'Storm is ready to go to Houston!

Ok Everyone!,


The time is almost here! For those of you en route, if you see the below convoy do not think it's a military train. It's a sum of several months of hard work and preparation in moving to Houston. There will be several stops along the way to satisfy onlookers questions and comments. Photo ops. will be abundant as well. Cheering is nice but paper cash is preferred, coins do hurt and are therefore discouraged unless placed in driver's hands. Look forward to seeing everyone! Departure date is tentatively set for 0500 05May05.
P.S.- If you count carefully you will see I've made my Deuce into an 18 wheeler!

Well, we wish you a safe and trouble free trip!

Yeah, keep your camo side up!

Thanks guys!

have fun and may the force be with you.

Yes, the force!! If not that then an unlimited fuel card cause it looks like your not going to be entirely happy about the ever increasing diesel prices!

Good luck though and hope nothing 'slows you down!'

John

Ok everyone, I'm planning a departure time of about 1200 today. I should have bunches of pics this weekend and help Ken have a pic of his truck for his avatar. We'll see how things go. Everything is cubed out to the max in both the truck and trailer. I also have two cats traveling with me too. Fortunately for them the passenger side rear window frame is fractured. So I removed the glass and now they have a completely open window drawing air for them! I'm stopping by Harold's for another frame. I know where there are several nice frames missing glass....................

Ken!,
I'm trying to get outta here a.s.a.p! I'll call after 1700 or so to let you know progress ( or regress depending upon the situation).

BTW everyone,

I need the power cord extension powering my 'puter. So until Houston, happy trails and c ya!!!!!!!! Hasta la pasta BABY!!!!

Godspeed Brother!

Update;

Well, I left Evansville, IN at 1430 on Thursday and arrived at Ken's in Houston approximately 1730 on Friday. I stopped in Little Rock for a six hour snooze.

Now the data:

The gross weight of everything was #29,000. I burned approximately 140 gallons over 840 miles. 'Storm likes to run about 2400 to 2450 rpm giving me about 53 mph. I'd drop from 5th to 4th on many hills. I used 1/2 gallon of oil, mostly pushed out the vent tube by the turbo.

I removed a rear window in the box to allow more air in for the two cats I brought with me. I made a custom double deck cat box due to limited space in the truck. The cats were not very happy to be together before the trip. However, after the trip they are glad for the other's company now.

Ken and I have worked on 'Storm since being here. We turned up the fuel, fixed an electrical problem on the transportable shelter, swapped a tire with a nail in it, fixed the tank fuel pump, parked the 5th wheel dolly converter, topped off the fluids in the drivetrain and will change them next weekend, dropped the primary fuel filter, checked it and reinstalled it, secured the passenger side spring seat and started to fix the fuel gauge. We still have much to do. But she'll be in much better shape when I head back to Indiana for the second load down.

Pics soon.

Man you should have seen this road train when he pulled up! I wish my truck acted like his and only broke down at my house!

Ken,
How much do you want to bet once we get our place set up your truck will respond in kind?

wecome to texas desert rat , i live in bmt about 70 mi. Ive got a m35a2,m715 and am101a1, look forward to chating with you . later matt.

Great trip, DR!
The stats look about right based on my own experiences, except perhaps the oil consumption. When you say "vent tube by the turbo", do you mean the crankcase breather? As you may or may not know, I have a filter in that system with a sump that collects the oil from the fumes. I measure about 1/10 of a quart/1,000 miles of driving, so 1/2 gallon sounds a bit on the high side.
Since you turned up the fuel, take it easy now in the hills, especially without a pyro. It's tempting to keep pushing it in the hills, but the EGT will skyrocket.
How is the engine coolant temp?

Guess you got the BP under control.
Good luck on the return trip and take yout time!

Looks like about 6 MPG. When I went to OH my rig grossed out at around 30,000# and I my average mileage was 6.49 MPG. I had less rolling resistance (only one axle following me) and much less wind resistance so all kinda adds up. When I did my MD trip in '03 I ran without front drive flanges and one rear shaft. At 52 MPH I was able to get 11.9 MPG. I'm leaving early tomorrow for Aberdeen (hopefully) and I'll have the shaft pulled and dummy flnages on front. M103A3 weighing about 5000# in tow. I'll report as I can.

Grunt,
Where in Texas are you? Could you please include that in your signature?

Bjorn,
Yep crankcase breather is my reference. I'm buying a pyro from NAPA today and installing it before returning to IN. I also will be installing a muffler as well. Other improvements are scheduled as well.

Kenny,
The rolling resistance made a big impact alright. When I return to TX I'll have the 105 trailer behind me in June. I'm curious to compare trips and analyze the data. It was interesting to see the 197 behind the shelter just wobbeling in the breeze.

Pics soon.

desert rat,i'm in beaumont,texas ,i just got my m35a2 about 2mos ago ,with the help of macinfantry his friend josh ,and my good friend ben. we changed all the fluids and afew minor repairs and drove it 210 mi back to texas from la. i could not have done it with out them. later matt rigsby beaumont,texas

Matt i'm east of houston, about 45 miles from Beaumont. If you need anything feel free to call.

Kenny, if you havn't already installed the turn signal buzzer gizmo, bring it to Aberdeen and I 'll help you get it to work.

Grunt & Everybody,

Here's some pics of the trip and Ken helping me with a few odds and ends once I got to his place. Enjoy the pics.!