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Wow, sounds like a fun trip. I was in the Okanagan near the end of July and smoke was really bad from the forest fires. You did yourself a favor by avoiding the area.
Normal Kelowna:
Smoky Kelowna, same dock:
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
The drive home was relatively uneventful. The trailer itself pulls beautifully behind the car. It's quite stable, even in the head and cross wind conditions that I experienced through the mountains of West Virginia on my way north. I hit a couple of intense rain/thunderstorms on the way home, one of which was so intense that traffic nearly came to a standstill because the water was coming down so fast that it was nearly impossible to see anything.
The only down side is that this thing murders my fuel economy... even moreso than I expected! The last time I pulled a trailer any real distance was before the emissions modification was done, and I averaged close to 18 mpg. Not anymore....
14.
I forgot what's going on with you, @xwesx, are you moving to the lower 48 or just staying for an extended period?
We will be heading back to the west coast and up to Alaska in about a week.
I am guessing real estate is cheap there anyway ! (I don't think it is anywhere on the west coast now).
Just over 2 weeks from now, I'll be going on a little road trip out to the coast - depending on where I stop on the way, maybe a 7.5 hour trip, probably will be close to 1000 miles round trip.
When I was working I spent 30-50% of my time working with suppliers on the road, so was obviously not at my cubicle. When I was in town I spent much of my time digesting and collating what I'd learned on the road. The remainder was taken up with online meetings (this was back in the days of Skype) for the most part. Absolutely nothing I did required me to be on-site in Tempe, so when the WFH opportunity came up, I spent much of my non-travel time in the cabin at 7500 ft, with a good internet connection.
I'm one of those entitled old white people, but certainly enjoyed that life while it lasted. Honeywell saw fit to eliminate WFH completely as a means of getting rid of more of us old folks and people in NA in general.
And here we are.
At this point any company not embracing a WFH or a hybrid work style is behind the times. It also allows you to pick your talent from anywhere in the country and not be locked down to a geographic area.
At any given time we have meetings with people in NJ, MN, NY, MA and WV. It just works.
My team alone is in four different states, all fully remote.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
As I opined a few months ago, those who fail to adapt will suffer a brain drain. My employer had its round of resignations and had a very hard time finding replacements when the bigwigs couldn't get their act together about flexible work policies. They came up with a policy that appeased many (don't get me started on their covid policies, which have been goofy at best), so the resignations slowed, but still might have a hard time filling roles.
That people in NA in general is always the reason for some firms.
Going to be nice to be out on the road, haven't taken a real trip of any kind since April.
The trip itself was interesting. I had a recurrence of the EGR issue early on the trip, and, because I needed to keep the codes in the system for warranty purposes, I ended up driving it all the way across the country with no cruise control. Man, I am hella-coddled when it comes to driving, because that was no easy task! My first five trips to Alaska were all sans cruise, and yet I still die a little inside each day I go without it.
I called audi dealerships along our route for at least a thousand miles back, and all basically told me to go pound sand. They didn't care one bit about the time sensitivity or the traveling, or even the fact that, for 1200 miles, I couldn't even shut the car off. Nope, 2+ weeks or nothing. Finally, I called Wilsonville Audi here in Oregon, and they were able to take me on despite having a schedule just as hectic as everyone else.
I just dropped it off this morning and will find out information later today. I'm at about 119,400 miles, so I made it here with very little margin to spare! The diesel warranty ends at 120,000 miles. Saga to continue.
This fella had a huge bumper-mounted travel trailer that ended up wagging the dog a little too hard for his skill level. the truck rolled and the trailer disintegrated. He shut the highway down just in front of us for around an hour. Thankfully, emergency services made getting traffic moving a priority.
I'm not sure if there were any casualties, but there were definitely injuries.
Wilsonville was known for MB deals in the before times, maybe it's time to trade 'er in.
A SRW truck with that large a trailer being bumper towed is a bad plan.
I'm fairly positive that the driver was ill-equipped to deal with the trailer. If he had any idea how to suppress trailer wag, the outcome would have been much different.
We were bucking a helluva headwind through Iowa and Nebraska, and I was having to fill up every 200 miles. I was getting about 10 mpg. I suspect I averaged about 14 for the drive, though some tanks were as good as 17 and others as poor as 10. Hopefully, I'll do better on the way up to Alaska just because of the slower speeds if for no other reason. Of course, once I hit winter diesel (#1 rather than #2), that will have an impact as well.
I have the car at the Audi dealership now. Hopefully I'll get to pick it up tomorrow. Their conclusions were not what I had hoped, but at least I can clear codes after this and no longer be without cruise for long runs. I don't mind not using cruise, but not even having the option to use it is tedious. The ache in my driving leg was atrocious at times (many times).
I just received the call to come get the Q7, so I'll be doing that hopefully this afternoon.
