Post by ukmole on Oct 14, 2013 14:33:13 GMT 1
Off to a scooter rally in Pensacola Beach, Florida. Driving through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama into Florida. All along the Gulf coast. 86F during the day, 61F at night. Lovely! I have never driven my van more than a few miles round town, and didn't know how she would perform, specially with a single-axle trailer with a pair of scoots on board. So, with some trepidation I set off on last Thursday to give an entire day to drive 200 miles! The 2 litre engine didn't like hills, but dropping into fourth made it climb OK without straining anything. Luckily most of the drive was more or less flat so hills wouldn't be much of a problem - any slopes were man made via bridges with clearances for sailboat masts (90ft clearances). Road were empty (see pic) These were what cruise control was made for! Scoots had to be retorgued down a few times as the bumpy road let them jump up and down and landing sideways-ish, but that was the only problem. The van drove perfectly. I did detect a strange odd knock now and then and think that either a motor or gearbox mount is shot. Speedo indicated 62mph (which on the way back was confirmed as being slightly over 70mph true). On arrival I calculated 190 miles for 13 (US) gals = 14.6 mpg which, given the speed and the load wasn't too bad.
On arrival at our hosts house, I was directed to park anywhere out back and set up. Again, this was a first for me. Parked under an overhanging bush, removed the centre table and heaved the roof up and locked it into place. Phew! Part one complete.
Emptied the rods out onto the ground to erect the extension tent. There were a few red herrings in that there were a few rods too many! But finally saw what was required and hauled the canopy over the poles and snugged it all down. Yay! As I haven't fixed the electrical sockets/voltage yet, I borrowed a plug socket and made tea. Well pleased with the way things went. Oh, and the dog was happy too!