Van Tramp adventures 2020

[Van-Tramp]

Did you stay up with manufacture recommended oil change intervals? I'm thinking I need to change mine.

I last changed it back at the end of 2017, but I think the damage had been done before then. I doubt it was changed by the previous owners, ever. I obviously neglected it too, having owned the van for seven years before I changed the oil... tsk tsk.

 

[Van-Tramp]

You  might want to call them and find out as I believe some require additive or specialized lube to function properly.

They did advise me to include a limited slip differential additive with any diff-oil changes.

 

[highdesertranger]

"They did advise me to include a limited slip differential additive with any diff-oil changes."

that means your posi has a clutch pack.

highdesertranger

 

[Van-Tramp]

A speedy visit before driving south
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/a-speedy-visit-before-driving-south/

[size=small][size=small]Within the hour of getting Big Blue back from the shop we were on the road, heading East. The fact that it was rush hour traffic in the Bay Area and we had two bridges to cross didn’t matter. We wanted out of San Rafael. Oddly enough, the traffic didn’t feel heavy at all, and within a few short hours (including a stop at In & Out for dinner) we were in Grass Valley and hello-hugging the parents. We visited hard and fast, cramming it all into a two day visit. A flurry of laundry, showers, and evening meals ensued and as usual, a deluge of boxes arrived to fix some of the items forgotten back on the boat. Per the norm, it rained the entire time of the visit. By Sunday morning we were shoving off, leaving the parents standing in the driveway waving their goodbye.


We really wanted to get over the Sierras before pointing Big Blue to the South, but an overnight blanket of snowfall up there turned us towards the most boring road in America – Interstate 5 between Sacramento and Los Angeles. Boring as all heck, unless you enjoy the smell of antibiotic resistant cow **** and reading politicized signage about farm-water and building more dams. Na, we do not enjoy, yet here we were headed down that very road anyway. It wasn’t all that bad to be honest. We entertained ourselves with a podcast or two and as usual, discussed the fuel consumption of the average american (est 500 gal per year {Big Blue uses about 1000 per year, doh}), and of course the usual judging and gasping at the way Californians drive – crazy idiots. Fun fact; since leaving Washington we have used more fuel in Big Blue than we used all summer in the boat. To be fair, we have already traveled more miles too.

After a few short hours we turned off the Interstate, cut straight through Bakersfield, and climbed over the Tehachapi’s just after the sun dropped below the horizon. Nine and a half hours after leaving Grass Valley we were arriving to our first day’s destination – the Boron Rest Area. Long time followers of this blog may recall us using this very route, and overnight stop, after our engine fire back in 2017. It is safe – always within range of an easy tow – and easy on the van with no major grades or passes. I still wasn’t 100% certain about our new rear-end. The route works well to calm the mind, and got us into the low desert for our first night’s stay back on the road.

 

[Qxxx]

Good choice, all things considered. Tehachapi is piece of cake, compared to getting stuck on I-80 or 395 in bad weather. Almost 500 miles of possible trouble.

And you're in the Mojave already. Joshua trees. If you decide to stop for a couple of days in Mojave Preserve, I'd like to see that. Campground access on I-40 from the south about half way through. I got totally rained out when I tried camping there last winter.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Finally, some boondocking
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/finally-some-boondocking/

[size=small]I feel like it has been ages since we last got to boondock in the van, and it has. With our route slightly changing, thanks to snow in Interstate 80 the morning we left Kerri’s parents, so did our first week’s location. Instead of spending it off the 395, we rolled right on down to the Mojave National Preserve where we spent Xmas and New Years last year. Not exactly the same spot, but down a road within the preserve that we had not yet traveled – that’s how we are.

