Driving ~6400kms for christmas, Anything mechanically I should worry about?

[cmcarr85]

hey dont know if you have any experience with the hitch mounted cargo baskets? I had dual exhaust on a truck and put a cooler on one of them and it melted on a 4 hour trip...
Not saying it will happen with whatever your carrying but just keep an eye out for it...

Have a fun and safe trip with the family....

 

[99Yuk]

Hehehehe... Thanks guys for the tips...

All in one jumper pack = good
Serpintine belt = good
gun = bad
fuel pump/cut hole = bad

hey dont know if you have any experience with the hitch mounted cargo baskets? I had dual exhaust on a truck and put a cooler on one of them and it melted on a 4 hour trip...
Not saying it will happen with whatever your carrying but just keep an eye out for it...

Have a fun and safe trip with the family....

Nope, I just bought this thing for this trip. http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/AutoAccessories/CartopCarriers/PRD~0401145P/SportRack%2BHitch-Mount%2BCargo%2BCarrier.jsp. I put it together today and built a 3/8 plywood box for it 2' wide, 4' long and 2' high, put hinges on the lid, and a lock. I didn't want my shyt taking a walk.

My exhaust is stock, goes out behind the passenger rear wheel. Shouldn't burn out the box. But we have a saying in IT.. 'Shouldn't is a dirty word', I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the heads up..


I mounted the airplane landing lights to the front bumper Friday after work. Holy cr#p, what a difference! Way brighter than the HIDS! Just two spotlights that go straight out until they light something up. I'm lighting up stuff two kms down the road! Triggered their relay on the high beam, for a 6-hi mod! Usefull for driving in the wee hours of the night with no traffic.. The local loggers/truckers use these lights. Hard to aim them so the spotlights match height though. And the volt meter didn't go down when I flipped these on, so I'm not stressing out my ALT to bad!

And my rancho steering stabilizer kit from another thread came in. I hope that I can get it installed before I leave.

5 days before we go!

 

[wackasslife]

Hey i didn't see if anyone mentioned this but bring antifreeze! I don't know how cold it gets up there but check the cold weather antifreeze! I drove from pa to ak through ca in the winter of 2007 by myself. Pulled over to sleep one night and switched my heat from outside air to circulate (huge mistake) and somehow i woke up to a loud knocking sound. Well my antifreeze was boiling at the radiator. It was like -40 out and my water temp was like 230. Froze my ass off that night and didnt get much sleep. The mechanic told me that my antifreeze wasnt rated for that cold of weather.

 

[99Yuk]

Yup, I'm bringing a jug of anti-freeze.

So today I got my steering stabilizer installed! YAY!
And they checked over the yuk, found a rear wheel cylinder was leaking, so tomorrow they are going to replace both sides wheel cylinders and brake shoes. They checked over the front end and said it was tight.

I mentioned to our old guy Mech about the serpentine belt. He looked and said, 'yup, it's got some cracks'. So I got a new one and I'm going to keep the old as a spare during the trip.

 

[ravingmadman]

Hahaha. You are one crazy bastard. Aviation lights? 6-High? I about snarked coffee on my laptop. I also wanted to mention- you are bringing a good toolset with you, right? Or if not, at least a couple hundred bucks to buy tools if you need to. In fact, having extra cash never hurts, if you have it...

When do you leave? Safe trip to you, sir!!

 

[AtomicHoe094]

i think were making chevy sound like a *************... comeon be realistic, dont bring a damn thing!

 

[99Yuk]

Hahaha. You are one crazy bastard. Aviation lights? 6-High? I about snarked coffee on my laptop. I also wanted to mention- you are bringing a good toolset with you, right? Or if not, at least a couple hundred bucks to buy tools if you need to. In fact, having extra cash never hurts, if you have it...

When do you leave? Safe trip to you, sir!!

Yup, I got a cheapo CDN Tire set - http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/Sockets/SocketSets/PRDOVR~0589270P/Mastercraft%2BMaximum%2B163-piece%2BSocket%2BSet.jsp - well it was cheap when it's on sale!

Extra cash? Who has extra cash at Christmas? But I did give myself an emergency cushion on the Mastercard.

And yeah, everyone I talk to thinks I'm nuts driving over there with two kids, two dogs and a very excited wife. Oh well, I can't back out now, the ferry is booked and everything! I just checked the weather report for the island. 30-50cms of overnight snow, and they only issued a 'warning', around here we would get a 'watch' issued. Makes me wonder how much overnight snow they would need to get to trigger a 'watch'. I'm worring that I didn't get my snow tires studded!

We leave in two more sleeps!!!

"Shutup Donkey, it's VERY far, far away!" Sorry more damned Shrek.

---------- Post added at 10:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 PM ----------

i think were making chevy sound like a *************... comeon be realistic, dont bring a damn thing!

HEHE, Yup, your right.. I should just cancel the whole damned trip! I don't want to infringe on GMC's reputation by suggesting that I be prepared for almost anything.

Most of my trips have been within two hours in any direction from my family or friends in Ontario. So I havn't had a need for anything quite like this before.

They tell me that once I leave Ontario, it's a different country, and I should try to make a mad dash across Quebec. If you don't speak a word of French, you may as well not be alive to them. That's the big reason for the bring everything mode. Hit Quebec and bam! Nothing! No help! On your own! 'Too bad so sad' apparently is the french saying.

 

[99Yuk]

HEHEHE, Here's a couple pics of the lights mounted eh?





They are spotlights, hard to aim them so they align with each other.

Leaving tomorrow!

 

[99Tahoe]

I like those lights. How much did you pay for those?
Oh and good luck on the trip

 

[99Yuk]

I like those lights. How much did you pay for those?
Oh and good luck on the trip

I got them on sale 50% off for $25 each! I would pay full price for these, they are so awesome!

Here are some pics with the Christmas lights, eh?




I like 'em. Driving home the other night on the highway and a car passed me and the kid in the front seat was grinning from ear to ear! I figure someone's gonna smile on trip! And if in Newfyland, might as well act Newfy...