Toilet paper? Nothing worse then having to make an emergency pit stop and end it up walking away with just one sock.

For your highway driving anything above 70 mph is going to hurt. The rpms you mentioned sound good for cruising, the engine isn't working to hard and you are close to the power band.

I would definately pick up a spare that has some life to it, you never know what typoe of condition your going to be in when/if you need the spare. A bald spare is worthless in the snow/ice/rain. A sem-used 235 should be dirt cheap.

If you are getting cold while sleeping in the back of your truck, pick up one of those inflateable air mattresses(and a 12v pump). The air mattress will give you added insulation against the cold from underneath. The flanel or fleece sleeping bag inserts are nice to have since they store easier than blankets.

Ha, thanks. I think this is one of the most important thing to bring & easiest to forget. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Speaking of sleeping, I've got a -12?C 600 down bag. Very good indeed. Got a tent too, just in case, but that's most likely beening used for ski touring in the mtns. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Did check my timing yesterday, turns out it was jumping around 8-10?, so I turned it back to 5?B as I saw mentioned in the chart from another post. It runs & sounds a lot smoother now, & my rpms on hwy are lower than before as mentioned in earlier post. Now it's around 2750rpm at 60mph instead of 2950ish, hope i'll get even better gas mileage from now on.

Going to change oil next week, I guess I should go to synthetic right? I was thinking of Castrol, but would Redline be a bit expensive considering that I'll do 5000km in 4-5days & have to change oil again after that? I'm just using castrol gtx 5w30 oil right now.

One more question: Any idea how to keep the drinking h20 tank from freezing during one of those -15? night when the truck is parked (or while i'm sleeping let's say)? Seems kind of a hard thing to do...Drink it all? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

In my judgement the #1 mistake commonly made is carrying too much gear on long distance excursions. Keeping your rig as light as possible makes the trip more fun by allowing the vehicle to perform better û handling, braking, acceleration and fuel economy. Each time I go out I take less equipment or at the very least, different equipment.

I recommend you carefully assess your vehicle and determine where itÆs most vulnerable in accordance with intended use and equip accordingly. I donÆt carry a #60 spare wheel and tire but I do have nearly new 8 ply tires, plugs, puncture seal, 12v air pump and do not go rough off-road. My tool box contains but 10, 12, 14, 17, 19 spanners and sockets to keep it light, by way of example, but my motor is fresh and transmission is in very good operating order. So, carrying the ôright equipmentö is different for everyone according to their vehicle application and condition.

Try to carry only what you realistically will need and cannot do without. This is a strong case where less is more.

in theory, that sounds good...

on the other hand...as a wise man in a movie once said...

"it is better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have one..."

the same could be said about many tools and parts if you are out in the middle of b.f. nowhere and suddenly something you never thought would break breaks.

just my 2 cents.

Condoms! The BC girls are all good, but you never know what you're gonna run into on the way here.

I drove from NYC to LA in 62 hours.. almost non-stop and from NYC to Ciudad Victoria down in Mexico in 59 hours... the truck seems to love it much more than a stop and go...

w.

With going cross country, I wouldn't be changing horses in the middle of the stream if I were you, going to synthetic. I'm running Castrol 5W30 right now; tis fine. On that note, check the temp that your coolant is mixed for, as NOTHING will leave you beside the road faster than a freezeup. Symptom: temp gauge goes upupup until you decide to pull over or it yaks coolant everywhere first.

Was wondering if you had a heat pad and extension cord for the oil pan? Makes a difference.

Toss a piece of cardboard under your sleeping pad for the front grille in case you actually DO hit cold weather (windows freeze up) along with a half dozen zipties.

Water can go in the sleeping bag with you if in a pint bottle, no biggie.

Other reason for getting off the road at night, esp out west is ELK and SHEEP. Not like a deer or moose where you might have one or two out there. NOT PRETTY. Elk usually move at night; sheep up in the Rockies usually come down to the road to lick up minerals, so you get to dodge them. Depending on where you drive thru, there'll be caribou also, but that's more on the AlCan. You'll DEFINITELY have company going through Banff.

When are you guys rollin' anyway?

Why is that?



When I put in a new rad back in august, I pour those 50/50 premixed coolant. But I was wondering if I should be pouring those 50/50 from bottle to rad directly, or have to mix it 50% with water?




U mean a heat pad that keeps the oil warm overnight when plugged in to ac? No, but i have a block heater thing that's plugged in to the block.




Well, first heading west from Toronto to Southern Interior BC through all the canadian cities (winnipeg, manitoba, calgary, banff, golden, then south to the Purcell Mountains, stay in Rossland for about a month, than keep heading west till I hit the coast mountains in feb (vancouver, whislter - "patrol there", then probably head back est in late april through the states! Would like to hit jackson though...will see but all depending on how $ goes of course...

He's right, I should dump my sliders...don't have hi-lift now anyway.