Western USA Trip 2018 with the M1009

[ywgspotter]

Earlier this summer I had done a test run of about 30 hours from Edmonton to Winnipeg, mostly to visit family but it gave me a chance to check the M1009 for any issues. Noticed a couple and fixed the balljoints, tie rod ends, adjusted the steering gear (which is probably too worn anyhow) and never did tend to my leaking front output shaft seal on the transfer case. With all being fairly well I decided to go for a 6800km or 4500nm trip from Edmonton, down to Roswell NM and back to Edmonton.

First day I left I went straight from Edmonton to Billings MT. I had an air mattress laid over the back seat and a suitcase propping up the mattress from falling into where your feet would go if you were sitting on the seat normally. Being 5'11" it worked not half bad for what I needed.

Second day I did a short trip to Casper WY. I met up with a friend and once again spent the night at a truck stop. It was at that point I figured I may as well hit Amarillo and say I've been to Texas.

Driving from Casper to Amarillo was a long day. Stopped in Cheyenne for fuel and met a Vet who used to drive one of the M1009's in Germany, told me how tough they were crashing through brush in Germany and almost running into a Czechoslovakian checkpoint back in the 80's. Next I got to to "enjoy" driving through Denver. Once I was fairly far out from Denver it was slightly less hectic. Went through New Mexico and finally got off the interstate for a bit. Drove through a wicked thunderstorm that gave quite a fantastic lightning show as I drove through. Eventually made it to Amarillo about 2300.

Woke up in Amarillo and proceeded to head over to Roswell. Stopped by the famous UFO museum and checked out the aircraft graveyard from afar. Noticed a National Guard Armoury so naturally I had to stop there and take a picture with their armored vehicle on display. Spent the evening talking with some truck drivers over at the cafe by the truck stop and called it a night.

Went straight to Moab after the day in Roswell. Straight through Albuquerque and a little into Arizona and then proceeded north into Utah via US491, US264 and 191 to Many Farms and then took 59 north to Kayenta. Doing this allowed me to proceed north on 163 right through Monument Valley around dusk. Also met a former marine with a nice C30 which he wanted to trade. I couldn't let that happen with the way the M1009 had been treating me thus far.

Now Moab threw me off slightly. As of late I had been stopping at truck stops for the night and was able to purchase a shower in the morning. Moab did not offer any truck stops unless I wanted to drive about an hour north. 10pm I was not feeling that. I resorted to a lovely Church parking lot to spend the night and figured I'd get a hotel for the next night. In the morning I ran just a beginner trail in Moab and followed some of the other trails linked to it. Didn't try anything too daring as I was travelling alone and didn't want to get myself in a predicament let alone the truck getting broken. Also checked out a bit of Arches National Park which was very nice. Be aware it's 20 dollars for most of the parks and Arches is 30. This pass also covers you for 7 days but I felt that Arches was at least worth even just for the day for me.

Will continue this on another reply as I've reached the limit on this one

 

[ywgspotter]

After Moab it was time to head to Boise ID to visit a buddy who's in the USAF. Went through Salt Lake City and stopped in at the Hill Aerospace Museum. Fantastic display of warbirds and plenty of aircraft on static display both inside and out. Ended up stopping in Twin Falls ID for the night.

In the morning I stopped by Shoshone Falls just outside of Twin Falls. From there I stopped, changed my fuel filter (still have leaky fuel filter base) and continued to Boise. Boise was a good time, experienced a bit of the downtown life and went to Meridian speedway the next day for a race. Got the cucv hung up trying to go up a rutted pass up a little hill (Table Rock they called it). Got out of the ruts only to find the truck wasn't geared enough to even make it up the rest of the hill. Lesson learned.

After Boise I ended up heading to Idaho City and over to Sun Valley. From Sun Valley I headed over to Kalispell MT and spent the night at a truck stop in Columbia Falls with the intent of driving through Glacier National Park the next day on the way home. In Sun Valley I noticed I had an exterior fuel leak from one of my injectors, while it concerned me I continued anyway as it wasn't a bad leak and the truck was still running fine.

After the night in Columbia Falls I made my way to Going to the Sun Road. This is a tight winding road that goes alongside the mountains and gives some incredible views. It's a nice slow drive which made doing this enjoyable in the M1009 as it really hates hills with 3:08 gears. After that I continued right to the Canadian Border and headed straight home.

All in all this was a fantastic trip, I'm extremely happy to have completed this road trip. It was a great experience and the M1009 handled quite nicely for all the driving I did with it. In two weeks I had put just over 7000km which was about 4300 miles not to be too specific. Any questions just ask away!