack of preparation. My friends in a Volkswaggen Golf behind me were not so lucky. Although they had chains they were delayed over an hour getting up the hill.
Many cars were left abandoned for the night, and I feel fortunate that I was able to make it, but had I had my front drive shaft in, and chains , I could have really helped so people out. ( At least saved them some tow truck costs by winching them out of the ditch)
Lesson learned : We live in Canada. We get snow in April. Be prepared.
- other than that, the cruiser ran great, the trip was fun( although the weather was not so good).
Cheers and Happy Easter,
Irah
