quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
When I lived there, the mosquitoes were bad enough, but the real pests were the no-see-ums.

BLACK FLIES -- swarm, run along exposed skin till they reach cover, like collar, cuff, sock, then proceed to bite holes which leave nasty sores.

Maybe I need to talk louder or drink more whiskey and then they will leave me alone!

We got mosquitoes early in Canada and they are getting bigger as we get further North.

The road from Kluane Lake to the border (Beaver Creek), is really bad!!! Huge frost swellings. Really testing the suspension system. The front end has been airborne many times!!

Three dings in the windshield + a crack, lots of gravel sections, oncoming trucks kick up a lot of stones.

We are in Tok AK. this AM and will be in Fairbanks later today. Not sure how far up we will go, my tour director is still working on the route.

Bit of trouble on the way to Stewart CA. the rear bearing of the xfr case seized and locked up the rears. I was able to remove the rear drive shaft and nothing else is damaged. I could probably drive it front wheels only but I am not going to put more stress on the drive train.

More later

quote:

Picture of MWrench

posted 07-28-2013 05:31 PM Hide Post
Bit of trouble on the way to Stewart CA. the rear bearing of the xfr case seized and locked up the rears. I was able to remove the rear drive shaft and nothing else is damaged. I could probably drive it front wheels only but I am not going to put more stress on the drive train.

4X4 Breakaway ?

On the Amigo toad.

Yes I guess I should have been more clear. Was the Amigo.

In thinking about this further, I think something like a gear tooth or other piece got up into the gears and caused the transfer case to lock up. It was way to sudden and immediate. I thought I heard a noise like a tire exploding and looked in the mirrors to see a huge cloud of smoke. In the rear camera, I could see it coming off of both sides of the rears. I knew then it could not be a tire.

As I stopped I could see dual black tracks on the pavement. The stop was quite fast and it was on an upgrade but fortunately, there was a large turnout on the left side just a few hundred feet ahead. VERY LUCKY INDEED.

As I slowly got into the gravel of the turnout I could see one wheel slowly turning forward and backwards which confirmed it was a drive train problem.

I had a moving blanket in the Amigo which was fortunate to lay on the ground. I tried to move the drive shaft and it was stuck. My first fear was that the differential had seized. If it had, it would have been BAD however, after I got the rear drive line flange off the diff, there was movement on the input flange of the diff, Whew. I could not rotate the drive shaft going to only the transfer case. It was a bit of a hassle to get the front “U” bolt clamps off the transfer case, the clearance there was tight and of course it would not rotate . Finally had the drive shaft off, stored and things seemed OK to move. I looked at the tires carefully. Because of the differential action, when the transfer case locked up, both tires were fighting to rotate forward but could not. Each tire was gaining and loosing traction so the one with less traction would rotate backwards. This action prevented any real flat spotting of the tires. They were scoffed up a lot, but later showed no vibration while towing.

I bought the transfer case from an “offroader” and when I rotated it everything seemed good but I did not disassemble it to check. I never put it into low range after installation. I am so thankful and lucky, had the transfer case locked up while driving the Amigo at speeds, it would have been a BAD ride.

We are now making our way to Prince George BC and should be in the states late tomorrow.

Ed
So sorry to hear about your transfer case lock up. This is the kind of thing I fear on the road with an older RV such as our 1990 Regency, 8.3 Cummins. I have already experienced problems on each trip we have taken.

Fred & Cindy Cook
1990 32' Regency, 8.3 Cummins

quote:

Originally posted by Jax:
Ed
So sorry to hear about your transfer case lock up. This is the kind of thing I fear on the road with an older RV such as our 1990 Regency, 8.3 Cummins. I have already experienced problems on each trip we have taken.

Fred & Cindy Cook
1990 32' Regency, 8.3 Cummins

has nothing to do with age of the Barth -- nothing to do with the RV at all except that is what happened to be towing the Amigo 4X4

My bad.... thought it was the RV having problems. Anyway.... my wife and I are flying to Fairbanks, AK tomorrow from Missouri for 30 days. I have some work to do at Ft. Greely. We will be taking the Barth to Nebraska first part of Sept when we get back. After that... we will bet at the GTG in Branson, Mo. Hope you can make it.

Fred & Cindy Cook
1990 32' Regency, Cummins

Did you get a chance to use the Amigo much on your trip? Hope you had a great time. It is much an accomplishment to have made this trip. Wishing you good luck on the rest of your journey. Post pics when you get a chance.

Barb and I just did 7,478 miles in our '93 Breakaway. We had a couple of problems but we were able to have the repairs done in shops we chose: The emergency brake cable assembly snapped and we replaced it with new from Spartan overnighted from Charlotte, MI; the Allison Transmission was downshifting prematurely and so we had part of the linkage repaired in S.D.

Other than that our magic carpet performed beautifully and we got to see a lot of this great Country.

Home now and due for a L/O/F, some fuel and a little bit of general cleanup. Then we hope to parade around Michigan, maybe do Branson and enjoy summer into fall!

Hi Ed & Jane
We enjoyed meeting you both in Teslin. Sorry to hear of your mechanical issue with the Amigo! !
Sounds like you may have opted to take the Stewart-Cassiar Hwy-- hope it was good-- scenery can be nice and it is a few miles shorter.
Is there any way the sub-trans could try to be in different ranges at the same time?
Nice meeting you and maybe we will be in the same locality again.

Regards Linda & Bud