Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

As I wrote here and here, I recently purchased a 2006 Jeep Liberty that ended up having window regulator issues.  Turned out there were three window regulators that needed replacing. After some research and discovering that this seemed to be a very common problem with Jeep Liberty vehicles, and the fact that to me, it’s a safety issue, I called the Canadian Chrysler Customer Service line.  To me, having my son in the backseat while driving through a major snowstorm or driving rain with the risk of the window falling down is not just an inconvenience – but a safety and security risk.  And not just my son – it would be a safety risk if Colleen was driving with me in such conditions and the window fell down.

Chrsyler Canada didn’t offer me much at all.  They advised that because the warranty was expired (60,000 km – my vehicle had just under 64,000 when the first regulator let go), there was nothing they could do.  The told me that because I did not buy it from a Chrysler dealer, I wouldn’t be entitled to any “goodwill” even though the person I spoke with agreed that it could be a safety issue having windows fall down.

I was advised that I should have tried to have a “relationship” with a Chrysler dealer – then maybe some “goodwill” could be provided.

So I walked into the service department of Wellington Chrysler in Guelph last week.  Walked up to the first service consultant, introduced myself, shook his hand and said, “I’m here to begin a relationship with you.”  After his quizical look, I told him the story of the window regulators, my conversation with Chrysler Canada, and gave him the opportunity to see what they could do.

I have to give it the guys there – they did understand the issue and managed to work out something for me that was agreeable and helpful.  They did a fantastic job, and I’ll certainly not hesitate to take my Liberty into them for service.

Thanks to John and Neal and the manager at the service department of Wellington Chrysler.

The grand ol’ Caddy DeVille finally bit the dust.  I bought the car used about 8 years ago for three thousand, on the road, including taxes.  For that price and the fact that nothing hardly ever went wrong with it other than the usual stuff like brakes, tires and the like, it did me very well, carrying me about 150,000 km over the 8 years I owned it.

It had a trunk that would easily fit three bodies.   But I never transported bodies, but it could hold all my camping gear as well as fly rods and my son David in the back seat with enough firewood for three campfires.  Sadly though, enough things went wrong with it all at once that it just wasn’t worth fixing a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve never spent more than six thousand dollars on a vehicle before, and have always done pretty good.  This time, I wanted something that I could go camping with, maybe throw a canoe on a roof rack (one thing I didn’t like about the DeVille was installing a roof rack was just about impossible or not practical), and be able to drive down old lanes where small cars won’t go. 

Colleen and I looked around and we finally settled on a nice 2006 Jeep Liberty that was for sale. I purchased it partly on the reputation of Jeep as well as the reputation of the dealership.  And it was nice to drive when we took it out for a test.

Turns out this vehicle is now the one that cost the most I’ve ever spent on  one. 

I don’t mind the stiff suspension although I was warned the “ride” would be different than the Caddy.  But I’ve driven enough old trucks, tractors,  and other vehicles that were nothing like the Caddy that a stiff suspension doesn’t bother me at all.  And there is surprisingly quite a bit of leg room for my 6′ frame while driving it.

It’s not going to win any drag races for sure, but I was surprised at how peppy it could be at highway speeds when I had to pull out and pass another vehicle the other night. The engine also has a nice rumbling noise to it.

On the highway,  the Jeep Liberty is not as good as the Cadillac was though, believe it or not.  At highway speeds on long drives, there were times I could get in excess of 30 mpg (Imperial gallon) and could get in excess of 700 KM out of a single tank of gas.  It was brutal though driving short trips and around town.

On a trip to Montreal last weekend, the Jeep Liberty only got about 25 mpg (Imperial gallons). I was hoping for a little better fuel efficiency, but around town and on short trips, it does better than the Caddy.

A couple of other design issues I’m not keen on:

1. Seems cruise control is an option – I have never bought a new vehicle so I’m not sure if cruise is still just an option and not standard on most vehicles, but it seems to me that these days, cruise should be standard. Even though there is enough room for my long legs, my knees still get cramped when my foot is holding down a gas pedal on long trips.

