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The Great Smaug

Overview Gallery Discussion
Back at the parking lot we found this map of Pictured Rocks. Munising is in the SW corner. You can see Miner's Castle is toward the SW end of the park. So there's a whole lot we didn't see on this trip, along with a bunch of neat camping spots near the cliffs. Not to mention going to Grand Island. Definitely grounds for another trip there in the future. :thumb:

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Also found this map of the North Country National Scenic Trail (sorry for crummy shot). I did not realize there were so many miles of continuous hiking trail running through this area. Looks like you can hike from the middle of North Dakota to the Eastern edge of New York. And see the whole U.P. on your way. Whodathunkit?

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We then found a nearby beach where we watched the sun set.

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111-Sunset.JPG

This area is so beautiful. I wish even 5% of it would show up on film.

107-Pictured Rocks.JPG

108-Trail Map.JPG

109-Sunset.JPG

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And that's the end of this trip report. We turned the truck back home and arrived there safely and uneventfully.

This trip did reveal a couple of issues with the truck.

1) P/S is still leaking, and it leaks near the driver-side exhaust manifold. When surging up the hills leading to the cliff tops, it appears to leak directly on the manifold. Smoke becomes more prominent than normal.

2) Driver-side rocker arm cover is also leaking on & near the manifold. I already knew this, but the leak has been slight enough for me not to get too concerned.

3) Rear diff. cover leaks. Not much, and barely noticeable. But it's still leaking, and I found that discouraging after having just rebuild the axle. I now have a Lubelocker gasket to try out.

Aside from that, the truck handled well, and we really enjoyed having the camping truck. Even though we didn't end up actually camping in it. We're getting more comfortable with using the truck for trips.


Now to get the little things fixed so the next trip goes even more smoothly! :thumb:
 
82355 said:
Which Grand Island has better wings?

Martin
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Considering that all the wings on Michigan's Grand Island are still attached to flying fowl, I'd say that their wings are better. At flying. :haha:

But we were certainly better fed in Grand Island, Nebraska. :thumb:

We typically bring food with us on trips like this one. This time we decided to stop at a local eatery, and were quite disappointed. Definitely not as tasty as Nebraska's fare.
 
Grand Island Nebraska lost the scenery competition, they needed the hot wings victory to feel better about themselves.

Martin
 
82355 said:
Grand Island Nebraska lost the scenery competition, they needed the hot wings victory to feel better about themselves.

Martin
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You got that right. The scenery is much more engaging up here, IMO.


82355 said:
By the way, is that the name of a town, or an island?

Martin
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That is the name of the island. It has a few residents, and 2 lighthouses. Otherwise there's not much there.
 
Since that time (last autumn), the truck has not seen much road time. It sat safely parked over the winter, and I have used it to haul around a few loads during this warm season. For the last few weeks I have been driving it daily. I'm not impressed with the fuel mileage so far, but I have only a few tank's worth of driving it logged, and most of that has been loaded down. I do say that Big Blue has spoiled me for mileage numbers. :haha:

Definitely irritated by the non-locking torque convertor. Annoyed with automatics in general. The fan came off its shaft last fall and punched a hole in the radiator. Upon repairing the radiator, the fan has yet to be replaced. So far it has not been needed in my Northern summer driving.
 
The front brake calipers (still 1/2-ton) have been replaced, and the rear 11" drums have been swapped for the 13" drums on the 14bff. That caused no issues last summer when it was loaded down. But now that it's unloaded the rear end is locking up too early. Today I was driving through a torrential downpour and it was quite noticeable on the slick streets. I hardly ever drive it in inclement weather (this is probably the first time), but the issue is at least on the radar screen now. Might just be a matter of loosening the adjustment screw in the rear, but I'm guessing that the larger shoe area is throwing off the proportion some. :dunno:

Anybody have any insight?
 
82355 said:
Put a bigger caliper on the front axle?

Martin
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Talk about a quick response... :eek1:

I have a new set of 3/4-ton calipers lying around (I've been planning to use them on the CUCV build). Looking back, that's what I probably should have put on there last summer. Hindsight, as usual, is pretty clear.
 
I'm assuming lots of folks have done the 14bff/10-bolt combination in a 1/2-ton before. Does anyone have details on what they did and how well it worked? :popcorn:
 
Did I read correctly that you are driving around with no fan?
 
Richcz28 said:
Did I read correctly that you are driving around with no fan?
Click to expand...

That is correct. It will probably be fixed in the next few days, as I miss having it.

So far it has not caused any problems, but I'm pretty confident that the temperature gauge would start climbing if I ever encountered stop-and-go traffic.

Next project is trailering the M1009 up from its resting place so I can get started with an actual CK5-worthy build. :rolleyes: I definitely want the fan installed before I attempt that.
 
campfire said:
That is correct. It will probably be fixed in the next few days, as I miss having it.

So far it has not caused any problems, but I'm pretty confident that the temperature gauge would start climbing if I ever encountered stop-and-go traffic.

Next project is trailering the M1009 up from its resting place so I can get started with an actual CK5-worthy build. :rolleyes: I definitely want the fan installed before I attempt that.
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Yea, that's craziness that you don't have a fan. I would not make it a mile from my house.
 
Richcz28 said:
Yea, that's craziness that you don't have a fan. I would not make it a mile from my house.
Click to expand...

Hmm. I'm not sure what the big difference would be. I know my climate is fairly cool, but we're still talking 85*F during this hot season.

After it's warmed up, I can sit out about one stoplight cycle before I start noticing movement of the temperature gauge. That's about all I ever see in this area, so it has been working fine for my usage pattern. If I have to sit through 2 light cycles I will see some movement of the temp gauge. By the time I get to the next light it's back to normal again. Only time I've had to shut it off was when I was waiting for a train one day.

So...idling = not good. Driving (at any practical speed) = OK.

Trailering a K5 = ???

I need to get that fixed pretty soon. :rolleyes:
 
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