Mr_Rich
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Pretty cool on the latest update. You could write a book on this adventure.
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Ultimate Adventure 2017
- Thread starter 06 H3
- Start date
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
While all that is happening 350 miles south of me, hummer prep is happening when I had the time. Go over wheel bearings, check axles and make sure they are ready to rock, install rugged headsets/intercom, change fluids, get spares together...I brought a spare 3rd member for the rear axle, spare shafts front and rear, spare driveshafts f/r and a spare t case. Most of this stuff stayed in the truck during the trip but atleast it was less then 1000 miles away vs. 3000 miles away.
Sliders were the biggest project. Tired of bending them it was time to go pure beef, I wish I could have made them lighter and with the bracing maybe I could have but I didnt want to risk it because after 4 times of doing sliders I wanted to be done. I wanted clearance and triangulation so out comes the sawzall.
bye bye plastic and old sliders! So much room for cutting.
slowly cutting back triple to quadruple wall sheetmetal.
less then half of it....it was a pain in the ass!
boxing it back in to recreate a pinch seam, I could feel the strength increase from adding this. without it, it felt flimsy, with it added it felt back to factory rigidity.
Info on legs, 1.5x3 .25wall, with .25wall triangulation then some of the legs by the cage are 1.75 .120 wall DOM tubing, 7 legs total...Slider portion is 2x4 .25wall the entire pinch seam substitute was welded and then sealed shut for to avoid moisture and rust issues.
Here's a shot of the new clearance. Its about 3in. and its much stronger and smoother. It was VERY noticed on the trail! I also sucked the cage down in the front to where visibility loss in non existent.
Sliders were the biggest project. Tired of bending them it was time to go pure beef, I wish I could have made them lighter and with the bracing maybe I could have but I didnt want to risk it because after 4 times of doing sliders I wanted to be done. I wanted clearance and triangulation so out comes the sawzall.
bye bye plastic and old sliders! So much room for cutting.
slowly cutting back triple to quadruple wall sheetmetal.
less then half of it....it was a pain in the ass!
boxing it back in to recreate a pinch seam, I could feel the strength increase from adding this. without it, it felt flimsy, with it added it felt back to factory rigidity.
Info on legs, 1.5x3 .25wall, with .25wall triangulation then some of the legs by the cage are 1.75 .120 wall DOM tubing, 7 legs total...Slider portion is 2x4 .25wall the entire pinch seam substitute was welded and then sealed shut for to avoid moisture and rust issues.
Here's a shot of the new clearance. Its about 3in. and its much stronger and smoother. It was VERY noticed on the trail! I also sucked the cage down in the front to where visibility loss in non existent.
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06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
I didnt get a chance to straighten the steering wheel after I got made a new tie rod...last one got bent, but I am on the road! 350 miles down south to meet with the truck, trailer and co driver! I never thought I could cruise 75-80 with 40s, the SAS, V8 swap and no dash lights on!
It was hot as hell! 107 degrees driving south, I would say if I had the full doors on luxury would be the word to describe the drive...luxurious wasn't the word in that heat!
The rugged radios intercom system make it much better! Noise cancelling, bluetooth, you can talk to your co driver easily with half doors, talk to others on the radio and you can play music.
When talking on the phone no one knew or heard that I was driving 70 down the road with half doors on.
It was hot as hell! 107 degrees driving south, I would say if I had the full doors on luxury would be the word to describe the drive...luxurious wasn't the word in that heat!
The rugged radios intercom system make it much better! Noise cancelling, bluetooth, you can talk to your co driver easily with half doors, talk to others on the radio and you can play music.
When talking on the phone no one knew or heard that I was driving 70 down the road with half doors on.
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06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
The black one with orange and yellow stripes had a stock 3.8L
the red jeep willys wagon had a chevy 350
the grey one had a cummins 2.8 diesel
green scrambler had a chevy 350
I'm trying to think of the other jeeps there. lol
Mr_Rich
Well-Known Member
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- 660
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- Yucaipa & Santa Maria
It was that one directly ahead of you; I think he said the Premier Welder Jeep. It had the slantback soft top with the truck front end. So it looks like it's the first one you mentioned.
