Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)

[PlethoraOfGuns]

We've been cruising pretty good. This rig gets us lots of places!


Rig made it to 10000'. It was a long, slow haul in 4th gear, but she made it. And never overheated. I call that a success!


But on the other side of the pass, in the desert, we started smelling diesel fuel. Sure enough, we ruptured a return line. What a mess...


Just a little 3" piece of hose, ugh. I figured it was just old hose.


So I replaced it with some cheap vinyl hose I had laying around, hoping it could get me to a store to find the right hose. But it immediately exploded. This is a return line to the fuel tank, how can there be that much pressure?


Some digging found the culprit. When we did the clutch and reinstalled the transmission not too long ago, we must have pinched the return line with the transmission bracket. Luckily, the only damage that was done was a blown line!


No point in removing all that transmission stuff, the pitched hose is probably shot, I wouldn't trust it after being pinched for so long, so I just cut out the bad section and used a barbed coupling I had laying in the toolbox. A section of this hose was cut and used to fix the original 3" section of blown hose. Back on the road!

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Hmmm, well this is certainly another new one. Was driving down the road when all of a sudden the voltage gauge dropped and the coolant temperature gauge was going up. Broken drive belt perhaps? Oh good, I always carry a spare. But that would be too easy...


Pulled over and found this. Belt floppy everywhere, coolant spewing in all the other places, and a pulley dancing around. Luckily I'm like a hawk with all the gauges and caught it in time before any more damage was done.


Yep, that will do it. Your guess is as good as mine. But please, if you know how this could happen, enlighten me. Or if anything, humor me.


Yes, we can still technically drive around, but without coolant circulating, we were stuck. Immediately grabbed my notebook and found cell service and went calling around. After a few hours, I found a big rig service parts center that could get a new one. Got order in just in time for overnight shipping from one of the their warehouses in California. Guy was even nice enough to drive the part out to us! Shoutout to Rush Truck Center!


In the back of my mind, the only thing that maybe could cause that pulley explosion, other than the pulley being bad, was the belt tensioner. So we tracked one of those down and changed it to be on the safe side. Strange, the part number for the old one and the replacement is for a Ford. So that doesn't seem very reassuring! Everything is running again and it all looks smooth and straight.


All these breakdowns do get annoying sometimes, but in the end, we get where we need to go, eventually. And that just about makes it all worth it.

 

[Herbie]

You're a hearty and capable operator, that's for damned sure.

Any number of those problems would have been trip-enders for me, I'm fairly certain.

 

[beanco]

If this was a reality TV show, most of this stuff would seem scripted to make sure you wouldn't make "the deadline".
I'm very impressed on how you problem solve, repair and relax while on the road. Having a van with everything in it to live while doing this makes a huge difference.

YOU ARE THE ADVENTURE KING, THERE IS NONE HIGHER.

you were traveling close to where I live, maybe I'll catch you returning home.
Ben

 

[Deleted member 9101]

@PlethoraOfGuns you have the kind of patience that I pray for daily!

 

[Scotty D]

I'm very impressed on how you problem solve, repair and relax while on the road.

YOU ARE THE ADVENTURE KING, THERE IS NONE HIGHER.

I think having 2 girlfriends gives one a sense of alfa calmness that helps overcome most obstacles

 

[christopher p weinberger]

In our family travel the adventures fraught with failure (I’m not talking violence or injuries), although disruptive at the time, have become the memories we most laugh about and retell.
No battle plan survives first contact..
Good luck out there, I was born in LaCrosse and appreciate you guys heading out there and roaming the wilds ??
-we used to take a spool of thread, wrap it around the Hydraulic piston where are the rubber seals sit and it usually keeps it sealed from leaking for months, not if torn, only worn out..

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Thanks everyone! Challenges is just part of life right? And can't quit, this is my house now! Wish I could script these things, but nope, photos are proof. People wouldn't believe without this writeup. I also never anticipated this many issues. Need backup plans for the battle plans!

Whoa whoa, two girlfriends?!? No way, I can barely handle one girlfriend! Ya'll think I'm that crazy?!?

 

[94-RUNNER]

Hope all is well. We miss the reports of the your daily adventures !

 

[Herbie]

Hope all is well. We miss the reports of the your daily adventures !

I'm just going to assume that means nothing has broken for a few days...

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Oh no, we're not invincible!

Not necessarily a breakdown, maybe it is, but the clutch pedal kept getting softer and softer. Very slight leak, and what is it from? That stupid quick disconnect dry coupling we put in to make removal and installation of the master/slave cylinder easier.


So we replaced the dry coupling with just a straight coupling. No more leaking! Found a way to route the slave cylinder down the firewall and around the engine to the passenger side to where it mounts to the bell housing. The dry coupling makes things easier, but it is not needed.


And with the clutch fully functional yet again, we made it to a drive in movie theater!


Just in time for the ads and stuff! Confidence in the clutch is at a all time high!

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Finally, a normal breakdown! Now I know how everyone else feels!


Driving the van felt kinda squishy around corners. Got out and kicked the tire and it was surely flat. Took a nail or something to the tire. Used water to locate the hole.


Good thing we carry a good tire plug kit! Glad it was an outside tire, very easy to access.


And easy as pie, back on the road to the next place to camp out at. Found somewhere with lots of water.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Finally, a normal breakdown! Now I know how everyone else feels!

View attachment 677163
Driving the van felt kinda squishy around corners. Got out and kicked the tire and it was surely flat. Took a nail or something to the tire. Used water to locate the hole.

View attachment 677164
Good thing we carry a good tire plug kit! Glad it was an outside tire, very easy to access.

View attachment 677165
And easy as pie, back on the road to the next place to camp out at. Found somewhere with lots of water.

Outside… bah, wus.
You’ve not lived till you’ve broken off the bead with a bottle jack to fix a broken valve stem on an inner dually on a dirt road.

 

[Andrew_S]

Been following this since the beginning. Love the raw trials and tribulations paired with an awesome build. Can't wait to see more.

 

[MANUCHAO]

View attachment 677165

What a view... !!!!!
Comfy bed sheets, the sound of running water from the river, and a vise to make it all complete !!!!!!
What is there not to love !!!!!