A "wheelife" adventure story!

**wheelife** · 12-09-2005, 11:11 PM

This all started because I decided to attend a meeting of L.X. forum members in Toronto Ont. (jaak attack)
During the inital discussion about the meet, bigjim chimed in.
I went and checked out his website to which he had posted a picture appeared of a wood boat his father had restored.
I moved from Toronto/Bobcaygeon 3 years ago and sold a wood boat project of mine to a fellow in Bobcaygeon, Ont.
I thought it would be really great to get it back, so I decided to call this fellow, and he agreed to sell the boat back to me.

So the plan was set.
Drive from Fredericton New Brunswick to Bobcaygeon Ont Pick-up boat
Continue to Jaak Attack in Toronto.
Return To Fredericton New Brunswick

The car
(2005 Dodge Magnum R/T rwd. with snow tires, D.C. trailer hitch, no self levelling shocks)
was bought new 3 weeks before the trip.

Total mileage of trip (approx 4000 km)
Total mileage with trailer (2400 km)
Fuel mileage without trailer (12 litres per 100 km)
Fuel mileage with trailer (15 litres per 100 km)
Total weight of trailer and boat approx 1000lbs.
Total drive time from Toronto, Ont. to Fredericton, New Brunswick
with boat (18 hours) not including sleep.
total trip time (60 hours)
Total sleep time (13 hours)

The boat and a brief history lesson:
22 ft. 1961 Richardson Vagabond, powered by a 283 buick nailhead engine (marine spec) with Mercury outdrive.
Built of Brunzeel plywood using lapstrake construction and manufactured in Lakefield Ont. by the famed builders of the Peterborough and Lakefield Canoes.
As of this writing, this appears to be the only known example of this boat to have survived.

As I understand it...
Brunzeel Plywood was/is produced in Scotland and was originally developed right before the 2nd world war by the British Air Force for use in the Mosquito airplane.
This facility in Scotland was top secret during the war and to this day the exact production/manufacturing techniques are a closely guarded secret.

The following is a summary of that trip.
Yep, we (the boat, the Magnum and I) made it back in one piece and I am glad to report the boat and Magnum came through without any damage from the trip. However my brain and body are still re-covering and possibly damaged...this probably happened before the trip!
You can bet there were a number of white knuckle events (see below) during the drive and I will be the first to admit that this drive tested many of my skills to the max!!!
But I have learned that from great adversity we become better people and/or better drivers.
So I can say I feel like my life is that much more complete.
Thanks to everybody All for your prayers and support!

My Magnum...
What an incredible car, I am completely blown away with the ability of the Magnum to handle what was thrown at it on this trip.
Daimler Chrysler really hit this one way out of the park I think this car is a watershed moment in automotive history. It does so much as a family car, as a hotrod, as a trailer hauler, etc.
How can one car be so diverse and exceptional in all catagories? My hats off to the designers of the Magnum.
It was stable, fast, reliable, predictable, and not once did I feel the car limited my abilty to get the job done. In fact, there were a number of white knuckle events (see below)that would have left lesser cars, me and the boat scattered across the highway.

This was not a drive for the faint of heart...
I found that at speeds under 100kph the whole kit pushed and pulled like any trailer will...not that this upset the car as much as it upset the driver, and if this was the way it was going to be then it was to be an uncomfortable drive.
Luckily, I found that at speeds between 100 and 120 kph the aerodynamics were such as to to pull trailer down and create a very stable ride...so much so that on the smooth pavement of the 401 hwy I could barely tell I was pulling a trailer, It was rock solid.
I even touched speeds of 130 kph(not intended), and even the expansion joints became much less of a concern as any jostling of the trailer was quickly settled by the aerodynamic downforce.
It must have been quite a site going down the highway, as from behind The Magnum was totally hidden by the boat.

OK, OK. Now the white knuckle events for all you sadistic types:

1.) Bovaird Dr.
Some of you may have noticed the construction on Boviard Dr. raised manhole covers with nice ramps to blend
them into the road surface. I had no choice but to put one of the trailer wheels over one of these causing
the trailer to lurch to one side., it felt like the boat was going to roll over onto the car beside me!
Needless to say I crawled over the remaining ones!

