Maybe time to buy a new pickup?

[menzies233]

My motor is showing its age. I took my neice and her new baby, along with my wife and son from Chiang Mai to Chianf Rai today for a day out and to let her mothers family see the new baby for the first time.

We took highway 118 out of Chiang Mai up towards Chiang Rai, took a detour to Singha Park, part of Boonrawd Brewery. What an amazing place, almost no signposts, hidden away from tourists, immaculate.

There was no double pricing for Farang, 50 Baht gets you a 1 hour tour on an open air truck / bus, they have giraffes, buffalo, zebra, horses set in beautiful scenery over a huge area. Not easy to find.

The 50 Baht tour gets you a free bottle of Singha water and a free bottle of what seems to be like a bottle of "Sponser". Really nice day out.

The only downside is the idiots on the roads up there.

We covered 460KM today mostly without incident, however, it was almost impossible to avoid the Thai drivers who cannot go around corners.

My pickup is getting on in years and even though it is 3.0 litre EFI Diesel it shows its age on some of the hills.

What really got me today is the incompetent fools that seem unable to take a bend, or allow you to pass.

How many times I ended up behind some retard that does 120 on the straight sections then slows to around 40 on every single bend.

The frustrating thing was that most of the dual carriageway sections are built where there is an uphill grade. So I am flying along at 120 on the straights, 90-110 on the bends and then you get behind some retard in an Isuzu that can drive 120 on a straight stretch, can leave me for dead on a hill, while I am dropping to third gear just to get up the hill, then, as soon as you hit a section with bends the dipshit is braking down to 40 crossing the middle double solid yellows swerving into the hard shoulder!

Crazy, you can take most of that road at 90-95, but give a Thai a bend and he has to try to straighten it out by crossing the centre or scuffing the curbs.

You can imagine the frustration of passing these idiots at about 95 on the corner which then turns into a 1 in 10 hill and just when you think you are rid of him, the bloody power in my car dies a death and I start dropping gears in the right hand lane, only to see the retard pass me when I am in third doing 60 and he is still sitting there at 80! Then, the next bend he is on the barkes down to 40 with nothing in front of him....it took me almost 30 km to eventually get passed one sod tonight, after passing him it took almost 25 minutes off my GPS time just because of his stupid cornering.

[syke1912]

Perhaps just relax.. it is only 25 minutes whereas it probably took you 10 to write this message

[jadee]

Firstly, it's nice to read that there's still a place in Thailand without two-tiered pricing! Enjoy it while it lasts. Secondly, it's nice to read about a great day out - think about how unusual that is in Thailand these days: no noise, no crowds and no scams/fleecing. Lastly, if all Thais do slow on bends as you say, won't that make you feel safer when overtaking when you buy your new pickup?

[geronimo]

Rant over! Feel better now?

[kannot]

Yes remember its COMPULSORY to get ALL 4 wheels over the line down the centre of the road when cornering, lazy s**ts its always great on my motorbike when going into every corner I have to be aware of this and the ensuing "surprised" look on their faces and compulsory violent swerve ( if your'e lucky) when they realise they arent the only ones on the road.

Best place to overtake any Thai is coming out of a corner, as you rightly stated they crap themselves on them.

[nuananddon]

Sounds like a normal day on the highways of Thailand. It used to just p me off driving these roads with some of these idiots but after 15 years you get used to it and know what to expect(most of the time). Always a new surprise just around the corner. You really got to wonder what are they thinking!

[TerryLH]

OP, how far out of CM is the park. It sounds like a nice day trip.

Thanks, Terry.

[ToddinChonburi]

What type of vehicle do you have ?
How many KMs

[IMHO]

Someone with this attitude to the road definitely needs more HP

Does it have to be truck?

What would your budget be?

What 3.0L do you currently have?

[jacko45k]

Yes, they don't do bends.

I always imagine they are carrying a tray of eggs on the passenger seat.

[JaseTheBass]

It's not just the engine that is probably showing its age. Every modern pickup has a whole host of safety features that yours probably hasn't got, such as 6 airbags and stability control. That's why I upgraded my truck, despite my old one being well loved and immaculate.