Mr_Rich
Well-Known Member
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- 660
- Location
- Yucaipa & Santa Maria
It looks like you've had plenty of practical experience welding. Pretty amazing what you've done with it. Most of the auto shows I see that feature this kind of work TIG weld. Is that what you do as well? Just curious...
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
Yep, premier power welder was represented by Chris Durham. That guy is a BADASS! He used to race, I think it was Werock, he has a year and a half wait time to get your rig in his shop to build. He welded on 10+vehicles throughout the week and he is the guy you want with you when your **** is broken in half in the middle of the desert with no tools.
That jeep is running the factory 3.8L/42RLE/factory Dana 44's F/R on 38in tires. He beat the living **** out of that thing on UA 2017 and 2018 and the entire year in between. The way he drives those Dana 44's shouldnt live but they do and its the way he drives. He hammers down and is off the throttle at precise times. He literally is foot to the floor, killing the thing. He switches between build rigs and lesser build rigs every couple years. He does it to show that you can do a lot with a little.
Thank you I appreciate it! I do not tig but it something I would love to pick up. My welding experience is shown on the H3. First couple projects? Not so hot...then improved with time and the projects done later on compared to day 1 show that. I hope to start practicing on a tig machine in the next couple years.
Mr_Rich
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 660
- Location
- Yucaipa & Santa Maria
This is OT but kind of relevant from the welding standpoint. One of my friends from the old neighborhood had a '56 Chevy station wagon. He welded in his own traction bars and sway bar on the stock suspension. He got home that day and his dad (certified welder) saw his work and got out a hammer and banged all the parts off and welded them himself. Sometime later on he took his brother and a couple of us for a drive up on Glendora Mtn Road. He was the original "drifter" before there was such a thing as drifting. He scared the he!! out of all of us which we still talk about to this day (and we are all in our 60's).
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
We all gotta start somewhere! Glad his dad could help out and I'm sure with time things improved.
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
So after getting down to so cal I finished the last pieces of the sliders and got the rest of our stuff all packed up!
Now it was time to get to work on the trailer...
I went over the bearings, for being old they were in good shape but I repacked them, I also wired in the trailer brakes while my buddy's dad slaved away at wiring the rest of it. I found out the trailer brakes were no good! The electronic piece on them went bad, luckily a local trailer shop had them. We did all the little odds and ends with wiring, brakes, etc.
The hummer on the trailer before we had to leave. (ignore the mismatched rim, that was the spare and we got the other matching rim mounted before we left)
The next day was father's day, I didn't hurry over there so my buddy could spend time with his dad and I could do the same. When I showed up he had his Grandpa, his dad and himself working away. I felt bad...but his dad was extending wires since they were a bit short and my buddy and his Grandpa were building drive over fenders.
The next day we left, the story on working on the trailer seems so miniscule but in all honestly it was kind of a blur. We were racing around trying to get things done with very little time.
So we left the next morning, what could go wrong!?! The trailer is completely untested, the trailer brakes were marginal at best (they had plenty of life left but seemed to be glazed over during inspection from grease or some crap) and we have a tow rig that has never towed before and according to the internet a 454 gasser will blow up and never make it all while getting 2mpg!
LET'S HIT THE ROAD!
Now it was time to get to work on the trailer...
I went over the bearings, for being old they were in good shape but I repacked them, I also wired in the trailer brakes while my buddy's dad slaved away at wiring the rest of it. I found out the trailer brakes were no good! The electronic piece on them went bad, luckily a local trailer shop had them. We did all the little odds and ends with wiring, brakes, etc.
The hummer on the trailer before we had to leave. (ignore the mismatched rim, that was the spare and we got the other matching rim mounted before we left)
The next day was father's day, I didn't hurry over there so my buddy could spend time with his dad and I could do the same. When I showed up he had his Grandpa, his dad and himself working away. I felt bad...but his dad was extending wires since they were a bit short and my buddy and his Grandpa were building drive over fenders.
The next day we left, the story on working on the trailer seems so miniscule but in all honestly it was kind of a blur. We were racing around trying to get things done with very little time.
