We are getting more used to the new diesel as the miles add up. The motor is getting broken in nicely. We just climbed to Strawberry Forest Campground outside of Prairie Creek, Oregon at just under 6,000 feet. I dropped into low range on the rutted, wash boarded, single lane dirt road up to the campground. The motor did get pretty warm on the way up, but no real problems. Just after we pulled into our chosen site another car came in behind us smelling like torched coolant and transmission fluid. I guess we did ok!
Up, up, up we go!We camped right below Strawberry Lake.Of course we had to go skinny dipping, a surprising 2 dunker, and we didn’t get caught😜In the evening these hillsides turn red, thus the name Strawberry.
Just added an “oil catch can” to the valve cover vent circuit. Normally the Benz venting goes into the air filter, since we didn’t use the Benz system we added the $18 amazon system and it works great, no more puff of oil smoke on start up!
Yesterday, we spent a chilly day at ReInvent the Wheel working out a few bugs, changing out the break-in oil and hooking up my new diesel heater (no more chilly toes no matter what the season! Thanks to Richard from the Alaskan Ferry who suggested the heater!)
So, today we were back to putting down some more break-in miles for the next oil change. Since the sun was shining, a rare occurance in Oregon this time of year, we decided to head down Rt. 199 to Crescent City, CA, a round trip of 160 miles. We chose this route because it had a nice elevation change and a variety of speed changes. We started in Grants pass at 960ft, went up to the Collier Tunnel through, you guessed it, Collier Mountain at 2,000ft, down the other side to the ocean at 15ft and back to Grants Pass. The Wee Rover and her new motor hummed right along. We only belched out a bit of smoke on the way up to the pass doing 55 in overdrive.
Weeeeeeeeee!!!!Collier Tunnel was finished in 1963 and saved 3 miles of road, over 100 turns and 5 switchbacks. It turned a Jeep track into a main route from Oregon to the coast.The Wee Rover isn’t afraid of a little snow. See the tunnel in the background? The Smith River looks a little chilly, probably only a single dunker.Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. I should have taken a video, it was beautiful.
Tidbit: Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park also know as Forest Moon of Endor (home of the Ewoks) is where Return of the Jedi was filmed, well the Ewok portion anyway.
I didn’t realize just how conditioned I had become to dreading, scoping, planning, and grabbing momentum for every uphill.
The Wee Rover now just wants to pull and pull. Granted we still haven’t put her back together into traveling form so she was very svelte, but Wow! I found myself jabbing the throttle on the hills just to feel her jump forward.
More to follow as we settle in with the new motor.
Next up, 200 miles of breaking in, and her first oil change.
You know the greeting you get when you pick up your dog that had to spend a few days at the vet. Tail wagging! Peeing a little! Wiggling all over! Where have you been? I knew you wouldn’t leave me, but you were gone soooo long!
We are reunited with our little companion, the Wee Rover!!!!!!!
My boy and the Wee rover are both happy, again.
Tidbit: It is the same greeting we get every time we visit our good friend Sheba next door (she’s a dog, just in case you thought we had a human friend who peed everytime we saw them😁
