The Rover-Landers of BC

I've noticed a few people comment on this now, and I do agree, it would be great to have a CURRENT PROJECTS section. I would love to hear about all the ideas and interesting things people are coming up with over these rainy dreary months to help stay motivated on the trucks!

I just finished my Scout power steering conversion, and sure wish I had done it earlier. In my opinion it is a beautiful fit for the Series rigs, and can be done quite inexpensively. All in I was back on the road for under $200.00. Out of all the conversions and modifications that I have done on this truck, this hands down has made the biggest difference in overall usability and enjoyment.

I only wish I had done it before our trip to Alaska last Sept.!!! :lol:

Series owners are just getting too soft these days :wink:

Hey Neil,
Trip to Alaska? What the....? I would love to hear about all your trips and interesting things you did last summer over these rainy dreary months to help stay motivated for the upcoming season with my truck! Photos for the gallery?

Too soft is right!! I am just hoping that Art doesn't notice the power steering next time I'm over at his place!

The trip was a lot of fun. It was the first large trip we have done in the Carawagon. We covered just over 8500kms, and lived out of the truck for a month. In all honesty, it went far better than I could have ever imagined! I've been building this truck for this kind of travel for 7 years, and always had that doubt in the back of my mind that a Series truck was just not cut-out for the long distance stuff. Couldn't of been further from the truth! We experienced no mechanical issues at all and slept and camped in comfort! Even if you are only mildly safer camping inside your truck than outside in a tent, we were still sure happy to be there when waking up to Brown bears sniffing at the windows! Alaska was amazing for the bears if nothing else!!

We took the Alaska Highway up, and came back down via the Stewart-Cassiar. The goal was to meet our good friends from Anchorage (fellow Carawagon owner) and together tour the areas in and around Anchorage. The major downfall to the trip was the weather. We only had 2 nice days in Alaska, the rest of the time it was freezing cold and rainy! But we did manage to make it to the Kennicott mines, Whittier, Seward, Denali highway and other smaller locations. More time is definately required to see Alaska. I would love to go back and head North of Fairbanks for what I would imagine to be a far more remote feel. I think that the Yukon left more of an impression on me than the areas we travelled in Alaska just due to the distances between towns and the "third world" feel of the roads!

Here is a link to some photos of the trip:

http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c391/lstrvr/

Hi Neil,

Loved the photos, looks like a great trip.
Awesome job you did on your truck.
What time in the year did you go to Alaska?
cheers,
Andy

Thank you for the compliments Andy!

We were gone the month of September. We did luck out and had nothing but sun and clear skies the whole way up to Alaska and for most of the way home. On the way up, it was a bit of a shock for us when we came into Whitehorse and we were told that it would be well below freezing at night. We weren't prepared for that! Luckily just before we left I installed a Catalytic propane heater that did a real nice job of keeping us warm. We only used it before going to sleep and when waking back up in the morning. The first one I installed went up in flames due to a faulty valve, and I just couldn't shake those memories of sheer panic and terror to leave this one going all night!! One nice thing about that time of year though is the fall colours. Absolutely incredible!

N Hamelin wrote:I've noticed a few people comment on this now, and I do agree, it would be great to have a CURRENT PROJECTS section. I would love to hear about all the ideas and interesting things people are coming up with over these rainy dreary months to help stay motivated on the trucks!

Your wish is my command, Neil.

Dave

Hi Neil, I'll echo Andy's comments, really great photos and of course your usual great attention to detail on your Carawagon resto. Thanks for sharing.
Bill

great pics!

Trip to alaska ( and montana, wife's never been) are the main reasons I started a wagon style vehicle project.

( I like the new section too)

Swet trip Neil/ so glad you went ahead with the scout power steering, I love mine. And dont worry about AART, he has seen mine a few times and he hasnt torn out his beard over it yet. All the best, love your rig, and the awesome work you have done with it. SEASONS GREETINGS. rick.m

Thank you for the kind compliments!

I know we shouldn't be using links, but I thought I would add this link to my friends pictures from the trip for those who may be interested:

http://s459.photobucket.com/albums/qq318/jhofoshomofo/

His truck is a 1970 original Carawagon, with about every mechanical mod a series guy could want in it and the list just keeps growing. It has a real cool 3.0 Mercruiser conversion in it that runs like a top!