So we left the next morning, what could go wrong!?! The trailer is completely untested, the trailer brakes were marginal at best (they had plenty of life left but seemed to be glazed over during inspection from grease or some crap) and we have a tow rig that has never towed before and according to the internet a 454 gasser will blow up and never make it all while getting 2mpg!
LET'S HIT THE ROAD!
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06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
So we hit the road! Things started out just great. We gassed up the last time in CA while getting absolutely destroyed at $4+ a gallon. My buddy setup a poll on MPG, and weight. First tank of gas 8.2 MPG! That was my guess!!! I was stoked because everyone else was guessing much lower than that and my wallet didn't want to see it lower then 8.2!
When we hit NV we weighed everything. Total weight was 16,840 lbs truck/trailer/hummer/all out gear/full tank of gas and us in it.
After hitting vegas the trans was shifting weird. It wouldn't go in to OD and sometimes wouldn't shift out of a gear. Our diagnosis and gut feeling was 100% electrical since it never slipped. As roadkill fans we felt it was necessary to drop the pan in a parking lot, change the fluid, and throw every sensor we could at it. Both shift solenoids and an input speed sensor.
We got back to driving and the trans seemed happy again. We made it through the corner of AZ and into Utah. We stopped somewhere along the 70 late at night, found a dirt road and went to bed.
The next morning we packed up and hit the road...we noticed the trailer is following nicely behind us but when braking it seemed to want to drive through the truck even with the trailer brakes on full power. We decided it was time to install new trailer brakes. Only the rears had brakes and we knew they were marginal at best, instead of doing new pads we decided to install new ones on the front and leave the rears as is...When we hit Grand Junction, CO we found a shop that had trailer parts in stock! We wanted to do the install in Grand junction before we went down the vail pass. We didn't want to have weak trailer brakes going down one of the worst passes in the country.
We found an autozone parking lot and in roadkill fashion again got to work. It took hours after dealing with the wrong bearings, disconnecting the trailer getting new parts, installing the brakes, wiring the brakes etc.
We went up and down the vail pass that night and stayed west of Denver. Found another dirt road off the highway...as you can see now were behind. the red dot is where we wanted to be.
It was a beautiful the next morning.
When we hit NV we weighed everything. Total weight was 16,840 lbs truck/trailer/hummer/all out gear/full tank of gas and us in it.
After hitting vegas the trans was shifting weird. It wouldn't go in to OD and sometimes wouldn't shift out of a gear. Our diagnosis and gut feeling was 100% electrical since it never slipped. As roadkill fans we felt it was necessary to drop the pan in a parking lot, change the fluid, and throw every sensor we could at it. Both shift solenoids and an input speed sensor.
We got back to driving and the trans seemed happy again. We made it through the corner of AZ and into Utah. We stopped somewhere along the 70 late at night, found a dirt road and went to bed.
The next morning we packed up and hit the road...we noticed the trailer is following nicely behind us but when braking it seemed to want to drive through the truck even with the trailer brakes on full power. We decided it was time to install new trailer brakes. Only the rears had brakes and we knew they were marginal at best, instead of doing new pads we decided to install new ones on the front and leave the rears as is...When we hit Grand Junction, CO we found a shop that had trailer parts in stock! We wanted to do the install in Grand junction before we went down the vail pass. We didn't want to have weak trailer brakes going down one of the worst passes in the country.
We found an autozone parking lot and in roadkill fashion again got to work. It took hours after dealing with the wrong bearings, disconnecting the trailer getting new parts, installing the brakes, wiring the brakes etc.
We went up and down the vail pass that night and stayed west of Denver. Found another dirt road off the highway...as you can see now were behind. the red dot is where we wanted to be.
It was a beautiful the next morning.
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
On the road again and now a little bit behind we knew we had a long day ahead of us. We also were in desperate need of a shower....It was my first time I took a truck shop shower but damn it was a nicer personal shower room and bathroom!
I'd recommend it for any camping traveler.
We got the sterling, Colorado and stopped again. The trans was acting weird...again still electrical related since it wasn't slipping. We stopped at a shop and had them do a full line flush since we figured we only got half the fluid out and even the guy admitted that the fluid looked great.
