DAY 6
Week 1
CASTLEGAR (British Columbia, Canada)
Monday June 26th, 2006
TODAYS MILEAGE – 129 miles or 208 kilometres
TRIP MILEAGE – 863 miles or 1389 kilometres
Day 6 came and went in a hurry, but what a great day.
We got up nice and early to finish off the few remaining items on Yvonne's roof. Within about and hour and a half, Jungle and myself had the ridge cap nailed down, Whirly Bird vent installed, all vents sealed and the job site cleaned up. We were done!!!!
It was now time to attack the Man Pad and it's reoccurring problem of the loud screeching noise from the engine. It was quickly apparent what the issue was, once we'd removed the smog pump from the front of the engine. The previous owners had told me that the had no end of troubles with alternators - hence the reason I replaced it in Boise. I got an exact match for the unit that came of the RV, but who pays any attention to the pulley?
It turns out that who ever replaced the alternator installed a 4 rib type pulley, while the rest of the engine pulleys were 5 ribs. So when you installed the serpentine belt, you would cut off the first rib while driving, which in turn would cause the belt to loosen as is sat further in the pulley. Whenever the alternator would be under load, you would hear a deafening screeching until you backed off the load or the revs.
Now that we knew what the problem was, time to locate the correct pulley. There are two parts stores in Castlegar and I wasn't really expecting them to have a pulley in stock, but I was hoping to get one ordered for the next day. They didn't sell the pulleys because they don't stock them - full stop, end of story. So it was off to the wreckers to see what we could find. They would only sell the complete alternator, so my pulley replacement cost $75 Canadian and I wasn't going to put the untested "wreckers special" on the RV.
We ended up taking both alternators to the local GM dealer Kalawsky GM and asked if they could swap the pulleys for us. I was expecting it to cost the bare minimum of an hours labour, as a special tool is required to remove and install the pulleys, but the Service Manager wouldn't hear of it. He wouldn't take any money for the job and has my recommendation should you need mechanical work done if you're in the area.
The Man Pad was up and running, now to the damage on the tow dolly. I replaced the missing tail lights while Jungle went about straightening the tie down ratchets from where the front wheels jumped the front cradle of the tow dolly.
From there, the afternoon was all ours. We jumped in the Trailblazer and headed North to Nelson (British Columbia, CAN) and stopped at a Par 3 golf course that overlooks Kootenay Lake. Talk about gorgeous. I was fun just to meander around and take a look at the area. What strikes me most is the scale of the scenery. Big lakes, huge mountains and pristine countryside. You really need to check it out for yourself.
We got back into Castlegar in time for a quick change of clothing before heading South to Trail (British Columbia, CAN) for rugby training. Trail Colonials is the brother club of the Crimson Lions who I played for in Boise. I have played with them many a time and was keen to see their home ground. Their pitch is set at the base of a huge hill, has natural amphitheatre-like seating one side with houses on the other and a lush, well manicured playing surface. I would have to say it would have to be on of the best pitches I've run on in a long time.
After a bit of spirited touch (and mandatory fluid intake) it was back to Castlegar to make a spot of dinner for Jungle and Yvonne ("Jane")
That's it for the day, check ya tomorrow.
• CASTLEGAR (British Columbia, CAN)
• BALFOUR (British Columbia, CAN)
• NELSON (British Columbia, CAN)