[dotpoom]

I have driven (and still doing it) around Thailand from top to bottom ...from East to West and don't notice much of what the OP is noticing.....guess I have just gotten used to it.

I go for the enjoyment.... not to analyse the driving abilities of others, just take care of what I am doing. I find a useful principle to observe since coming to Thailand is....."Don't take everything so seriously".

[giddyup]

I have driven (and still doing it) around Thailand from top to bottom ...from East to West and don't notice much of what the OP is noticing.....guess I have just gotten used to it.

I go for the enjoyment.... not to analyse the driving abilities of others, just take care of what I am doing. I find a useful principle to observe since coming to Thailand is....."Don't take everything so seriously".

I don't take lightly other drivers who put my life at risk because of their stupidity or lack of driving skills.

[overherebc]

Spoke to a Thai driver who had taken 'lessons' in BKK, he told me he was taught to slow down for bends so it sort of follows that all parts of the road that are not straight must be taken slowly.

He also said he was told after turning onto a main toad he should drive slowly at first to allow others on the main road to overtake. ?

[Happy Grumpy]

Spoke to a Thai driver who had taken 'lessons' in BKK, he told me he was taught to slow down for bends so it sort of follows that all parts of the road that are not straight must be taken slowly.

He also said he was told after turning onto a main toad he should drive slowly at first to allow others on the main road to overtake. ?

Training for how to commandeer a Buffalo and cart, transferred to modern vehicles.

[jeab1980]

If you look at speed sign on bends it will say 99% of time 40Km or less. So these "stupid drivers" are just following the law I thought that was what you wanted!!!!!!!

[retarius]

You are driving too fast. The speed limit is 90 kmph except on special designated toll roads.

[menzies233]

OP, how far out of CM is the park. It sounds like a nice day trip.

Thanks, Terry.

Terry, it is almost at Chiang Rai, probably 170K from CM. Take HWY 118 out of Chiang Mai, then take a left on (I think it is HWY 2113 - it is a tiny signpost on the left side that says "Singha Park" blink you will miss it, and it is almost on the junction, not much warning.) If you get to HWY 1 then you have gone too far. You can also take HWY1211 if you miss the first turn, just follow that for about 10 or 15Km you cannot miss it, huge Singha on the left hand side.

You can find more info here -

http://singhapark.com/

They have a huge zip line for 300 Baht, tandem bikes with a child seat for 150 baht / Hr. it is good value, the people are really nice, take your kids (if you have them) up to the Giraffe / Zebra area, there is a guy there that tames these parrots, he will give you (FREE) Sunflower seeds and within minutes you will have ten small parrots feeding out of your kids hands.

Not really a one day run from Chiang Mai, better to spend the day there, probably hire a bike or just walk around, nice place.

[menzies233]

Someone with this attitude to the road definitely needs more HP

Does it have to be truck?

What would your budget be?

What 3.0L do you currently have?

It's the old Toyota Tiger 4x4 3.0 EFI, it used to do hills, maybe it needs a rebuild. It was a serious PIA on some of those hills, 10 years back it would go up to Chiang Rai in 4th and 5th, now sadly it is spewing its guts in 3rd.

[menzies233]

What type of vehicle do you have ?

How many KMs

it is long in the tooth, coming up to 250,000 km.

[menzies233]

If you look at speed sign on bends it will say 99% of time 40Km or less. So these "stupid drivers" are just following the law I thought that was what you wanted!!!!!!!

If you look at the double yellow unbroken lines in the middle of the road it says don't cross them, if you look at a red traffic light it means stop, if you look at a blind corner it says don't overtake, tell me which of the laws they actually observe then?

The fact that the sign is YELLOW (Advisory - not compulsory) that says 40KMH is usually ridiculous here, they post sign after sign after sign.....bend here bend there bridge here, school there, no one takes a blind bit of notice!

They are more dangerous driving at slow speeds in places where it is perfectly safe to drive quite fast. Let's face it, 90 KMH is about 55 MPH, it is hardly thrashing it is it? I could do that on a pushbike on a good hill, these idiots cannot even keep four wheel on their side of the road at that speed. Hell back in the UK I could sit at 95MPH, (152KMH) all day.

