All in all a successful trip and really puts some confidence in the van. Was most worried about the alternator given we would be pulling some amps with music and inverters, but output stayed at a healthy 14V the whole time, would be nice to hookup an AMP inductive pickup just to know exactly how much is going through the lines. Plan on replacing the starter and alt (upgrade to 70A) just as preemptive repair (possibly carry the old one as a spare and ditch the core).
Some narrative on the trip!
Alex made me go with him to a Diner the day before we left, just had to include this since he missed this kind of breakfast after 6 months in Europe...
Here's what's under the bench seat among other things: Jackstands, wratching toe strap, jack, battery charger, extension cord, oil, starter fluid, etc. Also brought a hefty collection of tools, as well as the little two-stroke harbor freight generator (all in mind for an alternator failure)... but who knows other things could have failed. Got a deal on some Castrol Syntec with a Bosch Filter so was pretty confident on giving this baby the best oil I could afford :)
The crew before departure: Gio, Ariana, and bro Alex (Point Beach, NJ)
Leave it to Alex to start snapping photos at the first red light! The Horror!
Iphone Sally...
And girlfriend Lizzy via Skype for iPhone
Made it to the Ferry! Was really nice to relax inside in the back and watch a movie with the electric heater going... Great weather
Alex at the helm on the DEL-MAR-VA
Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel, one of the great engineering feats of the US (let's put America back to work building more of these kinds of projects!).
Pulling in to Nansemond on the Bay! Iphone TomTom, DVOM checking volts, aux-only Radio, new tach!!
The Van sleeps :)
Week later, back on the road again... trying to make the 4:15 ferry!
Lots of tankers...
So the bus handled the trip as any simplistic machine would. We do have an issue with fumes coming from the heat-exchanger system, which is not so great. I think I'll try and make a decent sealing system to keep it closed unless absolutely necessary. It does provide some welcomed heat, however, when it gets cold (better than any electric option).
The steering system is as I found it to be on my I-195 commute to work, very sloppy over 50. No vibration, and it drives straight, but a new front end with gear box (new TRW) is a very needed install. Hope to get this done soon with help of "Uncle Freddy". Stay tuned for that!
Beyond this point, we're looking towards comfort and aesthetics, and also the solar system. We need to have a way to charge the batteries when we're parked for a week in the desert, so a solar system is high on the priority list. Also other things like a instant hot water heater (take a shower), large fresh water storage tank, are definitely on the list.
So far it's nice to know that if it can handle 600 miles, it probably could handle 2000 miles :). We're going to need to re-register it as an RV soon...
Until the next post :)
0 comments:
Post a Comment