Michael Maskalans wrote:
> I'm safe and sound in alan's apartment in Cleveland (Parma if I'm feeling accurate).
>
> a mildly uneventful trip so far. I scaled at the first set of truckstops in PA. with an almost full tank, I'm 2620/3180/5800 (steers/drives/trailer) for a gross of 11600. just a bit heavy.....
>
> that puts me over my rear axle rating by 14 pounds, and puts one of the trailer's tires over it's weight limit. 3/4 are UHaul spec Goodyears (they say 'property of UHaul, not for sale' on the sidewall) with 2200-something @ 65psi ratings, the odd one out is a michelin with a 1500 something rating at 35psi. eep. I aired up my drives to 50, and they're good for not quite 2000 pounds apiece @50psi, so I'm quite good there.
>
> The truck handles the weight pretty well. the tail isn't wagging the dog, but it'll buck pretty good on a rough road. 60-65 in 3rd gear puts me between 2500 and 3000 revs, where it will pull decently on flatland freeway grades. The one steep hill coming here had me to the floor in 2nd doing a bit over 30 at 4k. heh. it's a bit lacking in the stoplight races, all of a sudden, too. wonder why.....
>
> the one kinda scary incident happened just outside Cleveland. There was apparently a mulit-car pileup at the 197 westbound, so I got off at the 200 to avoid what drivers were expecting to be a closed road. I noticed in my mirror that one of the tire straps had let loose, so I was looking for a place to stop and check it out (all had been relatively kosher in PA, 100 miles before, and there are safety chains, too, so I wasn't worried at all). I headed north, since my GPS told me that was the closer exit where I was getting off, made a loop around and stopped on the 'on' ramp. Sure enough, both front tire straps had let loose. I re-centered the winches on the tires and cinched them back down, and then re-tightened the straps on the back of the truck.
>
> This was a very busy on-ramp (a pretty poor one to pick, methinks), so I had to pick a very long gap instead of waiting for no one coming. That also meant I had to really stomp on it from a standing start for the first time. My gap arrives, I put on my signal and give 'er. Brown-ness instantly *pours* from under the hood. It looked like I'd blown a head gasket and was having oily steam everywhere. I put it in neutral, shut it down and coasted back to the shoulder. I was pretty worried about what I'd find under the hood.... I popped it, waited for another gap in traffic, and went up to take a look. nothing. nothing at all. so I get back in and start it. nothing abnormal.
>
> So I think for a minute. I looked down before I killed it, so see if I had a check engine light. I hadn't had one. I noticed that the truck was really, really dusty - but not on the hood. it had come out through the gap between the quarter panels and the hood. My K&N was very dusty. So I took another look under the hood, and sure enough, that underhood mat is a lot cleaner than it had bee. When I stomped on it, something made a big, thin sheet of mud drop off that mat and onto all the spinning things under my hood. My big 'oh shit!' moment was more an illusion than anything. <wipes forehead in relief>
>
> I found a *lot* of parking spots right off the bat, even at almost 20:00. but I can't figure out your SMTP server, alan! oh well - I'll just wait to reply to things until I'm home, and I can compose vie the web, so I'm not going to bother to call. I am hungry, though, so after I bring in my Snacks That Should Stay Cold, I'm going to go fetch dinner. I'm not too lazy to do that.
>
> I doubt I'll update tomorrow or sunday, but if I have good cell reception I might fool around with trying to use it as a modem, since I get unlimited weekend minutes.
>
> seeya,
>
Mike - As "eventful" goes - yes I would agree - - with what can happen
in such a trek as you are undertaking.. much bigger things can happen.
I am however worried about those tire straps. I had problems with them
when I hauled my Daks (on Uhaul trailors) up from Chicago. You didnt
say if the mudders were taken off and the street meats put back on? I
would have assumed that was done.. because I dont think the mudders
would have fit. Jon says Christine wouldn't start? Figures... the
tempermental little cuss she is. We'll just see about gettin her into
The Swamp under her own power.
Hmm -Ya know - I just thought of something... the irony is overwhelming.
I named my garage The Swamp... this was before the truck actually did
go into a swamp. Sheesh...
Keep it safe Mike!! I'll be in touch.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terrible Tom"Take me to the river, drop me in the water..." - Talking Heads
Silver '89 Dakota Reg Cab, V6, Auto, 8 footer, 4x2 Silver '89 Dakota Reg Cab, V6, Auto, 8 footer, 4x4 - aka "Christine" Green/Silver '95 Jeep Cherokee, I-6 HO, Auto, 4 door, 4x4
AIM Screen name And Yahoo Messenger Name: SilverEightynine
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Feb 06 2004 - 11:46:46 EST