Betting pool: The worst that could happen?

[InterBlog]

As many of you know, my husband LB_3 and I have done a whole bunch of equipment upgrades and preemptive replacements on our 12-year-old Interstate (van, not trailer, for those of you reading threads directly from the forum feed). I've tried to be ultra-conservative about how we manage its aging process.

Despite this, failures are inevitable with every rig at some point. So, my question is, what would YOU predict will fail on our upcoming 6,000 mile round-trip to Nova Scotia?

Whoever predicts closest to the correct answer that emerges by late August or early September will be offered a souvenir representing the province. Something small that you could use as a patch or magnet for instance in your own Interstate. Something you can point to as tangible evidence of your own brilliance as you are explaining that brilliance to your grandkids.

I conceived of this idea as rather tongue-in-cheek, but there's a practical side to it as well. My father has commenced his annual melt-down with stress worrying about what's going to happen to me as I once again drive solo across the continent. I try to reassure him with all of my planning and preparations, to let him know that contingencies are in place and loose ends have been taken care of, but he still gets very anxious. Maybe the predictions of others (which I suspect will largely be benign, but I should not lead the witnesses) will help to calm him down this year (I'm necessarily omitting some comorbid backstory, but suffice it to say that he's anxious).

And... go.

[GCinSC2]

Wishing safe travels and none of us wins.

Wheel speed sensor.

Gary

[gmillerok1]

I predict nothing will fail at all. I wish you a safe trip.

I did a 6000+ trip to Nova Scotia two summers ago in my 2011 Interstate. Didn't have a single issue on that trip that I recall, so I hope the same for you.

[Protagonist]

Flat tires are probably the most common failure on all motor vehicles, so I can't go far wrong in making that my primary prediction. On older vehicles, burned-out headlights/taillights are pretty common, too, so that's my back-up prediction.

[Isuzusweet]

I predict small cases of heartburn from eating all the incredible seafood offered on the coast.
A couple of minor eye aches trying to comprehend the sight of over 40' of water coming into the Bay of Fundy, and a river running backwards because of it.
A little insomnia as it's very quiet on the coast and can be very dark, so star gazing late into the night just happens.
Your feet might have a few blisters from hiking the Cabot Trail
Your wallet will breath a few sighs of relief as the exchange rate of $1.30+ for every US dollar will mean you'll be opening it a lot less.
I also predict a bit of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms setting in, as the East coasters are renown for their friendliness and firm handshakes, (especially on the docks).

If you don't mind the problems above.....what's a little car trouble........just pray it happens on the East Coast, so you can stay longer.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

PS Enjoy your stay in Canada; keep your politics and guns at home.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Worst case failures generally involve the drive train. With reasonable maintenance, you should be able to avoid that stuff.

My guess - the passenger side door latch will go a bit wonky and you won't be able to find the spray lube can to fix it on the spot.

Bob

[rowiebowie]

Vent fan. Why? I don't know except it's probably original, and therefore old.

[Lily&Me]

You are as prepared as you could possibly be, so try not to dwell on the “what if’s”.

Have a great trip!

Maggie

[Alex AVI]

INTERBLOG - First & foremost, Very Best of Luck on your solo flight. As prepared as you are trying to pre-empt replacement of aging maintenance components, my prediction is the worst that can happen is all your spare parts will be completely unused and you would be so upset spending the money and decide not to take them next year . . . but LB_3 will insist you keep having the spares . . . and of course, as long as you carry your spares, your chances of needing them dramatically decreases

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

I... Enjoy your stay in Canada; keep your politics and guns at home.

WHICH home? I'm a bi-national. Canadian born, American made.

[InterBlog]

Last year it was remote stranding due to two failed tire stems inside 24 hours. NOBODY would have guessed that one.

[zapper]

Isuzusweet: Reminds me of the warm greetings visitors received on billboards as one entered Oregon years ago "Welcome to Oregon (Maine), now go home".

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by zapper

Isuzusweet: Reminds me of the warm greetings visitors received on billboards as one entered Oregon years ago "Welcome to Oregon (Maine), now go home".

It's a safe bet that social frustrations are running very high in Ontario right now. The province just elected a Premier (equal to Governor) named Doug Ford whose family antics make Trump look like a rank amateur. His crack-addicted (by his own admission) brother Rob Ford served as Mayor of Toronto for four years and was legendary for making statements so extreme that no American media outlet would print them. He went way, WAY beyond the average "grab" statement.

On top of that, there was a mass shooting in Toronto three days ago.

But none of these issues are due to Americans and their politics and guns. These (and other) events are 100% home-grown issues that were hatched and cultivated in Ontario itself.

[LB_3]

Given that we have an ECU tune that eliminates the EGR limp home mode, replaced the water pump and alternator, and the wheel speed sensors have already been claimed, I’m going to vote on the power steering pump or hoses.

[InterBlog]

I don't want to publicize mine, just for the intrigue factor, as minor as it is. But I wrapped it up with packing tape and I'll open the envelope on a YouTube clip if I am proven correct.

[bugsbunny]

I am voting that you will have to add a quart of oil. Nothing else will be wrong - just normal consumption for a normally running engine.

[Tronadora]

1) One of your house batteries will fall out to the ground after bracket rivet failure
2) Your awning will self-deploy with no buzzer warning at 65mph
3) Your overhead cabinets will start separating from the ceiling forcing you to prop them up with a tension rod.

All three happened to me earlier this month.

The batteries are fine and are now housed in the rear trunk locker of our Grand Tour, but the 132 lbs of weight being so far back acts like a lever on the rear suspension. I'll switch to lightweight lithiums if someone wants to buy my one year old Lifeline AGM GPL-4CT batteries.

(PM me if interested. We're full time in the AI in New England for August and September and I would rather not ship them.)

[InterBlog]

1) Our house battery system is a DIY job of such quality that far surpasses anything Airstream does, so very few worries there. There's always the chance of an unknown defect in the source materials, but the installation was done with great care.

2) We have a manual awning which seats itself in its aluminum clamshell quite nicely, so I think there's a low probability of failure on that one.

3) We've already improved upon the upper cabinet hardware on the street side, because we dismounted them and modified their configuration (blog post here). So we know those are secure, at least.

As for the quart of oil, that's a foregone conclusion. Our rig eats oil for breakfast. Canadian Tire is my best friend.

[toskeysam]

Kudos to your father. I also sweat bullets when my daughter...mid 40’s...travels alone. Guess I always will. I predict ZERO failures. Safe journey!

[Lotus54]

I predict the EGR will electrically fail and the tune won’t help with ‘limp home’ (at least mine didn’t).
of course, since you have a spare and some tools- 1/2 hour later you are on your way.

Have you thought of an ‘InReach’ or the like to have along? I can’t remember now if you talked about that. That has the two-way satellite comms, I wouldn’t mess with the ‘one way’ types personally.

My wife is going to Nepal again next fall- so likely to get one (I’ve used some other ones a fair amount in the past, and friends have this model with quite good results).
Plus I ride off-road (even off trail) a lot and sometimes solo. Only one or two people would know where I was, so it could be a life saver if something happened.

Good luck!

Mark
(I’m not sure if you do, but I suggest a gallon of distilled water just for coolant replacement- just in case of an issue, plus you can drink it if needed).