Always an adventure for you!
@xwesx
You drive more on a single trip than I do in 6 months.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2014 MINI Countryman S ALL4
If it wasn’t for our shore house I would literally drive nowhere.
I have a meeting in Philly on Friday morning I almost don’t know what to do with myself. Getting dressed and out the door by 8am.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
When we were leaving to get it my wife says 'Why did you get dressed up?'
I said 'I just wanted to wear a shirt with a collar on it'.
She did get a compliment from the SA.
That's the nicest MKC like it I've seen, not even one door ding and it looks brand new inside.
It's a 2016.
I did mention that I drove it to Ohio and back earlier this month.
Had a fun time on the road today. I exit I90 at a long (maybe half a mile) exit lane. I got into the lane at its start, and was cruising down it at the SL, no point to slow down early as there was nobody in front of me in the entire lane, and surrounding traffic was light. Then suddenly a Niro blunders into the lane from the left, and lets off the gas, slowing down as I rapidly approach from behind. I stay behind it (could have went around), awaiting the point when the lane splits so I can go on my way. At the split I move right to turn right, and the Niro, which initially moved left, unexpectedly tries to dawdle its way into the side of my car. I laid on the horn a couple times, and it panicked and moved back. It seemed like 30 seconds later, it was going so slow that it was almost out of my line of sight. The chef's kiss - Idaho plates.
I'll write again regarding my trip. It was interesting, for sure. As for DEF use...? Almost nothing. Maybe a gallon. I bought 10 gallons based on the fact that I added 10 (four containers) on my trip between Ohio and Oregon, but I think it was mostly just leaking out onto the ground from that bad line connection.
Once discovered and fixed while I was in Oregon, it used very little (and leaked none!) on the way home to Alaska. I had one container, about half full, at home already, and I tried to add that just to get rid of it. Nope, the car wouldn't take any after the first gallon.
Loaded up, ready to go first thing in the morning on Wednesday (0330 hrs), September 29.
We had a little difficulty finding a place to do the pre-entry COVID-19 screening; it definitely was not as straight forward as Alaska. Ultimately, we found a place called Meth Labs... no, wait. I better go back and look that up (may not have been the same lab)... Ah, "Worksite Labs." They were set up near the international airport in Portland, OR. However, the whole thing added a couple days to our trip before we could head home, so we were definitely pushing it in terms of our leave date, as I was supposed to be back in Alaska by 10/1.
However, once paid ($90 each) and tested, the lab was fast in turning around the results (just under 12 hours). I submitted the ArriveCAN data to Canada, and we made it to the border within 30 minutes of my estimated time. The Q7 turned over 120,000 miles just after we crossed the bridge over the Columbia River into Washington on route 97.
With the trailer loaded (I'm going to guess about 6,000# or 2,500 kg gross weight), the Q7 lost only about 1mpg compared to pulling the trailer empty, so my distance between fills stayed fairly comfortable (250-300 miles). I was a little nervous about our timing on the Cassiar Highway (BC 37), as many places are either closed (COVID) or have access only during limited hours, so I stopped in Omak, WA, to pick up a couple 5-gal containers for diesel... just in case.
No issues at the border - took about five minutes for both of our vehicles to pass through. Somehow, the wind always seemed to be in our faces, which was annoying, but my rig once again was very stable on the road. We stopped at a campground at Lac la Hoche, BC, for the night.
The next day, another early morning (0400 hrs), we passed through Prince George, BC, to access highway 16 and get our experience of Fall colors for the year. Yes, it was mostly yellow with a little orange, but there were some brilliant reds in small bushes sprinkled here and there. Unfortunately, my daughter wasn't much of a photographer on this trip, and I used up about all of my energy just driving 16+ hours per day.
Nonetheless, we kept at it! Just after filling up with fuel at Bell II Crossing on BC 37, I hit a series of HUGE holes in the road (they were hidden due to the flatness of the road and presence of numerous puddles in the area with all four wheels on the left side of the car. Based on how hard we hit (the trailer literally bounced into the air on that side), at about 45 mph, I thought for sure I broke something; if not the car, then definitely on me! No flat tires, no bent or cracked wheels, no sidewall bubbles. Amazing! However, the suspension on the left rear of the car was a couple inches lower on that side than the passenger side throughout the rest of the day.
We stopped at the north end of Dease Lake (the lake, not the town) for the night, at a little campground called "Sawmill Creek," and I decoupled the trailer to check out the car better. After doing a little testing over all the bumps I could find, I decided the nothing was obviously broken, and the suspension settled out to an even level on both sides of the car.
The next day, however, was far more interesting.....
