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Koh 2017

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Well an update. This weekend was EPIC!!!

KOH race at Johnson valley Ca is insane...one of the toughest races around. YouTube it and you will see it's insane. A combo of desert racing and the toughest rock crawling combined. I have a reputation and history of having issues driving to hammers. It's about 125 miles from me. 2 years ago going to koh I lost a motor, last year a seized wheel bearing. I've also lost a transmission going there as well. It's funny how I have driven to a lot of places a lot father wheeled an entire week and drove back home without issue but driving to hammers is usually drama filled.

This year I drove way loaded down. I had my little harbor freight trailer that was outfitted with a sealed box for 50 bucks. I bought an Eaton HO72 for 50 bucks put it under there. I had old 38.5x11r16 boggers. It was so wide with regular rims so I spent 20 bucks on dually wheels to narrow it up. I brought a camp shower and 2 15 gallon jugs to shower while being out there for 5 days. I also brought all my camping stuff, Marriott sized tent 12 gallons of gas because it's very remote and 5 days of wheeling would require me to drive 25 miles one way to fill up and then an entire roof rack of firewood with 3 STT pros on top that had to be delivered to a racer in the stock class. Fully loaded I headed out. It wasn't hot out but definitely tested the trans and motor with all the extra weight. I made it to hammers with no issue!!!



We hung out that night went over to chocolate thunder, which is a huge party scene where a thousand people (sometimes more) fill the side of a sand hill to watch the 1/4 mile obstacle. My buddy loves the crowds, as they heckle you and try to get you off your game. I hate it! So anyways he hit it and walked it. It's always fun when buggies are giving him looks thinking this little TJ can't do it and he does. He's a great driver. We head back to camp as we have a long day tomorrow.

Thursday we volunteered for the stock class, stock mod and legends race. We were put at full of hate trail aka FOH. It's tough just to get there. Some volunteers had to hike in from a dirt road but we were able to make the steep rock filled climbs. We made sure the racers stayed on course and radioed in their times as they passed us. We also helped a buggy with rollover down a waterfall.



At the end of the day one of the stock mod cars had an issue with his motor and would need their team to hike in to bring the parts to fix it. Instead we offered to tow them back to camp. Since I had the most power I did the pull. We all felt it would be damn near impossible to pull this buggy off the trail since it was tough climbing on your own rig yet alone pulling 3-4K lbs of dead weight behind you. Plan was if I couldn't make it we would daisy chain other rigs from the top to assist me. As I went up I WALKED IT with this buggy behind me, everyone was amazed. Next hill climb same thing!!! We were all amazed and I was stoked, it's not everyday your street driven hummer can pull a broken stock mod car.



We come back have dinner and run over to backdoor. Backdoor is another gnarlier obstacle harder then chocolate thunder that thousands fill in the canyon and watch as people try to climb up a 10 foot waterfall. It was insane!!! Lots of cool rigs.



Afterwords we hit resolution but my buddy broke an axle shaft fixed that and as I turned around to help running 8lbs of air with no beadlocks caught up to me...I took the tire off the bead. Jacked it up hit it with brake cleaner and a lighter and it reseated. We turned around and got to camp at 3am.

Friday was the big race, not volunteering we headed out to sunbonnet trail which we have run to watch the race. We pulled out my ARB awning and enjoyed the show, later we went back to hammertown to see the vendors and watch the first finishers come in. It was cool to see Shannon Campbell and his son take the top 2 spots. Had dinner and hit backdoor to watch people again. Crazy rigs doing crazy stuff!



Saturday we went back to resolution to get revenge after my buddies shaft and my tire fell off the rim from running little pressure. We had a blast and took this gnarly right line waterfall. My buddy in his TJ on 37s and my other buddy in his yota on 37s and myself hit it and made it! When I hit it a few buggies showed up and were shocked to see an H3 on it and hitting a hard trail and a hard line! We watched as the next 3 buggies hit it. 2 walked it and the 3rd guy flopped his rig!!








Everyone pictured minus my buddy's red TJ




After that we hit chocolate thunder, again hating crowds I didn't wanna hit it with a crowd. Last time I did I got booed off the obstacle as a rock bouncer before me flung so many rocks and ruined the 2 possible lines. Anyways we piled up 3 buddies rolled down the windows and made it look like I was driving to the mall. Another buddy was in the crowd and told me afterwords how they were talking so much crap, hummers suck, what's this guy doing, blah blah blah. 2 lines available, right and left. Left is easy so I hit right and my buddy told me the people in the crowd are saying I'm an idiot for trying the right line, blah blah blah. I hit it and walk it!!! It was awesome! He said their tune changed from it's a POS to that's the sickest rig! On the way out BANG! Hit my brand new window rail on a protruding rock. If I didn't have that I would have busted out the lower part of the window!



Sunday we packed up and headed out! It was a GREAT TRIP!

 
Last edited:

rsc

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,087
Location
Tulsa
Awesome! You are making it harder and harder not to cut the front end off. I love that little window slider too. It must get some comments about the need for a rock slider that high up!
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Awesome! You are making it harder and harder not to cut the front end off. I love that little window slider too. It must get some comments about the need for a rock slider that high up!

Yea, people understand the need for it once you get into tight canyons! Once you do it you will love it. The H3 still rides great.
 

Big2dabank

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,216
Location
Central Florida
Very Nice Trip! Speaking of stickers, I guess I need to get a new one for the rack, the sun has not been nice to it and its faded and cracked and is almost un-recognizable. The one on my tailgate has held up nicely though.
 
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