We took off and the issues were still present :gaah: I did some more googling and found out a bad throttle position sensor could cause the trans to shift weird. We swapped that out and it seemed fixed!
We drove all day to make up time. At least the views were nice.
We made it to the eastern corner of Nebraska.
We found a dirt road, it was raining and almost got stuck...Here's a pic of us getting ready to hit the highway the next morning. It was wet!
With the problems behind us its Thursday...We need to be in Maine by Saturday.
We carried on all day long in the rain, and made it to the eastern edge of Ohio.
At this point were exhausted and found the nearest place to sleep which wasn't luxurious one bit...It rained, and we dealt with a noisy truck stop.
The rain finally stopped the next morning and we had multiple people tell us how crazy we are...so we continued!
Then the rain continued! We made it through West Virginia then into PA to stop at Fred William's parents farm to drop off the truck and trailer.
I'd recommend it for any camping traveler.
We got the sterling, Colorado and stopped again. The trans was acting weird...again still electrical related since it wasn't slipping. We stopped at a shop and had them do a full line flush since we figured we only got half the fluid out and even the guy admitted that the fluid looked great.
We took off and the issues were still present :gaah: I did some more googling and found out a bad throttle position sensor could cause the trans to shift weird. We swapped that out and it seemed fixed!
We drove all day to make up time. At least the views were nice.
We made it to the eastern corner of Nebraska.
We found a dirt road, it was raining and almost got stuck...Here's a pic of us getting ready to hit the highway the next morning. It was wet!
With the problems behind us its Thursday...We need to be in Maine by Saturday.
We carried on all day long in the rain, and made it to the eastern edge of Ohio.
At this point were exhausted and found the nearest place to sleep which wasn't luxurious one bit...It rained, and we dealt with a noisy truck stop.
The rain finally stopped the next morning and we had multiple people tell us how crazy we are...so we continued!
Then the rain continued! We made it through West Virginia then into PA to stop at Fred William's parents farm to drop off the truck and trailer.
rascole
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- 2,826
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- Bellflower, CA
:horns: Such an great story. Hats of to you and your co-pilot. Can't wait to hear the rest.
RamRod
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- AB, Canada
Awesome!!! Keep typing!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mr_Rich
Well-Known Member
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- 660
- Location
- Yucaipa & Santa Maria
That's a great report and I enjoyed reading it!
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
So after getting to Fred's house, we unloaded the hummer and determined what we needed to bring and what we could leave at the trailer. I brought a lot of stuff. Spare 3rd member for the rear axle, a spare transfer case, spare driveshafts, spare axle shafts, etc. While we wouldn't bring it all I figured it would be a lot easier to get to the trailer via an uber or some form of transportation back to the farm or have Fred's parents overnight something 1000 miles away vs. 3000 miles away.
We left everything but the axle shafts.
Hummer unloaded and next to Fred's rental Nissan truck.
Then we hung out at Fred's parents for a little bit. They fed us and were super cool.
Then Fred's dad took us the back way out of the farm.
So even though we trailered we still had about 650 miles to Maine which was further then the drive to UA last year. Here we are about 200 miles in
It was cool to drive through New Jersey and see over the hudson NYC all lit up at night. Never thought I would be doing that in the Hummer!
We continued on and just so happened to be crashing in the same town as Fred, Cooper from Off road power products, Dirt head Dave and Steve from Cummins. We stopped and called at multiple hotels and had no luck. Fred and the crew found a hotel with a few rooms left so we grabbed a room at the hotel, got some sleep and were off the next morning after breakfast.
We drove for hours and hours in the pouring rain. Half doors and rain = no fun in the moment but something we will laugh about now that it's over.
We made it to UA 2018!!!! At this point between the drive to so cal and the drive to Maine we already had a little over 1,000 miles on the trip. It was so cool to get to see everyone again and meet new faces.
We left everything but the axle shafts.
Hummer unloaded and next to Fred's rental Nissan truck.
Then we hung out at Fred's parents for a little bit. They fed us and were super cool.
Then Fred's dad took us the back way out of the farm.
So even though we trailered we still had about 650 miles to Maine which was further then the drive to UA last year. Here we are about 200 miles in
It was cool to drive through New Jersey and see over the hudson NYC all lit up at night. Never thought I would be doing that in the Hummer!
