Bernie

Up here I leave my gun boot on my ATV and drive it everywhere. Legal on the streets and secondary highways. Sometimes the gun is in it, sometimes not. Never been checked or pulled over. As long as the cover is on the gun boot and unloaded it is legal. It does not need to be trigger locked as long as you are with the gun. You can have a pocketful of ammunition, just in case you see a partridge.

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I also have had very good success with Dorman product.

That's the way to do it TJ! Used to feed the ducks here too. I quit a couple years ago when 40 of them greeted me at the doorstep one morning. One thing about it...the grass was getting greener.

Thanks for the heads up on the draw. Just called in....no adult moose....again.

Hmmmm again. I suppose there is a possible bad convertor but still think it is something else. Running lights go direct through the converter, it doesn't change it. And the signals and brake lights were working when running lights were off. This tells me the converter was doing it's job. Still think the ground out of the vehicle is not working. If the device you bought at CT is the one with the 3 little diode lights it will often fool you. Diode lights draw very little power. The incandescent ones on the trailer draw quite a lot more amperage. Those diodes often light when there is still an issue.

It's been pretty hard to pick a week this summer with poor weather, around here anyway. No major projects around the cottage to do during this weeks holidays so taking the time with Karen and son Alex to relax and enjoy. We have been out fishing a few times already and while we are not filling the boat with fish each time we have had some respectable catches. The pickerel are in deeper water it seems but have heard though the grapevine some guys have been doing well catching limits of pickerel in the weeds. I haven't the patience to pull the weeds off my hook each cast so I hit the deeper shoals and put up with the odd rock snag. Fishing between 30 and 40 feet of water seems to be the preferred depth. On the sonar I am looking for signs of baitfish and activity on the bottom. This is an example of what we have been picking up in an hour or two. Karen and I both had a smallmouth hit in 35 ft of water. Mine made it into the net but Karens did a surface tail dance and flipped off. She did have the fun of winding it up. These are great sport fish, no wonder guys like to catch them. We just got back about an hour ago trying out the fishing on calm waters and baking sunshine. It was my turn to catch a couple of nice pickerel. The first one was just shy of going over the slot size, 23". The second measured out at 22.5". Both put up a good fight making the drag sing. Thought I had a sheepshead but was thrilled to see it wasn't. We will probably use up a few more worms this week. I'm glad Karen and Alex enjoy fishing as much or more than me!

The Astro/Safari had it's own chassis. Unibody in design. It did share a very similar powertrain to the pickups however. They were certainly a better choice at the time than the Caravan/Voyager or Aerostar/Windstar when it came to working them. They were a little more difficult to work on from a mechanics perspective in some areas but they were mostly reliable and worked well. Personally, my biggest beef with them was the small area of drivers foot room due to the large engine cover intruding inside.

I'd say it may be a good idea Wayne. Ha! Yellow is left turn and left brake light. Green is right turn and brake light. Brown is running lights. AND....white is ground! You need to verify the ground is good at the plug from the vehicle too. Don't count on the ground working through the hitch. Most of the time it doesn't.

Hmmm. I'd still bet on a bad ground. When the lights are off the signal/brake is getting ground through the running lights. As soon as the lights are on it becomes powered positive and no ground is available. The best way to test cicuits in a trailer connection is with a 12 volt incandescent test light. Using a multimeter you need to check resistance, not voltage. Voltage can often show good but a poor connection will not flow enough to light a bulb. Said it before and many others here have as well......CHECK THE GROUNDS!!!!

There are a lot of crap parts available on the market. In my opinion some of them should not be legal to sell. Rotors are on that list as well as some wheel bearings. I have had very good success with Delco brand rotors. A very good rotor for the price. Raybestos has a higher priced one as well but the Delco is just as good for less. Don't put on the cheap pads either, many fall apart in less than two years. I like the top line Raybestos or Wagner Thermoquiet pad. Excellent stopping power and quiet too. No question when it comes to calipers, Delco is the best, hands down. They come complete with brackets and for your van are not expensive. Vehicles that sit and are not driven regularly are the ones I find that rust up the rotors the worst. Moisture stays between the pad and rotor and creates a rust patch which sometimes doesn't get scraped off with the application of the brakes when is driven the next time. This rust patch then "grabs" when the brakes are applied as the pad catches the rust patch and pushes the piston back into the caliper. The fluid pressure of the piston going back in makes the brake pedal bounce. This symptom is more common than a warped rotor. By the way, I also like the Tekonsha brand brake modules. They are the best of any I have installed anyway.