We settled on a spot a good enough distance from the Interstate to not hear the traffic. The spot we originally planned to claim was one listed online, so it was occupied (of course), but that just pushed us further down the dirt road to find an even better spot for us. The first wasn’t very far off the main road, but this one was another mile or so further away and around a small hill. For the first time since… well, I can’t remember. Finally we had total silence and solitude. Not a soul drove or hiked past. Our view did not include a single other trailer, van, or boat – just agave and desert filled the scene.[/size]

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The first couple days were cold, with below freezing temps each morning – outside. Inside we are usually 15 degrees warmer, but that isn’t all that comfortable. The Mr Buddy was put right back to work those early mornings, just to bump the interior temps up by 10 degrees. By mid-week the morning temps weren’t so bad, and the heater was ignored.[/size]
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While Kerri settled into her normal work week at my purpose built desk, and I finally got back to work myself. See, this time in the van is somewhat a vacation for me. Without the never ending boat repairs as part of my daily work load, I get to re-focus on work that brings in my income for a change. A vacation that lets me work… that’s a new thing. But, I’m quite happy to sit in my office captain’s chair and plug away at my own thing for a few hours each day. I missed this office of mine.[/size]
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My body will be happy to have the break from all that boat work too. To anyone considering a boat in the future; what ever you imagine the work load to be, quadruple it… then add a zero… then double that, and that is the bare minimum you will be doing in the first week alone. Following weeks will only compound, not lessen.[/size]
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Moose has been enjoying the off-leash freedom again; finally able to run around the desert again. It is obvious he has slowed in the past year though. Instead of bolting off into the landscape each time he is allowed out, he slowly meanders from bush to bush waiting for a mouse or rabbit to make a break for it. With his age has come patience, and a little less energy I imagine.[/size]
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[img=913x371]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photo-Dec-16-4-25-56-PM-1024x416.jpg[/img][/size]

 

[Qxxx]

That sounds like a great place, out in the boonies and sounds like you have cell service too.

I've always heard people say, "your 2 best days are the day you buy the boat, and the day you sell it", lol.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Big Blue becomes a travel trailer
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/big-blue-becomes-a-travel-trailer/

[size=small]Leaving our week long boondocking location in the Mojave National Preserve, we were looking forward to a short hike during the warmth of the day followed by revisiting another location that we stayed a night at in the past. We met back up with the asphalt and turned to continue further into the preserve. Kerri and Moose were play-howling together (trying to calm Moose’s excitement of getting moving, he often gets too excited in the first few minutes of travel) when a well known sound from under the van came back. My heart sank as the sound persisted, proving that I wasn’t imagining it. I just didn’t want to believe that this was happening again, but it was.[/size]

