RE: Oregon Cascades trip Part 2
Very interesting. I'm looking forward to part 3. Fortunately, I'm not very busy since the economy has cratered, so I'll have plenty of time to enjoy more trip reports! Keep 'em coming!
RE: I met my first Earthroamer today!
The diesel heat and hot water are great- they are Espar units as far as I know. The diesel cooktops are very slow to heat up, and are designed for boats: ie, to be used at sea-level. They don't work well at altitude. I personally would prefer to retain propane for cooking if there was a choice.
RE: I met my first Earthroamer today!
We met the owners of an Earthroamer 2 years ago in Newfoundland, and they, too, gave us a tour of their ER. Really nice throughout, and seemed very spacious inside. This one was an early model built on an F450 that retained the dual rear wheels.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/earthroamer/DSC01321.jpg width=625
RE: above the Artic circle 2008
Hey Suds,
Nice photo, except I need a magnifying glass to see it. It would make a great postage stamp. You went all the way to the Arctic Circle and only took one photo? Lets's see some more!
RE: Remembering Middlebury’s undisclosed: Fall of '08
Very interesting, SilverSand and Dunes. Reminds me of an article I recently read about some kids who broke into the Frost Homestead to party, and generally mess it up when it was closed for the winter. As I recall, the judge sentenced them to study Frost's poetry, with an emphasis on "The Road Not Taken" and what he says about the choices we make.
He's not quite the poet that Robert Frost was, but I'll quote Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers...
"You know, ladies and gentlemen, I've already been to Paris,
I already been to Rome
And what did I do but miss my home?
I have been out west to Californ'.
But I miss the land where I was born.
I can't help it.
Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day
Oh, New England."
Thanks!
RE: Going all the way (lots of photos)
The next morning was Tuesday, August 26th. We packed up and headed out of the campground about 10:00. A few miles down the road, we got the best view of the Sleeping Giant:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05406.jpg width=500
Here's the deal: Starting on the right, you see his head, crossed arms, torso and his legs and feet to the left. There's a Sleeping Giant in Connecticut too, similar topography.
We drove back on 587 to the combined 11/17 and headed northeast. Just a few more miles along there's a short access road to Quimet Canyon, which climbed steeply to a small parking area. It's only a 1km walk in to the edge of the canyon. Quite a view:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05419.jpg width=500
Down in the bottom of the canyon...they won't let you down there...
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05421.jpg width=500
there's supposed to be ice year round, and arctic plants found only hundreds of miles north.
From there we continued on 11/17 until they split just east of Nipigon, and then we continued east on Route 17 as it followed the north shore of Lake Superior
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05454.jpg width=500
We headed east through the towns of Rossport and Terrace Bay, and stopped a couple of times to take in the views:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05460.jpg width=500
Stopped for the night at Neys Provincial Park. It had a sandy shoreline near the campground, and sweeping views of the lake:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05495.jpg width=500
In the morning we walked out along the 'Under the Volcano' trail:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05501.jpg width=500
Through the woods and out onto the coarse sandy beach:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05505.jpg width=500
It soon turned rocky. Here there were deep grooves carved the glaciers...you can see the direction it travelled, scraping the rock:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05510.jpg width=500
We continued along the shore, over the rocks:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05521.jpg width=500
Took some scrambling in a few spots:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05546.jpg width=500
But the views were worth the effort!:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05552.jpg width=500
It was about 5km roundtrip, and we hit the road about 12:30. The road turned inland here, and curved southeast. We continued on to WaWa, a good sized town, despite the unusual name. There we headed east on RT 101 to Chapeau, south on 129, and then east on 667 towards the town of Sultan. We passed an unremarkable spot where the Arctic watershed met the Atlantic:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05587.jpg width=500
From here the water flows north to the Arctic Ocean, or south through the Great Lakes and on to the Atlantic Ocean.
