 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
home » expeditions » amsterdam
to alaska » expedition
log » VANCOUVER
|
|
 |
|
Cruise Ship Docked in Vancouver Harbour
|
Our journey began at Todd and Nicole's house in Vancouver. Aren,
Marieke, and AC arrived from Holland a week before we were scheduled
to depart for Alaska. The extra time in Vancouver gave the Dutch
a chance to adjust to the time difference and get over their jetlag
before heading north. For AC, being only eight months old, it
was his first trip abroad. Brian and Lisa, unable to join us for
the trip north, spent the weekend with us in Vancouver.
|
|
| |
With seven of us crammed into the top floor apartment,
we were forced to erect two tents out back to accommodate the visitors.
The space was tight but cozy, and we had a wonderful week preparing
for the trip. AC adjusted to the new time zone brilliantly, and quickly
learned to love the tent. With the weekend upon us, Todd and Aren began
the process of readying the truck for the trip north.
|
| |
|
 |
|
The Old Shocks From the 4Runner
|
| |
While the 4Runner was in remarkably good shape when bought it a few
months earlier, it was in desperate need of some work. First, we swapped
out the brake calipers on the front disk brakes. The old calipers had
seized and disintegrated into giant balls of rust. We replaced the calipers,
the brake lines to the calipers, and the brake pads. When the work on
the calipers was completed we replaced the front shocks. More difficult
than we first imagined, the entire job took us two days to complete,
the second in a torrential downpour. Two days later we began work on
the rear suspension. We replaced old, rusted out rear shocks and replaced
them with heavy duty off road shocks. The old coil springs were swapped
out for a pair of heavy-duty progressive coil springs that raised the
truck about 4cm or 1.5 inches. After struggling all day with the job,
we finally finished at 10pm using flashlight to see as we screwed in
the last bolt. The change in both ride and handling was monumental and
the truck was finally ready for the trip north.
|
| |
Sign
the Guestbook
©1997 — 2005
Overland Explorers. All Rights Reserved.
For questions or comments about this site, contact
us.
This site is optimized for all resolutions.
|
|
  |
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
