Trip from Burnaby to Nelson

[davidwwc]

Hi,

I am planing going with my other half to Nelson next week. This will be my longest drive since got my Delica last October. Urbanboar is running fine and will need another oil change in 1500 km. Should I change it now or do it half the way back? ( any other concern I should aware of ?) Also, how will be the road at this time ? ( will be more likely going there straight along hwy 1 & 3 ).

Is there any good place for elementary off roading or just fun trails for my stock delica ?
All experience on this is appreciated. Thank you
DC

[CV-25]

Roads should be fine, especially for a Delica. The Kootenays are pretty rural, lots of off-roading possiblities. You will enjoy the drive and really enjoy Nelson. Come over to the East Kootenays if you have a chance as well. Take the car ferry from Nelson to the other side of Kootenay Lake. Creston, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Invermere, Golden, Revy then back home. That way you get to see the Rockies as well. Some killer skiing along the way.....
You might want to do your oil before you leave.....

CV-25

[davidwwc]

Thanks cv-25,

Yes we are looking forward for a nice & beautiful trip on the way ,your reply is very much encouraging. Do you live around that area? How is the temperature there now ( - degree ..?),so not to worry starting up in the morning.

I figure out thr trip wil be around 650 km to 750 km one way., so oil change in advance my be a good idea or at least before coming back. We will definetly take the ferry to Kootenay....

Cheers
DC

[delicat]

It's a very nice drive once you pass chilliwack, you'll enjoy. You should consider some hot springs up there, always nicer in the winter months!

As for oil change you should be good to do it once you're back here. It doesn't have to be exactly 5000km, especially of you do hwy instead of city driving. Jus make sure your oil is at the full mark and top it off it needed.

The main thing is respect your van. There's some pretty serious hills out there so don't only rely on your temp gauge to know if you're pushing her too hard...

Enjoy!
Mr. D

[jessef]

If your L400 has had it's cooling system done (rad/waterpump/thermostat/expansion bottle) important , then you'll be fine.

We took our L400 from Van to Nelson driving straight stopping only for lunch and diesel last summer and drove it purposely hard up every hill/pass to monitor how the L400 did.

Used a boost/pyro/oil temp gauge and I could never get it past 1,050 on the pyro at max.

This means you can push your L400 in stock form as much as you like through the hills.

[davidwwc]

Hi,

Thanks Jfarsang & David for your precious replies.. The information and experiences are very valuable to us . Its nice to know I can change the oil when I got back sincs its mainly hwy mileage , just watch the oil level closely.

Yes the van is good since I got it from Japanoid last yr. I did a run to Kamloops in December and the temp. always good. ( fuel consumption is a bit high though ) I will make sure coolant level is good and keep an eye on the guage closely. It is sooo nice to learn that I can take this time to try out the beast .. but I know jfarsang you have your L400 set up at top condition and not at stock form ., so I am still be conservative on the drive. (Oh I also had a deli tune , a injection pump timing advance and wheel alignment done at CVI too..) Thanks again everyone for the replies..

Cheers,
DC

[CV-25]

I am up in Kimberley (East Kootenays) and temps can get cold here even into March. I have cold started my l300 a couple of times (-15ish) and even though it takes a bit it always starts.....so I wouldn't worry about the cold. West Kootenays will tend to be a bit warmer than the East Kootenays. Vancouver to Kimberley is over 900 kms if you come this far, as you mentioned Nelson is much closer. We even have a different time zone in the East Kootenays, one hour ahead of the rest of the province.....Ainsworth Hot Springs are cool.

have fun and the passes were no problem for my l300 except freeezing my butt off on the way down, that was at about -8. I still think I have a thermostat problem and have been waiting for 3 months for Mardy to send me a new one.....check this site out www.powderhighway.com

CV-25