We turned off before reaching Sultan, and headed into Wakami Lake Provincial Park:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05599.jpg width=500
Nice campground with private sites:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05603.jpg width=500
We had a little private beach, but a few of the locals came over to check us out:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05591.jpg width=500
They have a 78km hiking trail here, the "Height of Land" trail that runs around the lake, built as part of a proposed Trans-Ontario route that was never completed. The only possible way to cross Northern Ontario was to follow the 'height of land' to avoid the lakes, rivers, and bogs. We didn't have the week or so it would take to complete this wilderness trail, but hiked a little ways the following morning:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05606.jpg width=500
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05612.jpg width=500
Heres some pitcher plants...plenty of bugs for these carnivores around here:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05613.jpg width=500
This is a 'Beaver Meadow' or a quaking bog turning what once was a small lake into a swamp:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05618.jpg width=500
A close up of some puff blossoms:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05619.jpg width=500
Wakami Provincial Park also has an interesting collection of old Logging equipment. Lynn found a nice new TC hauler when we decide to upgrade:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05630.jpg width=500
Looks like 10 wheel drive, and you gotta love that power plant:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05632.jpg width=500
Yup, its got a Cummins!!!
This is logging country, and we had another back route planned. We headed east towards Sultan, where the timber mill once stood, and just before town, headed off on the private Sultan Industrial Road towards Ramsey. Slow going on this rough, gravel road. There's nothing in Ramsey anymore, except a whistle stop for the train and a cross road, where we intended to head south. There is a road that runs from there to Webbwood, a little west of Sudbury, about 160 kilometers south. The only sign we found said West Branch Road, so we took it.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05646.jpg width=500
The Sultan Road, though rough and slow, gets a fair amount of traffic using it as a short cut to WaWa. Not this road, though, we went 129 km, almost to the end, before we saw another vehicle.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05661.jpg width=500
This was a beautiful road, through some small, rugged hills:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05672.jpg width=500
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05677.jpg width=500
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05678.jpg width=500
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05684.jpg width=500
We took our time, but finally reached Route 17 again, and took the first divided highway we'd been on in Ontario into the city of Sudbury. We did some grocery shopping, got fuel, and headed south on Route 69, towards Killarney Provincial Park. A sign on 69 said "campground full" but despite it being about 60 km out to the park on Route 637, we headed there anyway. When we reached the park, there were a few campsites available, so we grabbed one for 2 nights!
It was Thursday before Labor Day weekend, so we got lucky! Gave the camper a good sweeping and a wipedown, inside, to try to get rid of the dust...we picked up alot coming down from Chapleau!
RE: Going all the way (lots of photos)
The next morning at 10:30, we left our campsite at Sandbar Provincial Park
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05274.jpg width=500
and headed East, towards home, along route 17. Its about 180km back to the junction with route 11. As we got closer to Thunder Bay...its the biggest city, US or Canadian, on Lake Superior...traffic started to get heavier:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05279.jpg width=400
We skirted the city to the north by following route 102, and when we rejoined the combined routes 11 and 17, we got our first glimpse of our next destination, the Sleeping Giant:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05283.jpg width=500
This is also the location of the Terry Fox Memorial. I had not heard the story before I started researching our trip, but when I read about it, I was very moved.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05289.jpg width=500
Terry Fox was a year or so younger than I, and at 18, he lost his leg to cancer. Not to be beaten, Terry started running. He ran west, starting in Newfoundland, to raise money for cancer research. He ran a marathon, every day...26 miles. As people heard the story, the donations grew...he raised over 24 million dollars. He made it through 5 provinces, as far as Thunder Bay, when his cancer returned, and he had to stop. He died not long after. His memorial overlooks Lake Superior, with the Sleeping Giant lying in the distance.