All was well for the first part of the day. I was nervous about my fuel level due to not being able to refuel in Dease Lake, but we managed to reach the top of BC 37 at the Alaska highway with another 50 miles or so to spare (without using the extra cans). By 1400, we made it to Haines Junction, and we met our first bout of foul weather shortly after leaving there. As we went over the pass toward Kluane Lake, there was some ice and 4-5" of slush on the road. Immediately, my car began to get extremely squirrelly, like I was trying to drive two cars at once, and each wanted to go in a separate direction.
However, with a slow speed (~25-30 mph) and lots of attention, I was able to navigate the pass to dry roads around the lake shore. While it was snowing at times, the roads remained mostly dry for the rest of the Canadian drive, and we arrived at the Alaska border at 1730 hrs, Alaska time (we gained a free hour!).
With roads mostly dry into Tok, Alaska, we made good time there and arrived at around 1915 hrs, which seemed comfortable for making it home that night (10/1, Friday). It's normally about 3.5 hours to Fairbanks from Tok. Feeling victorious, we stopped for dinner and fueled up.
Now about 2030 hrs, we left Tok and immediately encountered icy roads and blowing snow. My car, once again, was a complete bear to control! I ended up driving about 30-40 mph, which really was at the very edge of keeping it on the road, for the next 90 miles! Finally, with about 20 miles to go before Delta Junction, the road dried out and I could resume speed for a while. I don't think I've ever appreciated dry roads so much.
However, 15 miles later (about 40 minutes), she admitted defeat and refused to drive my "deathtrap" any further. I took over and we drove for another half hour or so before she flagged us over and we stopped for a 3-hour sleep. At 0300, we were on the road again, slowly inching our way to Fairbanks with my car sliding all over the road and her behind me (just patiently driving along with no trouble at all).
Somehow, I finally got to the house at 0730 hrs (Saturday morning now, 10/2) defeated only by our driveway (too slippery to pull the trailer up it). After getting more sleep and swapping the tires (and installing the chains for good measure), I brought the trailer up and the trip was, officially, over!
On Monday morning, driving the Q7 to work, I find out that it wasn't the trailer that was making my life so difficult on the ice. The car is STILL trying to kill me, even without the trailer! As soon as I drive on ice, the back end immediately wants to kick out and I have to work like mad to keep the car on the road. Clearly, something is wrong. I most likely took some damage on that BC 37 pothole incident, so I have an appointment to get it sorted out in a couple of weeks.
My odometer on the Q7 was 122,345 upon arrival Saturday morning. I haven't figured out the fuel economy details quite yet, but I'll update with that before too much longer (and with far more brevity than this novel!).
Wait, you have snow already?
Glad you got home OK. Stay well.
We were in Stayton, OR, just southeast of Salem, but we ended up taking the Okanagan route just to avoid I-5. That area is pretty much a nightmare at most hours of the day, and I just didn't want to take the chance that we would be in snarled traffic for hours trying to work our way to the north of Seattle. The I-5 gate is not open at this time for northern transit, so I would need to slip a little west to Sumas, WA, anyway. As a result, we just decided to go a little further west and take the Osoyoos route. It adds some distance, but it's a much more relaxing drive. In the past, we only took Oroville (Osoyoos) when we headed north from the Pendleton, OR, area, but we did Pendleton first then went to Stayton.
Now, the run through the Okanagan Lake section was, indeed, pretty slow. I didn't mind it, though, because it was beautiful scenery and probably the only section we ran where we had a stout tailwind. I was getting +20 mpg during those few miles; that's worth it all by itself! Haha
Dease Lake shuts down their store at, well, I dunno. Their signs say 7am - 9pm, but I find that they're pretty casual about it. We were there a little before 8pm, and it was a ghost town. For the last fifteen years or more, they have had signs on the (relatively modern) pumps that say, "Pay at the pump not set up yet. Please pay inside." I guess they get enough business without the extra convenience, but the place at the AK/Cassiar junction (well, a quarter mile west of it) doesn't seem to have any problem with their pumps operating 24/7.... and a good thing, too!
Yeah, come to think of it, I've heard I-5 from Olympia all the way to Everett is a horror show these days, as well as the bypass.
Regarding long distance driving, many of us understand it, but due to other obligations or preferences, flying is both much faster and more economical. Now if we had to transport a trailer full of stuff it might be different. I'll be headed back across the state soon, weather might not be the best, but it's October.
5 is a mess from probably Arlington to Tumwater now, and it can also be dicey in the Centralia/Chehalis area. Probably a result of road infrastructure improving 30% from back in the day when such luxuries were a national fixation over trickle down fantasy, while population has increased 350%
No, I pulled it with the Q7. However, after parking it in the driveway there and moving the Crosstrek, I thought the proximity looked funny, so I had to take a photo of it just for the 'huh?' factor.
If the trailer were empty, I'm sure the Crosstrek could pull it, but I don't know how well it would settle the tongue weight with any load in there at all.
I almost feel invincible at any speed 20 or less over, but I'm knocking on wood as I write this.