Took the truck on the first long distance trip this past weekend and thought I'd do a little write up! Went up to Lake Nipissing, Ontario to pick up a free boat from a friend.

Drove from school in Bowling Green to home in Dayton Thursday night to pick up the trailer, where I did the final fluid, tire pressure, lights check before bed. Everything was good.

Friday morning, I pulled out around 6:20 from Dayton, Ohio. Right near Findlay, Ohio around 8:15am on I-75 I hit a patch of very dense fog. Visibility dropped down to probably less than 50 feet at the worst point. I ended up pulling off at the next rest area to wait a few minutes. Less than 10 minutes later it started to clear, so I hit the road and within 5 miles, it was clear and beautiful.




The rest of the drive to the border was fairly smooth (except for I-75 going through Michigan ).
My TomTom tried to take me some weird route, which I corrected. The border crossing was quick and painless.

The drive through Ontario was smooth too. Hit a small patch of traffic changing from Highway 407 to Highway 400, but that was less than 10 minutes. Also, an accident backed up part of Highway 11 for about 15-20 minutes. It was a beautiful day to be driving. Cool air, changing leaves, no major issues on the road. Took a short video.

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Arrived in Powassan, ON around 5:45 to meet up with a friend. After we drove another 20 minutes to the marina, we dropped the trailer and shot up to North Bay to get some wings. Got back and across the lake to the cabin around 10:30 that night. Needless to say, it was a loooonnng day!

Saturday morning, we pulled the boat out from the bush and towed it across to the marina and loaded it on the trailer. The guy my family rents our cabin from was going to cut up the boat to burn in November, but said I could take it if I got it.









Of course we had to take advantage of that perfect day, so we went on a hike and cleared some trails and did a little hunting and fishing later in the afternoon, and watched some football in the evening.





So Sunday morning, we head across to the marina around 8am and I hit the road around 8:10 after checking fluids and straps. The drive down was also uneventful. No major traffic issues until near the border. It started raining about an hour north of Windsor, and continued the rest of the drive. At the border, I didn't realize there are no fuel pumps like there are coming the other direction. So I was sitting in the customs line pretty much sucking fumes, and of course, the agent was asking a million questions and going through everyone's vehicles. Then the drug dog came out and got the car next to me. Finally, its my turn and I realize the lane I'm in has the worst turn for a large truck with a trailer, but I managed. The agent asked me a ton of questions and looked all over the boat and inside my truck, then lightened up and started complimenting the boat and giving me restoration tips.

After getting back on I-75, I got gas ASAP, which also happened to be in a really run down part of Detroit. (IMO at least. Lots of beggars and closed up buildings) Then, of course, I hit a parking lot of traffic due to construction. Moved slowly for a few miles through that, then got moving again.

I stopped to surprise my girlfriend at work. (McDonalds, which since she's a manager meant I got free stuff ) Then, since I missed the exit, backtracked up to Bass Pro Shops and picked up a nice boat cover. Then made it the last 20 minutes home to Bowling Green, arriving around 6:30. Another long day!



Now for the numbers: The truck performed pretty much flawlessly the entire trip. I stopped for gas 6 times, including when I arrived home.

Driving up to Lake Nipissing with an empty boat trailer, 3 fuel stops, I averaged 14.2 mpg. I filled up when the truck got to about 1/2 tank, and just under 1/4 coming back from North Bay.

Driving back to Bowling Green with the boat on the trailer, 3 fuel stops I averaged 12 mpg. Also, filling up at 1/2 tank, and almost empty in Detroit, plus the final fill up at 3/4 tank.
Driving up and back, I kept my speed around 68-70mph in the states and 110-115kph (70-73mph) in Ontario. The round trip distance was 1,189.4 miles. Fuel was around $3.35-$3.45/gal in the US and between $1.17-$1.24/Liter in Canada.

The only issue, is now the passenger side ball joints, which I replaced less than two months ago are popping very badly.

