Left Ontario and drove through the states. Premium gas at $3.47 a gallon. Good motels at $75 including breakfast. Crossed into Alberta premium at $1.49 a litre. Motel $140 no breaky. Rented trailer $160 and of to Vancouver. Just past Banff smelt gas. I thought can't be me must be some other poor soul going to get stuck out here. Nope ...it was me. Lost 1/4 tank in 2k of driving. Pulled of road to see gas pouring out of gas line where is joins the gas filer. Wife and daughter in another car won't let me in because I got gas all over me. Call CAA. They tell me I am covered for a tow for my truck but not the trailer. Will be a small charge for the trailer. I say OK and they send a truck. Cops pull up and yell at me for causing an Environmental spill in the park. Said I'm sorry but what am I to do. He says might be a fine for the clean up. Truck comes and loads up yuck and trailer. Says it's going to be $250 for a 7k trip back to Banff. Told him that was way to much. Cop says pay the man or get a fine for the mess and you can't leave a trailer on the side of the road in the park. Get back to the industrial area of BanffBanff and he drops the trailer in a yard and takes truck to a garage. Its 7:30 and dark. Working on line and a bird it pecking on the back of my head. I swat at it and ask the driver what kind of bird was that. He says a Miskito .. Damn there big out there. Get a very nice room at Inns of Banff. Only $85 and it was nice. Breaky was $15 for one Person. Went to garage to talk to mechanic. No way he ca fix it for a week. I say I will fix it myself. Guy goes nuts and tells me to get my f..ing truck and trailer off his yard. I call him a moron and then his boss steps in. Says he will look at it in a hour but don't get my hopes up for a fix. I go back to motel to have a $4 cup of coffee. Garage calls and says truck is done. He says bad U.S. Gas ate the o rings at the fuel filter. Only way he could fix it and get me on road was take out filer and put in 14 inches of rubber hose. He has no parts and it's a 2 day wait for parts then it the weekend then Monday or so they can fix it. Gives me a bill for $260 for 14 inches of rubber hose. Wife says pay the man and let's go. Got to Vancouver got a phone call there was a death in family and another $589 to send wife home. Should have parts to fix van on Tuesday and head for home on Wednesday...pain in the azzzzzzzzz trip. Fell better now. Had to vent and kids didn't want to hear about it.
Sounds like that was a fun trip..So what was the trailer for anyway..you never did say..you bringing back something or was this just a little vay-kation time..I never travel with-out a small tool box, a tarp, small bottle jack, cheap scanner, and a liter or two of oil,and coolant..of always has just about enough tools and stuff to get me back on the road..been down that road before..Another good thing to know when you travel is to carry a list of rodders names and Phone numbers that might be able to help..Seems when you on the road some of the service people are not very helpful.. So best you be prepared to clean/save your own butt...
Really sucks when tow truck and shop owner ripped you off. You always hope they will be a little more sympathetic under the circumstances. I will try to help somebody who is stuck from out of province, etc. One trip your not going to forget for awhile...
Sounds like that was a fun trip..So what was the trailer for anyway..you never did say..you bringing back something or was this just a little vay-kation time..I never travel with-out a small tool box, a tarp, small bottle jack, cheap scanner, and a liter or two of oil,and coolant..of always has just about enough tools and stuff to get me back on the road..been down that road before..Another good thing to know when you travel is to carry a list of rodders names and Phone numbers that might be able to help..Seems when you on the road some of the service people are not very helpful.. So best you be prepared to clean/save your own butt...
Original trip was to bring youngest daughter home from Calgary hence the trailer and go to Vancouver to Reno oldest daughters kitchen in the house she just bought. You don't get much in Vancouver got $550,000. Youngest one changed her mind before I got there and decided to head to Vancouver to look for a job. I'll be heading home by myself which I'm kind of looking forward to. I find myself very good company.....and yes I should have tools but truck was so full I could not have even have got a fart in there and it's the wife's truck so there's no tools in it. Next time I will bring a tool box and a hoist and a tow truck with me....
Next time I will bring a tool box and a hoist and a tow truck with me....
Good plan..
I just thought you brought the trailer cause you were bring some tin back..I know I have made that trip a few times, last one was last Sept we usualy run up to Ludington Mich and catch the SS.BADGER ferry across lake Mi to Wi..saves a lot of driving and that is one boring trip I usually run 2 west to Montana and up into Alberta via sweetgrass crossing.. my wifes sister lived in Rockymountain house..up until about a month ago..unfortunately I may have to make that trip again soon..Wifes sister is in Hospital in Red-Deer at the moment in a coma..not looking to good and has a DNR on her.. Long story but she has struggled for a long time with an alcohol problem and it looks like it caught up to her..neumonia, liver damage, blood clotting, Not looking forward to making the trip again..and she is only 67 ..young by my books..too bad..
Concider it an adventure to tell the grandkids,,spun the spline off the aluminum belt drive pully on my panhead in maine,logging country think wawa, pulled the pully and put it on backwards with quarter inch of spline left with the nut on finger tight drove 50 miles to bangor with logging trucks on my azz ,buddy with a skirster got me to a HD shop outside of town they let me keep my bike in the shop orderd the part I needed and directed me and sweety to a campsite across the road,met some great people discovered, Bush beans,the guys at the shop let me use there tools to fix the bike and charged me cost for the part,,,,so there is some hope for the world,,
Good story blackrat..One of the good things of growing old we forget the bad .. Seems we can always remember making memories..sometimes just reading one guys story seems to remind us of one of our own that may have long been forgotten..Thanks for the memorie
We had taken my '62 Cutlass down to Thompson drag strip in Ohio. While near the strip, a part came loose and was slapping the drive shaft. Pulled into a small garage. The owner moved a car with no engine off the hoist and let me fix mine. He wouldn't take anything so we shared a few Canadian beers. There are good people as well in this world. Nothing but Bush beans in our cupboard as well.
A tip of the cap to people who come across when others are in a jam.
Much the same here always travel with some tools and supplies wire electrical tape tie wire