We continued on and just so happened to be crashing in the same town as Fred, Cooper from Off road power products, Dirt head Dave and Steve from Cummins. We stopped and called at multiple hotels and had no luck. Fred and the crew found a hotel with a few rooms left so we grabbed a room at the hotel, got some sleep and were off the next morning after breakfast.
We drove for hours and hours in the pouring rain. Half doors and rain = no fun in the moment but something we will laugh about now that it's over.
We made it to UA 2018!!!! At this point between the drive to so cal and the drive to Maine we already had a little over 1,000 miles on the trip. It was so cool to get to see everyone again and meet new faces.
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
So now it was time to get some sleep and hit the trail and get ready for Day 1 of UA 2018!!!
We drove up the road to rocky mountain terrain off road park in Carthage Maine. It wasn't raining but man was it soupy from the day before!!!
Let's hit the trail! (pic stolen from RMT off road parks facebook page...Check em out as they have a ton of pics!)
The same as last year, the first day is kind of nerve racking. We took off down the trail and you don't want to be the one having issues on day 1. As we get to the first obstacle one of the local guy's ZJ broken down. I had to squeeze the hummer through to continue as he would be there for a while, because of that I wasn't on the ideal line but I was able to get through.
Some pics of the hummer getting through the first obstacle.
As we continued up the trail we came to a gnarly hill! If the hill was dry it would have been tough and a good chunk would have winched, but with it wet it was extremely difficult, everyone winched except one of the crony's, Keith, in his blue buggy on 42s. While I was ahead of him I could hear the Hemi singing through the trees. He said it was one of those hills you gotta commit to and when you make it to the top your hands are shaking.
That trail took a good chunk of the day, after that we played on a few more trails
As the day winds down we get back to the main entrance, air up and enjoy burgers that the park graciously cooked up for us.
We drove up the road to rocky mountain terrain off road park in Carthage Maine. It wasn't raining but man was it soupy from the day before!!!
Let's hit the trail! (pic stolen from RMT off road parks facebook page...Check em out as they have a ton of pics!)
The same as last year, the first day is kind of nerve racking. We took off down the trail and you don't want to be the one having issues on day 1. As we get to the first obstacle one of the local guy's ZJ broken down. I had to squeeze the hummer through to continue as he would be there for a while, because of that I wasn't on the ideal line but I was able to get through.
Some pics of the hummer getting through the first obstacle.
As we continued up the trail we came to a gnarly hill! If the hill was dry it would have been tough and a good chunk would have winched, but with it wet it was extremely difficult, everyone winched except one of the crony's, Keith, in his blue buggy on 42s. While I was ahead of him I could hear the Hemi singing through the trees. He said it was one of those hills you gotta commit to and when you make it to the top your hands are shaking.
That trail took a good chunk of the day, after that we played on a few more trails
As the day winds down we get back to the main entrance, air up and enjoy burgers that the park graciously cooked up for us.
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
Day 2!
Typically Day 2 is a road day after our first day of wheeling but that was not the case! We hit the road and soon after we stopped to air down and hit a local trail called Dragon's tail. It was a cool little place with tight trees. Out west I have learned that wheeling a club is nice but not mandatory. You can grab a couple buddies and go wheeling. Out in the northeast it seems that if your not in a club your opportunity to wheel in different places is limited. There is no public land...I guess since the northeast has been civilized since long before the west coast most of the land is owned by someone.
Over the past couple years I became bad at remembering to take pics, I guess wheeling has been too much fun to stop and take pics.
After dragons tail we took off to Mt. Washington. Here we are at the bottom.
A cool van!
The drive is easy, just pretty steep and narrow. It was very cool to see, it gets so windy up there the highest recorded wind was over 200 mph. They say its because there are no other mtns in the area to block the wind. Its flat all throughout the Midwest so the wind can carry for over a thousand miles and suddenly there is this tall mountain over 6k feet up with no smaller mtns around.
Going up...
Here we are at the top!
The wind gets so bad they actually chain the house down.