A little farther east, we turned off on route 587 and drove out to the end of Sibley peninsula, where Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is located. This is a much larger park than we had visited so far, but we got a nice spot on the hillside, overlooking the water:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05296.jpg width=500
Google map of our campsite at Sleeping Giant PP
The next morning, we headed to the trailhead for the Kabeyun Trail. It started out as a woods road, with occasional views of the shoreline:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05306.jpg width=500
Farther along, we got a glimpse of where we were heading...the Top of the Giant!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05312.jpg width=500
The trail climbed steeply up a series of switchbacks:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05318.jpg width=500
until we reached the top:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05326.jpg width=500
There was a small pond:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05335.jpg width=400
A view back the way we'd come, to "Tee" harbor:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05343.jpg width=500
We followed the trail along the rim:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05348.jpg width=500
And across to a view towards Thunder Bay:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05354.jpg width=500
Its 1000 feet down to the water!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05355.jpg width=500
The trail continued a little farther to the Chimney:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05362.jpg width=500
where it ended and we turned back. We made it back down the switchbacks and got another view of where we had been:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05387.jpg width=500
The trail led us back, and we took a short spur to "Tee" harbor...I thought I was in the Bahamas!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05388.jpg width=500
There were more views of the shoreline:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05395.jpg width=500
We headed down another spur trail a km or 2, and got a glimpse of the "Sea Lion"
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05402.jpg width=500
Just a few more Km brought us back to the camper, and a short drive back to our campsite. We'd hiked about 15 miles today, so it felt great to put our feet up!
RE: Portable genset and winter use
the Adventurer I am buying has a generator ready compartment with some raw wire leads in it. Is there any advantage to plugging the portable genny into these leads versus just using the shore power cord?
Does this give you some auto switch over for batteries, etc or lower resistance wiring (versus shore power cord?
I am assuming there must be some type of lead/plug I could finish these wires with to plug in/hook up he genny (not hard wire).
Thanx, Bill
At least on my NL, those wires are 12 volt in to start the generator, and 110 out, which leads to an outlet in my shore power cord compartment. You can either plug that cord into shore power, or plug it into the outlet wired to the generator. This is to eliminate the possibility of backfeeding the generator into the shore power. Some makes have a switch instead of the outlet.
So, no, it would be a disadvantage with a portable generator to use those wires. Just plug your shore power cord directly into the generator.
RE: Lightbar on my Northern Lite
Very nice installation! Looks like it's ready for Baja :)
I noticed your comment about them not being affected by rain. I had lights on the roof of my Bronco and hated them in rain.
They looked cool and worked fine on a clear night, but... whenever it rained, all they did was light up the falling rain and blind me from seeing anything beyond the hood. Same with heavy dust. If I was following behind another vehcile making alot of dust, the lights just illuminated the dust and blinded me from seeing anything else.
I put lights down on the bumper and that worked much better than on the roof. No more blinding by rain and dust.
Hi SoCal,
Thanks for the comments. Actually, I didn't mention about the rain, because you're right. Even worse is in the snow! Too much reflection.
Fortunately, I have 2 more of the same lamps mounted in my bumper as fog lights under those conditions.
What does work well, though, is because I have the full cabover with the Dodge quad cab (1-1/2 doors) is that the lights are a full 28" in front of the top of the windshield, well forward of the way lights are normally mounted on a rooftop. This works great because it eliminates the glare off the hood that roof mounted lights often produce. Getting the lights up high really brightens things up.
RE: Going all the way (lots of photos)
Thanks for the comments...I appreciate it. Photomike, I didn't get your PM, but I posted about the lights here lightbar on my Northen Lite
The next morning we left Sandbar Provincial Park about 10:00 and headed north on 599
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05109.jpg width=500
A little before 1:00 we reached Pickle Lake:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05252.jpg width=500
We headed to the Township office, but had to wait until they came back from lunch:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/s_photo_4.jpg width=500
because I knew we needed to get a township permit to camp. It was only $3 per person, a good deal. If you are not Canadian, you are supposed to get a Crown Lands Permit to camp in remote areas in Ontario (this is the first Province with this rule we have encountered). The problem, as far as I can tell, is you need to know where you are going to get one, and we don't know until we get there. I should have had one when we camped on the way to Cochrane, but had not been to a town in Ontario yet...so don't tell anyone, OK. But in the huge Township of Pickle Lake, you just need the municipal permit, so we were all nice and legal now!
I stopped and topped off the fuel in town. It was $1.65 per litre for diesel, which is $6.27 CDN per gallon. Ouch!
