Vehicle problems while driving, or parking, to and fro canoe trips

[Glenn MacGrady]

In 1996, I was driving on I295 in Maine in my increasingly problematic but sleepable 1982 Ford van conversion with a rental Surge seakayak and my Lotus BJX open canoe on top. I was going to Westport Island, Maine, to see Kerry King about the custom Surge he was building for me and to paddle a couple of lakes. My van spluttered to a stop on the shoulder somewhere north of Portland. Thank goodness I had a new invention, a cell phone.

I called AAA and they towed me to a Ford dealer in Brunswick, who gave me a ridiculous (to me) estimate to replace a timing chain. I was so sick of repairing that old van that I asked to see what used vans they had in stock. I bought a high mileage, 4wd Ford minivan for about $5,000 on my credit card. But not without difficulty. MasterCard turned down the purchase on the grounds that the charge might be fraudulent because it was so high. So, I had to spend more time on my newfangled cell phone to get it all copacetic.

My two boats were on the floor of the Ford dealer's garage while we pondered how to get racks onto the minivan. I drove to LL. Bean in Freeport late at night and bought some fake rain gutters that would hold my old van's Thule rack. I told the garage to just bolt them through the roof and headliner. I didn't care how that replacement van looked. I had to stay overnight in a nearby hotel while the racks were being attached along some other fix-up work.

The next day I was off to see Kerry King and to return my rental seakayak to Bill Zeller's Country Canoeist shop in New Hampshire (now closed).

Between seakayak rental costs, travel costs, motel costs, buying a new-old van, and the puchase price of the customized, resin-infused new Surge, I spent about $8,500 to buy my first seakayak and paddle two lakes in my Lotus BJX.

That Ford minivan didn't last but a few years.

My current canoe vehicle, a 1997 Dodge van conversion I bought in 2003, is now 25 years old and has put many a mechanic's children through college. And taken me paddling all over North America. Here it is with my Mike Galt Lotus Caper on top, a few days before the back tire rack fell off from rust at Cape Canaveral and had to be welded back on.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Glenn,

Your travails certainly beat my 1990 Ford Econoline van stories. Although I have been towed twice going up to and back from Yellowknife. Also drove much of the way home from Dawson City with cracked flex hoses. We liked sleeping in the back, in campgrounds, and all of our gear easily fit. This year we didn’t take the van, but instead drove to Yellowknife in our RAV4. Had to stay in hotel rooms, and had to get a new rack. Just don’t trust the van anymore.

 

[MrPoling]

This is a good spot to report this summers trip to Lake Jocassee. It was as close to a canoe trip as was prudent with three kids, and there were definitely car problems.

The first day we made camp at an amazing walk-in site. We paddled the grueling 50 yards to Jump-off Rock for a swim. The next day we paddled to Wrights Creek Falls and the Thompson River. The kids were a little intimidated during the big crossings but were soon proud of themselves. The only problem was the 4 northern water snakes at the Thompson River. I had to shoo one off with the paddle to clear our resting spot. The teenager does not like snakes, and the northern’s bold behavior was to much. She would go no further than the rocks at the mouth of the river so we headed back.

By late afternoon the 100+ heat index was getting to them. The teenager pleaded it had been a great trip but I shouldn’t push my luck, and we should head home the next day. I decided she was right and we should end the trip before I became Clark Griswald. But I mandated we hike to the rope bridges over Eastatoe Creek on our way out. I let them have an hour of air conditioned screen time while I loaded the van and rested.

The next morning Eastatoe Creek was prettier than I‘d hoped, and the rope bridges were more awesome than the internet promised. There were even blackberries growing in the parking lot, sweet and slightly baked in the heat. We got back to the van very hot but in good spirits. We settled into for the trip home, the kids ready for an air conditioned, screen induced coma.

But as we started home the battery light came on. Since the van had started fine I knew the alternator,stressed by idling in the heat, had failed. Which meant we are running on battery power. The nearest town with an AutoZone was Pickens, SC, 19 minutes away. I turned off the electronics and AC. As the kids protested we started toward Pickens.

The van blinked and sputtered a mile from AutoZone, but then somehow continued. I bought a battery and alternator then ask about local mechanics. We left, the new battery enough to get us around town.

We arrived at the first shop but found a paper sign saying, “Gone on vacation.” We went to the next shop, but the owner/master mechanic was on vacation. The manager explained the techs do brakes and other easy jobs, but wouldn’t tackle a difficult job like our alternator. Another shop couldn’t fix it till next week. The last shop was more junkyard than shop, like something from Deliverance. There wasn’t a safe place for the kids to wait.

The youngest said it first, almost crying, “what are we going to do now?”. The next big town, Easley, was too far for the battery. We couldn’t all ride in a tow truck, so I’d have to get an Uber or something and transfer a car seat. It would take a couple grand and couple days to get home. So I respond, as confidently as possible, “We’ll just fix it in the parking lot at Autozone.”

