TheSamba.com :: View topic - Montreal-California-Montreal 7K miles Buggy pics added (BWW)

Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:51 pm

You forgot 2 things

PASSPORTS

Hope all goes well. I have wanted to make that trip from Northern Ontario.

Thu Jul 02, 2009 2:45 am

Let me 1st thank everyone for your kind wishes.

Made it to Sarnia with no issues,

We left around 6:05am yesterday morning from St-Leonard (Montreal) , it was sunny and we were very happy. We kept the top on since the pavement was very wet. You will be able to see our single bag with all our clothes for wife and I for the 17 days.

Throughout our journey, Mother Nature showed us all her colors, sun, wind, rain (My wife missed a lot of the rain due to her naps. We arrived at Sarnia (Harbourfront Inn) around 3:30pm (we stopped for a total of about one hour to for gas and to have a quick lunch). We don't have lot of pictures because with the top it is less evident, but we have some videos. We went for a walk in the park near the hotel as well as on the boardwalk. The temperature was so so. We will go to bed early because tomorrow will be a big day because we will do 1075.5 kilometers.

Put all you worry beads on the clothesline and hope for nice sunshine today!

The bag fits!

We're ready!

Another fuel up!

A little cleaning after the rain:

Reached day 1 destination

Relax time

Drive!

Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:53 am

OK, it's official - I'm jealous!! :D I hope you both continue to have a safe and exciting trip. Keep sending pics - they feed the addiction!!

Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:19 am

It’s a wonder you can even get up to speed with all of us riding along with you on your trip!
There has to be hundreds of us from Samba in your Buggy right now! (by the way, can stop soon, I have to got to the bathroom) :shock:

Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:17 am

I did a similar trip with my truck , will never forget it, cela etais un vieux reve. Bonne chance et bon voyage

Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:18 am

You have prepared well for this trip. I think that you should have very smooth sailing and only an oddball issue will slow you down. I do hope the rain goes away and you have prepared for all kinds of weather issues. I know that you are getting lots of thumbs ups and smiles along the way. If you post your route for each following day I think you can have many of us join you for a while each day of your cruise. Have fun. Take lots of pics. And I'm hungry. I have to go to the bathroom. Are we there yet? How much longer? (Heh-heh-heh)

Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:30 pm

I hope the lack of passports is no big thing, best of luck!

Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:44 pm

You guys are the best! Those ride along comments are sure to make me laugh all day tomorrow while driving.

We made it to Des Moines without issues but had to deal with more rain this morning. A full update to follow after a few drinks and dinner.

manxcraig wrote: I hope the lack of passports is no big thing, best of luck!

You need not worry, my wife is Mrs organized and would not have forgottn them. We had actually signed up to the Nexus program before our trip to ensure we would not have to get delayed at border crossing. Sure enough, we crossed the bridge in Sarnia this morning at 6:30 and the Nexus line was empty. We flew right through. Funny thing is, the agent never asked for our passport, 1st time using Nexus, he told us the card was enough and was proof of citizenship. Juging by the number of cars lined up to the regular lines, we shaved a good 30 minutes out of our journey.

Stay tuned for a complete update later tonight.

Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:25 pm

Man i love this topic !! It's like the TV Show Prison Break or Lost , You can't wait to get more pictures and news and see where you are right now and how it goes !! Hope you don't get any trouble with your buggy !! Anyway i know you are really prepare if you have some !!! Keep driving towards that nice California Sun :D !! Vraiment Nice Vincent tu ma inspiré pour peut etre faire un petit trip au Nouveau Brunswick :) !!

Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:56 pm

Tonight's update is written by my wife...

Okay, who didn't put their worry beads on the clothesline? We got non stop rain for about 2 hours 1/2 this morning when we left and after that, it was on and off until noon. So please, take two minutes and go outside to put your worry beads on the clothesline, this post will still be here when you come back. It was the first time that we used our Nexus cards to cross the borders...pure happiness. Our lane was empty while the two other lines got about 20 to 30 minutes of waiting time. The customs guy asked us where we were going and when he heard that our final destination was California, he replied: With that?. His second and last question was, how many miles per gallon? (This is really a guy question because a custom woman would say: Is this being done in other colors?). For those who want to see how driving a Dune Buggy when it is raining, have a look of that wonderful video:

