chris1953

Update on the MACK-RV: after a Winter of storage, we are back in the woods beside the lake for the Summer. Finally gave up on poor quality solenoids for the battery isolation problems and bought a heavy duty marine battery cut-off switch; hope it lasts. New hobby is wood carving, so did a low relief one of the truck in basswood.

On 6/14/2021 at 2:53 PM, 29Bowtie said:

What a great adventure you been having. Thanks for sharing. If you ever need anything while in BC, send me a message or call me at the Mack/Volvo dealer on Annacis Island in Delta, BC.

Thanks for the offer of help in BC. Still in Manitoba for the Summer. I’ve taken a seasonal spot in the woods by a lake and great to be back in the truck and out of the house.

The Summer of 2019 was spent back in British Columbia where the Mack now had a rear deck and awning. We were full-time living in the truck at this time and headed back to Arizona and Mexico when the weather changed. Heading as far South as Santispac before we became aware of Covid 19 and the forth-coming pandemic. We arrived back in Winnipeg at the end of March and have ben here ever since. We are waiting for a vaccination and given up on going anywhere soon. But it has given me time to post all this and i hope you enjoy the story so far. Stay safe, stay well, Happy Christmas and a better New Year.

From Texas, we headed West through New Mexico, into Arizona and down into Baja California. The roads were not that good in Mexico and diesel was expensive but beer and groceries were cheap. We spent about a month south of the border before going to Quartzsite, Az, for the big RV show where we met several other Class 8 Motor Home Conversions.

November 2018 and it was time to go South in order to avoid the cold Canadian winter. Straight South from Winnipeg to the Gulf Coast of Texas and Magnolia Beach before a trip to the Alamo.

To help with noise suppression in the cab, I fitted some Dynamat and carpets. Then it was off to British Columbia for the Summer and the first big trip.

I retired from long haul truck driving in April 2018 and things started getting done a whole lot quicker. A roof rack with 300 watts of solar power. Four big deep cell house batteries and a 2000 watt inverter were added along with new seats and steering wheel.

Slowly it began to come together. Not fast enough for the neighbours who thought the truck would never move again from beside the house.

Finally started construction, using as much of the stripped-out materials as possible. Including the Worlds largest knife and fork draw.

I was still driving long-haul, so progress was slow. Stripping out the interior and cutting the stainless steel framing to give more space was first. With hindsight, I should have bought a plasma cutter as angle grinders didn't last very long cutting the stainless.

The journey from Missouri to Winnipeg was an expensive adventure to say the least. The front nearside tire lost it's tread just north of Des Moines in a snowstorm on Interstate 35. Nobody would come out and fix it so the police made me get it it towed. Luckily, the tow company also did tires but wouldn't touch the split rims. In the end, I bought two new 22.5 tubeless tires and the rims to go with them. The tires were 15 years old.

Eventually got home two days later and parked the truck down beside the house. 

On 5/2/2020 at 10:29 PM, mrsmackpaul said:

Some more photos, please be aware none of these are mine at all 

I've never been to Europe or the Middle East but feel they are to good not to share so full credit to whom ever the original photographer's are 

I have plenty more to share

Just if you can for a moment, imagine how influential Mack was once around the world 

Paul

Rynart are still in business and Rinus Rynart still takes an active interest in the company. They have the contract to supply the armed forces in Afghanistan with fresh food and run fridges overland from Westrn Europe to Kabul. Most of their drivers are from Estonia and neighboring states and ,alas, the trucks are no longer Macks.

Er-San had a big mixed fleet of Macks and Fiats. Their base was on the western outskirts of Istanbul, just a few hundred yards from the Londra Camp. Their workshops were very handy for any repairs needed for any make of truck. A most friendly and helpful place but it was a bit disconcerting to see a couple of 12 year old boys stripping down a motor ready for a head-gasket change while the men sat around smoking and drinking tea.

LKW Walter are still around although they don't have their own trucks. They are like C H Robinson, they have plenty of work and give it to the operators willing to work for the least amount of money. I pulled fro them from 1999 to 2004; up until all the east European countries joined the European Union. Overnight LKW Walters halved the rate.

OHS were owned by a Turkish gentleman, OH Sutil; known to everyone as "Sooty." He loved everything American and especially Mack trucks. The fleet was based in Rainham, Essex, England, and ran to most Middle-East destinations. The drivers were a mix of Brits and Turks; great guys to run with and always helpful when crossing borders and dealing with paperwork. Besides Macks, Sooty had two GMC Astros with V8 Detroits and Allison transmissions.  

That photo of the San Jose Mack at the Londra Camp brings back memories. That was a regular watering hole just outside Istanbul and every west European truck driver would pull in there on the way to the Middle East. I stopped there many times between 1983 to 1986 and there was always an Irani registered Mack F700 with trailer parked at the gate. The story was that the Iranian driver had stabbed an Iraqi driver to death in the restaurant while arguing about Sunni and Shia religion differences. Like all the truck stops on the Middle-East run; it had a bit of an edge to it.