Europe bound...!!

[JohnMcIntyre]

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Just made it back to Europe on the red eye and now got over the Jet-Lag. My truck and camper are following on behind by ship and should arrive in England around May 16th.

We drove up from California to Abbottsford where Bill K, Darrin and Vinny performed their magic (thanks guys; Piers, Stefan and Shanti too!)

I am VERRRRY pleased! No I am ecstatic! This is how they should rollout of DC. The truck didn't miss a beat all the way back to the docks in New York, 8500 miles later. On the Catscales in Bordentown NJ, the all-up weight was 12500 pounds and by my reckoning, I got 18mpg average the whole trip. Not too shabby, averaging 70mph most of the way.

Whilst driving back to California, we hooked up with Blair, HVAC and Treman in Modesto, Dr. Bob in Fraser Mountain and Scooby in the LA area itself, not forgetting fellow Rammer Dave Oxland in Sidney, BC. Heading east we stopped off at the Grand Canyon, kept my shirt in Vegas, paid our respects to the King in Memphis, before rolling out of Dan & Matt's place in Maryland with some new Rixon rubber and the improvement was VERRRY noticeable, especially with the camper onboard.

In summary, A memorable trip for all the right reasons!! Special thanks to Carl (wwcd2) for setting up the GP deals, which made the goodies affordable; Lawrence in DD Las Vegas and an honorary mention to fellow Rammer John from Huntingdon Beach in California.

Stats: Best price on diesel was $1. 29/gal in West Texas and Oklahoma. Worst price posted was $2. 29/gal just before Needles up in the California desert, just off I-40 before the Arizona state line. Sure glad I had the Aerotank and we pulled into a truckstop 30 mins later for a $1. 30/gal reality check.

Got to psych myself up for European diesel prices again now..... roll on 2010 - I hope to return with the Truck and camper again with my son and spend the whole year stateside!


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JMc

2001 Flame Red Sport 3500 QC, 5. 9L 24v Cummins, 4x4 Auto, 3. 54/LSD, 155 inch WB, Agate leather, HX35/14cms turbo, Bill K. VB,TC & "smart" PAC Exhaust Brake , Mag-Hytec transmission & Diff covers, SPA Dual Gauges,DD2s,DD4" exhaust, Rickson 19. 5" wheels, Roadmaster XX,Firestone Airbags, WAAG sidetubes with dually kickouts, Line-X, Grovers , Lance 1130 slide-in Camper, 60 gallon “stock” Aerotank, RS9000s, Reese Titan class 5 hitch. plus the ICE-bomb

[This message has been edited by JohnMcIntyre (edited 04-25-2001). ]

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Hey John, glad to hear you had such a great trip. I was hoping to hook up with you but didn't know when exactly you'd be through Western Washington and BC. Sorry you wen't able to get a hold of me, I kept missing your calls by minutes and didn't know your number to call back. Oh well. Next time you take a trans-USA tour, let us know!

Vaughn

 

[willyslover]

John. . I feel very embarrassed. . I don't think I said Hi to you or met you. . I was at Brandon's. . Silver Sport 3500 getting the HX40 turbo and 4" exhust system. . I'm 6'7" and 350 lbs with short hair. . did we at least talk ? again please accept my humble appology I should have at the very least
bought you a beer. . [I was elbow deep in the upgrades and thanks to TDR bro's help we did get it done]. . Gary

 

[Ladders]

John, sorri you missed a stop in Albq (Kitty Litter), NOT; because you missed the area but because we missed you!! Glad you made it thru the country and hope the next time we could throw down a few. Keep your eye on Marco for us!!!! (at least he's closer to you than us).

\\BF//

 

[HVAC]

John, what a pleasure to meet you and witness your newly BOMBed truck. I still have to chuckle when I think about a Morris Minor sitting next to you on the cobblestones, waiting for the light to turn. YIKES!!! #ad

Glad you were able to visit with us at Brandon's place in Modesto. Hope you enjoyed watching the frenzied throng going about their upgrades.

So you installed a set of DD2's eh, not bad. I'm sure "L" took good care of you while you were in "Sin City". Ya should have gone for the III's though, three times the fun! #ad
You have to be grinning when you stomp the race pedal now eh?

Surely your going to jail in merry old. They will institute a new law barring menacing vehicles. Your truck is capable of trampling an entire lot full of two seater commute cars and turning them into fodder for the recycle center #ad


One question... . where the heck do you park that thing!??? #ad
#ad
#ad

 

[Brandon]

Pleasure to meet you john
you won the furthest travel time award to my shop
sorry no prize though
did the guys get your spa's dialed in, or did I do it, or better yet did you get the guages perfect like you needed
Brandon



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Danelle's Dodge

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

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Vaughn: we finally managed to reach you on the phone long distance last night. Next time we're in the Pacific northwest, we'll definitely allocate more time.

Gary: yes, we were introduced by Blair and HVAC when the local TDR guys took over Brandon's facility in Modesto. You were somewhat distracted #ad
by the HX40 upgrade at the time, so definitely no apology required!

Ben: Thanks, now we have another reason to return to New Mexico - in addition to checking out Area 51 and Carlsbad Caverns. Marco's the guy down in northern Italy, Milan area if my memory serves me correct? That's a good two-day drive and a RoRo ferry ride across the English Channel each way. Perhaps a trip over from England next summer could be on the cards...

HVAC: The answer to your question "Where will I park that thing?" should be obvious! -Anywhere I feel like it! #ad
Seriously though and contrary to popular belief, whilst the roads in Europe are nowhere near so wide as west of the Mississippi, they are comparable in parts to the upper East coast USA, still managing to cater for large semis and other regular commercial vehicles. It will be interesting! I will take my digital camera out from time to time and post "holiday snaps" here on the TDR to show my truck on holiday in Europe!

Brandon: Yes, Blair managed to dial in those SPA's. The reason why I chose them is because the factory is in England, just 30 miles away from my home, so spares/replacements/guidance won't be a big problem. One thing you can help me on though - I noticed from your website that you have pictures with the fuel pressure gauge installed. Where did you install the sensor and what sample time have you selected? The reasons why I ask is that my sensor is located very near the fuel pump itself and even though I've reduced the sampling time from 0. 1 seconds to 1. 0 seconds,to help out the averaged readings, the readout is still jumping around. I guess this is down to surges in the vicinity of the fuel pump eh?

JMc


[This message has been edited by JohnMcIntyre (edited 04-26-2001). ]