The definition of Insanity

The common, widely-quoted definition of insanity is often attributed to Albert Einstein, although it predates him.

​It is defined as:

​"Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

Such turned out the case with the Sammy I am sad to say. 

Thursday, November 20:

Suffice to say today was a day of issues that ended up at the point where enough was enough and it was time to throw in the towel.  

Basically, oil is getting past at least one piston's oil rings and causing a military-grade smoke screen to be generated.  The oil is, along the way, pouring out ( while driving ) at the connection between the engine's exhaust manifold and pipe leading to the catalytic converter.

She was putting out quite the smoke screen:

The oil leak viewed from underneath:

Where exhaust manifold connects to pipe leading to catalytic converter:

I am unwilling to throw more money and time down this particular rabbit hole.

I will be towing the Sammy back to New Mexico the next time I go camping in that direction, back to Mike W.  He is completely blameless and the issues are all on me. He and I had a long talk and we're all good in spite of of the Sammy issues.  He will regain ownership and the Sammy's fate will be in his hands.

It is what it is, and I am moving on. The Sammy will sit in the RV storage yard till it gets returned to New Mexico.

I am out a very small amount of money, and as my father-in-law used to say : There's always a tuition to pay for life's lessons.  

At the RV storage lot, out of my garage and hopefully out of sight, out of mind to my overthinking brain.

Martha joins me for the drive back to Colorado

 Tuesday, September 18

A driving day today for the CRV and I.  Drove down the 2 hours or so to El Paso International Airport to pick up Martha.  El Paso, TX, is on the border right across from the Mexican city of Juarez.

Martha and I hurriedly escaped north away from this overcrowded area and soon we were heading north on I-25 headed towards Elephant Butte.  

We got back to Mike and Laura's place with no issues and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening chatting and having dinner.  I cooked up the last of my Mom's roast pork with some Bak Choy.... turned out pretty good 

Our thanks to Laura and Mike W., great friends and Suzuki Samurai Foster Home hosts!

Wednesday, November 19

We left Elephant Butte around 8:15 am and were setting up camp at the KOA in Las Vegas, NM.

What?  Me in a regular campground?  Yep, I'll be dumping tanks and prepping the VRRV for winterization in the morning as we drive the last six hours or so to our home.

Here's Umarang all set to start towing the Sammy....a simpler process when compared to towing the CRV!

A good sunlit day for driving on the I-25 Interstate.  No issues encountered be me or by Martha who drove the CRV separately of course.

We'll be home tomorrow afternoon assuming no weather delays.

A Little More Test Driving the Sammy

 Monday, September 17

Well, the FAA has announced no more curtailment of flights due to the government shutdown being over.  So the is to drive to El Paso airport tomorrow to pick up Martha and bring her back to Elephant Butte.

Took the Sammy for a bit more of driving within the Elephant Butte SP, found sandy trails which required the use of 4WD in both Low and Hi mode on the transfer case.  No issues getting going again but would have dug myself in on a car without 4WD!

Tiring of sandy four-wheeling, I got back on pavement and headed for the Elephant Butte Dam Overlook to see if this time I could "see the elephant".

Here's the last time I was at the overlook:  link back in February of 2021.

The revisit was inspired by this paintwork on a water tank a few miles away that I saw yesterday.

I think I can see the reclining elephant based on the AI generated description below.  How about you?  To me, the elephant's face is in shadow.

Here's what Google Gemini said:

The name comes from early settlers who thought the shape of the rock, particularly when viewed from a certain angle, resembled an elephant lying on its side.

Look at the large, rounded mass of the rock. This can be seen as the elephant's body.

The high point on the left side (your left in the photo) could be viewed as the head or hump of the reclining elephant.

The slope leading down to the water on the right side might be interpreted as its hindquarters.

 

Moochdocking at Elephant Butte - Mariko, the Sammy, Returns!

I am presently moochdocking at Mike and Laura W.'s home in the city of Elephant Butte, New Mexico.  Mike W.is the Suzuki Samurai Guru I met quite by chance as I was transiting through the city shortly after I had bought the Sammy.

Link to that meeting: I meet a Samurai Guru, this was back in February of 2021.

Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I had a rather frustrating love/hate relationship with the Sammy.  Long story short, I ended up gifting the Samurai to Mike W. After I had failed to get it to pass new emission standards in my home county in Colorado.

The Samurai became Mike's, September of 2022.  Fast forward the three+ years to now and the Samurai will soon be signed over to me.  Mike W. offered her up when I asked about buying his other Samurai.   Some debate later, I agreed to his generous offer to simply return it to me, all fixed up.  (More on that later, basically a lot of errors on my part).

I took the Sammy for a test drive and she ran great! Multiple stops and starts no issues, runs strong, and Mike taught me the correct technique of gear shifting through the power bands correctly, I had apparently been babying ( probably lugging) the engine.  No engine coolant issues anymore once Mike put a 195° radiator thermostat in place of the 180° thermostat sold to me by a NAPA shop.

Mike had even added a new soft top replacing the beat up one I left behind.

The test drive took me to capture Fall Colors at the Elephant Butte SP.

This Bull kept following me around for a while

I was able to test out the 4WD too, having found trails and sections with loose deep sand.  The Sammy powered out just fine once I locked the front hubs and engaged 4WD .

Martha will be flying in to El Paso on Tuesday this week and I'll bring her back to Elephant Butte for a short visit.  She'll then drive the Honda CRV while I tow the Sammy north back to Colorado for the Winter.

Does the Sammy still struggle on steep inclines on the highway?  Yep!  I have to gear down to 4th to barely hold 45 mph if the hill is steep/long enough.  Like the Ural, these aren't interstate highway machines.

Is she 1500+ lbs lighter than the CRV? Yep!  Way easier to tow behind the VRRV.

Way higher ground clearance will prevent future issues similar to what ended up denting the CRV's underside cover back in Quartzite recently.

In short, for when I am camping without Martha, a more suitable vehicle for me to do exploring on alongside my TW200. For the trips were Martha is with me, we will tell the CRV as it is more comfortable.