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Mon Nov 17, 2014 9:27 pm

Nice pics and video! Have you considered painting the pop top white? Your bus looks good already but it would make it look a lot better IMO.

Tue Nov 18, 2014 3:42 pm

So... now where is the "Rest of the Story"?

I think hours later we passed each other on a very remote mountain pass, both of us noticing a bay window, but not recognizing each other in the pitch black. Just before I got to the campsite that Stuart had apparently just left... I got a call from Stuart...

But I'll let Stuart fill in the details... the expensive details.

Tue Nov 18, 2014 7:33 pm

yeah...Dug is right...

this turn here:

left me the next morning with this guy here:

But the trip was still well worth it. Easily my most expensive trip by far so far since owning the bus :shock:

ill be updating with more pictures and the story soon....just finished moving and wifi time is limited with my computer in my hands.

Tue Nov 18, 2014 7:36 pm

just to sooth your taste buds.... ;)

Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:37 pm

Zelten wrote: I just noticed something.....that might have been the first time I've seen Stuart wearing something other than sweatpants.

i wear work clothes most of the time...hardly ever wear sweatpants! :P

and this is up near Mt. Baker on a trailhead. :)

Tue Nov 18, 2014 10:29 pm

Sorry - missed the call today. I hope you didn't need me to come pick you up somewhere?

So how did a turn in Egypt strand you?

Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:18 am

notchboy wrote: Sorry - missed the call today. I hope you didn't need me to come pick you up somewhere?

So how did a turn in Egypt strand you?

was gonna ask a t3 queation...no worries. :)

apparently, duralast makes a terrible CV joint....this is the 4th time this year i have replaced this dang thing. going german this time, hardware and all. like i said, more details and pictures to come, just dont have time tonight. :(

Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:25 am

man, T4 axles. upgrade now. Get some EMPI T4 axles.

Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:28 am

Brian wrote: man, T4 axles. upgrade now. Get some EMPI T4 axles.

got a set of german thing axles i am getting tomorrow from a buddy, 22* instead of 17*....;) ill report back with my findings :)

Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:40 am

Make sure to pack those with some chromoly grease. then pack it some more. And then a little more.

Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:59 am

Hey Stu,

Already got my Thing CVs from Don :P Got a bunch from him, Ovals took `em all apart, and assembled 4 good ones, using all the best parts. (I was there anyway, getting a new cat converter for my Golf :x ) One less thing to take care of in prepping for my new ZF LSD (after the holidays).

Lynn

Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:01 am

Hope you left some for me....

Are you planning on lifting your bus lynn?

Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:01 am

Yea apparently you two have the hooks ups. PM me to get me some "thing" CVs.

Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:02 am

Ill see what he has and get back to you ;)

Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:01 am

Ill see what he has and get back to you ;)

Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:22 am

Next year I have weekends off. I want to go up to Baker. :D

Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:45 pm

No Stu, I don`t plan on lifting it other than taking the 'sag' out of the rear end. I could however, be talked into maybe adding an additional inside spline to the process, if it doesn`t appreciably change my handling characterstics. (remember, it`s a HighTop, and kinda top heavy--and I REALLY like how it handles, at the moment!)

Lynn

Sorry, I missed the camping trip last weekend---I was in the hospital!

Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:22 pm

So I took my bus on a real adventure last weekend...about a week and a half ago, with the Cascade Kombis campout included!

Left Thursday (week before last) at 11pm. as I left the house, I was informed this may be the last time I ever see the house. It had sold the previous couple weeks, and paperwork was supposed to be final the Tuesday of that week, but delays pushed it nearly a week further, so I got to see it one more time after the trip.
I headed out with my sleeping bags, shovel, tow rope, flashlights, tools, and my floor jack. Right as I go to leave I noticed my spare was missing...must have gotten tossed into storage. Grabbed dads, and left at 11pm....

Around 12:30 I got to Burlington....stopped at a Hagen and got some hotdogs, pop tarts, soup, and a few other things.
By 1 I was back on the road and on my way to Baker Lake, just north of Highway 20. I pull up to the campground, Kulshan, and drove right by it to see what kind of area I was in.....found a boat launch leading into the lake and figured.....why not?

No I didn’t drive into the lake. I’m not THAT special :roll:

But I did think, "That ground looks frozen, ill just do a big U turn instead of backing up"....

Turns out it was very much....wet clay. Very slick.

Got stuck here:

This was what I was overlooking in the dark, mind you I got stuck at 2am....Friday morning. I got out after 30 minutes of struggling.....once I found out I had simply rolling into a big rock I couldn’t push over due to a lack of traction...so I moved the rock :roll:

Here is where I limped back to covered in mud at 3am:

It’s quite a boring campground, but it had bathrooms and was free.

I started wandering when I got up at 10 am the next day. Campground is next to a Dam, so lots of traffic for being so far away from town.

I broke the rules like I do all the time. Got out of my car while on the Dam :shock:

Then I went one step further:

Kept driving, and eventually the road turns to dirt....and I found Icicles. :D

Then I saw Mt Baker from a nice elevation...

Then fiddled with my lighting on the camera:

Eventually I learned how to work the settings, but not before I got these two pics also:

Kept driving and passed this turn off:

I’ll be back shortly to properly explore this new path....it looks promising with its steep entrance!

Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:36 pm

But alas, I must continue up the main road and go to the end before exploring any side trails. At 3600' I got to the snow level. Keep in mind its around 25-30 degrees outside.

At the top of this route, I found a nice large flat icy area...and had a little fun as seen previously in this video:
Snow driving fun in Maisy!:

On the way down, I think I got some pretty good shots:

Mt Baker on the left, not sure the Mtn on the right...

A little further down:

Caption: the road in a bus is never ending and full of adventure:

With Mt Baker

Ended up going right up and over Mount Baker in this shot:

(Use your imagination!)

Now, you may be wondering, did I go up that side path? Did I end up exploring?

Is that even a question after all I have done in this thread?

OF COURSE! :D

And I found an amazing camping spot!!

But if I turn around...:

That’s only half the view...the other half (after moving the bus) was looking this way:

(The bus is now parked where I was standing taking the picture overlooking the camp spot)

So what do I do?

I make lunch. Warmed up some canned soup on my working stove :D

And the day continues...

Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:40 pm

stuco wrote: Nice pics and video! Have you considered painting the pop top white? Your bus looks good already but it would make it look a lot better IMO.

I plan on painting it when I get a new canvas with bigger windows...and when I do pop-top seals n such....it’ll happen eventually, but not for a while. Luckily, my canvas is in fairly good shape for how bad I treat it. Learning new trick for the next one, like don’t touch it with greasy hands, and don’t pull inwards on the window when closing the top so I don’t rip the screen mesh!

Life lessons...I’ll have them all down when I’m an old guy ;)