Another long distance recovery...

[GoFastCrackPipe]

Well, thanks to USMC deuce cpl's recovery, I have decided to do one to. From Des Moines, IA to Portland, OR... 1800mi!

As of right now I'm planing on heading out Thursday morning and spending the next 4 days driving back... about 450 miles per day, and taking almost the same route as USMC. I-80 to Ogdon, UT and I-84 from UT to Portland, OR.

I picked up my deuce today from Camp Dodge, Ia.
The truck started right up and drove off the lot without having to do anything to it! It even had a FULL tank of diesel! 50 gallons! And after driving it a few miles the flat spots in the tires went away and the ride was just like my other deuce.
The pics below were taken with my cell-phone so they are not very high quality...

 

[AceHigh]

Nice looking ride! Did you get the Walmart seat donut yet?

 

[Massm35a2]

Good luck, great looking deuce. Love the tan. Wow a Hardtop and cargo cover, great score. Hope you have the spring seat

 

[GoFastCrackPipe]

No doughnut yet but it does have the spring seat. Going to do an oil/filter change tomorrow... then recover from St. Patties day on Wednesday.

 

[wsucougarx]

Yep USMC DEUCE CPL has paved the way for us PNW'ers. I to am contemplating an 1800 mile recovery. Gosh I wouldn't even do this to get a new car, but a deuce in unknown running condition...you bet

 

[wsucougarx]

Hey GOFAST, how long did it take you to do the 1800 miles? What kind of road conditions did you encounter? I'm trying to size up my potential trip.

 

[GoFastCrackPipe]

Hey GOFAST, how long did it take you to do the 1800 miles? What kind of road conditions did you encounter? I'm trying to size up my potential trip.

It hasn't taken any time as of yet... I'm leaving tomorrow. I'll be sure to post updates along the way if I can. Probably no photos until I get back though.

 

[jrou111]

Remember,


THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS!

 

[usmc deuce cpl]

Hey gofastcp hows the journey going I hope you are as lucky as i was with the weather. I was worried about the temps in Nebraska and Wyoming. We got lucky. overnight lows of 35 average to highs of 55.
I came back I80 to Wyoming then took US30 from next exit past Little America. This dumps you out at Pocatello Id. then I86 to I84. If you are looking for breakfast near boise the Boise stage stop truckstop east of town about 10mi has great food. Hope you have a safe trip. or had at this point.

 

[DanMartin]

Was that you on I-84 Yesterday (Sunday)? If so, that was me that passed you...towing the red weasel on a trailer. I honked, but you were wearing ear protection, so not sure if you noticed me. This would have been just west of Boardman.

Saw it again (I think) on Brookwood over by the airport later in the day (I was driving the GTO this time).

 

[zb39]

Good Luck!!!

 

[GoFastCrackPipe]

Was that you on I-84 Yesterday (Sunday)? If so, that was me that passed you...towing the red weasel on a trailer. I honked, but you were wearing ear protection, so not sure if you noticed me. This would have been just west of Boardman.

Saw it again (I think) on Brookwood over by the airport later in the day (I was driving the GTO this time).

Yep, that was me! I couldn't hear anything at the time because the batteries in my hearing protection/2-way radio/surround amplifier had died and was left with a goofy looking pair of ear muffs. They seemed to drown out everything except low frequencys.
I do remember seeing the weasel though! I even thought it might be you, but I wasn't sure.

 

[GoFastCrackPipe]

Hey gofastcp hows the journey going I hope you are as lucky as i was with the weather. I was worried about the temps in Nebraska and Wyoming. We got lucky. overnight lows of 35 average to highs of 55.
I came back I80 to Wyoming then took US30 from next exit past Little America. This dumps you out at Pocatello Id. then I86 to I84. If you are looking for breakfast near boise the Boise stage stop truckstop east of town about 10mi has great food. Hope you have a safe trip. or had at this point.

I made it back home on Sunday evening! I have been relaxing, enjoying being able to hear everything at a normal volume, and trying to rest my a$$... Springer seat or not, it's still sore sitting in one of these trucks for 9+ hours per day for four days.

I'll have pics tomorrow.

 

[MWMULES]

GoFast what was a ballpark total cost of fuel, rooms and repairs if any?

 

[GoFastCrackPipe]

GoFast what was a ballpark total cost of fuel, rooms and repairs if any?

I haven't added it all up yet, but I would guestimate:
Fuel : ~200gal at ~$2.00/gal = ~$400.00
Hotel : ~$75.00/night for 3 nights = $225.00
Changing all fluids before I left Des Moines (engine, axles, trans, transfer)= ~$150.00
So the total was somewhere around $775.00 to $850.00... MUCH cheaper than the shipping quote I got.

 

[BKubu]

Did you use transit tags? How much were they?

 

[DanMartin]

What happened to your other deuce?

 

[GoFastCrackPipe]

Trip summary:

Recovery from Camp Dodge:
Was pretty painless other than having to wait around for about 45min for the Sgt. to get back from moving other equipment around. Once the paperwork was signed, we followed him to the lot where my truck was parked. I got lucky... it was right up front, started right up, and didn't need anything other than a little coolant in the radiator to drive it off the lot and to my brothers place for a complete fluid change.
The only thing I found to be a little worrying was the high pitched gear noise coming from the transfer case, but it did this after the oil change and the whole way home as well so I guess I'll have to deal with it.

Day 1:
Had planned on leaving Des Moines around 9:00am and driving to Ogallala, NE, but didn't actually get started down I-80 until sometime around 3:30pm (My parents are good at finding ways to keep me there longer than I plan). After about 60 miles non-stop my confidence started to improve and I could see that this was going to be a pretty un-eventful drive back. The truck was driving perfectly at ~52mph/2350rpm. My first stop was in Avoca, IA (83 miles into the trip) and was just a quick stop to check all the fluid levels, tire pressures, etc. and then back on the road.