Unbolting the alternator on an Odyssey isn’t bad. But extracting it is very tricky. Often a floor jack and lift are used to shift the engine a 1/2 inch rearward to creat space. I had just my travel tool kit. Plus it was nearly 1 pm, and the heat index was over 100F. With three tired kids, and no adult backup, I felt hopeless. But I figured there was nothing to lose.

At AutoZone I gave the oldest a deck of cards and told her to keep everyone entertained and in the shade. The van was hot from driving and the wall at my back was functioning as a reflector oven. After the first hour my hand was mildly burned and the kids had endured some ant drama. After another hour the alternator was unbolted but still trapped in the engine bay. The kids were hot, tired, and worried so we took a cool off break at Hardee’s. The cold drinks and hot fries helped their spirits. Plus I found alternative instructions that required no engine shifting.

The alternative method worked and the alternator was finally freed. By sunset we were finally on our way. We arrived home a little after midnight and the kids collapsed into their beds.

I worry the kids are too spoiled, so I’m happy they endured it, and did well.

 

[scoutergriz]

for years all I drove was beater Ford vans and roadside repairs were the norm, in those days I couldn't afford a tow truck- I was up at a friend's cottage when the fuel pump blew, I strapped a boat fuel tank to the roof and ran a hose direct to the carb and drove 1 1/2hr to the nearest scrapper for a "new" one, then I swapped them in the parking lot.
another trip coming back from a fishing trip in northern Ontario I blew the starter solenoid, rummaging around I found a V- shaped metal shelf bracket that I could use to arc across the primaries. Luckily Ford used remote solenoids and I was able to relocate it to the doghouse, I drove home (6 1/2hrs) by shorting the solenoid every time I had to shut it off and restart it, That one got a solenoid from a GMC diesel bus...
another time I blew the clutch linkage and started it with the starter (modified Ford 492 starter from a straight truck) in 2nd gear and stopped by stalling it out. That was the day I learned how to gear jam...
Finally I threw a rod through the block, but still got home by pulling the valve pushrods and using a funnel to keep pouring 5 gallon jugs of waste oil into it with a tractor funnel through a hole in the doghouse, for every gallon of gas I burned 5 gallons of oil...
that should have been the end of the van, but I managed to shoehorn a done up Boss 429 into it and drove it like that until I couldn't afford the gas anymore...
Now I shudder to even check the oil on a new car....

 

[JohnSand]

I've never owned a car that was newer than nine years old when I bought it. Until the last three cars, I haven't paid more than $1200 for any car. So I've done more than a few roadside repairs. The only time I remember when I had a boat on top was my '78 Cordoba had a wheel bearing fail. Fortunately it was a local trip. I just greased it, tightened the nut and drove home grinding the spindle. Now I drive a 2006 Dodge Magnum, partly because it's relatively easy to put boats on top and gear in the back. Also because it's fast and cool.

 

[ppine]

Some years ago I had a truck broken into at Lake Shasta. I lost a wallet and some other stuff. It changed my thinking about leaving vehicles on over night trips. This year I did a trip on the Klamath River in No Calif at high water. I took the old Jeep with peeling paint and no one bothered it.

 

[jdeerfoot]

My only breakdown on the road to a canoe trip was about 2011 when my daughter, her on-leave from the navy husband and their 2 and half year old were driving my 3 yr old Subaru Forester. I was following in other car, a subcompact. They called me to ask if they had a flat because the car was shaking. They pulled over, the tires were fine but it wouldn’t start again. I called for a tow to a Subaru dealer about 15 miles away.

At the dealership the service manager took the car in the shop and I got myself a seat in the waiting room. Before I could finish my coffee the service manager told me they couldn’t get any compression reading in the #1 cylinder so they wanted to pull the head. About 20 minutes later he came back to tell me, “I’ve got bad news and I‘ve got good news.” The bad news was the exhaust valve was stuck open and since the valves were built into the head it needed to be replaced. The good news was the car still had about 3,000 on the engine warranty, so the repair cost was covered.

So we off loaded all camping gear and the canoe and got a rental car big enough to carry everything along with some foam gunnel pads at a hardware store and were on our way three hours later. We completed our Upper Peninsula trip and drove to a family wedding in northern Wisconsin. On the way home we dropped off the rental car and everyone got home okay. A week later the wife and I drove back to the northern Wisconsin dealership to pickup the car (this problem was uncommon enough that the dealer had to order the part from Subaru and he had to ship the old part back to them for their analysis).

That car was a 2005 Forester, my second one. A year ago I had to get rid of my 2015 Forester (3rd one) which developed the seriously defective known CVT problem which was causing the transmission to fail at just 118,000 miles. I now have a 2021 Forester which is my fourth one. I told the wife who loves Foresters, that if this doesn’t make it well past 120,000 miles without a major mechanical failure we are done with Subaru. So much for the Subaru boast that most of their cars are still going strong at 200,000 miles.

