AmericaOverland
Explorer
Hi everyone!
I was gone for 12 days (supposed to be 11 days with a day of rest before going back to work), a day longer than I had planned. I went to Columbus Ohio to meet with some of my family there before we drove in their cars to Boston, Massachusetts for the family reunion. I had a great time and will be putting up a link from my America Overland web page to reflect a change in vehicle ownership and document what was an epic trip it was for me.
To head off some questions right away, I did not let go of my Scout, which is still in restoration, and I'm not going to. I have a good reason for keeping the Scout now. I am now the owner of a 2003 Honda CR-V, 4WD with automatic transmission and real-time all-wheel drive (suitable for green-laning or two-tracking, not off-roading) and even comes with a picnic table that is the floor under the carpet when it's stowed. The fact that it's electronic everything scares me and could be expensive to fix years down the road (even though Honda has the best thing going for a vehicle in its price range of all the makers). Hence, the reference to the posting in the electronic gizmo thread in which I said that I would probably have to eat my entire wardrobe of undergarments for disparaging electronics in general and having to buy it at the car lot.
This is how it happened. I had my Toyota Corolla checked out thoroughly, because I would be driving 2600 miles roundtrip in the car (Houston-Columbus and back). I took off for Columbus on Sunday, July 25th, just before 10 AM. Barely 200 miles into the trip, the AC failed. At the time, I understood that the AC compressor had a slow leak, so it would hold a recharge for just under a year (because for the last four years, I had it recharged), which was last done about 5 months ago. What happened was that the compressor was really getting clogged up (this, I was not told), and when it stopped up, the fuse in the middle of the dash blew. This would have been an expensive repair by itself. I kept going and made it to Columbus by changing from driving during the day to night time, which I learned is how people without AC used to travel long distances sometimes. Halfway through Tennessee on the way to Nashville to get to the REI store before they closed for the night (I made it in time), I started to feel the car lurch lightly, momentarily. I thought, "Now what? Fuel pump? Bad gas?" I texted my aunt, preparing mentally for a tow across two states. That never happened, fortunately.
I dropped off the Corolla with my aunt's mechanic, who later told us what happened with the AC. The lurching I felt was supposedly the motor mounts wearing badly, allowing the motor to shift in place whenever I was coming up through the acceleration from 45 to 60 MPH. It was looking bad. I already owed $1,200 I was getting ready to pay off within 6 months alongside two other bills at the same time. It did not make sense to me to triple that bill, especially an 18-year-old car that limited me in my carrying capacity.
It took some time to find the vehicle, but the paperwork was a nightmare because of the interstate nature of the transaction. We're still getting the paperwork completed, even though I already drove the CR-V home and have been home a week now. I wanted a Honda Element and then the CR-V as a VERY CLOSE second. Reliability was a priority for me, because I would be paying out the loan for maybe two years (even though I have a 5-year/100,000 mi service contract on it). I could not find a SINGLE Element that was a 2005 or older at any of the decent lots or better. Not a one. They were all 2006 and up, and costing a pretty penny, I remember around $12,000 for a very high mileage model to $15,000 or more for one with less than 100,000 mi on it. I decided that was too much for me. I opted for the CR-V, and had looked at the first generation, but fortunately, I didn't get it because the second generation has 1,500 lbs towing capacity compared to the older model's 1,000 lbs limit. Even if I had the money and was stuck on the CR-V, I wouldn't get the third generation because of their appearance, the fact that you can't haul as much as before because of the curves in the ceiling and sidewalls, and the fact that they moved the spare inside into the floor. They simply look too much like a car, and I suppose they even ride more like a car as well. I also found out a few days ago that the models 2005 and up have drive-by-wire throttle. This means that unless we return to mechanizing critical functions of future vehicles, I better get started on a restoration fund for the CR-V NOW (even though it's in excellent condition, and will be for several years). I bought the vehicle from Auto Pawn USA in Columbus (www.autopawnohio.com and ask for John Cordell). John seems to be a nice man, straight up. My aunt and I watched him closely, and it helped that we have family who works in the business in the area and knows John. We were able to get the CR-V at a lower price than most places simply because he was willing to give her a break for giving him the business.
