Advice for lone female baja traveller - Page 6

John and Dana · 01-28-2009, 05:42 PM

Lisa,

You are right on with the bear spray. It won't be much use against someone with gun but in any other situation it will give you the upper hand. I always carry it in the van because you can legally cross into Canada with it and I have had no problems taking it into Mexico, not sure about the legality though. I did have a soldier ask me about it at military check point in Baja last year and I told him it was for bears. Es por oso. It has picture of a bear on the canister and that appears to be good enough for him. I am sure he had no idea of what it actually was.

Deminimis, bear spray is quite different than mace or pepper spray. It sprays 20 feet in a solid stream and has the consistency of shaving cream. If a person took a shot of this to the face even if they wanted to fight back they would not be able to open their eyes. On the container there are various warning about spraying at people because it can cause permanent blindness if it gets in your eyes. I figure if it can stop a charging bear it will probably do just fine against a person.

John

Psomaki · 01-28-2009, 07:33 PM

Wow, John, and somebody hasn't legislated this stuff out of existence yet? We actually can run with scissors if we choose to? There's hope for us!
(PC disclaimer: I do not advocate running with scissors. I do not allow minors under my supervision to run with scissors. I do not give scissors yadda yadda yadda.)

Greggd · 01-28-2009, 09:44 PM

Lisa ,
Fuel tank repair is a good idea , and the best two part Epoxy for numerous repairs of this type
is probably Travco Marine Tex . You can pick it up readily at West Marine . I carry a kit in our boats and SportsMobile , This like Goop , Super tape Lok Tite and a spool of Mechanics Wire are valuable additions to your repair kit .
Greggde

lisajsiegel · 01-29-2009, 08:37 AM

So can you use JB weld as fuel tank repair? I just got some of that the other day. Also, got some bailing wire and electrical wire, not sure exactely what "mechanic wire" would be, Greggde?

Thanks!
Lisa

**BroncoHauler** · 01-29-2009, 09:39 AM

JB Weld is always a very good addition to a field repair kit, but I'm not sure how well it will work if you have fuel seeping out of a tank.

From their instructions online: "Surface for application must be clean, dry, and free of dirt, grease, oil, etc. Remove any paint, primer, rust, etc. before applying J-B WELD".

Here's a picture of the stuff I have, though I can't say if it works on a tank that is seeping fuel. I don't see the instructions online, and I haven't ever had to use it.

I also carry some emergency radiator stop-leak stuff. I've used it to help a friend with a damaged radiator in an old Bronco, but the cooling system on a newer engine is more more complex. I don't know if it would cause later complications, but in an emergency out in the middle of nowhere...
Just about any automotive parts store will carry these.

EMrider · 01-29-2009, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bronco_hauler

JB Weld is always a very good addition to a field repair kit, but I'm not sure how well it will work if you have fuel seeping out of a tank.

From their instructions online: "Surface for application must be clean, dry, and free of dirt, grease, oil, etc. Remove any paint, primer, rust, etc. before applying J-B WELD".

Here's a picture of the stuff I have, though I can't say if it works on a tank that is seeping fuel. I don't see the instructions online, and I haven't ever had to use it.

I also carry some emergency radiator stop-leak stuff. I've used it to help a friend with a damaged radiator in an old Bronco, but the cooling system on a newer engine is more more complex. I don't know if it would cause later complications, but in an emergency out in the middle of nowhere...
Just about any automotive parts store will carry these.

I also carry JB weld everywhere. There is a quick set version that I have in the SMB. I have used it to repair a fuel tank leak in the field and it worked quite well. It fact, the patch still holds 2+ years later. This was a plastic tank on a motorcycle, FWIW, so I'm assuming a similar outcome on a metal tank. Not sure if diesel fuel would make any difference.
Rob

Greggd · 01-29-2009, 12:55 PM

Marine Tex will repair fuel tanks and I have found it to be superior to the JB weld . it can even be machined after curing , very tough stuff . One of my fishing partners used it to repair a cracked head on our 150 horse mercury engine at our old place in Loreto , and it worked fine for 3 month's until I could replace it with a new one . Another item worth mentioning would be 2 sets of Valve Stems .
Greggde

**BroncoHauler** · 02-21-2009, 06:28 PM

Lisa,

Any pics or reports from your trip? How'd things go?

Herb

lisajsiegel · 02-23-2009, 05:24 PM

hi there all,

wish i had pics, but i lost my camera on day two. go figure. actually things were going pretty awesome <besides getting stucker than i ever have been in my life, wish i had pics to show the epic unfolding) but after driving 8 days on super rough baja 4 by 4 roads, my entire van is SHAKING really bad when i go any speed over 30 mph.

i´ve got it in the shop here at guerro negro, but suddenly the mechanic decided to ´go to lunch ¨´ after i showed up so im pretty much wandering around town getting whistled at by the locals and trying to remain calm.

any suggestions anyone? one thing that i can mention is i had a flat and was changing the tire using the hi jack, and sure enough the jack tipped over and my wheel boomed to the ground without any support, i wonder if that knocked something loose causing the shaking?

Other than this recent epic though, i´ve had some amazing surfing and super good times crusing around on the coast. i love being here, none of the supposed dangers regarding safety are apparant at all, the only safety issue being can my van make it back to the US...?

to be continued...

lisa

Switchfoot · 02-23-2009, 06:23 PM

I'd check the following easy stuff to see if they could be culprits for the extreme shaking:

1. Mud stuck on the inside of your rims. I've had that happen and it felt like the front tires were gonna leap off the truck at any speed above 25 mph. You mentioned you got beyond stuck - if it was in mud - this could be an easy fix.

2. Missing wheel weights - may not be able to see where they were if already covered by dust.

3. Give the front suspension a visual check looking for anything obviously askew (blown ball joint boots, leaky shocks, missing bolts/nuts). Make sure your ball joints and track bar are still tight. Worn track bar bushings can cause wandering or death wobble, but I don't think you can see those w/o removing the bar. I'd grab and shake the various front end components and if any of them move, they likely need repair or adjustment.

Good luck with the repairs and let us know the outcome. Good to hear you're having a great time and the only bummer is the present mechanical difficulties.