Prescott, AZ to Tri-Cities, the slow road

[binderfan]

Hi all. Been waiting for a chance to get a Scout II up to the tri-cities to get it trail ready, finally got the chance over Christmas/New Years.

Went to AZ to spend time with family. Got several scouts, none really trail ready, but all are reasonably close enough to keep. Took the one that had the freshest gas in it. Hey, I was using it 2 years ago, and it's been started every so often, so...

Got some new sneakers. Holy Crud, those BFGs are 10 years old and rotten!

Check fluids, check for funny noises, and I'm off! Take an extra day and avoid the interstate? No brainer.

No 3rd gear. No way to get a flight. Change plans? Nope. Just drive slower. New top speed is now 50 mph. Hey, I was going to take the back roads anyway, right? Turned out 50 was a pretty good top speed. Some things just work out great!

Went to Flagstaff via Hwy 89A. Light snow, started coming down pretty good in Oak Creek Canyon once I got past Sedona. Lightened up in Flag. Crossed the reservation in more light snow, stopped for the night in Page. Snow was not sticking to vehicle, but was sticking on road.

Next moring I hit the road to Kanaab. Snow and ice. Needed 4x4 in a few places, but mostly just kept it slow and took my time. Snow and ice were fresh or packed. Discovered wiper motor had almost quit. Got some rainX in kanaab and applied with squeegee at gas station. WOW that stuff works great, even for snow, but the wetter the better.

Picked Ely, NV as my next destination. That took me over a 10,000 ft pass. Snow on the road, beat the snow plow. 4x4 for about 100 miles, but the Scout didn't complain. Several other vehicles on the road, and the stock SUVs did okay. Nobody got stuck that I saw. Made it to Ely that night.
Side note: Casinos in Ely, NV are really lame. Don't bother. Wasn't hungry, didn't bother to eat.
GPS told me shortest route to Payette, ID was west, so I believed it. Unfortunately, the Garmin doesn't know the difference between a highway and a 4x4 trail. It tried to send me up a 62 mile long dirt road with a foot of snow in the sierra nevadas. Summertime, yeah, but not in winter. Kept going to Eureka, turned north.

4x4 almost all the way into Carlin. Stop for gas, take the interstate to Elko in 2wd, turn north toward Mtn City, back in 4x4. Found a guy in a big 4x4 who stopped to get rid of some of the coffee he drank earlier, had misjudged the shoulder. Strapped on the Scout, pulled him out. Snowing like crazy. He offered me cash, but I settled for half of what was left in his thermos.
Heater motor started making funny noises, finally quit. Common feed to heater and wipers? Both show symptoms of weak feeds, like a burned wire. Not going to fix it in a snowstorm if I don't have to. Defrost worked fine with no blower as long as I was moving. Kept moving to Mountain Home.
Interstate toward Boise on way to Payette. Truck drivers going 70 mph on icy roads. Stayed at 50, stayed in right lane. Wipers working okay when there is plenty of wet on the windshield. No big deal.

Too many near misses, decided to take ID SR55 north out of Boise, skip my stop in Payette.

I strongly recommend this road to anybody. Spend most of the rest of the day in 4wd, driving up through the mountains in the snow. Had to get out and coax the wipers a few times, but the ride was worth it. Snow turned light after I got to US 97, not worth noticing, then turned to rain as I came down off the mountain from the Nez Perce reservation into Lewiston. Hit the WA border, weather cleared.

I estimate about 500-600 miles in 4wd, 1425 miles total. Shook out several bugs that need to be fixed. 12.3 mpg for the trip without 3rd gear.

I'd do it again.

[Grumpy]

[Peanut]

Very cool trip report! Sounds like a fun trip even with the little mishaps. I've been a binder fan for many years......but never owned one.

Hope to see you on the trails.

[Grumpy]

Okay, so, now that you have one of the II's up here, we gonna see more of you?! I'm sending your little tome to Nick...

[oddball]

Nice read. Thanks for posting.

[binderfan]

Okay, so, now that you have one of the II's up here, we gonna see more of you?! I'm sending your little tome to Nick...

Sure, especially if I can figure out where you post the meeting locations...

I need to rebuild the transmission, and of course fix the wipers and heater. I don't have a place to pull and replace the transmission, so I have to find a local shop. It's a 727 chrysler with IH bell housing, and finding a jeep style tailshaft housing so I can upgrade the t-case later would be a good thing right now as well. Not much in the way of upgraded cases with the texas pattern, so I was thinking of going with an Atlas or Stax for the extra low range.

Suggestions as to the name and location of a good transmission shop in the tri-cities are most welcome.

[White trash]

Sounds like a fun trip, I'm all about that kinda fun.





As for the trans and shop that isn't all that hard to come by in these parts.. If you'd like I can give you my brothers number, he's ASE certified and been doing trans missions for 20+ years. I'll bet he'd pull the trans rebuild it and shove it back home for less than any shop around here would rebuild it for and it'd be done right.