Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
We left for our unplanned trip on May 5th, Sunday to console my father-in-law who lost his wife of 30 years that morning.
We got away from the house at 6:30 PM and headed out 166 for Frazier Park and the Flying J to top off that 60 gal tank from Northern. We seemed to have a tail wind for most of the trip and got to the Flying J in Anthony, Tex. on 69 gallons.
We got more fuel in Marfa before crossing the border at Presidio, Tex. and got our papers for the people and vehicles in fairly short order. Visas now cost almost $20 US and the vehicular permit has also gone up to $24. 50
Upon arrival at the first checkpoint south of Ojinaga, the customs man, more thorough than I have ever seen them in this respect, found that one of the numbers was missing in the middle of the VIN# on the document. Checking the title the same number is missing there as well. Nobody, including yours truly, had noticed this before. Let the haggling begin. We go to the office and ask how I will thank them for the favor the are about to bestow by not forcing me to return home to fix the title. I put 50 pesos on the table and then add 50 more because there are two of them present. The head guy thinks I should sweeten it a little more and I add 50, remembering there were three of these guys to begin with. He still wants more. I tell him he can see I’ve got four kids to feed and at this rate I may as well take the money and go home if there wont be enough left to buy the groceries. The deal is struck with the friendly reminder that this monetary transfer never took place. What money?
We headed for Durango because the road is still free (not for long), and I had forgotten all the twists and turns the last 50 miles or so has and slept there at the gas station. The truckers there couldn’t believe we came down that road at night. Said it was too dangerous. Oh well.
Next AM the wife is looking at the map and remarking we should go by way of Guadalahara this time because see here on the map? Just straight down this way and then left towards Morelia and we’re there. I tried to reason with her for a short time but to humor her I agreed it would be an experiment and adventure as well as a learning experience for the kids and us as well. WRONG. Between Zacatecas and Guadalahara are two nasty twisting climbs and one long equally nasty decent, which in the end put us maybe 4-5 hours later than usual.
Since the advent of the Autopista (toll road), what few signs there are take you to them and not to the free roads, and once you make the turn often there is no escape. Dodging the potholes on the outer rim of Guadalahara (axle bending, rivet loosening) we made the turn signed for Morelia. OOPS, toll road! 69 pesos to get on. We got off at the first exit and paid 100 peso more! Along the way we saw a sign extolling the virtues of the Autopista and how it saved you in fuel ($2 a gallon, $2. 60 or so for gas) and auto repairs. Oh Boy!
Returning to the pueblo late one afternoon at a leisurely 50mph a horse pops up on the road right in front of the car that has just passed us, doing a flip as the car knocks the legs out from under him. Horse is now blocking the left lane (still alive). We got the truck off the road ok and I got out the flashlight to flag the traffic down with. The kids are not having a good time at this event. Some joker, and I never tried to ask them why either, decided I was the problem, and came at me from out of the right lane that was holding them up and accelerated right at me. They hit the now invisible horse at maybe 60 mph or so.
Is this story getting morbid or what?
A couple of strong guys pulled the now dead horse off the road and we left, having outlasted our usefulness.
I forgot to mention earlier that the Federal Policia Judicial are no longer running the roadblocks and are nowhere to be seen. The gov’t gave that job to the military and the process is much smoother.
We had tailwinds again coming north so we got out on one fill up just like when we went south. We had to fight those same winds later to the tune of 11. 7 mpg.
Now the fun part. The tie rod end that attaches to the drag link went bad in the middle of this trip so I had to hold the steering wheel slightly to the right to track straight.
Coming in to El Paso one of my boys tells me the red fuel light is on. Says he didn’t see it come on and doesn’t know how long it’s been on. Well I’ll shorten this and let you go. Rather than pull over and open the aux. Fuel valve, I tried to make it to Anthony first and RAN OUT OF FUEL!!! It coughed once, I put it in neutral and it died. I learned that it will not keep running like an 18-wheeler long enough to switch tanks. So I had to yank the fuel filter and fill it from the aux. tank.
One more observation. Seems on long trips that to leave the valve open after filling up both tanks is the more efficient way to go.
