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Posted by Tim Holloway on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 20:03:43 :
Hi All,
This weekend was the Family re-union I posted about a few weeks ago. I ended up driving to it in the big Power Wagon, not the W-100. A bit over 500 miles round trip and she ran like a dream the whole way. We left Friday morning at 6 AM. After a couple of hours we hit light rain. About an hour into the rain, my drivers side electric wiper motor quit. We pulled into a parking lot, and I put a volt meter on the dead motor and was getting full voltage. I pulled the motor out and swapped it for the passenger side motor. Got them all back together and of course both started working again.
Two of my Sisters were also heading over to the Re-union, and had been half an hour behind me an hour before, and no doubt gaining on me. Right after I started swapping the wipers, they caught up with Gordon and I. We left with them following me, now with both wipers going back and forth happily. The rest of the trip over was a series of turns, never staying on the same road very long, and the GPS was doing a great job directing us. I had mapped out the route beforehand with a paper map, and had also done a route on the Streets and Trips program. As we neared the Cousins House, we were turning onto smaller and smaller roads, and when we were about 2 miles from the end, we turned onto a small dirt road. Remember, my 2 sisters in a Toyota Camry were following me. The road starts getting smaller and smaller, and steeper, and rougher. I stop and walk back to my Sister's car. She was mad as a hornet, her car having bottomed out twice! (Oh my!) She was unable to get turned around, so I turned her around and the 2 Sisters went back toward the paved roads to try to find their way on better roads. I walked back to the Power Wagon, and could see that the road was getting much more rugged so I locked in my front hubs. We went on, and soon I needed to be in four wheel drive. Soon after that, I was really glad to have the front air locker. The road turned into a wash of just big rocks, and for about a quarter of a mile, it was far more challenging than ANYTHING I have encountered at a Rally. It was a load of fun! We got through, the road improved, and shortly we popped out onto a paved road, victorious! Another 2 tenths of a mile and we were at my Cousins house. We beat my Sistes by about a half an hour!
Over the course of the weekend the truck received a lot of attention, and I answered a lot of questions. I gave a bunch of rides, on the road, and even my 84 year old Aunt wanted a ride! What a trooper.
This morning, my Cousin wanted to take me to a guy he knew who has a Power Wagon. We drove into his yard and it was a blue 64, with a snow plow and a big water tank on a steel flatbed. She was rough, but a steady worker. The truck had factory power steering and rear shocks, as well as 2 sun visors and an arm rest. The owner was really nice, but didnt have much idea where to get stuff. I gave him a list of the suppliers.
We headed home about noon, and got home at six. There was a section of Interstate 89 that we had bypasses on the way over, but on the way home hopped on. The truck cruised at 65 with no complaint, tach at about 2,100, temp stayed good. Along a long flat section, I eased it up to 70, and again no ill effects, but I brought it right back to 65.
When we got home, I gassed her up, we got 8 1/2 mpg. But about 100 FPG (Fun per Gallon)
Tim
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