Setting up for our first camp night
Typically Day 2 is a road day after our first day of wheeling but that was not the case! We hit the road and soon after we stopped to air down and hit a local trail called Dragon's tail. It was a cool little place with tight trees. Out west I have learned that wheeling a club is nice but not mandatory. You can grab a couple buddies and go wheeling. Out in the northeast it seems that if your not in a club your opportunity to wheel in different places is limited. There is no public land...I guess since the northeast has been civilized since long before the west coast most of the land is owned by someone.
Over the past couple years I became bad at remembering to take pics, I guess wheeling has been too much fun to stop and take pics.
After dragons tail we took off to Mt. Washington. Here we are at the bottom.
A cool van!
The drive is easy, just pretty steep and narrow. It was very cool to see, it gets so windy up there the highest recorded wind was over 200 mph. They say its because there are no other mtns in the area to block the wind. Its flat all throughout the Midwest so the wind can carry for over a thousand miles and suddenly there is this tall mountain over 6k feet up with no smaller mtns around.
Going up...
Here we are at the top!
The wind gets so bad they actually chain the house down.
Setting up for our first camp night
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06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
Day 3!
So after we packed up camp the next morning we took off to Jerhico State park in New Hampshire.
Just meeting and talking the North Wood Off road club was great. It really opened my eyes at how much time and effort they put in to get this place open. They had to do a TON of work just get to a couple trails open to 4x4's and they have to continually maintain it. If a ranger is having a bad day and decides to pick on something they have to fix it...Its the only public place to wheel in the state and hats off to them for dealing with the state politically, and doing the leg work. Right after we left they had to go in and do some trail repairs they were informed about a few days before.
In the parking lot I got to see a fellow 355 member.
We talked for a bit and discussed our rigs before we hit the trails
After we finished at the state park we took off and headed to a resort and they had some activities for us to do. Unfortunately my activity was different then the others.
When we stopped and parked I was being OCD and felt all the hubs and the driver rear was PIPING HOT! I assumed it was a sticking caliper....We quickly jacked it up, took off the wheel and removed the caliper, unfortunately the wheel still was struggling to spin so we took out the axle shaft and it didn't want to come out!
With some prying it came out and this is what we saw...
That is a 17 spline 1.5in diameter factory axle shaft from the 1950's!!! I talked to all the cronies, they have just about seen it all and they were all amazed. They attributed it to good ole craftsmanship from back in the day. That shaft would have broke if it was anything else. Swapped in a spare and off we went. What I love about these axles is the ease of working on them. If we knew it was a shaft we wouldn't have even had to take off the wheel with its full floating design. The factory 10 bolt would have been a nightmare to fix. For good measure we checked the other side (with the wheel on) and that had twisted splines!
The hub got so hot we noticed the seal burnt up and was slowly dripping oil. We were concerned about the bearings being burnt up but we were told its probably fine and sure enough the thing kept on moving along. I decided to just change the seal when I got home and will change the bearings for good measure if they look worn.
Next we took off to the Mountain mud run park...
It was cool driving through small towns to get there, we definitely made a scene as we drove through town square...everyone came out to watch.
We played at the mountain mud run park for a bit, they are an up and coming park and have a lot to offer and its more then just mud! they have big rocks to play on too!
We took off to camp and relaxed...
So after we packed up camp the next morning we took off to Jerhico State park in New Hampshire.
Just meeting and talking the North Wood Off road club was great. It really opened my eyes at how much time and effort they put in to get this place open. They had to do a TON of work just get to a couple trails open to 4x4's and they have to continually maintain it. If a ranger is having a bad day and decides to pick on something they have to fix it...Its the only public place to wheel in the state and hats off to them for dealing with the state politically, and doing the leg work. Right after we left they had to go in and do some trail repairs they were informed about a few days before.
In the parking lot I got to see a fellow 355 member.
We talked for a bit and discussed our rigs before we hit the trails
After we finished at the state park we took off and headed to a resort and they had some activities for us to do. Unfortunately my activity was different then the others.
When we stopped and parked I was being OCD and felt all the hubs and the driver rear was PIPING HOT! I assumed it was a sticking caliper....We quickly jacked it up, took off the wheel and removed the caliper, unfortunately the wheel still was struggling to spin so we took out the axle shaft and it didn't want to come out!