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[size=small]We pulled Big Blue over, right there on the side of the road and I climbed under to see oil dripping out of the rear differential. Yes, the very same differential that we had completely rebuilt only one week ago. The entire pinion gear was slopping around in the rearend housing like nothing I have ever seen before. This was clearly not installed properly last week. Browsing the service manual, I saw that I could potentially fix the problem right there by tightening one large nut. So large, unfortunately, that I did not have a socket to fit, by just a fraction of an inch damn it. With no tool to make my normal halfass fix, we were relegated to the reality of having Big Blue towed to the nearest AAMCO, 80 miles away. Worse, it was in in Las Vegas! AAMCO was the shop to perform the work last week, and their work comes with a 12 month warranty. This was going back to them. No way were we going to pay to have the work redone when they made this big of a mistake. However, all the incidentals were going to fall on us, and the quote for the tow? $1200! It was going to be cheaper to rent a UHaul truck and trailer and bring it into the shop ourselves, so we started making that arrangement.[/size]
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[size=small]Kerri, as usual, immediately posted our predicament on Instagram. I can’t understand why she thinks that is the most important thing to do in the heat of a breakdown, but she is who she is. I really can’t complain about it. What the heck is she going to do? Climb under the van too? Na, that’s my job. Her Instagram addiction did pay off though, with numerous followers immediately offering to help us. One couple in particular, Angela and Paul of @borntobenomadic, were not far away and on their way to Vegas anyway. They offered to bring me to UHaul so I could pickup said rental, which I am profoundly thankful for. Two hours later and I was picking up a truck and trailer. Two more hours and the sun had set and I pulled up to our breakdown location to load up the big van onto the trailer.[/size]
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[size=small]The first of many stressful days was complete. At least we could move the van off the side of the road and into the established campground just four more miles up the road. We stayed that night and the following day at the campground, even going for a short hike in the afternoon. Moose appreciated that. Just before dinner we decided to start the trek back to the Vegas – on a longer but safer route for hauling. It turned out to be full of stress as well. Big Blue is so heavy (about 2000 lbs over the trailer’s advertised limit… shhh), and so rear-weight-biased that the trailer wagged around like the tail on a Labrador puppy at a swim hole. It was undriveable at anything above 40 MPH and we had 150 miles to traverse, much of it on a 75 mph speed limit highway. We drove into the night, hazards blinking, and found the traffic to be extremely light. I think we only irritated a half dozen people… that’s not bad. By the end of the night we were only a few miles away from AAMCO at a casino-slash-truck stop.[/size]
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Big Blue is still our home during this tow back into Vegas, we now just have to climb an extra step to get inside. We are pretty sure that we have at least a couple days and nights in a hotel in Vegas while the work is redone, and hopefully fixed for good this time. We have already accepted it and plan to make a fun week of it. At least there are places to go and things to see in Vegas, unlike our previous breakdown city. If we try hard enough, maybe we will come out the other side not remember a thing, missing a tooth, married, and tazered in the face. IN THE FACE! (It is a Hangover reference for those that might not get it)[/size]
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[img=913x514]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photo-Dec-22-10-16-59-AM-1024x577.jpg[/img][/size]

 

[highdesertranger]

bummer, at least you are almost there. keep us updated. highdesertranger

 

[Van-Tramp]

Aamco xmas
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/aamco-xmas/

[size=small]Well, we got Big Blue to the nearest AAMCO after the long, slow, journey to Henderson, NV (suburb of Vegas) on the back of a UHaul truck. This was the only AAMCO in the Vegas area that would be able to look at our problem within the week, but still not before the Xmas holiday. No temper tantrums or any quantity of tears flowing was going to change that reality. We would be spending this week in the greater Vegas area – an area we both go out of our way to avoid at [almost] all costs – in a broken down van in the parking lot of a repair shop. During my nearly 10 years traveling I’ve heard of others having to spent nights in a repair shop’s parking lot, but I’ve never been graced with this situation myself, until now. It could be worse though. We were expecting to have to go back into a hotel; a cost we really didn’t care to incur again.[/size]

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[size=small]The shop owner and manager has accommodated us big time. Not only did they tell us to park in the rear of the shop, in covered parking, where it is a little safer feeling (and level), they put us in a spot that had access to a shore power outlet. Covered parking meant no solar, so the outlet was a life saver. We would have three nights, including Xmas eve and Xmas day, to spend before they could get the van up on the jacks to start the repairs.[/size]
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[img=300x225]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photo-Dec-24-8-10-50-AM-300x225.jpg[/img][/size]
[size=small]By Xmas day we had already spent three days in the parking lot with all the curtains drawn, trying not to appear broken down and sleeping in a van in a parking lot. All was not lost; Kerri has a half-sister in the Vegas area. Nancy and Tom invited us over for a Xmas dinner (and shower, and laundry) which we were happy to accept. It was nice to get out of the dark interior of Big Blue and do some visiting and serious eating – Nancy cooked up one heck of a meal.[/size]
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First thing Thursday morning the guys put Big Blue into the air and popped the lid on the rear differential, for only the second time in Big Blue’s life and not two weeks separating both. It didn’t take long to hear back from the mechanic. The bushings, bearings, gears, and carrier were all destroyed. Every single component that had just been replaced in Northern California has to be replaced again. Argh! Big Blue was put back together and rolled back into the parking space again. We would be spending at least another four or five nights here waiting for the parts to arrive and the work to be completed. The only plus side to this is that the AAMCO in NorCal has to pay for it this time, not us.[/size]
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What an adventure…[/size]

 

[bullfrog]

Be sure and have the axle tubes for straightness as well as the axles. Even a few degrees of bend can cause some real problems and on vehicles with heavy loads on rough roads it can easily happen. Mistakes usually happen for a reason and aren't always defective new parts or improper installation. It can be something simple the mechanic failed to check because he has seldom had a problem.