After Pickle Lake, the end of 599, the road is gravel:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05121.jpg width=500
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05112.jpg width=500
We passed a logging truck heading south. The thing with the gravel roads is the dust, it can be pretty severe...this is well after the truck had passed:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05122.jpg width=500
Fortunately, that was the only vehicle we encountered. Of course, we were kicking up the dust ourselves, which gets sucked in everywhere.
Encountered a couple of bridges:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05126.jpg width=500
and the water level seemed to be quite high, especially for August
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05115.jpg width=500
There are a couple of access points with boat launches along this road, and they make a fine campsite. We passed the first one, but about 4:00 decided to call it a day, so we stopped at the access to the Pipestone River, and headed down the woods road:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05129.jpg width=500
It started to seem like quite a ways in
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05131.jpg width=500
but after about 2 to 3 miles, we reached the river.
Of course, we were the only ones there...for quite a while, it looked, but there was a great campsite:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05134.jpg width=500
right next to the river:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05135.jpg width=500
The Pipestone River is well known as one of the main routes used for thousands of years. Whazoo, you could put your new canoe in here, and paddle your load of beaver pelts all the way to Moose Factory!!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05138.jpg width=500
The forest here is more Boreal than most of what we had encountered so far, thickly carpeted with caribou moss:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05153.jpg width=500
We were tucked in among the trees:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05154.jpg width=500
Someone had left a convenient table, which I used for my "instruments"
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05155.jpg width=500
I've used the GPS for a while to record our campsites, but this year I also used the "Spot" satellite messager to send our locations to the folks back home. It's even more fun than being a teenager...not only can our parents worry what we are up to...our kids can too!
+52° 17' 15.00", -90° 35' 25.44"
That night a good storm blew up...it was raining out our back door:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05157.jpg width=500
As darkness fell, the wind started to howl...the trees began to creak...I was keeping an eye on Lynn...a night like tonight, the Windigo is probably on the prowl! She started to rummage through the drawers..."where's that big knife?" she said..."wh...why?" I croaked..."because I'm feeling hungry,"she replied..."let's have some cheese and crackers!" Whew! I slept that night with one eye open, just to be on the safe side.
The next morning it was 46F degrees and drizzling as we drove back out to the road, just about 8:30am:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05160.jpg width=500
which was fine with me...it keeps the dust down.
We crossed another rain-slicked bridge:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05166.jpg width=500
and another swollen stream:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05168.jpg width=500
Up ahead, a big bull moose, who turned when he heard us coming and gave his antlers a shake, just to let me know he didn't like us on his road. I stopped, to give him plenty of room...you never know how a moose will react...they are not afraid of anyone. He turned and trotted down the road a ways, before he turned into the woods:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05172.jpg width=500
At 10:20, we reached the end. It was a surprise, when we arrived:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05178.jpg width=500
I didn't expect to find the buildings, the fisherman's coop, and the vehicles parked. There was no one there...the vehicles belong to people who live in the outlying communities...they park them here and travel further by boat. There was a single, rudimentary house to one side: A woman and two small children came out to see who had arrived, but went back in when they saw us. Otherwise, there was just the wind off the lake, and the drizzle.
The fisherman's dock:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05181.jpg width=500
And a view of Windigo Lake:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05196.jpg width=500
A short way back was the beginning of the winter road:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05185.jpg width=500
won't make it far on there until freeze-up!
Google map
We sent a spot signal...our furthest north, had a coffee, and then we headed south:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05188.jpg width=500
Past Pipestone, we came to a turnoff...to the gold mines:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05225.jpg width=500
No Visitors Allowed!!
Further along, another ice road turned off:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05239.jpg width=500
We rounded a corner, and ahead was a large black dog. He turned, and stood on his hind legs...holy smokes, that's no dog, that's a bear!
Lynn was hollering..."Don't get out!!" as I fumbled for my camera. I hadn't even stopped yet. The bear had been enjoying the berries by the side of the road, but before I could get my camera out, he ran into the woods.