I crossed into Nebraska about 45 miles later.

I drove through Omaha and got just outside (before) Lincoln when I was told by a road sign to stop at the weigh station... apparently they have an automated system in Nebraska. The DOT officer at the station said that he has been telling ALL the deuces that have come through to stop and asking how the ride is (apparently there have been A LOT of them coming through there). This is also where he informed me that Nebraska requires all trucks with 3 or more drive axles, regardless of weight or personal use, are required to get a fuel and trip permit... or get a ticked for $100 each. He was nice enough to let me go with a warning and a promise to stop at the next truck stop and get the permits (~$25 each and sold at most truck stops in Nebraska).

(These photos were taken just before leaving the station)

At the next truck stop (just outside of Lincoln) I got the permits, filled up on diesel, and was on my way. By this time it was dark outside and so no more photos from day 1... But I kept driving until sometime around 11:30pm. I fell pretty short of my goal and only made it to Kearney, NE (about 305 miles). There I got a hotel room and slept.



Day 2:
Another late start... damn alarm clocks. I didn't get back out on the road until almost 10:30am and I had a LOT of driving to do. My goal for the day was to get back on schedule and make it to Rock Springs, WY... almost 570 miles!
The nice part about driving through the Midwest and the planes states is that it's pretty flat and straight... the bad part about driving through the Midwest and the planes states is that it's pretty flat and straight. There was a few times where I caught myself daydreaming instead of paying attention to the road.
Anyway, the day started off overcast and it looked like it was going to rain but as I kept going down the road it actually turned into a really nice day! Perfect for driving a deuce... not too hot, not too cold, and almost no wind. I also saw a lot of military vehicles and vehicle parts being moved on flatbeds... including a load of 3 new hummers in the 4th pic.
I don't remember what time it was when I crossed into Wyoming, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get a picture of the state greeting sign. I did make it to my goal today! But I was sore and tired by the time I got there. I think it was sometime around 11:30pm or midnight before I got into Rock Springs. This brought my total mileage traveled to ~875 miles... almost half way!

Day 3:
Today I got a slightly better start... I was on the road by 10:00am. But after the previous day, I needed the rest. My goal for today was to make it to Boise, ID or Ontario, OR (475 to 530 miles). The terrain had changed a lot while I was driving last night! Now there were bluffs, mountains, rocks, and high desert where before there was only flat farm and ranch land with the occasional hill. I would also be in 4 different states today... Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon.
I didn't get a lot of pictures while driving through western Wyoming and Utah because of the constantly curving road and a lot of traffic but once I got into Idaho I was able to take a few more. I also got to test the wipers today as I was going through Boise. I think I had forgotten to mention that my deuce has the A3 style electric wipers. They are nice when there is only a moderate amount of rain, but when it really starts coming down they are a little slow and I would have preferred the air-actuated wipers in my other deuce. I also got very familiar with where the water comes into the cab. Mainly from between the glass and the frame on the windshield where the latch is located. Other than that I stayed pretty dry.
Oh, and it is pretty unnerving when you hit a LARGE pothole, in a downpour, at night, when you can hardly see the road in front of you. It felt like the whole passenger side of the truck came off the ground! I eventually made it to Ontario, OR around 10:00pm and was checked into a hotel by 10:30pm. I couldn't believe that I had me such good time! Tomorrow I would be able to take it easy... shortest distance of the trip!
Total distance for today: ~530 miles
Total distance: ~1,400 miles (only 400 to go!!!)

Day 4:

I got a good start today! I was on the road by 9:00am and making really go time! The previous day I had started to suspect that the injection pump had been turned up on this deuce... and today pretty much confirmed it. I was able to stay in 5th gear and at 50mph up most of the grades where all of the other trucks were struggling at ~35-40mph. That's about when I decided it would be a god idea to downshift to 4th and take it easy on the long climbs... no pyro gage yet and I didn't want to destroy the motor when I had already come so far without any issues.
Today was by far the most scenic. Started off with some hills that looked like they may have come right out of the Scotland scenes in the Highlander, to snow covered mountain passes, to sea level by the Columbia river.
The only problem I ran into today was the wind... it was blowing hard enough that when I stopped at a rest stop, I was able to lean into it without falling over. And I'm not that small of a guy! And to make it worse, it was a head wind. The motor definitely got a workout trying to push through. Luckily I was able to draft a big rig carrying one of those large coal mine dump trucks for 40 or 50 miles. I still used almost a full tank of fuel where in previous days I would have only used 1/4 to a 1/2.
But once I made it through the gorge, it was smooth sailing through Portland all the way to my house. I made it home sometime around 6:00pm. All I did when I got there was unload my suitcase, sat down on a nice soft chair, and proceeded to sleep for a couple hours.

Was it a pain in the a$$??? YES! Literally!
Was it worth it??? YES!
Would I do it again? Yes, but not more than once or twice per year.



I would liked to have gotten more photos of the deuce itself, but with me being the only one there and not wanting to stop very often, it just didn't happen. Maybe next time?

 

[GoFastCrackPipe]

What happened to your other deuce?

Still have it. There was a guy in my off road club that wanted it, but hasn't come up with the money. I may list it for sale and see what happens.

 

[DanMartin]

Nice...I remember driving mine back that same route (well, from Idaho Motor Pool onwards). Fun.

How about that nice 30mph headwind? I was getting like 6mpg in the truck fighting that! Once we got past Hood River (and the wind) the mileage about doubled!