THIS SUCKS! Broken Down In The Yukon. 5 HOURS WAITING FOR HELP

WAS HARD TO FIND A TOW TRUCK WAY OUT HERE. EVERYONE SAID NO!!

My name is Chrome i have been living in y cargo van for 6 years now. I started this lifestyle BROKE and IN DEBT and after 11 months of living the van life i cleared my debt and started to put my life back together and build for a better future. I have turned my original van into a badass camper van that is lifted with all the toys. Over the years i went from being broke and stealth camping in the city and sleeping at walmarts... to now, living fulltime in a jacked up van and driving deep off-grid into the backcountry and living life in the dirt. WOW LIFE HAS CHANGED.

I now have a shop space to keep me busy through the winters here on Canada's westcoast. Went from Van Life to VAN LIFE + SHOP LIFE !!!!!! Come join this crazy van life journey of mine. HIT SUBSCRIBE, trust me its gonna be a WILD RIDE.

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[BuffsPlaybook]

You guys are such noobs at automotive things. That high whining spinning sound usually means that your timing belt or chain broke bad and just the bottom of your engine is spinning vs. all the mechanical parts at the top. If so, that means you have a catastrophic mess in your valvetrain including probably a couple of very hurt cylinders. Just so you know, when you put your gear into park, you disengaged the transmission from the engine. The flex plate is attached to the engine, not the transmission. The starter is spinning the engine not the transmission. The starter spins the engine until it fires on its own power then it disengages when you let go of the key. I hate to break it to you but you are extremely and unnecessarily rough on things and then they break. You put all that weight on that van after you got the new engine, then went bogging in the bush and up steep mountains like a VAN is supposed to do that with no issues. You put 10 years worth of wear on that engine and tranny in a few months. I hope for your sake that I am wrong. Don't trust me. Search YouTube for symptoms of broken timing belts/chains. The sound will be similar.

[pattymills]

Just a little to help with your moving expense if you have to relocate your van. Hang in there Chrome. Just remember your fun adventure to Dawson City:) Hugs to you and Cruzie ❤

[erindavies]

If you can get your van to Fort Mac, my husband (HD mechanic, welder, aircraft mechanic and millwright) has volunteered to fix whatever your van needs to get going PLUS there’s lots of great content to film while here! Oil sands, 2016 fire etc

[SaulTPokit]

Next month on VCVL: Chrome buys a massive tow truck and starts a cross country van rescue service

[AngieMiddleton]

Buy yourself a coffee when you can Chrome. Wishing you the best from Alaska.

[Quark-bf]

I was an independent U-Haul dealer for over 20 years and I can assure you that one of their auto transports could definitely haul your van. They try to restrict a lot of different vehicles from being towed so you’d have to fin and book it saying you were towing something else like a Honda civic but I’ve towed several full size vans and trucks on them and they tow just fine. Those are really heavy duty quality trailers. The only thing is it might be a little tight width wise loading them non running is no fun but you have a winch on your van so you’d be good to go.

[juniorjuss]

I hope this helps a little bit chrome, I’ve been there, only my rig has 18 wheels and gets a whole lot more complicated lol.You & cruzy stay safe.

[StumpyVanLife]

Mechanic here, based off the noise it is making and the symptoms I 100% agree with Loren. It is the flexplate and my money is on the center part of the flexplate, the part that bolts to the crankshaft, cracked and then finally broke free from the rest of the flex plate. If the bolts had sheared off you would have found debris when you removed that inspection plug. I have seen that exact failure before, flex plate just breaks right around that center section and the rest of the flex plate can just free wheel around it. If I was not in Texas I would volunteer to come help you fix it. But I don't have a passport and that would be one heck of a drive for me. Lol , I wish you the best of luck getting back on the road.

[laurielea]

Hey there!!! Lady from Fox Lake saying hi and wishing you well!!! I do wish I did not have an appointment in town. Otherwise I sure would have made you some delicious moose stew!!! Good Luck new friend hugs😊

[mogains]

Double salute to the subscribers who helped out. Stay blessed guys. One love from beautiful Trinidad and Tobago ❤ 🇹🇹.

[gary]

Apparently, they didn't explain the curse of the Captain's Toe to you. Once you've kissed the toe you are destined to wonder the Yukon for eternity until you find his missing toe's. If you cannot find the toes the only way to break the curse is to donate one of your own! Just having fun with you, it always sucks when one has a breakdown on the road, wishing you better luck.

[Shihtzu]

Not as rich as the other lady but hope this helps a bit too

[edwardmcdermott]

My gosh if it was late fall or winter you could really be stuck! What about a small wood burning stove to heat and cook with! Use sticks and old pallets for wood to burn inside the van !!! For emergency situations

[victoriabaker]

Sorry to hear this and wishing you a swift recovery. But however this turns out, I do have to say, your travels this season have been quite engaging! Lean into the good and let it be. Make an adventure of the rest of this.

[justmike]

Back in the 80s I worked at a Chevrolet dealer at the intersection of two major highways as a service advisor. We always gave priority to travelers. Also a new vehicle does never mean trouble free . One instance, I remember a brand new Caprice blew a rod cap through the pan while it was being backed off the transport truck. 😮

[CoffeeWithFred]

Thank goodness you have a lot of money and time to deal with breakdowns like this! The regular joe deals with car issues all the time but can't afford a month off work an $1500 towing and whatever multiple new transmissions cost. Continued success chrome!

[rcfield]

best of luck chrome! sorry about the headache again! -Ryan C

[hughwolfe]

Chrome it's a shame you couldn't have had this problem in Dawson City. At least "stranded" wouldn't seem so bad.

[HeatherS__]

Back in the late 70s, my family started out on a trip to Alaska (from PA) driving a Class B sized motorhome. I can't remember now where we turned back (my mom wasn't really into it and my brother and I were being obnoxious little kids about it), but as we continued back across the US, the vehicle broke down. The part that was needed was an unusual one, and it took a few days of hanging out in a motel room for the garage to get it and get us back on the road. My dad later figured out, if we had continued on to Alaska, we would have broken down somewhere on one of those middle of nowhere places up that way, and the part would have taken weeks to get there. You have my sympathies, Chrome and Cruz. Hope things are working out by now and y'all are back on the road soon.

[sunshinecindy]

Wow! So sorry to hear your travels got interrupted. Maybe you need to stay on roads and get a four wheeler to take with you to hit the back roads. This way your home won't get tore up. 😢😢😢😢😢 Sending hugs & prayers your way! So happy to hear of all the kindness you are receiving. ❤