Vehicle problems while driving, or parking, to and fro canoe trips

[Tryin']

I was laying even odds that I would be able to contribute to this thread today, but alas, the brown beast just keeps chugging. Maybe next week on the way back from the WPASCR... Hopefully not, I need this thing to go at least two more seasons, preferably four...

 

[Gamma1214]

...Maybe next week on the way back from the WPSCR

Hopefully not but, as someone who has always driven high-mileage vehicles, I can say that they add to the sense of adventure. (Thankfully, my only issues while tripping have been speeding tickets... I seem to collect those)

Incidentally (just a house-keeping item, not a criticism), the get-together in Butler next weekend is the WPASCR (the "A" is important if someone Googles it)

PA is weird that way (At least Western PA is). When referring to the state in which we live, you'll rarely hear anyone say "Pennsylvania"... it's just PA or, sometimes WPA if referring to the Western 1/2 (and, yes, it's different from the Eastern, yucky, part )

Anyway... Hope to see you there and the ride is trouble-free.

PS: Van looks like it's in nice shape body-wise... everything but that and the frame is easily replaced.

 

[Tryin']

Hopefully not but, as someone who has always driven high-mileage vehicles, I can say that they add to the sense of adventure. (Thankfully, my only issues while tripping have been speeding tickets... I seem to collect those)

Incidentally (just a house-keeping item, not a criticism), the get-together in Butler next weekend is the WPASCR (the "A" is important if someone Googles it)

PA is weird that way (At least Western PA is). When referring to the state in which we live, you'll rarely hear anyone say "Pennsylvania"... it's just PA or, sometimes WPA if referring to the Western 1/2 (and, yes, it's different from the Eastern, yucky, part )

Anyway... Hope to see you there and the ride is trouble-free.

PS: Van looks like it's in nice shape body-wise... everything but that and the frame is easily replaced.

Thanks for the education! You would think I would know better, having married a Rimersburg gal... hope to see you there also!

 

[Gamma1214]

...a Rimersburg gal...

Wow. I didn't know any of them escaped.

 

[VA paddler]

Oh, my... where to start...?
In the late 90s and early 2000s we did all of our trips with 2 Grummans sticking out the back end of my buddy's 197? burnt-orange Dodge pickup. Seems like everything broke on that truck at one point or another but we were always able to fix it on the side of the road or in a parking lot somewhere.
Same buddy, next truck: late 90s model Chevy Silverado - lost the transmission in WV coming home from the New River Gorge. He wasn't even on the trip!
My 1990 F150 (had the galvy body that the paint wouldn't stick to, so the whole thing just looked like a pile of rust) - changed out an alternator in a grocery store parking lot coming home from running Bull Falls on the Potomac; changed the serpentine belt on the side of the highway after a New River Gorge trip; etc etc - that truck was held together with baling wire and duct tape.
But the worst episode was probably the return trip from our venture to the Bloodvein in Manitoba. The trip was already a disaster having had to call in the air cavalry for an extraction (see the TR on CCR). But the boys were running on short fuses and when the transmission blew in the Silverado (same truck, different episode) in Minnesota, and they had to abandon the truck, trailer, boats, and most of the gear, and rent a little beater to get back to Virginia in, no one spoke to each other for like 16 hours or something like that. They had dropped me at the airport in Winnipeg so I missed that ordeal, but I was on the trip, so I feel it counts for this post.

Gamma, I hear you on the speeding tickets. The good news is it seems the OPP and the Quebec cops don't report violations to the States. At least, I've never had a ticket follow me over the border (in terms of showing up on insurance). I cannot for the life of me understand why the speed limits are so low up there...

 

[Gamma1214]

PA doesn't even transfer points from other states (or report out-of-state violations to insurance companies) so I usually try to stay "under 10 over" within the state. Once I cross the border, however, it's just a matter of paying a fine (if I get caught) so I feel pretty good about testing the limits of my tie-downs by pinning the accelerator to the floor.

 

[BurkeJ]

Dead key fob battery...
Got into vehicle with physical key attached. Though this set off car alarm, not the most pleasant way to introduce yourself to fellow outdoor enthusiasts.

Brand name replacement didn't work, had to get 'knock off' from the dealer.