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Not sure why it went bad so quickly, but I'm assuming Moog has a warranty on their products. Hopefully this doesn't become an ongoing problem.

Anyway, that was the trip, and I'd make it again this weekend if I had the money. Thanks for reading this long post, and I hope you all enjoy the write up and the pictures!

Also, if anyone has any thoughts or opinions on that ball joint, I'd love to read them. Thanks!

 

Here is the video driving through Ontario

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Here is the one of the bad ball joint.

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Hopefully these work, if not, I'll edit the original post and put the link to youtube.

 

I75 between the Ohio line and Detroit probably ate your ball joints. Some years it looks like the Air Force used it for carpet-bombing practice.

You missed a good excuse to stop at Packo's for a couple chili dogs.

 

nice write-up Ryan! lots of driving, and sounds like you had fun... nice looking boat too, can't beat that price

yeah gotta love I-75 and the shaddy areas of the Motor City (which is pretty much all of the city now). 75 seems to get better the further north you go, but it still ain't great... and yep, plenty of those orange barrels to look at too.

 

I have read of many issues with Moog ball joints. The preferred replacements are either the Motorcraft BJ with the grease fittings or Raybestos professional BJ.

I would have drove all that way for that boat also. It is good you kept it of the fire.

 

You know, if you came across I90 and crossed the border at Buffalo NY you would probably save a lot of time at the border crossings. And you have the Anchor Bar wings as a pit stop.

Come to think of it, I usually plan my routes around food...

 

Cool pics, sounds like a nice trip. I love stretching my trucks legs a little every now and then, seems to run better after a road trip

Not sure on the moog ball joints... i went with XRF on my truck

 

thomabb - Food isn't a bad thing! And there is a Packos not too far from me in Toledo, so I don't really need a reason lol. I prefer to eat little and only stop for fuel and restroom though. And the less I eat, the less I have to stop. I've actually done the drive through Buffalo before, and while the border was a bit easier, the total drive time was longer. According to Google Maps, almost 2 hours longer. There is a crossing at Sarnia, ON which would only add about 15 minutes, but would require more driving on the Michigan roads.

dkf - If there isn't a warranty on the moog joints, I'll definitely try either the Motorcraft, or Raybestos. Is there any preference for one over the other? I'm definitely glad I got the boat! It'll be a fun project and a great fishing boat when it's done. He has another one that is 2 feet longer, and narrower as well, but would need a lot more work. It's been out of the water for several years longer.

drey - Thanks! Gotta love the orange barrels. Bought a Cobra CB off a friend a few weeks ago, so that was very convenient being able to get traffic updates, and police updates. It also was quite entertaining! Any tips on how to avoid eating up my ball joints on future trips over rough roads?

 

Maybe I should just send the state of Michigan the bill for new ball joints...

 

lol yeah....

Well, as far as not letting your ball joints wear out so fast... I would check and make sure everything is torqued to spec and that your truck's alignment is in spec. Also, if your ball joints are greasable, I would grease them up every oil change or so.

 

Glad to hear you had an uneventful trip Ryan! 14.2 MPGs is really good; my Excursion never got into the 13s no matter what I did to it.

You did remember to check the oil...right?

Of course there's a warranty! Moog has a lifetime replacement warranty, just contact the place you bought them from and you should be able to get some new ones pretty quickly for no charge.

 

Tom - yes, I did check the oil this time...

I was happy with 14.2. I was also happy with 12, considering the boat had no cover for the air to flow over.

drey - the ball joints are greaseable, so I do that on a fairly regular basis. Had the truck in the alignment shop, and have a 3 year warranty, so any realignments within that period are free. So maybe I'll take it back in soon anyway. If I keep having issues with the Moog, I'll give the Raybestos a try. Not super expensive, just a PITA to do the work.

 

I don't think the State of Michigan can afford new ball joints........

 

redford - You're probably right on that one, unfortunately.

 

Tom - I'm assuming that the warranty on the ball joints doesn't cover labor charges? I couldn't find any info on Moog's site. Their warranty link just redirected me back to the support page.