Polish trip...the drive to end all drives..

[paulob1]

Return of the star 266m

 

I left a small village in Poland on the morning of Saturday, after what can only be described as a lively night at a wedding party, drinking so many shots of vodka I lost count after 30...anyway...we were in bed at 4 so had at least 4 hours sleep...then drove the 220 kms to collect my tyres trucks and UAZ...

 

Arrived at Moto at about 2.30, long hard drive through the back roads...anyway picked up the truck, water..ominous and Brake fluid? this is supposed to be a top dollar, fully sorted truck..Hmm suspicion up...no one about to talk to but the engineers...got the low down on the controls after the first time to drive it and away we went...IO should have driven this truck BEFORE, i JUST BELIEVED jANUSZ WAS SELLING ME A GOOD TRUCK, THEY KNOW THESE TRUCKS VERY WELL BEING A MAIN DEALER. MOTTO...dont trust MOTO again.

 

First thing, ten km and the UAZ fails, we spent three hours trying to get her to run and no luck, managed to find a local mechanic and he failed too, left it at his address to be delivered back to Pa Ko for them to remedy it...not happy no 1.

 

Anyway 45 kms down the road the star and she starts to falter...slowing to a crawl, no choice but to try and remedy her or take her back...decide to return her, but she is going so slow if can only be fuel or something major...we remove the fuel filters, they look good but one is clearly old...we replace them and bang, she runs beautifully...yippee..this is good news...

 

We were just entering Berlin and things are running sweetly, she is a bit smoky but not too bad...she is not massively powerful but is a nice drive...I leave the boys and head off, they are supposed to be following but had fallen asleep, they were so tired...I get a complete blow out tread off the rim etc etc...bugger...I had hit a cerb some 40 or 50 kms earlier and suspect this was the problem.

 

Ok, we change the tyre, luckily we had a jack, supplied and tools but the wheel wrench broke, so we had to use our own tools...no problem...couldnt get enough lift with the jack so had to use a small hydraulic one we had with us...good tyre on and everything fine...LUCKILY WE HAD ENOUGH BODIES...EVEN IF THEY ARE GETTING MORE AND MORE TIRED..its taken out the back light so we have to jury rig a fix at the next service station...

 

HERE IS A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE. STOMIL TYRES ARE HANDED, IE THEY GO ONE WAY ONLY...HOWEVER IF YOU HAVE ONLY ONE SPARE YOU HAVE TO FIT IT AS IT IS...THEY DO NOT LIKE GOING BACKWARDS AND THIS TYRE IS NO LIKELY COMPLETELY KNACKERED.

 

It is now drive and drive and drive, the rear tyre we have just fitted is wobbling like a good un. We drive to Hamm in Deutschland near to Dortmund...about half way to Calais, I get 10 minutes sleep in the back of the ford and then a knock from my son...dad I have buggered the new tyre? he had been trying to put a bit of air in it and had bent the tyre valve brass part and split it...now we really are buggerd...calls to everyone i think can help, but since big trucks dont run on Sundays no one is about to help...Luckily Brad feeling a fool jury rigs a fix, with jubilee clips, old water pipe and a bit of hope... we dont believe it will work but to be fair it travelled the remaining 500 miles without problems...well done that man. This of course put us another 4 hours late...we first travel really sheepishly expecting this tyre to fail at any time...

 

Now its drive at 30mph, 500 miles of it, oh joy...but the as it got further in i did increase speed to 40 and 45...and sometimes 50...

 

we are about 10 miles from the German Dutch border when the police turn up... Germans... couldn't fault our paperwork, except Brad had forgotten his licence, and there was a loose water bottle in the back of the truck...73 euro fine...and another 2 hours delayed...I also now see that my nearside (abroad) lights at the back have failed, looks like a loose wire but cant fix it...annoying...we are getting incredibly tired...its now late 3 oclock sunday.. we drive to Antwerp and stop for something to eat...we are all getting very very grumpy...good news we have free meals because they have closed the till and the food is free.

 

Wind screen wiper fell off, easy fix, hammered it back on...

 

Oh forgot to mention the truck is losing water throughout and in danger of overheating so we have to keep filling her with water, every hundred kms about 1 litre of water...spot on truck indeed.

 

Anyway the rest of the journey is trouble free, we arrive at 4.30 back in good old Alton and ready for a good nights sleep. i am now back at work and have a weeks worth of problems to solve, easy peasey compared to driving a polish truck from Poland after it has been serviced by a Polish engineer...now that is one tough task...

 

I don't recommend anyone does this without considerable preparation, I needed to have that truck for 2 days worth of preliminary work before I drove off, it was foolish to believe Motodemonte would have done the work to a satisfactory standard...they are basically bodgers. Simple as that. But I am back, I will fix up the truck and have her running a treat in the next few weeks...I am basically happy now...

[Stone]

Sounds painful! :shocked: Was the 73 Euros for carrying a load when it was supposed to be unladen, then?

[gritineye]

Some how I don't feel so envious of your trip now! Hopefully the faults are only minor easy fix niggles..

[N.O.S.]

UWAGA! (the only Polish word I know, but quite appropriate)

[eddy8men]

great thread i've been eyeing the vehicles on www.allegro.pl for some time, is that where you found the link to moto. there are bargains to be had for sure but at the expense of a load of hassle but that's normally the way it is. anyway good on you ! it took a bit of belief in yourself to take on a trip like that i'm glad it worked out ok.

 

all the best

 

eddy

[paulob1]

now its over I am glad I did it,but it could have been so much easier if the two companies Pa Ko and Motodemonjte had been more thorough with the vehicles they sold. I should not have needed to check it and tell them what was wrong...and then for them to give them to me with a whole list of faults...but i guess thats the way they do it over there

[antar]

now its over I am glad I did it,but it could have been so much easier if the two companies Pa Ko and Motodemonjte had been more thorough with the vehicles they sold. I should not have needed to check it and tell them what was wrong...and then for them to give them to me with a whole list of faults...but i guess thats the way they do it over there

 

So what happens about the one that you took back ?

[paulob1]

not sure yet, I guess this will be the measure of them..it will cost me about 200 quid to get it back to them...but the local garage says the engine is filling with fuel which usually means the fuel pump is leaking into the engine...this would explain the high fuel consumption...so it may not actually be that bad...but its just why it stopped working, its very odd...

 

if they just ignore it and say its my problem then I wont be buying my skot t 55 and other toys from them...they will lose out so hopefully they will sort it out for me..as top motodemonte they are very naughty but I suspect they didnt really do that thorough a check on it...caveat emptor I guess. I should have spent a day or two checking it over but i didnt...my fault really in trusting them. but I am a man of my word and I expect others to be so...often people aren't...

[paulob1]

but dont get me wrong the faults on the star are minor really, the UAZ, i am not sure yet but if they fix them it wont be bad at all...just annoying...

[Lord Burley]

I don't know what was worse. Your trip back with all the problems you incurred.Or the time spent in Antwerp. Dreadful place.

[paulob1]

antwerp is a strange place indeed...

[andym]

Sounds fun, sort of! Perhaps another time the trick is to get them to deliver to Berlin? That way they might be more careful with the preparation ....

 

Andy

[Tony B]

antwerp is a strange place indeed...

 

There is nothing wrong with Antwerp!