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Camper_Jeff___K's avatar
Camper_Jeff___K
Nomad III
Jul 16, 2016

Drive Through Gifford Pinchot NF to Trout Lake and Return. 3

I took a four day weekend over the 4th of July weekend to visit friends in a small town at the foot of Mount Adams, WA. Traffic heading there was terrible and a 5 hour drive became 10 due to accidents, road closures, and snow closures. Luckily I was able to meander through the Gifford Pinchot NF using various forest roads and a Forest Service Map to find my way. Spent a couple days there camping in the school parking lot the first night, then at a friends property the rest of the trip. Though I had ideas of what I would have liked to do during my stay, it seems my friends had already made plans for me to cut down trees and chop 8 hours worth of firewood. This was fine, he's a friend who has always been there and gotten me out of bad things before.

Last year when my fuel pump in the tank died, Dave is the one who got me up in the forest where we were meeting to go fishing and instead drove me 60 miles to get the replacement pump and a bunch of tools and cans to siphon fuel into to lower the tank. I figured I easily owed him on that.




Another fond memory camping.

The return trip shows some of the forest. I also show how the roads through the forest on this particular route are paved but there is a lot of ground movement which can result in pretty good demands on your suspension. With all the tree shading and sun spots scattered about, it's easy to miss a bump till you feel it.

Links to the three videos, Parts 1, 2, and 3 follow.
Enjoy!


Part 1 of 3. Driving to Trout Lake, WA. Through the Gifford Pinchot NF.



Part 2 of 3. Camped at Trout Lake. Tour a Startup Tree Farm.


Part 3 of 3. Return Drive Through Gifford Pinchot NF.
Truck Campers
  • covered_wagon's avatar
    covered_wagon
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2016
    Sorry about side tracking this thread and do appreciate your full explaination. I understand a bit more about it now.

    I'm extreme about reliability and have even remodeled my truck bed frame to provide an access door over the fuel tank module.
  • Camper_Jeff___K's avatar
    Camper_Jeff___K
    Nomad III
    Jul 17, 2016
    covered wagon wrote:
    What you do is put it on a relay so the computer activates the pump thru the relay and can then run off the battery. That way if there is excessive amp draw from a bad pump it won't potentially hurt the computer.

    Inside the tank you just have a nice easy flow draw straw by remodeling it.


    I completely agree that it would make much more sense to have the fuel pump outside the tank for easy access and serviceability. What a concept that would be for Ford. What I don't know is if the control voltage from the computer is a fixed on off or a variable servo control signal determined by the fuel injection system and input from other systems. If the power or signal leads for the fuel pump were connected to a relay to activate an inline pump, the servo control would be lost and become an on off switch no longer able to regulate flow volume or pressure. Just a little research is all that's needed to determine how or if the fuel pump is managed or simply on off. Somebody reading this probably already knows the answer. When you see that a fuel pump the size of a D cell battery immersed in a tank of gasoline for cooling is what makes your truck run, it is a little bit concerning. Not to mention flashbacks of TWA flight 800 come to mind with electrical components inside a fuel tank causing big disastrous explosions.
  • NVR2L82AV8's avatar
    NVR2L82AV8
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2016
    Nice!!! Nothing compares to the beauty of the PNW....nothing! Those Forest Development Roads looked to be in pretty good condition and perfect for the camper....Lucky, you only had one major road ditch washout to navigate across :).
  • covered_wagon's avatar
    covered_wagon
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2016
    What you do is put it on a relay so the computer activates the pump thru the relay and can then run off the battery. That way if there is excessive amp draw from a bad pump it won't potentially hurt the computer.

    Inside the tank you just have a nice easy flow draw straw by remodeling it.
  • Camper_Jeff___K's avatar
    Camper_Jeff___K
    Nomad III
    Jul 17, 2016
    covered wagon wrote:
    Why don't you get the in tank fuel pump out of the tank and get it where it belongs so it is accessable down on the truck frame?

    You would not see me run a truck on the long haul with an in tank pump.

    I also carry an extra pump in the tool box and gets changed out by closing fuel shut off valves.


    The pump unit is integrated into the system and part of the computers management. It lasted 15 years so thats pretty good. An inline pump will be drawing through the existing pump and line. The current new pump should be fine for years.
  • covered_wagon's avatar
    covered_wagon
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2016
    Why don't you get the in tank fuel pump out of the tank and get it where it belongs so it is accessable down on the truck frame?

    You would not see me run a truck on the long haul with an in tank pump.

    I also carry an extra pump in the tool box and gets changed out by closing fuel shut off valves.

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