The best way to start a trip is on day 3, you crack the frame, rip open the steering box and control arms while trying to stop a shaky 6,000lb van thats headed towards oncoming traffic and end up in a ditch thats trying to flip the van.
Brought the van to City Welding Sudbury and dropped it off at 2pm and they got it back to me at 9am the next morning. Their night crew boxed the frame, stacked their welds and painted everything. No one in the states would touch an automotive frame but for this shop that worked on mining equipment, it was no biggie for them. What could have been a trip ender, was just a bump in the road and $300.
I drove straight across Ontario deep in the woods on a washboard road. If you ever have driven a washboard road, you know it is bumpy but imagine that in a lifted van with little suspension. I was stuck going 15 MPH for 5 hours. I ended up working on my laptop editing photos keeping the steering wheel straight. There was so much rattling that my headers shook loose and I lost 7 out of 12 header bolts. If I tried to stop, I was swarmed by mosquitoes. I was forced to finish boiling pasta while driving. Luckily I was able to push through the night to get out of the forest and not get eaten alive.