During that wonderful rain, we stopped about three times on the shoulder to fix the cover (the sides were letting go) and another time for the rear of the section that was also letting go. At lunch time, we decided to remove the top and it was a little bit more pleasant. Why only a little bit? It was the wind who provided us hours of fun. See below a video of Vincent's hair in the wind:

Here you will see how serious putting fuel in the Dunbe Buggy:

The sun was with us all the afternoon, big change from this morning weather. I believe we have crossed more big trucks than cars, it was crazy the number that we saw...see some examples

When we arrived at the hotel, we were very happy to stay back at a Staybridge Suites, it is very good for the price. It is 9:20pm and the sun is still up, it is really cool. You would not be surprised to read that Vincent is presently cleaning the Dune Buggy...if he was able to clean half our appartment as well as the Dune Buggy, it would be wonderful.

End of day 2

Okay, I am leaving you because tomorrow will be another long day. If you all have your worry beads on the clothesline, everything will be good for us.

Stay tune.

Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:28 pm

That is one positive guy!

that aboy Vincent.... keep the thumbs up going.... 8)

the Mrs can keep us informed.... great trip reports!

Best of luck and god speed....

We are all enjoying the trip :)

Cujo

Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:28 pm

you two are doing what everyone else here wishes they could do. have a safe and enjoyable time (I will be chanting..."rain rain go away"). and when you get to Cali, be careful of the crazy speeds people drive here on the freeway.

Don W.
SoCal.

Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:55 am

k1z4r wrote: Man i love this topic !! It's like the TV Show Prison Break or Lost , You can't wait to get more pictures and news and see where you are right now and how it goes !!

I feel the same way. Even my wife is asking me about your guys' trip.

Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:51 am

Seeing the photos with the trucks, I always took a CB radio when I traveled cross-country.
The truckers are always talking back and forth about traffic ahead and behind, “smokey” reports (police)
and weather conditions all along the way. It always helped with reasons for gridlock in traffic
and which lanes are closed ahead etc. Did you bring one? Or as the truckers say “got yer ears on”?

Not all of us are FAST California drivers… Some are just too slow, but, yes we’re all crazy! :lol:
:shock:

Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:17 am

Great trip! I will watch this topic every day.

Gert

Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:00 pm

Made it to Laramie, WY as planned, stay tunned for trip update later tonight. We hit one hell of a storm, stalled the engine but still on schedule.

PS. Beer is good here in WY!

Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:59 pm

My wife and I are really enjoying following your trip. Our plans are to drive her buggy to SoCal for the VW Classic when it's finished so you guys are blazing a trail for us to follow.

You mentioned the motor stalled today in a rain storm. Did you find the reason for this?

Also, what sort of cruising speed are you maintaining on the highway, and how's the stability of the buggy when you are passing/being passed by other cars and trucks?

Keep up the updates, especially the videos!!

Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:11 pm

Lo Cash John wrote: My wife and I are really enjoying following your trip. Our plans are to drive her buggy to SoCal for the VW Classic when it's finished so you guys are blazing a trail for us to follow.

You mentioned the motor stalled today in a rain storm. Did you find the reason for this?

Also, what sort of cruising speed are you maintaining on the highway, and how's the stability of the buggy when you are passing/being passed by other cars and trucks?

Keep up the updates, especially the videos!!

Interstate may not be the nicest route to see the country but we got a goal and we're sticking to it!

Best I can tell for the stall was the engine ran out of air. We got hit with a huge downpour and it just stalled. I pulled to the side in zero visibility and floored the gas, turned the key and she came back to life. Running fine now. There was a lot of water accumulation and we were skidding over the water all the time. Never driven the buggy in this rain.

On cool days and in the morning we can hold 70 - 72 mph but as the day heats up or going up hills for a long time, the oil temperature starts to climb past 240 and I have to slow down to 60-62 mph.

As for the stability, it's actually very good without the top unless there's a big side wind. We do feel the turbulance a lot more with the top on.

Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:21 pm

Awesome!

Are you running any sort of external oil cooler? 70mph would be ideal for coast to coast in a buggy.

For my wife's buggy, I was planning on just a bikini-type top. We've done lots of motorcycling so getting a bit wet isn't that big of a deal.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 4:09 am

Lo Cash John wrote: Awesome!

Are you running any sort of external oil cooler? 70mph would be ideal for coast to coast in a buggy.

No extra oil cooler, no deep sump. Pretty much stock 1600 with dual IDFs 40 and SVDA. The chrome tin and 4-tip muffler is probably not helping for the temp.