With some prying it came out and this is what we saw...
That is a 17 spline 1.5in diameter factory axle shaft from the 1950's!!! I talked to all the cronies, they have just about seen it all and they were all amazed. They attributed it to good ole craftsmanship from back in the day. That shaft would have broke if it was anything else. Swapped in a spare and off we went. What I love about these axles is the ease of working on them. If we knew it was a shaft we wouldn't have even had to take off the wheel with its full floating design. The factory 10 bolt would have been a nightmare to fix. For good measure we checked the other side (with the wheel on) and that had twisted splines!
The hub got so hot we noticed the seal burnt up and was slowly dripping oil. We were concerned about the bearings being burnt up but we were told its probably fine and sure enough the thing kept on moving along. I decided to just change the seal when I got home and will change the bearings for good measure if they look worn.
Next we took off to the Mountain mud run park...
It was cool driving through small towns to get there, we definitely made a scene as we drove through town square...everyone came out to watch.
We played at the mountain mud run park for a bit, they are an up and coming park and have a lot to offer and its more then just mud! they have big rocks to play on too!
We took off to camp and relaxed...
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
Day 4!
We woke up and got ready for the day and one of the sponsors came by and said at about 2 am when we left his tent to go to the bathroom there was a bear walking and sniffing right by my tent cot! Spooky but I guess I didn't smell good so he left me alone.
We hit a lot of backroads on our journey and I must say the bridges and scenery were awesome!
We then took off to some private land with the eastern 4 wheelers....
Here I am giving it hell. I didn't make it unfortunately but I would love to go back and give it another shot. The first few days I hit everything in 1st gear...With the 4:1 case 1st gear is a bit low in the stuff that needs to be bumped. I learned a few days later I had much better luck in 2nd gear...Oh well live and learn on the new terrain!
After that we took into the rain! Half doors + rain = interesting drive...
Luckily we just so happened to have a scheduled hotel night or else we would have been soaked.
We woke up and got ready for the day and one of the sponsors came by and said at about 2 am when we left his tent to go to the bathroom there was a bear walking and sniffing right by my tent cot! Spooky but I guess I didn't smell good so he left me alone.
We hit a lot of backroads on our journey and I must say the bridges and scenery were awesome!
We then took off to some private land with the eastern 4 wheelers....
Here I am giving it hell. I didn't make it unfortunately but I would love to go back and give it another shot. The first few days I hit everything in 1st gear...With the 4:1 case 1st gear is a bit low in the stuff that needs to be bumped. I learned a few days later I had much better luck in 2nd gear...Oh well live and learn on the new terrain!
After that we took into the rain! Half doors + rain = interesting drive...
Luckily we just so happened to have a scheduled hotel night or else we would have been soaked.
Last edited:
JPaul
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,436
- Location
- Way up north, UT
Looks like a blast! NH is my home state and there are days I think about moving back.
Mt Washington is amazing, and deadly. When I was out there a few years ago and took the cog railway up the conductor told a story of a work crew that was on the side of the mountain when a storm blew through. The foreman told all the workers to stop and stay where they were until it passed. Once the storm was gone they did a count and discovered one of the guys had vanished. They never did find the body.
But it is beautiful country out there, and yes, most of it is privately owned. But hey, no income tax and very little sales tax. Income for the government is provided by property taxes and various fees and tolls.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Mt Washington is amazing, and deadly. When I was out there a few years ago and took the cog railway up the conductor told a story of a work crew that was on the side of the mountain when a storm blew through. The foreman told all the workers to stop and stay where they were until it passed. Once the storm was gone they did a count and discovered one of the guys had vanished. They never did find the body.
But it is beautiful country out there, and yes, most of it is privately owned. But hey, no income tax and very little sales tax. Income for the government is provided by property taxes and various fees and tolls.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Mr_Rich
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 660
- Location
- Yucaipa & Santa Maria
This is a very entertaining series. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
Day 5!
Day 5 was definitely muddy with the torrential down pour from day 4, the weather held out for most of the day on day 5. We started the day going to some private land with the Northeast Off road vehicle alliance. The trail took a good chunk of the day due to the muck. Lots of backing up and hitting it at the redline was needed.
