We made it! We drove that old truck 'n' trailer all the way to the Bonneville Salt Flats and back! Now for those of you who haven't sat through our longwinded tale of the trip, settle in for some reading.
2:30pm on August 11, our travel group gathered (after waiting approx. 6.5 hours for the last members of the party) to hit the road south to the Nampa area. The trailers were all being pulled for the first time by these owners, and our truck and Marc's car were only minimally tested for roadworthiness. For this reason, the late start had us a bit uptight. As we slowly climbed the first hill and watched the temperature gauge needle rapidly climbing, panic set in. We lost power toward the top and Andy thought for sure the motor was seizing. We pulled over the first chance we got and everyone gathered 'round to look for the source of the problem. Bad thermostat? bad gauge? bad radiator? so many possibilities...
While the brainstorming was going on, I watched the temp needle continue to climb until it pegged past all markings and numbers. If the gauge wasn't bad before, it certainly was now! Having no other way to measure temperature, we turned back home for the infrared thermometer. Everything checked out warm, but not scary-hot there, so we packed the thermometer with us and up the hill we went again, pulling off to take some thermo readings at the top. Everything under the hood was uncomfortably hot, so we called the local parts stores to locate a new radiator and all the possibilities were discussed again. Eventually, the guys discovered an air bubble in the top radiator hose that was preventing the cooled fluid from circulating. That was an easy fix and off we went again - stopping in Moscow to pick up the new radiator for just-in-case and to install a new temp. gauge for the long, hilly road ahead. Finally, at 4:30pm, we were on our way again. We braced for every hill, but made it through Lewiston and Lapwai without another problem. Then, as we climbed the Winchester Grade, our engine started cutting out. We pulled over just short of the top, and came to the conclusion that we had run out of gas! We hadn't tugged the trailer behind before, and our roadside calculations put us at 5mpg. This was going to be a rather expensive trip!
We were carrying spare gas with us, so dumped that in and continued on. But...at the top of the hill, the engine was starving for fuel again! Now what? We topped off at the gas station there, noticing that the 20-gallon tank was only 6 gallons low, and the guys fiddled with the carburetor to see if that might be the problem instead. Away we went again, had no problems, and arrived at our destination for the night just before 1am...exhausted and relieved. Our host had planned a surprise welcome party for us (expecting us around 8pm), but only a few stragglers remained to greet the tardy travelers. They all had numbers written on their palms, which turned out to be their bet for our time of arrival. Quite the people who would make the most of waiting 5 hours! We all slept in our trailers for the first time that night - it was comfy.
Andy and I woke early to a very quiet yard. Nobody else was stirring except the fellow who lived there. We couldn't sleep anymore, so we wandered about the place, fixed a few things on the trailer, met the other hotrodders who were joining our caravan as they arrived, and finally woke the rest of our party up to finish this roadtrip to Bonneville.
We made it just south of Boise before stopping for a couple of hours so the ill-prepared of our group could grocery shop for the week. We turned it into a lunch break for us, and got to know the other guys in the caravan better. As we continued on, we noticed Marc's trailer was fishtailing horribly every time he went downhill , was passed by a truck, or drove too fast. We alerted him over the 3-way radio, and he wasn't concerned. We stopped for gas in one fo the small towns along Hwy 30 - it was a sight to see. Too bad it wasn't a retro gas station!
Finally, while stopped there, we convinced Marc that his swaying trailer was serious enough to need fixed. He found a hotrod shop / U-Haul store where they would fix his hitch, and the rest of us found some shade in a nearby park to pass the time.
And, the drive continued with no more dancing trailers! We drove through the desert of Southern Idaho, with curiously green patches of irrigated fields...
...then, into the desert of Nevada, with.....umm....?
Of course it is on such an endless stretch of road that our hardworking engine can't find fuel again, and we found ourselves on the side of the road looking for solutions. A very kind streetrodder stopped, and his ride drew a crowd. It was beautifully done, and he was going to drive it down on the salt too!
Our problem turned out to be vapor lock - the gas was getting so hot that it turned to vapor in the lines and the carburetor apparently doesn't count that as adequate fuel to run the engine! The temporary solution available in the middle of the Nevada desert was to remove the truck's hood to allow more airflow to cool the fuel lines.
We took the remainder of the hills very slowly, and were soooo excited to finally see the sign for Bonneville at dusk.
Once again, tired and relieved, we pulled into our 'campground'. This time, instead of in a buddy's backyard, we claimed a little patch of the huge expanse of desolate land known as the Bend in the Road.
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