TurboMinivan
Still plays with cars
- Location
- Lehi, UT
(My server is currently down, so I can post no photos whatsoever. I will go ahead and put the text here now; I'll edit in some pictures once I am able to do so.)
Background info
As is well known, I didn't make it all the way to the Rubicon in September 2012... thus I was hell-bent on making another attempt. Big thanks go to Brett for more-or-less organizing this trip; when everyone involved wouldn't pin themselves down to any specific plans, he was the one who picked a date and said, "That's it--we're going on these days."
I don't have very many pictures, sadly. I put off writing this report because I just haven't had the time required to tell the full, lush story. I do hope that the other RMEers who went will pipe up and add their own photos, stories, etc.
Just before making the trip, I surfed over to the Rubicon subforum at Pirate4x4. I found a guy who said he and his wife were going to run the trail on the same days we were going to be there, and he was looking for anyone else who might accompany them. I told him I was part of a large group, and said perhaps we might bump into him. Marc also posted in this thread.
Speaking of groups, ours consisted of 9 Jeeps: 1 Scrambler, 1 YJ, 1 XJ Cherokee, 1 "hybrid" (mbryson), and 5 TJs. The two "low riders" were on 33" tires. Everybody else was on 35" tires or larger. Most of us had a winch, and I also think everybody had dual lockers.
The Story
Our entire group did not travel out in one large caravan. I drove out on Saturday and towed my Wrangler behind my trusty Suburban. My travel companions were Marc, towing his Jeep with his Navigator, and Brett--aka the Boss--towing both his Scrambler and his son's YJ on his dual car hauler behind his Excursion. I did think it was kinda fun to be together along the way, as I am certain all onlookers correctly deduced that we were traveling together on a common Jeep adventure. On another note, I also felt it was funny that all three of us were using SUVs as tow vehicles--none of the usual pickup trucks here!
We decided to store our tow rigs at a secure facility in a campground in South Lake Tahoe. They close (and lock) their gates at 6pm sharp, so we had to hustle to get there on time. This meant we were doing a steady 70-75 MPH all the while. With ambient Nevada temps in the upper 90s, it also meant we had the A/C blasting all the while. All things considered, this means I was stressing the Suburban more than I ever have since I purchased it... yet it took everything in stride, and didn't complain anywhere along I-80. I was happy.
After we dropped down through Carson City, we exited the freeway and hit Route 50 for the 10-mile climb up into the mountains. To put it mildly, this was brutal. It was a hard, slow, constant climb that did not let up once the entire way. Since we could only do about 40 MPH, my transmission's converter remained unlocked... and thus it began generating some serious heat. The trans temp gauge had been happily pointed to 175-180 all day long, but now it crept up to 190... and then 200... and eventually 210 degrees. I radioed Brett to update him on my situation (even though he had his own concerns with his EGT), and he told me to go ahead and pass them to pick up some more speed and, hopefully, the converter would lock. I did go on around them, but due to all the sharp curves I didn't dare go much beyond 45 MPH (the posted limit) so I doubt this really helped. Luckily, the temp never did go above 210 degrees; once we crested the hill and began our descent, things cooled off fairly quickly.
Driving through the resort area along the lake definitely got my attention. Not for the beautiful landscapes--even though they were--but because of the lack of a center median, a shoulder, or any other room for a wide trailer in tow. I swear I thought I was gonna clip another car on more than one occasion, and I was very happy to not do so.
We managed to get to the facility with about 10 minutes to spare. We signed in, unloaded, and then drove to a nearby K-Mart for a few small supplies. Then began the challenge of properly loading everything into the Jeeps--well, it was a challenge primarily for Brett and his family.
Eventually everything was secure and we were ready to hit the road. Dinner was supposed to be waiting for us at our camp site--or so I thought--but we got there so late that dinner was over and it was pitch black out. (The stars were incredible!) Putting up my tent in total darkness did make me think of sixstringsteve, though. Perhaps tomorrow would be better.
Speaking of Steve, this trip was not the same one that he took last fall. He came onto the trail via Loon Lake dam--the short route. We camped at Airport Flat, which is next to the western entrance of the trail. This means we were going to run the entire trail--nearly 50% longer than what Steve's group had done (if you stop measuring at Observation Point). Here is a good map for reference:
Brett had planned for us to spend three full days on the trail. After we all woke up and packed everything back into our vehicles, the adventure truly got under way. It only took a minute or so of driving before we were on the actual Rubicon Trail. Even though the beginning was little more than a gravel driveway, it felt great to actually be on the Rubicon.
