Sorry I didnt get to meet up with you much this weekend. I will explain why, lol. First off you are dead on accurate on how the wheeling is a whole different level. It is some of the most unforgiving terrain.
I have been beating the piss outta squeaky for 5-6 years now. Luckily I have been **** free for the most part. Well this weekend **** hit the fan. In the past, replace a diff or two but **** free. This weekend I took out a rear diff cover, a rear driveshaft, a motor, a dent in the door, ripped my driver rear fender off, rear locker is done. If you are not ON YOUR GAME **** will get ruined out here.
On top of all that I was wrenching on other peoples rigs also, I didnt even watch the race.
So it all started with Thursday, we were driving along and before I left I had checked the oil all was well. As we were driving I started to hear knocking, I quickly pull over as I kill the motor the oil pressure light came on. I had oil ALL over the place. Kyle ran a mile down the road picked up a ton of oil. filled her back up. drove to an autozone then had it towed to hammers. I knew the damage was done so why not have some fun. Thursday night I hit up chocolate thunder. My buddy in his TJ made it before. He said I could make it. Sure enough 1000s of people there watching and a few rigs before me was in a big ass wide rock bouncer it was so wide he couldnt pick a line he had to go up the middle kicked the biggest rocks in the middle of the 2 possible lines. So the people before me in buggies took 10 minutes to get through the gatekeeper I then couldnt get through. I have 1000s of people talking **** about the hummer yelling at me. Mind you its buggy central I am in a full bodied rigs on 37s and they are buggies on 40s that look like rasians. Well the piece of **** *** behind me in his TJ on 40s decides it would be funny and take a video of me struggling I never got on a strap I backed out. Either way this guy is a ****in piece of ****. (side story, his ghetto TJ rolled on the freeway with 35s on it on his way to hammers last year because obviously its a pile of **** just like him. He had someone build his rig for him, a ****ty shop that did a ****ty job and made it into a trailer queen that cant be driven on the street. His rollcage is half welded and when he rolls over the cage will fail and pierce him in the neck.) Anyways he takes a video of me and sends it to a big instagram page with the music going move bitch get out the way they post it making fun of me and sure enough when he goes he blows up his front end and hes on a dana 60 and 40s so why talk **** when your bigger and badder then me and break. Either way **** him. I was the only one out there with the balls to take a street driven daily driver up chocolate thunder with 1000s of people watching. Half my issue was the rock bouncer kicking rocks all over the do able lines.
So I get back go to sleep, I lost a little bit of oil but not much. We went back to camp tried to track down the oil leak, non existent. WTF! Either way we call it a night. Friday morning everyone is up going to watch the race but when my buddy was egged on to a tug of war he blew his axle shafts. So I spent a few hours pulling the axle shafts, they didnt wanna come out, etc. it was a nightmare. Either way we got it done and driving in 2wd. Then my brothers bearings in the tire carrier failed. Had to fix and jerry rig his tire carrier. Before you know its late, we start the fire wait for 10pm when the trails open. We hit up clawhammer. I did that trail last year and it killed me, all bypasses and still got stuck 4-5 times. This year I took all the hardlines and winched once after my locker died. My driving was HORRIBLE

Between the knocking motor, little sleep, wrenching all day, I wasnt on my game. I took horrible lines and killed a driveline, small dent, and rear fender which popped off. BEST OF ALL THE fender prevented more damage and pops right back in and doesnt even show the damage that could of been done to the body.
Overall it was an interesting weekend, I dont wanna say it was ****ty but it wasnt the best lol. I will have stories for a lifetime.
After everyone breaking we decided to leave early. Im driving down the road and keeping the load off the motor as best as I could. Next thing you know BANG, motor parts down the road white smoke. I killed the motor and got out with my fire extinguisher ready within seconds. Got a AAA tow, home my buddies dodge ram 2500 then lost voltage. In a small little town we pull over to think we were pulling out the tools and getting ready to change an alternator. Luckily the wire from the alternator to the battery ripped. Jerry rigged it back together chased down a dude for a jump and got home.
What can I take away from this weekend? From a positive point? How prepared I was. I felt this weekend could of gone EXTREMELY worse. From a tow standpoint between 2 tows I owed the the tow truck drivers less then 200 bucks total. It could of been over 2,000 bucks in tows if I was not a AAA member with the 1 200 mile tow and 3 100 mile tows. I only had one slip yoke between 2 driveshafts. I had to swap it on the trail in the dark. If I did not have a harbor freight ball joint removal tool it would have taken me HOURS to change the slip yoke. Instead it was under a 30 min repair. The spare fluids I had, without those it would have been bad. Really good sealant. As I poked a hole through the cover I lost some fluid but had someone hold there finger on it and within seconds I had DAP auto/marine sealant poured on there. It stopped the leak ASAP. If not I would have lost all my fluid. Lastly, the knowledge I have acquired. I am not tooting my horn, I still know nothing and want to learn more but without the knowledge I had acquired throughout the years and the tool to improvise under stressful ****ty situations I could still be out there with a lot more issues.
If I was not prepared I could of been screwed. For example, no rear driveline I would loose all fluid in the t case, fry that up, with no sealant I would have toasted my bearings, with no oil I could have blown a hole in the motor on a trail making it even worse. with no ball joint press I could of been changing a 30min swap into hours. It was the best outcome for the worst disaster.
Being SELF SUFFICIENT is KEY!!!!!