 

[highdesertranger]

good call bullfrog. highdesertranger

 

[Van-Tramp]

Yes, thanks bullfrog. Parts for the new diff rebuild (take 2) will be in on monday. I will have them look at all the axle related stuff as when they are in there doing the work.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Vegas? Check!
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/vegas-check/

[size=small]The parts for Big Blue’s repair would not arrive before the weekend, meaning we had a few days to kill before the work could be done. It was painful to accept but we have been trying to make the best of the time we are trapped in an AAMCO parking lot in the Vegas metro area. Using Lyft, we have been able to get out and do the things we wanted to keep our sanity, including a rainy night out on the strip for a meal and to see the [size=small][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Absinthe[/font]https://www.caesars.com/caesars-palace/shows/absinthe#.XgoZi0dKhPY[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] show which one of Kerri’s friends was in. Afterwards, we hiked over to the [/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Waldorf Skybar[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] for drinks with a view of the Vegas strip. We didn’t make it back to the van until 2AM that night… well past our normal 8PM bed time. It felt like a properly done night on the strip; drinks, a show, and staying out way too late- that’s Vegas baby![/font]
[img=222x300]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/absinthe-las-vegas-the-green-fairy-222x300.jpg[/img] 
The following evening I stayed in while Kerri went out to visit earlier mentioned friend and family. And another night we got a ride to the local theater to see the latest Star Wars movie. We do not often go to theaters, but we made the trip this time around just to ensure we got out of the van each day. And though I repeatedly refused to purchase any snacks at the concession stand, I ate half of Kerri’s popcorn before the movie even started. Yep, I was that-guy that night. I really don’t know what came over me. Kerri was pretty nice about it. On our final evening, we got a ride into the old down town to have dinner at Esther’s Kitchen after so many friends and family referred Kerri to the eatery. After, we walked the one block for drinks at the Velveteen Rabbit, which is the type of place I fully expect to be visiting when Kerri is choosing the destinations.
[img=911x515]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IMG_20191226_221738-1024x578.jpg[/img]
Normally, the frequency of bars on the entertainment roster would be an issue, since I carry a gun – and state laws usually prohibit carrying of a gun in a bar. Kerri and I made a deal long ago that I would go out disarmed *occasionally* so we can enjoy these types of establishments together. Normally I look up each state’s laws before crossing the border, but this time I had a lot of other things on my mind. Instead it was Kerri who looked up the law and informed me that Nevada is one of the few states with some common sense – and allows guns in bars (and casinos). Now, before anyone freaks out about how booze and guns don’t mix – I already totally agree! I do not drink while carrying… no different than when I am driving. Still, there is absolutely nothing states that I *must* drink alcohol if I walk in the doors of a bar. They do serve non-alcoholic drinks too, just ask all those designated drivers. So, we had a nice time out that night while I thoroughly enjoyed my two virgin-cocktails. Kerri is getting smart about this deal we have.[/size][/size]
[img=300x200]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/velveteen-rabbit-300x200.jpeg[/img][size=small]
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[Van-Tramp]

Third time a charm?
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/third-time-a-charm/

