2011 Trip 4: Paddle makes it good...

Lake Opinicon - June 2011

First trip this year with the kayaks. Pulled them out from under the deck Wed night and loaded them up. A little dirty from being under the deck all winter, but we will take care of that this weekend. We find the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is indeed magic. Always thought there was something super toxic in those things to allow them to clean the way they do, but in fact, that assumption is a myth. A little Googling discovered that they are actually a super fine micro pore abrasive. Literally scrapes the dirt off things. On a smooth kayak surface, they work wonders. Sorry, I digress...

Friday night traffic is light. Snacked on our sandwiches, a new routine we have we can just concentrate on getting set up when we arrive, rather than doing it while we are starving for dinner.

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2011 Trip 3: It's a jungle out here...

Murphy's Point PP - June 2011

We were here, in a tent, probably 30 years ago. All I can remember about this Park is that we arrived on a Friday night in the pouring rain, and set up the tent, a big canvas one, by the lights of our little Honda Civic. I recall the entire weekend it rained, and that is all I remember. No recollection of the Park at all.  Traffic was light this evening, sailed right out of the city no problem. This park is just past Perth, about an hour and fifteen away.

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What's inside those wheel hubs?

The brakes were doing a lot of squealing this spring, so I figured it was time to take them apart and give them a good cleaning. Also a good reason to satisfy my curiosity about just how these things actually work.

Bought a little bottle jack to raise the Alto, as my attempts to use the screw jack from the Santa Fe proved awkward.  A recommended purchase, for those times you need to use it to change a tire.  This will make the job much easier.  You can also see a small jackstand there, which is a wise safety precaution, and easy to keep in the car as well.

Inside, it is pretty much a normal drum brake, except what expands the shoes is a magnet, rather than a hydraulic When energized by the brake controller, it grabs the inside face of the drum, and as it gets pulled along by the rotating drum, the lever the magnet is attached to, twists a cam which forces the shoes out to make contact with the sides of the drum.  The more voltage applied, the harder the magnet sticks to the face and the stronger the leverage on the shoes. Pretty ingenious.

When the drum gets pulled off the spindle, the outer wheel bearing, held in place by the spindle nut, comes out of its race.  Lots of grease everywhere, which is a good thing.  Next spring, the job will include a full repack of the bearings.

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