Finding out it is 106 outside, so I have decided to hide out in my man cave with the AC on

Jim

 

Sittin' in the Super 8 in Spokane Valley.

 

Must be hot, my AC has been on over an hour, and only brought down the inside temp from 96 to 84 degrees. Usually it can bring it down to 74 and shut off, and only run the fan, not today.

Jim

 

OK. Got the axle out today, and have it set up to begin grinding the welds tomorrow morning.

Here's the bad spindle, bottom side now up.

The outer bearing has enough clearance on the spindle to turn on it, and is creating fine metallic dust in the grease. It's just a matter of time before it fails again, and I don't want to be forty miles west of Tucumcari when it happens!!!

Pop

 

i take it this axle you cannot just simply order a new spindle/swing arm?

 

On another trip to Woodland, then Nampa, then ChiTown.


That would take more patience&precision than I have Pop!

Finally, just for fun:

 

Throw some sawdust on it, and button her back up.

Jim

 

I wish it were that simple.

The alternative is to order a whole new axle assembly. It belongs to a non-profit, so I'm trying to keep their costs down without sacrificing reliability.

This is a trailer I tow cross-country once a year, and I'm not about to get stuck on the side of the road someplace when I have a deadline to meet.

My alternative to not doing it right is just leaving it at home.

Pop

 

man that makes it tough, was shooting from the hip on that one. i have seen some torsion axles that the arm and spindle are on a spline shaft.

good luck with the repair! are you going to weld it up yourself? whats your welding method ya going to use?

i weld and tinker and fabricate things as a hobby, so your repair peaks my interest!

 

My nephew is a certified welder who has agreed to come over when it's all ready to go back together.

I'll be taking pictures along the way.

Pop

 

Seems they've moved on north of this Lake.

 

Buh-bye!

Pop

 

So I'm finally posting the details of our trip and final leg of our journey, starting Monday in Holbrook, AZ.
We drove a total of 5,990 miles during the trip, 2,755 from So Cal to Minn by way of western OR, ID, on to WY through Yellowstone, SD/Mt Rushmore, and up to central MN. Coming back took us 2,301 miles, through IA, Neb, KS, the panhandle of OK down hwy 54, the corner of TX, to Tucumcari, NM, down I 40, thru Flagstaff and Kingman, AZ and onto Cal.
We drove an additional 934 miles going further north to Bemidji, MN and out to Grand Forks, ND, 15 states in all.
The 6.0 ran flawlessly and now time for another oil change. We did, however, have a deer hit up Palisade, MN and a grouse slammed into us, up near Crookston, MN.
We just missed hitting two additional deer, one near Mentor, MN and one close to Ellsworth, KS. I kept hearing, "who needs a 30-30 when you have an F-250."

The last day we stopped in Winslow, the AZ meteor, hit some rain in Flagstaff (the first in the last 30 days), stopped at the Cracker Barrel for lunch in Flagstaff after Pop's recommendation. Service and food so good, we had to call back and talk to the mgr Jim about a great experience, and then followed Rt 66 west of Seligman over to Kingman, and b lined home from there.

FYI, some nice towns to stay in when traveling here were Holbrook, AZ, Guymon, OK, and Dalhart, TX. Can't say that for many others we went through including Liberal, KS and Gallup, NM.



The damage from the doe after she hit my front qtr panel and slapped back around with her trunk to hit my front door slightly and my back door pretty heavily. Fortunate to miss two other does, a really large one near Crookston, MN.



I was either thinking of the upcoming fuel prices once to Cal or else just plain thirsty, down remember.



The old brick bldg's so indicative of the southwest.



Had to stop on the corner for a picture with the old flat bed Ford.



The train yard at the La Posada Inn with some relic rail cars.



The amazing Meteor crater 4,000 ' wide and almost 600' deep.. It only took a Meteorite 150' in diameter to create such a monument, traveling at over 30,000 mph.



A road out Nelson, AZ with self explanatory welcome.



More of the old brick type bldg's, this one near Valentine.



An old F 6 at the Cici Rider Ranch along Rte 66.



A late 50's Ford F series, sometimes known as a workhorse, here maybe a mule or donkey.



Another F 1, here near Hackberry.



Finally an old Model A to finish off, just before Kingman.

What a great trip, spending some great times with my younger brother as we travelled.

 

Well, for one thing, ammunition for one is a lot more available!

Great photos!

Pop

 

In reviewing the many pictures taken but not posted during our trip, here's a couple more to finish off the posts.



Revisited Burma Shave signs along Rte 66.



A door to no where at the La Posada. Someone's in for a surprise.




Cal Trans at its finest. Not really, as this too is on the Indian Reservation.



A better picture of the old Pullman Car at the La Posada.

I hope this inspires someone to get out and take a trip. Reminds me of the pictures included when Bill Pounds shared their trip over to Page, Cortez, etc.
That's our next trip with the trailer and the wife.