Last year I launched what unfortunately turned into an epic 153-replies thread. It was called
Betting pool: The worst that could happen, and I posted it before I set out on my 6,300-mile annual round trip to Canada.
It was originally intended as a tongue-in-cheek lighthearted competition - whoever could guess the worst thing that WOULD go wrong with our Interstate - because something always goes wrong - would become the proud recipient of bragging rights plus I would mail that person a souvenir from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
It was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek lighthearted because LB_3 and I had spent so much time and money redesigning, upgrading, retrofitting, and preemptively hardening the Interstate that whatever could go wrong was
supposed to be pretty minor. We had spent thousands of dollars and countless ours of DIY labor minimizing the chances that something really impactful would go wrong.
Heh.
Nobody won that betting pool, but these were our on-the-road failures in order of occurrence:
(1) ALTERNATOR FAILURE - Our 17-month-old 200 amp Bosch alternator died. Fortunately I had the good fortune to be able to limp into Philadelphia where
Million Mile Sprinter replaced it for me. Lost only half a day of time in the process (plus met a great guy). But it was hella stressful as I spent a couple of days not knowing if I was going to get stranded in some random part of America.
(2) BLACK WATER VALVE FAILURE - A 3-inch Valterra Bladex valve (only about 3 years old) began leaking badly enough to jeopardize the use of the black water system. I limped along with that until my husband LB_3 flew to Sydney Nova Scotia (to join me and enjoy his portion of our vacation) with a replacement in his carry-on bag. That's the first thing he did upon landing in Canada was to get down on the ground and replace that thing.
(3) TURBO HOSE CLAMP FAILURE - Our 24-day-old turbo hose blew off the engine in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Unfortunately we could not determine the problem immediately in the wild, so this cost us a day of time plus 100 painful miles of limp mode (scary and dangerous when we were going 30 km/h in 100 km/h zones after dark!!). The problem turned out to be a bad hose clamp which LB_3 was able to remedy himself.
(4) DOOR LOCK SYSTEM FAILURE - The Sprinter door lock system began failing for reasons we never did determine. I tried to work through it and the behavior lessened, but never did totally resolve. We still have not solved this one, although it happens less frequently now.
(5) GLOW PLUG FAILURE - Lost a glow plug and presumably the van's glow plug control module. However, this did not impede us because we were traveling during summer temperatures when diesel engines can start without them. Husband replaced both components after we got home.
(6) CAB A/C FAILURE - Lost pressure in our cab air conditioner during record heat on the return trip through the Shenandoah Valley. We stopped at an auto parts store, and my husband purchased both coolant and gauges for an on-the-road DIY coolant refresh, then returned the gauges for a refund (because we already owned a set back in Houston). This year, we will be traveling with both the gauges and extra coolant in the van (R134 is not sold to the public in Canada despite the fact that it is non-ozone-depleting chemical).
(7) EXHAUST TRAIN DAMAGE - A clamp broke on the exhaust train due to excess shaking on New York state's legendarily-miserable rough roads. I was so over-saturated and mentally exhausted by repairs and failures by that point in the trip that I just allowed the danged thing to make all kinds of noise until we got home to Houston. Retrospectively, I should not have done this - leaving it flapping around could have damaged the exhaust line. So this year I will carry hardware for that kind of repair also.
Since the time of all those repairs and failures, we have:
(1)
Replaced our entire engine with a new long block because the old one essentially blew up at 72,000-ish miles in May 2019.
(2) Replaced the potable water pump because we could not repair a back-flow issue that was plaguing the old one.
We are at the point where there are very few functional components remaining on our Interstate that are original to it. The frame, chassis, transmission, the Sprinter computer system, certain Sprinter-based electrical parts, plus the sink, stove, and microwave are about all that remain of either the vehicle itself, or the Airstream upfit. Everything else has either been repaired, upgraded, or replaced.
Part of me would really like to build a custom off-grid van that is ACTUALLY RELIABLE, but we are so upside-down financially this Interstate by this, our 5-year mark (especially with the new engine installed this year), that it's out of the question.
***
ANYWAY, does anyone wish to try their hand at guessing what will go wrong on my upcoming trip (planned departure a few weeks from now, although that schedule is subject to change due to issues beyond my control)?
Same perks apply - bragging rights and a souvenir to reflect them.
And my fingers are crossed that this thread does not unexpectedly become an 11-page tale of woe like last year's.
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