A little ways further, a white truck went by...Conservation officer. As I drove along a few minutes later, I looked in my rearview mirror...there he was, following me. We went a few miles, and when we came to a wide spot, I pulled over. He turned on his lights, and we both got out. As you may know, I've had the pleasure of meeting the game wardens and conservation officers on all my trips north. (read last years adventure!) This year, I'm in the clear. We talked for a while, I told him we had been out to Windigo Lake. Why? just because its there...He said,"so, you been doing any fishing??" Nope (you won't fool me there!) I said "we camped out at Pipestone, would you like to see my permit?" I rummaged around for it...where the heck is it...finally we found the cash receipt, but no permit. That was good enough. Nice guy...I could see him shaking his head as I drove off. I think he thought we were crazy!
We made it back to Pickle Lake, and back on pavement. A little further, we came to an access for the Albany River. Lets give it a shot, we decided, and turned off, planning to camp there. This road was a little more grown in than Pipestone:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05255.jpg width=500
actually, a lot more grown in:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05256.jpg width=500
It was too narrow to turn around, both sides dropped off:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05260.jpg width=500
Yeah, this is not looking good:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05263.jpg width=500
I got out and walked ahead.
I finally found a spot that the road bed was a little wider, though grown in. Beyond that, a blowdown blocked the road. By making about a 30 point turn, and jackknifing the trailer in to side of the camper, I was able to turn around. This is another of those situations where a photo is the last thing on your mind. More like, Please Lord, just get me out of this!!
I headed back towards 599:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05265.jpg width=500
and finally made it out of the bush!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/North%20Ontario/DSC05272.jpg width=500
Relieved not to be stuck out in the boonies, we headed back to Sandbar Provincial Park, instead. We got the campsite Lynn wanted...right next to the laundromat!
RE: Lightbar on my Northern Lite
Good job, did you find any structure to screw the mounting brackets into or just the fiberglass?
What types of driving do you find these most useful?
Hi Bruce,
I think the lower screws on the top side may be hitting the plywood lip that they use where the 2 halves of the shell meet. Otherwise I believe they are just through the fiberglass and into the styrofoam. I know this is all they do to attach the top railing as a result of ripping that off.(Oops!) I used the factory screws from that to attach this, as a matter of fact. I was leery at first, but it is real solid.
I use the lights often, as long as there is not other traffic around. I am paranoid about Moose (and deer) after numerous close encounters...the two outside lamps light up the roadsides while the center two are aimed farther out straight. The Dodge has always seemed to have weak headlights to me. I also have 2 of the same lamps in my bumper. They are also very useful getting into wooded camp sites...I have 3 rear mounted lights for this as well.
People have often told me I'm "none too bright"... So I guess I'll show them, huh! :B
Lightbar on my Northern Lite
I have had a few folks ask about the lightbar I put on the front cabover on my TC. Here are some details. Sorry, I haven't cleaned the bugs off yet.:o
Side View:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05888.jpg width=500
Front View
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05891.jpg width=500
Other Side:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05890.jpg width=500
Profile:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05889.jpg width=500 I used Hella 500 lamps because the price was good, and they are not as deep as most lights...I was not sure how much clearance I would have.
This shows the stick-on conduit for the wiring:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05892.jpg width=500
I use what was the battery box as a junction box for camper to truck connections...my camper batteries are now in the truck bed. These lights are actually wired to the truck batteries, not the camper:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05894.jpg width=500
Here is the switch in the cab console:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05893.jpg width=500
This shows the corner detail:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05895.jpg width=500
Its all bolted together...I can't weld aluminum.
This shows how the lights mount.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05896.jpg width=500
Just a matter of drilling the holes and using the lights mounting bolts.
My first step was bending a pattern to fit the profile of my camper:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05897.jpg width=500
Then I bent the three supports to match using a vise. Then I drilled them for the appropriate holes to mount. Used putty tape and stainless screws to mount to the camper. The horizontal bar I bolted in the middle, and then bent slightly to conform to the slight curve in the cabover front as I installed the end bolts.
I used aluminum flatstock that I bought at Home Depot:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/rhodetrip/xtras/DSC05900.jpg width=500
I'm happy with the results. By being on the cabover, I don't get the reflection on the hood that some people do with high mounted lights. I've used these for over a year on over 1,000 miles of gravel roads and they are still holding up fine.
