Survey & Van

Big Duck is getting to the point I'd like to have insurance. She didn't burn when the shore power plug caught fire and toasted itself in two, and she didn't explode when the gas tank leaked 20 gallons of gas into a bilge heated by an electric space heater when the bilge pump came on and pumped 10 gallons of gas overboard, but I don't want to push my luck, so I got an insurance quote (of about $400). To bind the policy requires a survey (another $400) and I need to take The Duck about 100 miles down the road to the lake where the surveror will be. Might also be a good time for her first splash. Not at all worried about towing her down. Our van, an E-350 (one ton), V10 has done a wonderful job pulling our trailers.

The van has the Torqshift transmission which can be set to downshift when the brake is applied. It will also downshift when going downhill in cruise control to keep from going over the set speed. It's been a great vehicle expecially since she's been equipped with a couple cots, porta-potty, generator and window air.

She gets about 13 mpg towing the (previous) boat(s) and camper. We got a little over 10 mpg the 2,000 miles we towed Big Duck back home to SC from Las Vegas. But we're easy on her, seldom going over 55mph towing or not. She's got about 105,000 miles and is still running the original brakes. Which brings me to this next little hurdle...

I was on my way to the gas station to get some non-ethanol gas for Big Duck's new tank so I could try out the new starter. The van pulled slightly left. I stopped and checked the power steering fluid - it was normal. Then she pulled more, so I stopped again and checked the tires. They were fine, but as I started to pull away she seemed sluggish, like I was trying to drive over a small log - once up and over, things got a little better, but there was still that pull and it became too evident to keep going. I pulled over again and smelled brakes. The drivers front brake was smoking. Maybe the calipers were sticking? I kept my foot hard on the pedal and rocked forward to reverse to forward several times. She seemed a little better on the mile run back to the house, but still pulled left under power and then a little right when coasting.

I let her cool at home, then jacked her up to see if I could find the damage. The wheels spun freely. This led me to believe the ABS was somehow applying brake pressure at the wrong time, so I pulled the 60amp ABS fuse and things are back to normal. I'll be able to get her down to the lake for her survey (and inagural splash) afterall - that'll be next Friday (6/17) - I can't wait.