Labor Day TSF.

[fishsticks]

http://www.pnw4x4s.com/forum/index.php?topic=4616.0

I was going to camp the full event, but with the move and work I'm only going to have time for a Saturday day trip.

Looks like it will be a dual club gathering with Broke Bastards. I've met a few of the Bastards. They are a good bunch and pretty hardcore. We'll definitely have some double (maybe triple?) black diamond action.

As always, TSF is full of bypasses. So you can easily watch/ride along for something you can't do. I think I'll try hauling the Fish Wagon up Waterfall this time. If Waterfall goes smoothly then it might finally be time to grow a pair and bounce up Can Opener.

My buddy Dennis on one side of Waterfall.

[Flying Monkey]

Looks like a pretty hardcore pass....He just went at it way to hard

[fishsticks]

Looks like a pretty hardcore pass....He just went at it way to hard

He's got a combo of 37s, 4.10 gears, 2:1 xfer case reduction and a SM465 manual trans working against him. He has to goose it a lot of the time or the truck just stalls out.

I'm worried about holding oil pressure... and maybe breakover angle (I have a winch though so whatever). There are 3 ways up Waterfall, that's the medium difficulty one IIRC.

[fishsticks]

Back from TSF. Great time as always. Lots of carnage. There were two rollovers, a couple near-rolls, 2 broken driveshafts, some other miscellaneous stuff... and I did this:

[the_asian_TB]

how?!?!?!

[bartonmd]

Broken tie-rod?

By the way, you didn't have to "spread 'em" for us to know you are easy...

Mike

[MrSmithsTB]

Couldn't decide on a line........so you tried to take both?

[Trail X]

Hopefully you carry extra tie rods.

[Flying Monkey]

Ouch!

[NC_IslandRunner]

This is why I don't have 2 steering wheels, a passenger driving is nothing but trouble!

[The Roadie]

Eek. 15-30 minute fix depending on if it took out your inner as well. Isn't that your second tie rod? I'm at two as well.

[fishsticks]

Whoops.

Pretty sure I bent it beforehand and then it broke awhile after. I carry both outers and two inner as spares, so I was back up and running in 20 minutes. I only replaced the outer, but it looks like the inner is bent too, so I'll do that in the driveway.


My first tie rod... but from the sounds coming from my passenger side wheel area, it may be my third CV axle as well.

[fishsticks]

Don't have all the pics transferred yet.... Here's a few.




Welcome to Little Rubicon.



This guy is pretty much stuck. He had to winch out. Before getting stuck he nearly flipped. He ended up flopping on another trail later that day. He also had a front yoke explode which sent a piece THROUGH his floorboard. You could drop a beer can through the hole it made.

The right side is a little more passable, and I was going to give it a try until one of our guys actually did flop on it. I didn't get it on video but someone did and I'll share when it gets posted.

This guy flopped.



Weird looking huh? It's got 3 linked Dana 70's on 42" TSLs and a propane powered SBC.

My TB tried to mate with it...



This rock cost one other guy a driveshaft... almost cost this guy one too. There's a tree right off the camera to the left and people had trouble getting a good line on it. I was the second truck through and made it look easy with a combination of rock sliders, front locker, and TB crazy tight turning.



It should be noted that with 35's and 1" longer control arms, your tires will now rub in the rear pretty badly when stuffed.



My rear wheel wells are bashed pretty good now. The rod ended versions do flex nicely, although they add a certain metallic clanking sound that will make you paranoid the first couple times you hear it.

I have a lot of driver cam video and some stuff on my other vid cam to go through still. I figure we'll see what the rest of the gang has when they get back... probably Tuesday.

[bartonmd]

I have a lot of driver cam video and some stuff on my other vid cam to go through still. I figure we'll see what the rest of the gang has when they get back... probably Tuesday.

Yep, MikePeters and I were talking about that, when people told him he needed the longer arms, but both of us thought it was more important to have it centered at full tuck than centered while rolling around on the street... I may actually get some control arms from the control arm guy, but I'll get them stock length, even if I'm more lifted by then...

Mike

[fishsticks]

I have a lot of driver cam video and some stuff on my other vid cam to go through still. I figure we'll see what the rest of the gang has when they get back... probably Tuesday.

Yep, MikePeters and I were talking about that, when people told him he needed the longer arms, but both of us thought it was more important to have it centered at full tuck than centered while rolling around on the street... I may actually get some control arms from the control arm guy, but I'll get them stock length, even if I'm more lifted by then...

Mike

I know Kyle thought he needed longer than the .5" version, but I think he's got them just right. If I had the .5" version I'd be set in both directions. My rubbing now at full tuck(every time) is worse than the rubbing I had on takeoff(occasional) with the stock arms.

[Trail X]

Glad it was a quick fix for ya. I also carry two inners and outers as trail spares. Figure it's one of the more likely things to break.

[fishsticks]

Pics were surprisingly scarce this time around... Probably due to most people actually having their rigs this time = less camera men.

More carnage:





Hmmm... who's that?




Ridiculous hill climb.

[Trail X]

Doesn't look surprising that buggy flipped. It looks extremely top heavy.

[The Roadie]

Agreed. Why even build something that tall? The fab guy who did my rock sliders built this buggy for Becca Webster and the Red Bull Rock Crawling team. Low, fast, effective.

[fishsticks]

The guy who built it will straight up tell you he originally designed it for mud, hence the height. He's working on something a bit less top heavy.