2.) The yellow cavalier
While travelling east on the 401, a yellow cavalier appeared on an on-ramp and decided to merge into traffic.
Upon seeing me they couldn't decide what to do first, a turn signal, then the brake lights, starts to slow down then speeds up and starts for my lane (this all happens in about 3 seconds) I manage to check my mirrors and pull into the left lane (many explitives)

3.) Montreal
After the typical insanity of Montreal roads and drivers (many explitives), I crossed the Champlain Bridge and
managed to miss my exit. I ended up in the port district of Montreal on a one-way dead-end street (only in Montreal).
I realized I was sweating profusly and totally stressed so I stopped and got out of the car (again yelling many explitives), changed my shirt, had a smoke and set out across a private loading yard for Round 2.
This time I found my exit but not without some a**hole in a tractor trailer leaning on his jack brake right behind me.

4.) Blizzard north of Montreal
Just north of Montreal it was dark (5:00am) and I ran into the largest snowflakes I have seen in a while.
I felt like I was in a bad dream or my own version of Star Trek.
I could barely see the road plus the optical illusion caused by the driving snow really made seeing the road virtually impossible.
It was all I could do to find an off ramp and a safe place to park. Needless to say, by this time I was totally spent so I crawled into the back of the Magnum and pulled out the sleeping bag and literally passed out due to exhaustion. This came only minutes after #3 Montreal. I woke up 3 hours later to a sunny day and clear roads.

5.) Every bridge expansion joint
It didn't seem to matter what speed I hit these at... if there was any kind of mis-match in the expansion joint
the trailer would bounce wildly. I am sure the trailer was airborne more than once!
It was impossible to gauge how serious each joint would be, and I didn't want to or couldn't slow down too quickly because people insisted on tailgating me and I really didn't want to get rear-ended.

6.) Slower traffic keep to the right
In New Brunswick we have some very steep grades.(2 lanes up 1 lane down) I decided to pass a slow moving tractor trailer going up. Just as I pulled along side the truck, I realised there was another truck headed towards us, when we all met I think there may have been 6 inches on either side of me! Heart in mouth...permanent marks in steering wheel!

Some of the fun bits:
Passing people who were doing less than the speed limit
Passing people going up-hill
Boy! weren't they surprised to see a Magnum plus 22ft of boat go past them doing 120kmh!!!

more photos here!
http://photobucket.com/albums/d57/wh...20photos/?sc=1
Cheers
Lance

**fnkychkn** · 12-09-2005, 11:23 PM

great story Lance. sounds like you had a pretty boring, uneventful trip. :rolleyes: glad you made it home safe and sound.

ps such a big adventure and no pics?

**wheelife** · 12-09-2005, 11:27 PM

Thanks fnkychkn
I am downloading some photos to photobucket
will post a link in a few minutes

**RTracer** · 12-09-2005, 11:37 PM

what the hell is a km, and litre?
just kidding, great write up

**Netsrac** · 12-09-2005, 11:46 PM

Nice roadtrip Wheelife

RTracer, the boat was actuall apx 450 kilo's

**wheelife** · 12-10-2005, 12:06 AM

more photos!
http://photobucket.com/albums/d57/wh...20photos/?sc=1

**fnkychkn** · 12-10-2005, 12:27 AM

great pics Lance. thanks for sharing.

**hemiwagn** · 12-10-2005, 12:37 AM

Great story, man! Had me laughing out loud more than once, followed by rising volume n the TV in the other room.....

Glad you made it one piece!

**BigBadMagnum99** · 12-10-2005, 03:40 AM

Awesome story and great pictures!

**HWDan** · 12-10-2005, 01:34 PM

Thanks for the great read Wheelife!

**SoCal_Magnum** · 12-10-2005, 01:41 PM

Great pictures man! Loved reading your story...I know you had your fair share of aggravation, but I bet you had a blast

**wheelife** · 12-10-2005, 09:16 PM

Thanks all for chiming in. I thought some of you would like to share in my antics..... at the end of the day i did have a blast
and attending Jaak attack was great.
I highly recommend meeting your fellow LX members
Make the effort to attend those Meets and Greets
You will find a whole bunch of people just like you!