I built this rig to be able to handle a large variety of climates, but this is still the testing phase, and unfortunately it is not passing all the tests. Winter seemed to come out of nowhere this year, and it came with fury. Nights were starting to get below freezing, but waking up not only sub zero temperatures and snow, was an unexpected surprise. I am certainly not complaining, because these are all necessary tests for the rig, and I am actually quite happy to identify issues through temperatures and conditions that are still manageable. I thought that the rig would be able to go quite cold with an almost stock heating system, but unfortunately that does not seem to be the case. By the end of the first night, I woke up to a nice and toasty rig, but frozen pipes, which is a greater issue than a chilly living quarters. Frozen pipes quickly turn into busted pipes, and having just redone all of the plumbing, that is not an avenue I want to revisit this early in the new rig. Lucky for me nothing broke, and I have some awesome ideas on how to overcome these issues.
Outside of freezing pipes, the rig has done incredibly well, and most of the other concerns are basically just learning curves. The rig is 12,000 lbs, and with DRW that equates to some great traction. Add to that the 4 wheel drive and snowflake rated tires, she's ready to tackle any climb, but stopping is the number one concern. Cold temperatures, weight and good tires will get you surprisingly good traction, but once that traction breaks it is a different game entirely, and that is the game I am trying to learn.
This truck has drum brakes on the back and discs on the front, which is actually a very good combination, but that strong braking power up front can be a difficult balance while learning the capabilities and limitations to the setup. I am fortunate to be traveling some very remote locations, so I can really play with different speeds, turns and stops, without having to worry about traffic or any other human presence. As for the overall performance, I am very happy with the truck, and I don't think much needs to be changed. If I plan to do a specific northern winter trip, I will pick up a nice set of studded tires, but other than that I think it is just time behind the wheel to get a strong understanding of the performance in these challenging conditions.
Now, I think it is important to say, this is not an announcement of a winter break, this is just the close of the summer travel season. Winer is a period of time that I still have to find some consistent solutions for within the channel, but going into this one I think I have some really neat ideas that will bring a big variety of very exciting content. I don't want to say too much more, but I do want to say thank you! Thank you for enjoying the summer season, and thank you for enjoying the first season with the new rig. This was a lot of risk for me, and a big challenge, but I could not have possibly planned a better season. The channel growth was amazing, the stories were exciting and beautiful, and the rig held up to a far greater test than I had anticipated subjecting it to.
I am so excited about the future, and I am so happy to have you all along in the passenger seat.
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