 

[Alan Gage]

I drive junk and have never had a breakdown away from home despite doing a lot of extensive road tripping and traveling.

But just in case I always carry the the vehicle's title in the glove box so that in case of a major breakdown I can sign the title over to the tow truck driver and find some other piece of junk to get me home.

I did have a vehicle broken into while on a long canoe trip. They stole my passport (I was in Canada), a couple ZRE paddles, and the 5 gallons of gas I was carrying on the roof. They did not find my wallet with a few hundred dollars in cash stashed under the carpet.

Things got a little dicey without that extra 5 gallons of gas but I made it.

Alan

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

They did not find my wallet with a few hundred dollars in cash stashed under the carpet.

Why would you not take your wallet and/or money in the canoe?

 

[Boatman53]

Last year I drove from Maine to the BWCA with no problems. But this year I wasn’t looking forward to 4 days of driving each way so I flew to Minneapolis and my friend from Idaho did the driving and met me at the hotel, I got there a day ahead. He arrived the next morning, my daughter arrived that evening and my son was due the next morning. Joe had to pay to park in the hotel lot and the next morning when we carried out some of our gear, there was a note on the windshield that someone stole the catalytic converter from his 20 year old F-350. Fortunately it was Saturday morning and he was able to find a sympathetic muffler shop to weld in a section of pipe so we could get on our way. If it had been a Sunday we would have had to stay another night and would have missed our permit entry date.
Jim

 

[Alan Gage]

Why would you not take your wallet and/or money in the canoe?

The rational, sound or not, was that if I did take my wallet that it would be stored in one of my two food barrels and I felt the chances of loosing a food barrel to the river or a bear was greater than my chances of loosing it to a thief.

Alan

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

The rational, sound or not, was that if I did take my wallet that it would be stored in one of my two food barrels and I felt the chances of loosing a food barrel to the river or a bear was greater than my chances of loosing it to a thief.

Alan

I'd put my money, drivers license, credit card, medical and other cards, which I couldn't leave at home, in a small ziplock and keep it in my PFD.

 

[Alan Gage]

I'd put my money, drivers license, credit card, medical and other cards, which I couldn't leave at home, in a small ziplock and keep it in my PFD.

That's probably a better idea.

Alan

 

[lowangle al]

My wife and I took a daytrip down to Cooper Lake on the Kenai Peninsula. It;s about a two hour drive and then another eight miles down a dirt road to get to the lake. We had a nice paddle and returned to the truck to find the battery dead. Luckily there was another couple at the launch and the guy was a retired mechanic. We tried to get it started but failed. They gave us a ride to the main road where I could use my phone and call a tow truck. The tow truck driver was able to easily get the truck started with a battery pack type of thing. He told us to try and make it home as we might make it, which we did.

What I learned from the experience, other than replacing battery terminal ends on an old vehicle, was that you may need your "ditch kit" for car troubles as well as what you may encounter on the water. This was when I started adding sleeping bags and a tent to my ditch kit. It came in handy earlier this spring on a daytrip where the wind was blowing hard enough to make paddling difficult but probably not impossible. We decided to spend the night and had everything we needed for a comfortable camp.

This experience led me to the concept of the "ditch kit/ switch kit." It is a ditch kit extensive enough to allow you to change your plan from daytrip to overnighter because you want to, not have to, and have everything you need to camp in comfort.

Ditch kit camp

 

[Robin]

While at the Paddlers and Snow Walkers Gathering in Vermont recently, an old friend told me about his adventure on the Bonaventure River in Quebec years ago.
The group leader decided to do a self shuttle, but he had everyone meet at the local canoe shop/shuttle operators parking lot. There was some confusion while waiting for others to show up and my friend said the shuttle operator assumed he was doing the shuttle. He was obviously upset when they cleared the parking lot and headed upstream to do their self shuttle.
As the paddlers arrived at the take out, both vehicles where on the ground. No wheels or tires. The local gas station sold my friend a set of used wheels but the other guy had to wait for his.
While insurance paid up, my friend ended up paying most of the deductible, his friends actually stiffed him.

 

[SouthernKevlar]

"While insurance paid up, my friend ended up paying most of the deductible, his friends actually stiffed him."

With friends like those, who needs enemies!

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

the battery dead.

was able to easily get the truck started with a battery pack type of thing

may need your "ditch kit" for car troubles

As one who drives around in very old vehicles including my 1997 full size van for canoeing, I've called AAA many times for dead batteries and flats. The past few years I've not needed AAA because I invested in a portable jump starter—which is also a flashlight, emergency signal light, and a power pack with which I can charge other devices—and also a portable tire inflator.

I've used a full size van for 40 years because I can sleep and cook in it, so I've always had built-in sleepover capability, plus it's my permanent storage space for my camping and canoeing equipment. One big "ditch kit".

 

[Gamma1214]

He was obviously upset when they cleared the parking lot and headed upstream to do their self shuttle.

I can understand why.

Too bad about the stolen tires (and the "friends").