Southbound Again

We are currently camped just outside the entrance to Zion National Park in Utah. We are here, biking and hiking, for 2 nights before heading to Vegas to watch Jenny and her friend, Nicole, participate in The Warrior Dash. Then it's off to Mexico via Nogales.

We left Fernie last Monday afternoon. After stopping at Montana Shipping to pick up a few items that we had purchased for the trip, we drove to Whitefish. The border crossing went smoothly but we had a couple of issued that caused some consternation.... Firstly the new rear shock and other important items I needed for the motorcycle were not waiting for us at Montana Shipping! Secondly, the van engine would not restart in Whitfish. The starter motor would not crank the engine fast enough.

Luckily both of these situations were resolved quite quickly...

The engine problem was a loose battery connection. Easily repaired. Then I Skyped the MC parts supplier. The order had been delayed because the shock that i had ordered had not arrived from their supplier. As luck would have it, the company that makes the shock is located in Henderson, Nevada. Henderson is the suburb of Las Vegas where the Warrior Dash is taking place. So... the balance of my order is now enroute to Ricor Shocks in Henderson and the shock along with the rest of my order, will also be waiting for me to pickup at Ricor on Friday. I have to say that the guys at Pro Cycle, in Oregon, were a very helpful.

After overnighting in Kalispell, we got an early start. The trip was uneventful until we reached northern Utah. There had been a fierce south-west cross wind blowing all the way down I15. The van (and I) had been struggling with the wind all day. A few hours north of Salt Lake City the wind seemed to intensify and sudenly the old van started complaining. The engine started stumbling and we had difficulty maintaining 75 kph. For a while I though we were going to be stranded on the highway but we managed to make it to the next interchange and into a gas station.

At this point it is fair to say that I was not a happy camper! The thought of being stuck in northern Utah for several days and and large repair bill were not exactly "happy thoughts". Anyway... To make a long story short. We filled up with gas and went for a test drive, to try to diagnose the problem. To my surprise the van seemed to running normally now, so we decided to head back out on the interstate, knowing that there was another interchange a few miles down the highway. By now it was starting to get dark and the wind speed had diminished somewhat. Once on the highway the van seem to be running well. The engine did start to complain at one point, on a rather steep grade, but once over the hill she settled down and ran normally until we found a Walmart overnighting spot on the southern outskirts of Salt Lake City.

I believe that the problem may have been cause by a combination of running the gas tank too low (and picking up some water or dirt from near the bottom of the tank). This in combination with a headwind that created more drag than the engine could handle.

This morning I put some methyl hydrate in the tank to absorbe the water ( if in fact there is any) I also poured some carb cleaner in the tank as well. I modified my driving style as well... Gearing down and taking it easier on the uphill stretches. The van ran well today. ( the tail wind help too)

We ate looking forward to biking and hiking tomorrow, after long days in the van.


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Location:Zion Shadow Cir,Hurricane,United States