I had a few issues come up; before we even left the lot, we discovered that the rain/roof rack trim strips at the front was not tightened down properly, and after driving through 50 MPH winds and rain so solid you couldn't see the stripes on the road even at 20-30 MPH on the way to Cincinnati, and some hail, the windshield gasket across the top started coming undone from the left side. I just popped it back it, and it came out again after driving another 500 miles, once again through that same massive storm after it passed me during my nap at a rest stop. I popped it back in again. I discovered a noise in the very first parking lot after picking up the truck (and the lot closed as soon as we had left at 8 PM that night). It sounded and felt like driving on the warning washboard strips on the side of the Interstate, and it would do it in both directions in tight turns. Also, driving down the highway, it felt like the front wheels were unbalanced. It turned out to be the rear differential fluid, which for some reason was missed during the prepping of this truck for sale. Now, the truck drives like a dream and has plenty of room! I had no chance to find out these issues because I had to leave for home at the last minute. I was already a day and a half late for home (I arrived home 4 hours before my work shift was to start, and I had been awake for 48 hours as of 9 AM and traveling for 34 hours (including driving, napping, eating, and refueling), and I had communication problems with Relay service for the phone while trying to talk to my boss while about 10 hours from home, the night before I was to show up for work). My boss understood that my situation was beyond my control and and that I was doing the best I could, so she let off for the day to get sleep and make up for the lost hours the following week.
I estimate I traveled somewhere around 4,500-4,700 miles if you include all the riding I did in Columbus as my aunt showed me the pretty rural area of Sunbury, Ohio and went to see my cousin and her family rock climbing at the Rock Gym there, etc., plus the riding during the time my aunt was in driving mode during the drive from Columbus to Boston (we took turns driving for 14-16 hours).
I have yet to search who else has CR-Vs here so that I can learn more about it and see what options I have with it. I already tried getting inside the cargo area to see how much room I have. It's too bad I can't remove the rear seats to get me a pad and sleeping bag back there, but I have three options I'm looking at, but I don't think I'm going to want to try anything right now until I have paid quite a bit towards the truck and other things. I want to have a little bit of pocket money so that I can do local trips and start saving for the next big trip next year. I'm going to either pull a friend's popup camper (depending on the Scout's completion) or simply borrow a tent for camping later this fall. Something valuable I learned HERE is that I don't have to have all the gear in place to enjoy a trip in exactly the way "it's supposed to be done."
I did NOT expect to leave Texas with my Corolla and come back in a new-to-me vehicle. I still can't believe all the things I had to do to make this happen, and still enjoyed a great, fantastic trip, that won't get repeated like this again in the same way, ever. Anyway, here we go!
I was gone for 12 days (supposed to be 11 days with a day of rest before going back to work), a day longer than I had planned. I went to Columbus Ohio to meet with some of my family there before we drove in their cars to Boston, Massachusetts for the family reunion. I had a great time and will be putting up a link from my America Overland web page to reflect a change in vehicle ownership and document what was an epic trip it was for me.
To head off some questions right away, I did not let go of my Scout, which is still in restoration, and I'm not going to. I have a good reason for keeping the Scout now. I am now the owner of a 2003 Honda CR-V, 4WD with automatic transmission and real-time all-wheel drive (suitable for green-laning or two-tracking, not off-roading) and even comes with a picnic table that is the floor under the carpet when it's stowed. The fact that it's electronic everything scares me and could be expensive to fix years down the road (even though Honda has the best thing going for a vehicle in its price range of all the makers). Hence, the reference to the posting in the electronic gizmo thread in which I said that I would probably have to eat my entire wardrobe of undergarments for disparaging electronics in general and having to buy it at the car lot.
This is how it happened. I had my Toyota Corolla checked out thoroughly, because I would be driving 2600 miles roundtrip in the car (Houston-Columbus and back). I took off for Columbus on Sunday, July 25th, just before 10 AM. Barely 200 miles into the trip, the AC failed. At the time, I understood that the AC compressor had a slow leak, so it would hold a recharge for just under a year (because for the last four years, I had it recharged), which was last done about 5 months ago. What happened was that the compressor was really getting clogged up (this, I was not told), and when it stopped up, the fuse in the middle of the dash blew. This would have been an expensive repair by itself. I kept going and made it to Columbus by changing from driving during the day to night time, which I learned is how people without AC used to travel long distances sometimes. Halfway through Tennessee on the way to Nashville to get to the REI store before they closed for the night (I made it in time), I started to feel the car lurch lightly, momentarily. I thought, "Now what? Fuel pump? Bad gas?" I texted my aunt, preparing mentally for a tow across two states. That never happened, fortunately.
I dropped off the Corolla with my aunt's mechanic, who later told us what happened with the AC. The lurching I felt was supposedly the motor mounts wearing badly, allowing the motor to shift in place whenever I was coming up through the acceleration from 45 to 60 MPH. It was looking bad. I already owed $1,200 I was getting ready to pay off within 6 months alongside two other bills at the same time. It did not make sense to me to triple that bill, especially an 18-year-old car that limited me in my carrying capacity.
