djbiker27
Member
- Joined
- December 18, 2006
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Torrance, CA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1999 4x4 Ranger P.O.S.
i have a 1993 4 door explorer with at the time before departure had about 180,700 miles, and every year i go up to northern california with family, but this time i decided to meet family in vancouver, washington. I'm only 17 years old so i convinced my parents and then i set out on my journey with my dog, pepper. 
I left (Torrance) Los Angeles on Friday the 13th (who would have thought?) and made it 311 miles to patterson (middle of nowhere on the I-5) and still had about an 1/8th tank left. (Mind that i had to cross the grape vine which consumes a good amount of gas) On the highway i was averaging 400 miles to a tank!!!! In the city i get about 220 to 240 miles per tank, so my mileage almost doubled!!!
It was an interesting feeling just driving for hours on end without having to apply the brakes except for a few times. I stopped a second time in Willits, CA for gas and some grub even though i could have made it to where i was stopping. i made it to Piercy, CA, 585 miles north of where i started later that evening.
The next morning i departed for Vancouver, Washington. I saw the beautiful pacific northwest for many hours driving on the 101 and then the 199 through oregon for about 250 miles, then made it once again to the I-5 which is strikingly similar to the bland boring highway that it is in california! i was imagining trees the entire way through oregon, but it was not so. I called my uncle to let him know i was 50 miles south of portland, when an accident COMPLETELY STOPPED the I-5 and i was sitting there chatting with some fellow explorer drivers for about 45 minutes, then the traffic finally got moving. I drove 1100 miles in 2 days, i think i could be a trucker or something
I stayed in Washington for a week, and it was raining in july which was a big downer on my trip, but it was cool to see family. I left Vancouver for California but with my cousin riding along this time. The trip was going good but i wasn't getting nearly the same mileage for whatever reason. And through oregon a rock hit my windshield which at the time of impact was only about an inch long, and when i got to NorCal it was about 8 inches and climbing up my windshield. bummer.
Since my 4wd doesn't work i had to rally car drive it up the driveway up to our property, which was actually kind of fun. i tried to make a repair (i have the eddie bauer electronic transfer case) and i replaced the bushing before but couldn't find the right spot for the censor, so i tried up there on the uncomfortbale gravel driveway, but one of the sensor fingers broke off, most likely to be my fault. so i couldn't fix my 4wd, but i could still go up and down the driveway.
I stayed there for a week enjoying family and having an awesome time. I left with my brother in hopes of visiting UC san francisco and UC santa cruz, but it did work out so well! A little south of Santa Rosa, i was crusing on the 101 at about 70mph, and since i know my truck is old i am constantly watching all the gauges, and the oil pressure fell to zero and a giant grey cloud of smoke jetted out the back of my explorer. I jammed on the brakes, pulled to the side of the road, and didn't know how i stopped as fast as i did, but i turned the engine off instantly. I motor didn't run at all with no oil since i knew right away that my truck was dumping ALL the oil. so i sat on the side of the road with my brother, a truck with no oil, and a long trail of my trucks blood on the 101. :roll: It was such a bad feeling i was really sad if it had meant the end of my truck We called a towtruck and since it was a saturday barely any autoshops were open, and the one that was was very busy. It turned out to be there oil filter, whether it was faulty or i had installed it incorrectly we never figured out. A 5 hour fiasco later, we were on the road with a new oil filter and an urge to get home.
We skipped UCSF and stayed the night in an overpriced hotel in santa cruz, but i saw santa cruz in the night and day and really enjoyed the campus. We drove home to Los angeles and 2500 miles later i finally told my baby she was home and could rest. the odometer now read 183,200 miles. THe valves were slapping as normal, the transmission feels a little more clunky but not so bad.
Most of my friends said i was crazy for taking my old beast on this crazy summer trip, but i knew i could make it. It was definitely an experience and most 17 year olds wouldn't drive that far. I have some good memories and some more experience on the road and a new understanding for my ford explorer!
I left (Torrance) Los Angeles on Friday the 13th (who would have thought?) and made it 311 miles to patterson (middle of nowhere on the I-5) and still had about an 1/8th tank left. (Mind that i had to cross the grape vine which consumes a good amount of gas) On the highway i was averaging 400 miles to a tank!!!! In the city i get about 220 to 240 miles per tank, so my mileage almost doubled!!!
It was an interesting feeling just driving for hours on end without having to apply the brakes except for a few times. I stopped a second time in Willits, CA for gas and some grub even though i could have made it to where i was stopping. i made it to Piercy, CA, 585 miles north of where i started later that evening.The next morning i departed for Vancouver, Washington. I saw the beautiful pacific northwest for many hours driving on the 101 and then the 199 through oregon for about 250 miles, then made it once again to the I-5 which is strikingly similar to the bland boring highway that it is in california! i was imagining trees the entire way through oregon, but it was not so. I called my uncle to let him know i was 50 miles south of portland, when an accident COMPLETELY STOPPED the I-5 and i was sitting there chatting with some fellow explorer drivers for about 45 minutes, then the traffic finally got moving. I drove 1100 miles in 2 days, i think i could be a trucker or something
I stayed in Washington for a week, and it was raining in july which was a big downer on my trip, but it was cool to see family. I left Vancouver for California but with my cousin riding along this time. The trip was going good but i wasn't getting nearly the same mileage for whatever reason. And through oregon a rock hit my windshield which at the time of impact was only about an inch long, and when i got to NorCal it was about 8 inches and climbing up my windshield. bummer.
Since my 4wd doesn't work i had to rally car drive it up the driveway up to our property, which was actually kind of fun. i tried to make a repair (i have the eddie bauer electronic transfer case) and i replaced the bushing before but couldn't find the right spot for the censor, so i tried up there on the uncomfortbale gravel driveway, but one of the sensor fingers broke off, most likely to be my fault. so i couldn't fix my 4wd, but i could still go up and down the driveway.
I stayed there for a week enjoying family and having an awesome time. I left with my brother in hopes of visiting UC san francisco and UC santa cruz, but it did work out so well! A little south of Santa Rosa, i was crusing on the 101 at about 70mph, and since i know my truck is old i am constantly watching all the gauges, and the oil pressure fell to zero and a giant grey cloud of smoke jetted out the back of my explorer. I jammed on the brakes, pulled to the side of the road, and didn't know how i stopped as fast as i did, but i turned the engine off instantly. I motor didn't run at all with no oil since i knew right away that my truck was dumping ALL the oil. so i sat on the side of the road with my brother, a truck with no oil, and a long trail of my trucks blood on the 101. :roll: It was such a bad feeling i was really sad if it had meant the end of my truck
We called a towtruck and since it was a saturday barely any autoshops were open, and the one that was was very busy. It turned out to be there oil filter, whether it was faulty or i had installed it incorrectly we never figured out. A 5 hour fiasco later, we were on the road with a new oil filter and an urge to get home. We skipped UCSF and stayed the night in an overpriced hotel in santa cruz, but i saw santa cruz in the night and day and really enjoyed the campus. We drove home to Los angeles and 2500 miles later i finally told my baby she was home and could rest. the odometer now read 183,200 miles. THe valves were slapping as normal, the transmission feels a little more clunky but not so bad.
Most of my friends said i was crazy
for taking my old beast on this crazy summer trip, but i knew i could make it. It was definitely an experience and most 17 year olds wouldn't drive that far. I have some good memories and some more experience on the road and a new understanding for my ford explorer! 