I have even been known to drive from Penzance to Newcastle in around 4 hours, yes on the M5 / M6 it is possible to get a Honda Estate up to 142 MPH / 230 KMH - when there is nothing on 3 lanes at 2 AM. (No I don't drive like that in traffic, only when opportunity presents)

But Thai drivers are not TAUGHT anything, they hog the outside lane doing 30KMH, they think it is a good idea to put their hazards on when going straight ahead through a red light, their driving test is a joke, then they are able to buy a 3 litre turbo or bigger and be let loose on the road!

You wouldn't put a 5 year old on a 1000cc Honda RR would you....well Thailand may as well!

Have you passed the Thai driving test? Drive forward about 50 metres, reverse into a parking space, drive between maybe 30 metres of poles and reverse out again.... I could do it blind folded, but they then get a license no road test no nothing, just rote learning exercise on a crap computer program. No practical. It is a joke mate a joke!

Edited May 5, 2016 by menzies233

[menzies233]

You are driving too fast. The speed limit is 90 kmph except on special designated toll roads.

I think you will find it is 80KMH not 90.

I am not driving too fast, I am trying to get my shitty pickup to pass retards that slow down for every damn corner to about walking pace so that I can get back home before XXXXXX Christmas, if this involves getting it up to 200KMH I would do it, just to get past these retards! I just want to drive at a normal continuous speed of say 80-85. I can see the road, it is not rocket magic, most of those bends could easily be taken at 80-100 KMH, but when you have a crappy pickup that can no longer go up the hills (where the majority of passing place are) and when you are paced against retards that drive at walking pace on every single bend then accelerate to about 100kmh on every straight for nearly 200 km then you get pissed!

Yes I am having a rant because these idiots kill hundreds of people, you can see the Thais getting in a queue behind them, they have less patience than me, they start passing them on blind bends, I don't do that, they are lethal idiots that do not know how to drive. The really sad thing with these idiots is that it is usually someone else that ends up dead not them.

DELETED

Edited May 5, 2016 by seedy
rant

[TerryLH]

"Terry, it is almost at Chiang Rai, probably 170K from CM." ..."

Thanks,

Terry

[seedy]

Post Edited advocating someones death. Enough with the calling people Derogatory names and Insulting their intelligence.

[seedy]

Flaming Post and Nonsense post Removed.

[BSJ]

It's bl00dy annoying when your at the dealership and the sales girl can't answer simple questions. At Isuzu yesterday and it took a lot of time and the wife asking questions to figure out once and for all we won't be buying an Isuzu!

I can't have the top of the range in extra cab only 4 doors/4WD.

All of them only have 2 airbags.

The 3L in the top of the range is the same power as the lesser model with the 3L engine.

Rear drum brakes on a PU worth over 900k baht....W.T.F!

[IMHO]

Rear drum brakes on a PU worth over 900k baht....W.T.F!

All Thai market pickups have rear drum brakes

[JaseTheBass]

It's bl00dy annoying when your at the dealership and the sales girl can't answer simple questions. At Isuzu yesterday and it took a lot of time and the wife asking questions to figure out once and for all we won't be buying an Isuzu!

I can't have the top of the range in extra cab only 4 doors/4WD.

All of them only have 2 airbags.

The 3L in the top of the range is the same power as the lesser model with the 3L engine.

Rear drum brakes on a PU worth over 900k baht....W.T.F!

If you want a modern truck with the full complement of airbags and other safety features, your options are severely limited.

Sent from my R2D2 using my C3P0 manservant

[Lancashirelad]

I agree slowing from 120kph to 40 seems excessive, however bear in mind you should always drive at a speed so that you can stop ,on your own side of the road, in the distance you can see to be clear ahead.

I would get the following checked on your pick up engine;

1. Air filter

2. MAF (Mass airflow sensor)

3. Injector pump timing (unless its electronic common rail)

4. Turbo boost pressure

MAF would my guess.