Towing capacity also includes the available stopping power of the vehicle. Make sure the vehicles brakes are in good condition. Rust on the rotors and drums reduce efficiency. Also making sure the calipers and wheel cylinders are freely operational would be imperative. Trailer brakes on a load you are speaking of would definitely require fully operational trailer brakes. Trailer brakes should be inspected yearly as they have a tendency of the friction material deteriorating and falling off the backing shoe. Most are glued on, not riveted. Towing capacity would also include the weight of your gear and persons inside the van itself.

I also refuse a straight handout to support sports. Quite a few years ago I took over a scout troop in my hometown. It was needing an infusion of funding to carry on. We virtually had nothing. No tents or equipment or a place to gather. So to keep the young fellows busy we built a canoe and raffled it off. It was a great way to teach them some skills and make a few bucks in the process. We earned enough to keep us going for three years. The next year we built a motorized go-kart. None of those wussie ones that you need to coast down a hill.

You havent been up for the last few gatherings here Gerritt. The grass is just starting to recover from around my outhouse.

Ya, me too TJ. But it's difficult to remain optimistic.

Manifolds on todays vehicles are little thicker than a piece of paper. Add a few years of use and there often isn't enough left to weld to. And even if you did manage to get it welded, chances are it won't last long. I'd recommend you bite the bullet and replace it. Check with a company called Dorman and see if they make it. Most auto supply stores can get Dorman product. Good stuff and very reasonable cost. The labour may be another issue. Get an experienced guy to do it as they know how to get out the tough/siezed hardware.

When trailering my ATV into the rough road where we unload to go to our hunt camp the trailer tongue broke in half. It had rusted internally and didn't see it. Went into the bush, found a small tree about the right size. Shaved it with an axe and pounded it into the tongue. Slipped the other half in and forced it into it by backing up the truck. Then tied the two halves together. Not likely it would come apart anyway, it was in the tube pretty tight. We used it for a yard trailer for several years afterwards. Also had a a trailer pop off a ball with my first brand new boat. Yep, those safety chains did the trick!

So happy to hear it has gone well Wayne. I have been thinking of her and your family. Hope you get a chance to get some sleep.

Very cool shots Simon! Only seen clouds like that a couple of times. Thanks for telling me what they are EHG.

It's not an easy time for recreational dealers. With the profit margins today most dealers are just getting by. And when a dealer goes down it floods the market with less than cost products which make it even tougher for the remaining dealers to make a buck. Add in the folks heading to the internet and USA to buy their stuff and you will find that in the future a few more may end up the same way. This scenario is the same on everything we buy. When we buy product from foreign markets, our dollars head out of the country. This has reduced our buying power over several decades and is one of the biggest reasons that Canada and the USA is so far in debt. The other reason of course is many of us in North America don't want to work for what we earn.

I dunno... Maybe I'm getting crusty in my old age but why are they continually harassing boaters? Especially when the "boaters card" means little to nothing. It's been decades since I have been pulled over in my car just to "check it". There are thousands of unsafe vehicles on the road yet there is little to no emphasis on that. Yes, I realize there are still a few boaters that may not have all they should have. Never see them at boat launches checking folks before they hit the water which would make a little more sense.

Thanks again guys. Joe, I won't tell you what was in the net. Can you say baaaaaa? :lol Johnny, it's a beautiful area. You were fortunate to spend the time there. Was it Mac Mac?

Great photo journal Brian. The weather looked perfect!

Adding a bilge blower or more adequate vents may be a good idea for your boat.

Thanks for the comments folks. Mark, Dad and I work together so we see each other all the time, but an outing like this is so good. Mike also lives in town and always keep in contact with him. Thanks for the update on the species Doc. Blandings turtle...OK, I'll look it up!