Hope this didn’t boor you too much.
Jay
We got away from the house at 6:30 PM and headed out 166 for Frazier Park and the Flying J to top off that 60 gal tank from Northern. We seemed to have a tail wind for most of the trip and got to the Flying J in Anthony, Tex. on 69 gallons.
We got more fuel in Marfa before crossing the border at Presidio, Tex. and got our papers for the people and vehicles in fairly short order. Visas now cost almost $20 US and the vehicular permit has also gone up to $24. 50
Upon arrival at the first checkpoint south of Ojinaga, the customs man, more thorough than I have ever seen them in this respect, found that one of the numbers was missing in the middle of the VIN# on the document. Checking the title the same number is missing there as well. Nobody, including yours truly, had noticed this before. Let the haggling begin. We go to the office and ask how I will thank them for the favor the are about to bestow by not forcing me to return home to fix the title. I put 50 pesos on the table and then add 50 more because there are two of them present. The head guy thinks I should sweeten it a little more and I add 50, remembering there were three of these guys to begin with. He still wants more. I tell him he can see I’ve got four kids to feed and at this rate I may as well take the money and go home if there wont be enough left to buy the groceries. The deal is struck with the friendly reminder that this monetary transfer never took place. What money?
We headed for Durango because the road is still free (not for long), and I had forgotten all the twists and turns the last 50 miles or so has and slept there at the gas station. The truckers there couldn’t believe we came down that road at night. Said it was too dangerous. Oh well.
Next AM the wife is looking at the map and remarking we should go by way of Guadalahara this time because see here on the map? Just straight down this way and then left towards Morelia and we’re there. I tried to reason with her for a short time but to humor her I agreed it would be an experiment and adventure as well as a learning experience for the kids and us as well. WRONG. Between Zacatecas and Guadalahara are two nasty twisting climbs and one long equally nasty decent, which in the end put us maybe 4-5 hours later than usual.
Since the advent of the Autopista (toll road), what few signs there are take you to them and not to the free roads, and once you make the turn often there is no escape. Dodging the potholes on the outer rim of Guadalahara (axle bending, rivet loosening) we made the turn signed for Morelia. OOPS, toll road! 69 pesos to get on. We got off at the first exit and paid 100 peso more! Along the way we saw a sign extolling the virtues of the Autopista and how it saved you in fuel ($2 a gallon, $2. 60 or so for gas) and auto repairs. Oh Boy!
Returning to the pueblo late one afternoon at a leisurely 50mph a horse pops up on the road right in front of the car that has just passed us, doing a flip as the car knocks the legs out from under him. Horse is now blocking the left lane (still alive). We got the truck off the road ok and I got out the flashlight to flag the traffic down with. The kids are not having a good time at this event. Some joker, and I never tried to ask them why either, decided I was the problem, and came at me from out of the right lane that was holding them up and accelerated right at me. They hit the now invisible horse at maybe 60 mph or so.
Is this story getting morbid or what?
A couple of strong guys pulled the now dead horse off the road and we left, having outlasted our usefulness.
I forgot to mention earlier that the Federal Policia Judicial are no longer running the roadblocks and are nowhere to be seen. The gov’t gave that job to the military and the process is much smoother.
We had tailwinds again coming north so we got out on one fill up just like when we went south. We had to fight those same winds later to the tune of 11. 7 mpg.
Now the fun part. The tie rod end that attaches to the drag link went bad in the middle of this trip so I had to hold the steering wheel slightly to the right to track straight.
Coming in to El Paso one of my boys tells me the red fuel light is on. Says he didn’t see it come on and doesn’t know how long it’s been on. Well I’ll shorten this and let you go. Rather than pull over and open the aux. Fuel valve, I tried to make it to Anthony first and RAN OUT OF FUEL!!! It coughed once, I put it in neutral and it died. I learned that it will not keep running like an 18-wheeler long enough to switch tanks. So I had to yank the fuel filter and fill it from the aux. tank.
One more observation. Seems on long trips that to leave the valve open after filling up both tanks is the more efficient way to go.
Hope this didn’t boor you too much.
Jay