The trail gradually got more challenging. About an hour and a half into day one, Matt's YJ broke the shackle on the driver's side rear leaf spring. Not having a spare shackle, Brett chained the leaf spring to the frame so that it wouldn't move too far laterally:
This caused it to make the occasional loud clang as the spring end smacked the frame rail, but the spring did continue to work more or less as it was supposed to. Matt managed to drive the entire rest of the trail like this, so it was certainly an effective trail fix.
Late that afternoon, we arrived at the new and improved Little Sluice. True, the house-sized boulders that used to occupy it have been broken up. On the plus side, the remaining rocks are just small enough that most of us decided to give it a try. I was the fourth vehicle to go through IIRC, and I was very proud that I made it through under my own power and never needed to be strapped off of anything. I did break one center cap on a rock, but this didn't bother me whatsoever.
A couple Jeeps later, Tom began his attempt in his XJ. He did get stuck early on and had to have some rocks stacked for him, but after that things were going fairly well for him... until the bolts holding his steering box to the frame suddenly... exploded:
[video=youtube;w3GtHxCast0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3GtHxCast0[/video]
Needless to say, this instantly brought our entire caravan to a complete halt. This proved to be a difficult problem to overcome. The initial strategy was to hold the steering box in place with multiple ratchet straps, but when we did this Tom did not have any significant ability to steer. By this time it was getting late in the day, so the group split up: one vehicle (Marc) stayed behind with Tom, while the rest of us pressed on to our camp site at Buck Island Lake.
We got to the camp site at dusk. Vehicles were quickly unloaded, then a few "spare" bolts were "borrowed" off of some of the parked rigs. After that, a small crew (led by Brett) hopped into a couple vehicles and headed back out--now in darkness--to return to the crippled Cherokee. This was nowhere near easy; we monitored ham radio at camp and listened in horror as the rescue crew got lost along the way, then got stuck multiple times. Tensions were high as we wondered if they would ever make it back to the Little Sluice, but they did eventually reach their goal. They installed the borrowed bolts (along with a number of washers) and restored some steering ability to the XJ, then cautiously made their way back to camp... arriving around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. At least it was another crystal clear, star-filled night.
Background info
As is well known, I didn't make it all the way to the Rubicon in September 2012... thus I was hell-bent on making another attempt. Big thanks go to Brett for more-or-less organizing this trip; when everyone involved wouldn't pin themselves down to any specific plans, he was the one who picked a date and said, "That's it--we're going on these days."
I don't have very many pictures, sadly. I put off writing this report because I just haven't had the time required to tell the full, lush story. I do hope that the other RMEers who went will pipe up and add their own photos, stories, etc.
Just before making the trip, I surfed over to the Rubicon subforum at Pirate4x4. I found a guy who said he and his wife were going to run the trail on the same days we were going to be there, and he was looking for anyone else who might accompany them. I told him I was part of a large group, and said perhaps we might bump into him. Marc also posted in this thread.
Speaking of groups, ours consisted of 9 Jeeps: 1 Scrambler, 1 YJ, 1 XJ Cherokee, 1 "hybrid" (mbryson), and 5 TJs. The two "low riders" were on 33" tires. Everybody else was on 35" tires or larger. Most of us had a winch, and I also think everybody had dual lockers.
The Story
Our entire group did not travel out in one large caravan. I drove out on Saturday and towed my Wrangler behind my trusty Suburban. My travel companions were Marc, towing his Jeep with his Navigator, and Brett--aka the Boss--towing both his Scrambler and his son's YJ on his dual car hauler behind his Excursion. I did think it was kinda fun to be together along the way, as I am certain all onlookers correctly deduced that we were traveling together on a common Jeep adventure. On another note, I also felt it was funny that all three of us were using SUVs as tow vehicles--none of the usual pickup trucks here!
We decided to store our tow rigs at a secure facility in a campground in South Lake Tahoe. They close (and lock) their gates at 6pm sharp, so we had to hustle to get there on time. This meant we were doing a steady 70-75 MPH all the while. With ambient Nevada temps in the upper 90s, it also meant we had the A/C blasting all the while. All things considered, this means I was stressing the Suburban more than I ever have since I purchased it... yet it took everything in stride, and didn't complain anywhere along I-80. I was happy.