2. The tilt steering is a bit weird.  When its tilted, I can’t see the speedometer.  I have to look over the top or under to see it which is annoying.

3. Who thought up the idea of putting the power window switches on the centre console?? When I go through drivethroughs to get my coffee, I am still not used to that and am locking or unlocking the door.

These are pretty minor though compared to how much I enjoy driving the Jeep, overall.   It’s also rear wheel drive when not in 4X4 mode – but I can’t use my teenage experience of doing fishtales and donuts in the snow – it has some kind of electronic anti-slip thing that detects wheel spin and automatically applies the brake to whatever wheel should be slowed down.  Which is kind of nifty I guess, but I like doing donuts and fishtales even though it’s been almost three decades since I’ve been a teenager.

One thing I am concerned about though has to do with the windows. The other day while driving in -12C temperature, the driver’s side front window just fell. I drove about 45 minutes, unable to get the window up.

Seems that Jeep Liberty’s have a problem with their window regulators. And they are not cheap to replace at 350.00 a shot.  From what I’ve read, it seems that this really should have been a Jeep recall issue. I can’t imagine having my 7 year old son sitting in the back seat while we’re driving through a major rainstorm, and his window falls down and won’t close.  Apparently some Jeep owners have had to replace their window regulators quite frequently.

But so far, other than that, I am enjoying the vehicle and looking forward to doing some camping and fishing with as soon as spring hits.  Right now, it’s been terrific when David and I have gone cross country skiing.

I’ll post photos of it when I remember to take some.

I’ve been looking at some of the newer (and very expensive) fly boxes that are now available. It’s seems funny to me that many of them are being sold as if “waterproofness” was a big deal as far as fishing flies. One company says of their boxes,

“These boxes have an absolute airtight seal with a recessed silicone gasket and postive locking system. They will NOT leak!”

I’m not too worried about my fly boxes “leaking.” They are seldom filled with water in the first place. But perhaps they mean that these boxes won’t leak in. But so what if they do? I’m going to be taking flies out of the box anyhow, and putting the fly in water. Sure, it will dry somewhat if I give the fly a few quick casts in the air before returning it to the fly box but it will still likely have some moisture on it – and now I’m putting it back into a “waterproof” box? For what purpose?

I suppose if I drop the fly box in water, I don’t want water getting into the box. However, the odd time I have dropped a plastic fly box into the water, I was able to grab it in time as it floated before much moisture got in to it. If I’m fishing situations where I can’t get the box because the current is too fast, I’m unlikely to ever see that fly box again anyhow, waterproof or not.

How often do you drop your fly boxes into the river?

Another company says this about their waterproof fly boxes:

“Moisture proof so flies stay dry”

Huh? Are these flies you are planning on using for fishing?

Here’s the thing: If you are using a waterproof box – unless they have come up with some new waterproof breathable material for fly boxes, once you shut that box, there is no evaporation or air flow going on. Put a slightly damp fly into a waterproof box, it has less chance that it will completely dry in a waterproof box than one that is not waterproof.

As far as long term storage, I’m not too worried about humidity getting into my fly boxes and ruining the flies. When I went to visit the Canadian Sport Fishing museum in British Columbia some years ago, they had a collection of Alexander Haig-Brown’s flies on display – and they weren’t kept in any waterproof fly boxes. They seemed quite fishable to me after all these years, too.

I have a collection of nymphs and other wet flies in fly boxes that my father owned. When he passed on, I inherited the boxes. The fly boxes are not waterproof and I know my dad fished those flies – getting them wet. I’m sure he did not dry every single one of them carefully before returning them to the fly box – and guess what? After more than ten years, those flies are still quite fine!

Personally, I think you risk more damage through material rot and rusting of hooks when using a waterproof box that does not allow for evaporation and airflow. If I were to have waterproof boxes that I used regularly, I think I’d probably drill a few tiny holes in it.

What’s your opinion? Worth the extra money to get waterproof fly boxes or do they really serve a purpose worth the extra cost? Tell me in the comment section.