I had a video of me going up one of the main obstacles but I cant find it! Either way from there we headed to see the Beckley furnace.
These little things make UA cool. This furnace made pig iron starting the in the mid 1800's. Something I would never go see normally, mainly because I didn't know it even existed.
From there we took off the aerodrome. Another thing that I would have never probably seen if it wasn't for UA.
It was cool seeing the old engines and early inventions of aviation!
We then took off to the Northeast off road vehicle alliance's training property for new wheelers. They are only 60 miles from NYC and it was a top notch facility!
We setup camp, enjoyed the camp fire and my co driver made an agreement. He donated a Corona to Rick Pewe in exchange for Ian Johnson to do his hair the next day LOL.
More on that later....
Day 5 was definitely muddy with the torrential down pour from day 4, the weather held out for most of the day on day 5. We started the day going to some private land with the Northeast Off road vehicle alliance. The trail took a good chunk of the day due to the muck. Lots of backing up and hitting it at the redline was needed.
I had a video of me going up one of the main obstacles but I cant find it! Either way from there we headed to see the Beckley furnace.
These little things make UA cool. This furnace made pig iron starting the in the mid 1800's. Something I would never go see normally, mainly because I didn't know it even existed.
From there we took off the aerodrome. Another thing that I would have never probably seen if it wasn't for UA.
It was cool seeing the old engines and early inventions of aviation!
We then took off to the Northeast off road vehicle alliance's training property for new wheelers. They are only 60 miles from NYC and it was a top notch facility!
We setup camp, enjoyed the camp fire and my co driver made an agreement. He donated a Corona to Rick Pewe in exchange for Ian Johnson to do his hair the next day LOL.
More on that later....
06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,496
- Location
- Meridian, ID
Day 6!
Day 6 as always started off with a driver's meeting and this one was great. Time for Pewe to live up to his promise. Ian grabbed a bunch of hair gel and spiked Rick's hair, everyone had quite a few laughs.
Click on the URL for the video...This was at the Northeast offroad training park.
The trails weren't too difficult but had some fun little off shoots that required some skinny pedal. We did have one fun hill that we all spent some time on. I ended up bumping it a few times but never fully committed got tippy and ended up on the winch. I need more seat time to feel comfortable on the steep loose climbs. Right behind me though was a rollover. Luckily the Warn CJ/LJ was ok and so were the driver/co driver but they had to bust out the windshield before he hit the highway.
We hit the highway after packing up camp and airing up
we eventually hit a ferry!!!! They attempted to ferry across year and years ago on UA but the water was too shallow but this time we luckily we able to take part in it and I was excited since it was a UA tradition.
When we got across we waited for one more trip across for the last rigs.
While waiting we drew quite the crowd since the other side was the entrance of a RV/Camp park, we got some balloons ready to hit the last guys coming off the ferry!
It was a blast, lastly we got to the hotel and got the rest we needed for the last day...Day 7!
Day 6 as always started off with a driver's meeting and this one was great. Time for Pewe to live up to his promise. Ian grabbed a bunch of hair gel and spiked Rick's hair, everyone had quite a few laughs.
Click on the URL for the video...This was at the Northeast offroad training park.
The trails weren't too difficult but had some fun little off shoots that required some skinny pedal. We did have one fun hill that we all spent some time on. I ended up bumping it a few times but never fully committed got tippy and ended up on the winch. I need more seat time to feel comfortable on the steep loose climbs. Right behind me though was a rollover. Luckily the Warn CJ/LJ was ok and so were the driver/co driver but they had to bust out the windshield before he hit the highway.
We hit the highway after packing up camp and airing up
we eventually hit a ferry!!!! They attempted to ferry across year and years ago on UA but the water was too shallow but this time we luckily we able to take part in it and I was excited since it was a UA tradition.
When we got across we waited for one more trip across for the last rigs.
While waiting we drew quite the crowd since the other side was the entrance of a RV/Camp park, we got some balloons ready to hit the last guys coming off the ferry!
It was a blast, lastly we got to the hotel and got the rest we needed for the last day...Day 7!