After we dropped down through Carson City, we exited the freeway and hit Route 50 for the 10-mile climb up into the mountains. To put it mildly, this was brutal. It was a hard, slow, constant climb that did not let up once the entire way. Since we could only do about 40 MPH, my transmission's converter remained unlocked... and thus it began generating some serious heat. The trans temp gauge had been happily pointed to 175-180 all day long, but now it crept up to 190... and then 200... and eventually 210 degrees. I radioed Brett to update him on my situation (even though he had his own concerns with his EGT), and he told me to go ahead and pass them to pick up some more speed and, hopefully, the converter would lock. I did go on around them, but due to all the sharp curves I didn't dare go much beyond 45 MPH (the posted limit) so I doubt this really helped. Luckily, the temp never did go above 210 degrees; once we crested the hill and began our descent, things cooled off fairly quickly.
Driving through the resort area along the lake definitely got my attention. Not for the beautiful landscapes--even though they were--but because of the lack of a center median, a shoulder, or any other room for a wide trailer in tow. I swear I thought I was gonna clip another car on more than one occasion, and I was very happy to not do so.
We managed to get to the facility with about 10 minutes to spare. We signed in, unloaded, and then drove to a nearby K-Mart for a few small supplies. Then began the challenge of properly loading everything into the Jeeps--well, it was a challenge primarily for Brett and his family.
Eventually everything was secure and we were ready to hit the road. Dinner was supposed to be waiting for us at our camp site--or so I thought--but we got there so late that dinner was over and it was pitch black out. (The stars were incredible!) Putting up my tent in total darkness did make me think of sixstringsteve, though. Perhaps tomorrow would be better.Speaking of Steve, this trip was not the same one that he took last fall. He came onto the trail via Loon Lake dam--the short route. We camped at Airport Flat, which is next to the western entrance of the trail. This means we were going to run the entire trail--nearly 50% longer than what Steve's group had done (if you stop measuring at Observation Point). Here is a good map for reference:
Brett had planned for us to spend three full days on the trail. After we all woke up and packed everything back into our vehicles, the adventure truly got under way. It only took a minute or so of driving before we were on the actual Rubicon Trail. Even though the beginning was little more than a gravel driveway, it felt great to actually be on the Rubicon.
The trail gradually got more challenging. About an hour and a half into day one, Matt's YJ broke the shackle on the driver's side rear leaf spring. Not having a spare shackle, Brett chained the leaf spring to the frame so that it wouldn't move too far laterally:
This caused it to make the occasional loud clang as the spring end smacked the frame rail, but the spring did continue to work more or less as it was supposed to. Matt managed to drive the entire rest of the trail like this, so it was certainly an effective trail fix.
Late that afternoon, we arrived at the new and improved Little Sluice. True, the house-sized boulders that used to occupy it have been broken up. On the plus side, the remaining rocks are just small enough that most of us decided to give it a try. I was the fourth vehicle to go through IIRC, and I was very proud that I made it through under my own power and never needed to be strapped off of anything. I did break one center cap on a rock, but this didn't bother me whatsoever.
A couple Jeeps later, Tom began his attempt in his XJ. He did get stuck early on and had to have some rocks stacked for him, but after that things were going fairly well for him... until the bolts holding his steering box to the frame suddenly... exploded:
[video=youtube;w3GtHxCast0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3GtHxCast0[/video]
Needless to say, this instantly brought our entire caravan to a complete halt. This proved to be a difficult problem to overcome. The initial strategy was to hold the steering box in place with multiple ratchet straps, but when we did this Tom did not have any significant ability to steer. By this time it was getting late in the day, so the group split up: one vehicle (Marc) stayed behind with Tom, while the rest of us pressed on to our camp site at Buck Island Lake.
We got to the camp site at dusk. Vehicles were quickly unloaded, then a few "spare" bolts were "borrowed" off of some of the parked rigs. After that, a small crew (led by Brett) hopped into a couple vehicles and headed back out--now in darkness--to return to the crippled Cherokee. This was nowhere near easy; we monitored ham radio at camp and listened in horror as the rescue crew got lost along the way, then got stuck multiple times. Tensions were high as we wondered if they would ever make it back to the Little Sluice, but they did eventually reach their goal. They installed the borrowed bolts (along with a number of washers) and restored some steering ability to the XJ, then cautiously made their way back to camp... arriving around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. At least it was another crystal clear, star-filled night.
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