GoodInfo: 4x4

Pre long weekend camping trip

Wed, 16 May 2007 17:18:39 GMT

We returned from our trip feeling refreshed and relieved. The trip was a blast, and my first out of city expedition with my Rover. I think the Rover performed beautifully, and we had a blast getting off the main logging road and attempting some crawling.

The hotsprings as usual were beautiful, except for the kids that drove all the way up from Vancouver to have a rave/party for a friend. They brought turn tables, and speakers and generators which annoyed everyone at the campsite due to the noise being deafening throughout the Friday night and then all day Saturday until the Tribal Police and RCMP showed up.

The weather was perfect, and on our way back we stopped in at a nice restaraunt "Yukon Joes" and I had the best pizza I have had in a long time! The menu was excellent, and the patio had a beautiful view of the local mountains capped with snow and ice still. If you are driving through, this is a great place to stop and have lunch.

Below is a slideshow from my Picasa web album. Enjoy the show

Stuck in the Muck

Tue, 08 May 2007 02:47:25 GMT

On Friday, May 04, 2007 I got to test drive a new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited four door edition. I had a lot of fun, and the sales person directed me to a little known off-road spot in Richmond behind the new BCIT aerospace campus. I got a feel of the new Wrangler with its new six speed transmission and revamped engine, and I was impressed!

I was impressed with the K.I.S.S. principle that Jeep has taken to the interior, and glad to see them maintaining a utalitarian vehicle. The doors are easily removed with less than five minutes per door, and the top takes 20 minutes to remove. The vehicle was roomy, comfy, and quiet inside. The ride was very smooth both on and off-road, and the horse power (+200) really kicks in when you need it to on the highway!

Later in the day I return with my girlfriend and 'Lola' and I get stuck in the mud... I was high centred, and 3 hours of digging, and a Dodge Dakota 2500 4x4 are unsucessful in escaping the mud. I had some ingenious MacGyver attempts involving rocks, discarded lumber, and even some discarded rope, but I was not going anywhere.

I called the local Automobile Association, and was almost not helped. I did not know that a person is not covered while off-roading. The driver decided to help me, because he originally came from the U.K. and I think the fact that my vehicle was an older Land Rover got him interested. I got winched out in five minutes, and he gets a few pics on his camera phone. The driver then explained to me that the first vehicles he learned to work on were Land Rover Series I & II's. I was quite lucky, because for a tow truck company to come get would have easily cost $300.00

I learned something... don't listen to the girlfriend for where to go (joke). No, she was down in the mud with me and ot afraid to get down and dirty Take a look at the pictures below.

4x4 Goodies

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:27:33 GMT

So far so good, I can scratch a one or two things off of that list. I picked up a bottle opener that screws onto my rover as seen in the picture below, and I grabbed a Scepter MFC as mentioned previously.

Everything is a green light for the trip, as long as the weather holds. So far it looks like some sun with clouds, but that could change since the weather has been unpredictable for the last few weeks.

Camping at St. Agnes

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:43:22 GMT

It is that time of year again for some fun in the sun and woods. There is a camping trip planned for this weekend up at Skookumchuck hotsprings (a.k.a. St. Agnes Wells Hotsprings). I have a few things on my checklist for the Rover before the trip which include:

An oil change, and air filter bath.
A Scepter Military Fuel Container from Dave's Army Surplus for spare Bio-Diesel.
A fire extinguisher.
New headlights*, either the Hella Vision Plus 7" round headlight conversion or the Roundeyes 7" round headlight conversion.
A CB Radio*, and I like the Cobra 75 WX ST all-in-handset mobile CB.
One Garmin Rhino 530 or a Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx for mapping purposes*.
A Deluxe Center Console Tuffy Box*.

Note: * A possibility before the trip, or after the trip.

Lots to do, and lots to get ready, but overall a lot of fun is going to be had. The only thing missing is some tunes. Land Rovers never originally came equipped with a sound system. That will eventually make it's way into the Rover, and for now my Sansa MP3 player is my stereo.

Missed my first Land Rover show :(

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 22:06:32 GMT

I did not end up going out to the show, and perhaps it was a curse because I did not have a rover to show . I was fortunate to hear that the parts needed for Lola arrived yesterday, so she should be ready today or tomorrow.

I did made a quick appearance to a friend's wifes 50th birthday, even though I was not feeling well. It turns out that this sore throat I have had for almost a week was a case of strep throat. Plenty of rest, and plenty of fluids, along with a large vial full of penicillin pills that look like they are meant for a horse is just what I need to regain my senses.

Founder's Day (Land Rover meet)

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 19:45:57 GMT

Today I will be heading out to the Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition show barn for the RoverLanders of BC Founder's Day; This is going to be a Land Rover show, and a swap meet, which is a great way to see the various rovers around here. I will be adding some pictures from the show, which starts at 5pm this evening until 11pm, and is open to everyone with ticket purchase. Tomorrow there will be a snowflake chase, which is a run for the rovers somewhere around the lower mainland.

It is too bad that my rover was not able to get there in time due to waiting for some parts to be installed so that it can pass the provincial vehicle inspection, but good things come to those that wait. Once I get Lola past the inspection, I will definitely be taking her out for a few runs on some de-comissioned roads and trails ;)

Land Rover... Ho!

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 20:38:05 GMT

Lola, my 1983 SWB Series III Land Rover Santana, is heading over to Silk Cat Automotive in North Vancouver, B.C. for a provincial vehicle inspection and check-up. I have had two friends who own rovers recommend Silk Cat, and that is good enough for me.

I found some great information on upgrading the Land Rover 2.25 four cylinder engine and information on acutally installing a 200 TDi engine into a Series III Land Rover. Check out Roverlanders.bc.ca regarding Land Rover diesel engines, and the various flavours thread for some great ideas.

