Trip from WA to SoDak

[Simran]

<br>I left Walla Walla, WA on&nbsp;Wednesday&nbsp;with car in tow on a trailer behind my 1975 3/4 ton Chevy camper van. It rained all the way from there to Missoula MT. I had to shift down to 2nd gear over all the 5 &amp; 6% grades at about 35mph. I don't feel there is any reason to try to top these mountains in road gear; it's just a good way to burn something up.<div>My mileage was pretty steady between 10 &amp; 11.5 MPG traveling @ around 55 MPH. This old van has no cruise; so it varied some. In 1476 miles the old girl use 1/2 quart of oil. Which, given the fact I was pulling a car on a trailer, traveling over numerous mtn. passes and her age, I was extremely pleased with.</div><div>Traveling across MT, ND &amp; SD was very pleasant as I had the wind out of the W-NW most of the time. Except, of course around Lewistown, MT. I've traveled this part of the country a lot and this part of MT has some extremely high winds and because of the lay of the land the wind get funneled cross way to the road. It gets tricky with a high profile vehicle so caution is always best here. It is very beautiful here as it is one of the northern gateways to Yellowstone Park; but lower speeds are the order of the day as well.</div><div>I had one&nbsp;mishap&nbsp;once I reached my home turf in SD. West of Mobridge, SD I was stopped at the Grand River bridge where it flows into the Missouri River; to take some pictures. The sun was shining except over the river where the fog hadn't burned off yet and it was a beautiful setting. I snapped my pics and got back into the van and hit the key and nothing happened. I mean nothing other than the lights on &nbsp;the dash came on. Long story short; the ignition safety circuit on the transmission had failed to complete the circuit. Easy fix. I had wire and connectors so just unplugged the circuit, built a short jumper and jumped the circuit and off we went. I got home Friday night at about 6pm.</div><div><br></div><div>Off to Iowa on Monday!</div><div><br></div><div>Note to self: don't try sleeping in a truck stop parking lot; they are to noisy. Even the ground vibrates from all the trucks running.</div><div><br></div><div>Pulling off on an approach along the highway on the prairies of the Dakota's is a perfect place to get a good nights sleep. There is literally no one to bother you for miles around; and the quiet . . . oh the quiet . . .and dark . . .perfect for a light sleeper like myself.</div>

 

[Les H]

Cool for you ; Simran. Glad the ol girl is behaving for you. Enjoy the rest of the trip and be safe.

 

[mockturtle]

I always shift down for mountains--both up and down.&nbsp; Hardly ever have to use my brakes.&nbsp; Here in WA most of my driving [except for around town] involves mountains.&nbsp; I LOVE my V10!!

 

[Lifemagician]

Most of my nights are spent at truck stops, and I have to say, I have never noticed vibration.&nbsp; As for the noise... it helps to be a little deaf.&nbsp; lol<br /><br />If anything were to worry me, it is the lights, but I manage that by blacking out the van with window shades.<br /><br />Lifey

 

[kevinr]

speaking of truck lights.. Here is something to never do. Never pull into a rest area in the middle of the night on a long trip home to Oregon from New Orleans with your wife sleeping soundly in the passenger's seat, and park right in front of an idling semi with it's lights on so that it's lights are shining right in your face and scream "Oh ****!" at the top of your lungs.. Do not do this. I got the silent treatment for 3 days, and this may be one of the reasons I am no longer married. It's not nearly as funny as it might seem.. Having to clean the pee out of the passenger seat wasn't funny either.. Well, it's kind of funny now, but any practical joke that has to cook for 10 years before it's funny probably isn't worth it.