It took some time to find the vehicle, but the paperwork was a nightmare because of the interstate nature of the transaction. We're still getting the paperwork completed, even though I already drove the CR-V home and have been home a week now. I wanted a Honda Element and then the CR-V as a VERY CLOSE second. Reliability was a priority for me, because I would be paying out the loan for maybe two years (even though I have a 5-year/100,000 mi service contract on it). I could not find a SINGLE Element that was a 2005 or older at any of the decent lots or better. Not a one. They were all 2006 and up, and costing a pretty penny, I remember around $12,000 for a very high mileage model to $15,000 or more for one with less than 100,000 mi on it. I decided that was too much for me. I opted for the CR-V, and had looked at the first generation, but fortunately, I didn't get it because the second generation has 1,500 lbs towing capacity compared to the older model's 1,000 lbs limit. Even if I had the money and was stuck on the CR-V, I wouldn't get the third generation because of their appearance, the fact that you can't haul as much as before because of the curves in the ceiling and sidewalls, and the fact that they moved the spare inside into the floor. They simply look too much like a car, and I suppose they even ride more like a car as well. I also found out a few days ago that the models 2005 and up have drive-by-wire throttle. This means that unless we return to mechanizing critical functions of future vehicles, I better get started on a restoration fund for the CR-V NOW (even though it's in excellent condition, and will be for several years). I bought the vehicle from Auto Pawn USA in Columbus (www.autopawnohio.com and ask for John Cordell). John seems to be a nice man, straight up. My aunt and I watched him closely, and it helped that we have family who works in the business in the area and knows John. We were able to get the CR-V at a lower price than most places simply because he was willing to give her a break for giving him the business.
I had a few issues come up; before we even left the lot, we discovered that the rain/roof rack trim strips at the front was not tightened down properly, and after driving through 50 MPH winds and rain so solid you couldn't see the stripes on the road even at 20-30 MPH on the way to Cincinnati, and some hail, the windshield gasket across the top started coming undone from the left side. I just popped it back it, and it came out again after driving another 500 miles, once again through that same massive storm after it passed me during my nap at a rest stop. I popped it back in again. I discovered a noise in the very first parking lot after picking up the truck (and the lot closed as soon as we had left at 8 PM that night). It sounded and felt like driving on the warning washboard strips on the side of the Interstate, and it would do it in both directions in tight turns. Also, driving down the highway, it felt like the front wheels were unbalanced. It turned out to be the rear differential fluid, which for some reason was missed during the prepping of this truck for sale. Now, the truck drives like a dream and has plenty of room! I had no chance to find out these issues because I had to leave for home at the last minute. I was already a day and a half late for home (I arrived home 4 hours before my work shift was to start, and I had been awake for 48 hours as of 9 AM and traveling for 34 hours (including driving, napping, eating, and refueling), and I had communication problems with Relay service for the phone while trying to talk to my boss while about 10 hours from home, the night before I was to show up for work). My boss understood that my situation was beyond my control and and that I was doing the best I could, so she let off for the day to get sleep and make up for the lost hours the following week.
I estimate I traveled somewhere around 4,500-4,700 miles if you include all the riding I did in Columbus as my aunt showed me the pretty rural area of Sunbury, Ohio and went to see my cousin and her family rock climbing at the Rock Gym there, etc., plus the riding during the time my aunt was in driving mode during the drive from Columbus to Boston (we took turns driving for 14-16 hours).
I have yet to search who else has CR-Vs here so that I can learn more about it and see what options I have with it. I already tried getting inside the cargo area to see how much room I have. It's too bad I can't remove the rear seats to get me a pad and sleeping bag back there, but I have three options I'm looking at, but I don't think I'm going to want to try anything right now until I have paid quite a bit towards the truck and other things. I want to have a little bit of pocket money so that I can do local trips and start saving for the next big trip next year. I'm going to either pull a friend's popup camper (depending on the Scout's completion) or simply borrow a tent for camping later this fall. Something valuable I learned HERE is that I don't have to have all the gear in place to enjoy a trip in exactly the way "it's supposed to be done."
I did NOT expect to leave Texas with my Corolla and come back in a new-to-me vehicle. I still can't believe all the things I had to do to make this happen, and still enjoyed a great, fantastic trip, that won't get repeated like this again in the same way, ever. Anyway, here we go!
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