Lola arrives, a 1983 SWB 88" Land Rover Santana

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 23:49:51 GMT

I went to my bank first thing yesterday morning to get my paperwork for the Rover, because it accidentally got sent there. I was then off to get a temporary day permit to allow me to drive her back, get an out of province vehicle safety inspection, and get her home.

The inspection happened at Canadian Tire in North Vancouver. I was dissapointed because I was told it would take an hour, and it was still not done three hours later. I was also told that the vehicle inspection would cost extra because I had free floating brakes, and that would take an extra couple of hours to just allow them to see the brakes.

The next step is to decide if Canadian Tire is a good choice, or if I should go to MCL motor cars ltd. in Vancouver. MCL Motorcars specialize in Land Rovers and Jaguar for new sales and for servicing them.

Lola is on her way!

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 19:44:30 GMT

Lola is on her way. I decided to ship Lola via rail and found SeaRail, a company which specializes in vehicle tarnsport across North America. They have a main yard located in Delta, B.C. where I will be able to pick Lola up :)

Stuart (previous owner), will drive Lola up to Calgary from Medicine Hat, to make sure Lola gets there in one piece on Dec 20th. Once on the train, Lola should arrive in 5-7 days, and just in time for the New Year!

More to follow :)

4x4's & some news

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 03:05:27 GMT

In September I sold "Bob" the BJ60 Landcruiser to a person from Seattle who was the right person for Bob. I have been in need of another 4x4 because I have become addicted! I recently purchased a 1983 88" Land Rover Series IIIa Santana which has a diesel engine and only 77,000 km and is in really great condition from a gentleman in Medicine Hat, Alberta. I spent a month in constant contact with this individual, and we finally agreed to meet in Sparwood British Columbia for the potential purchase.

We decided to meet October 29, 2006 in Sparwood. I left Vancouver on Friday, October 27, 2006 for a new road trip to somewhere I had not been. We drove to Osoyoos by Friday evening, and stayed the night. The following day we drove from Osoyoos through: Grand Forks, Castlegar, Salmo, Creston (home of Kokanee beer), and made it to Cranbrook, British Columbia.

We were glad to rest the evening, and we were both exhausted! We hit a comedy club in our hotel, which was an exquisite hotel. We had a nice 27" flatscreen television in our room and we enjoyed watching the Rocky Horror picture show. We ventured out to Mr.Mike's West Coast Grill (the new Mr.Mike's) in Cranbrook and had Alaskan King Crab and Jumbo Tiger Prawns for dinner with a good serving of vino.

The Next morning, Sunday, October 29, 2006 we headed off to Sparwood, but not before passing through Fernie, British Columbia. Fernie is a beautiful town, and I see it as Whistler was about ten to fifteen years ago... and if you have some money, I would suggest you buy up some property there. Fernie has awesome skiing in the winter, and tonnes of snow! Fernie is a great place in the Summer, with plenty of fly fishing, and a very historical town. Fernie is also only a couple hours from the Alberta border.

After a quick stop in Fernie, we were suddenly in a blizzard and windstorm on our way to Sparwood, which was about another 25 minutes past Fernie. We arrived in time to see a foot of fresh fallen snow, and we decided to test my tires... that was a bad idea. The car locked up and we jumped a curb head on, but no damage luckily. Stuart was on his way from Medicine Hat early that morning, and was driving through some hairy situations with the weather, especially through the Crow's Nest Pass in the mountians.

Sparwood B.C. has the largest truck in the world, a Titan mining truck that is larger than a three story house! We took pictures, and saw "Lola" (the rover) arrive, a little frozen from the trip. It took a while, but Stuart got Lola running, and I took her for a little test drive. I was happy with her, and it was love at first sight. I decided not to drive Lola back because by this point there was major snow, and major white out conditions, and Lola did not have any snow tires.

After a contract, and a big deposit, Lola went back with Stuart, and we drove frantically back to Cranbrook... the drive took a very long time, and it was the worst conditions I have ever seen. We saw so many vehicles off to the side of the road, including big rigs, and we had to drive about 40km an hour for two hours through the blizzard. The car was fozen, and I had to get out numerous times to clean the wheel wells, because the sluch would freeze and the tires were rubbing on the ice.

After a long and scary drive into Creston that evening, we found refuge in a quaint motel, that luckily for us, had the best pizza in town, and a nice bar! We drove on the highway which was pitch black, and we could not see more than 40 feet in front of us due to the snow and wind. Once we had our pizza and beer we just melted into a beautiful slumber.

Monday morning rolled around, and I was the morning driver. Leaving Creston to get to Salmo was scary, as you go right up the mountains to the very top, and hit more ice and snow. Coming back down is worse, because on the left side of the highway is a huge cliff that drops 1700 metres with no road divider to stop you if the car decides to spin out of control.

We got to Salmo, where it was getting warmer, and then to Creston, and once we were out of Creston the snow dissapeared completely. I drove all the way back to Chilliwack and there was still ice on the car as you can see in the photos. We made it back into Vancouver in one day from Creston, in about 9 hours, which is not a bad time at all.

I am still thinking to either fly in to Medicine Hat and drive Lola back, or have her shipped on a train. The train seems cheaper, more convenient, and safer, especially with the heavy snow now hitting the mountains. I will check back with my decision at a later date.

Click on the picture below to check out my photos from the trip:

Land Rover

Time for a 4x4

Tue, 02 May 2006 08:28:32 GMT

Wow, I have recently found out that Volkswagen made a few offroad vehicles: the Golf Country Syncro, Vanagon Syncro and a military vehicle called the Itlis. These are something to look out for :)