Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Sorry everyone. I had to drop everything and fly to Turkey to rescue a friend from deep down in a cave.

Anyway, I liked the idea about flat towing for about 30 seconds. The thought of not having brakes behind me on something so big scares me. Anyone can get it going, but stopping is kinda what matters most. I'm starting the search on how to relocate this thing from WV to KY. Open to more suggestions. Also really hoping I can find someone who really knows what they are doing with Cummins because I'm done with these issues. I just want a good engine.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Who does Welderup use for his 4BT engines?

 

[Pntyrmvr]

I flat towed a 1982 Sportsmobile 900 miles with a 5000 lb rated tow bar behind a B2500 Dodge van.

I did install a brake buddy or some such thing.

And it worked.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

This rig weighs 10k lbs. I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Also, what is a brake buddy?

 

[Scotty D]

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what could go wrong?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Wait, they cost how much?!? I'm just going to swap the engine in the grass where it sits, haha.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Wait, they cost how much?!? I'm just going to swap the engine in the grass where it sits, haha.

Hope your friend in Turkey is doing well now.

Holly ******** those are stupid expensive. A trailer would almost be cheaper.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

But they aren't. Most states limit non brake equipped wheeled items closely following your vehicle to 2800 lbs. After that it must have brakes.

Actually works pretty well.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Hope your friend in Turkey is doing well now.

Holly ******** those are stupid expensive. A trailer would almost be cheaper.

He is doing much better. It took almost 2 weeks for him to reach the surface. And I'm at the point where I think I will just do engine swap where it is.

But they aren't. Most states limit non brake equipped wheeled items closely following your vehicle to 2800 lbs. After that it must have brakes.

Actually works pretty well.

I like being able to stop!

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

I will continue the story I was trying to tell a month ago before I got sidetracked to the other side of the world. I really don't want to relive this horror, but here you go. In the rush to drop the van off at my friends house in WV and continue on our journey to AL for some training classes, we somehow accidentally turned the fridge off. We came back two weeks later. I will let you know that it was a hot summer. There was $100 of chicken in the freezer. The van was pitched so the fridge doors were downhill...


Opening the door into the living area was the worst action I have ever done in my life. No description of the foul stench could accurately put you in our shoes. The chicken had thawed and turned into a plasma state. Leaked out of the freezer door...


Down the cabinet, in and under the fridge, under the batteries, under the floor...


The goo that was waiting for us under all the layers of floor...


Ripped out much of the interior. Fully disassembled the fridge. Cleaned everything! Bleach, vinegar, and gasoline were our friends. Got about 90% of the interior cleaned and smell free.

 

[iggi]

OMG... talk about a poltergeist level scene when you opened that fridge.
PS Have friends in the caving community so was watching the Turkey rescue. Grateful it worked out.

 

[jhl99]

It seems to be Plethora's style to be somewhat understated.... for those who missed the comment about the cave rescue, Goggle: Google News: "caver rescue turkey".... the rescue effort was a huge international effort, and ironically, the guy who was rescued was himself an expert in cave rescues.

Maybe the old adage, 'no good deed goes unpunished', was holding true-- hence the chicken fiasco.

Where is the van marooned in WV?

 

[thezentree]

When I was in undergrad, my roommate and I both left town for the summer for internships ...and he stopped paying the power bill.

We returned the day before classes started again to a similar fridge/freezer situation. Horrific is an understatement.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Yes it was a big rescue. I have never been that deep before. Not going back. The van is stuck near Clarksburg, WV. Nothing could be worse than the chicken plasma. Maybe a fire would be worse, but not much else compares. I'll keep cleaning it.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Random 3am thought after a 15 hour work day...

How difficult would it be to drop in a 350 (or different engine) that came as an option in a step van into your rig to drive it home? I know the fuel mileage would suck, but at least it could get you home? Heck, a 350 on propane would probably cost you less per mile than what you've been spending on Cummins engines.

Keep in mind that it has been a stupidly long week that I have been waking up at 4am every day with insomnia... and today it was 2:30am

I'm trying to think how to get you home, and a stock engine option that is readily available might just work. With my 4x I'm now on my 2nd $250 350... the first of which ran, strong as heck, for 21 years (I mean 300ish hp and gobs of useable torque) and delivered as much as 20 mpg for sustained highway driving in a lifted 5000 lb brick.

I know its blasphemy suggesting putting a 350 into a diesel engine bay... but it could even be limed home on a boat fuel can,