[size=small]UPS, with the utmost wisdom, instead of shipping directly from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, rerouted our parts up to Sacramento, Reno, and finally to Las Vegas – all to avoid a single pass being closed for a few hours last Friday. They were further delayed by the New Year holiday, meaning we did not receive our parts until Thursday – six days after placing the overnight order. The parts would have gotten to us soon if they had *literally* done anything else. Even leaving it on the side of the road outside of Los Angeles would have cost us less time.[/size]
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Finally though, on the second, we saw the box get dropped off at AAMCO, which has been our home for just under two full weeks now. We grabbed our laptops and some dog food and ran off to the nearest, and cheapest, hotel so they could have the van to complete the work – again. Although there was a real possibility of having it by the end of that day, we chose to take the more relaxing approach and let them have the van overnight and through the following day. This, just to avoid them rushing the job. I’d much rather them spend the extra time and have it fixed properly this time.[/size]
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Big Blue was handed off to us at 3PM on Friday. We happily drove the perfectly working van to the grocery store and a final meal before restarting our journey towards Arizona. The sun had set by the time we started heading South out of town but we didn’t have far to go – only about an hour away is a rest area that we were both looking forward to getting too. Unfortunately, after only a few miles outside of town I began to hear a slight whine. At first I brushed it off as my own over sensitivity, but after a few more minutes it was dead-clear; The rear-end was beginning to make noise again. By the time we turned around to start back towards to AAMCO that we just left (which is no closed until Monday) all hopes were doused. We were broken down AGAIN, with the exact same problem that AAMCO has fixed twice now. We made it only to a casino slash truck stop on the edge of town (the very one we came too two weeks ago in the Uhaul truck) as the noise was growing to severe to make it all the way back.[/size]
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For the first time in my nearly 10 years traveling in Big Blue, I can truly feel the pain of all those Vanagon owners, and it seriously sucks.[/size]
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[maki2]

yes indeed, you are singing the "Big Blues". An epic tale of how frustrating mechanical issues can be.

 

[highdesertranger]

I am totally bummed for you guys. either AAMCO is not doing something right or you have a bad housing, which they should have caught, especially the second time around. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

Don't feel bad I had the same difficulties a few years back. It is not uncommon especially where heavy loads or big tires, 4 wheel drive and rough dirt roads come into play. Makes you consider paying big bucks for a speciality shop built complete rear end or take your chances with a used low mileage junkyard unit off a front end wreck. It only takes a slight out of alignment of a few degrees to make repair impossible or too costly. Mine was very small and took several months and a 1,000 miles to go bad, which means I paid for all of it.

 

[Oberneldon]

It’s hard to not have a great deal of compassion for what you have been through, wishing that you both find a way through this and find the rainbow

 

[Van-Tramp]

We made it out, but not far
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/we-made-it-out-but-not-far/

[size=small]It took another full week, and weekend, for the issue with Big Blue to finally get resolved. That makes three full weeks we lived in an AAMCO parking lot in the greater Las Vegas area which included Xmas, new years, and our five year anniversary. Before anything I say about this shop gets taken as negative, the guys at this shop were amazing to us. They were locked into a particular path with the national warranty, and lost a lot of money getting us back on the road. In the end, they replaced the entire rear end with one found from a salvage yard (at additional cost to them), something I could have done myself for under $600 – we spent $3500 on the first repair, plus two tows, numerous nights in hotels, and a fair amount on Lyft rides. The shop back in California is where I lay the bulk of the blame, and they are the only party that have not lost a ton of money on this whole ordeal. I will be working on that issue with corporate this coming week.[/size]

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Nevertheless, we got underway again on Monday night, but only got as far as Lake Mead (Kerri has never been here but I have) which is barely out of Vegas-metro. It was our planned stop, just to give us an easy place to spend the upcoming work week. It is also somewhat of a security blanket after repeated breakdowns after supposed fixes in the recent month. Unfortunately, as we arrived here the smoking driver’s side brakes made it clear that we were not going any further until I did a little work myself. It is an easy enough job – just got to back the brake shoes off the drum a little and we should be fine. We would have preferred our first night on the road to have gone without further incident, but at least this one I can resolve on my own without having to go back into town.[/size]
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