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OCG adventure
Best I can tell everyone made it home. Yes, it is 1:00 am and I just now got home from Chinamans... it was an interesting day. Thats all you get from me for now, but I am sure this thread will soon be filled with plenty of interesting stories. Everyone did for sure make it off the trail though, so we are safe. And now it is time for bed...
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hmmmm some drama or suspense and danger i presume, cant wait to read the stories.
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....... Want to hear more!
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Wow. Sounds like there was some carnage.
TTIWWOP
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I'm ready!!! Lets hear it.
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Cmon let's here it.......Nay, Randy anyone?
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Hehe.......suffice to say that Randy's new rig had a few kinks to work out.........in the leaf springs. A little after the whale's back obstacle, all three of the leafs on the drivers side front broke in half. We did take pictures, but we all had a late night, so it might take a few to get there. All in all it was a good day and everyone had fun, there was just a lot of figuring out of what to do to get Randy off the hill. Writeups will ensue by midday.
JH
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[quote=Haku;73184]Hehe.......suffice to say that Randy's new rig had a few kinks to work out.........in the leaf springs. A little after the whale's back obstacle, all three of the leafs on the drivers side front broke in half. We did take pictures, but we all had a late night, so it might take a few to get there. All in all it was a good day and everyone had fun, there was just a lot of figuring out of what to do to get Randy off the hill. Writeups will ensue by midday.
JH[/quote]
:eek:
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[quote=Haku;73184]Hehe.......suffice to say that Randy's new rig had a few kinks to work out.........in the leaf springs. A little after the whale's back obstacle, all three of the leafs on the drivers side front broke in half. We did take pictures, but we all had a late night, so it might take a few to get there. All in all it was a good day and everyone had fun, there was just a lot of figuring out of what to do to get Randy off the hill. Writeups will ensue by midday.
JH[/quote]
that sucks dude...when they left us heading up the rest of the way it seemed like it was holding just fine...maybe he should've turned around? I don't know that it would matter which direction. Now I guess Randy has good reason to swap springs like he was talking about (before the trail...jinx?)
It was fun meeting you guys yesterday! :)
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Re: OCG adventure
[quote=Haku;73184]Hehe.......suffice to say that Randy's new rig had a few kinks to work out.........in the leaf springs. A little after the whale's back obstacle, all three of the leafs on the drivers side front broke in half. We did take pictures, but we all had a late night, so it might take a few to get there. All in all it was a good day and everyone had fun, there was just a lot of figuring out of what to do to get Randy off the hill. Writeups will ensue by midday.
JH[/quote]
Thanks for the update.........wow snapped the leafs, that's a lot of force!
What did he buy?
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I wish I knew Nick had a spare, I would've run them back up.
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Glad to hear everything worked out!! Nothing like being prepared!
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[quote=Nay;73192]It was weird, they snapped in a minor spot. Consensus was the u-bolts must have been loose for some time and allowed a lot of force at the spring plate to bend the springs back and forth. There was nothing Randy was doing up to that point or at that time that should have caused any issues with his suspension.
I think Randy has an Alcan suspension waiting to go on. :D[/quote]
It snapped where the location bolt went through the leaf pack, which is where I would expect it to if it was going to. Definitely wasn't a catastrophic failure, seemed like it happened over a long period and had its final end yesterday.
The final fix did great, and Randy had no problems coming down. We stopped to check it out every once in a while, and nothing moved. There was a ton of clamping force on it, so I'm not surprised.
Essentially what we did, is take took all the broken leaf springs out, except for the one with the eyelets, put a big overload leaf under the pack, and two intact normal leafs over it, and sandwiched the broken one between them. Warlord had a couple of the bolt on clamps that we used towards the ends of the leafs, and we tighted the crap out of the ubolts too. Worked great, it just took a while to figure out. I'm really glad that Nick had those leaf packs in the truck, as we were about to start welding a tube on that would essentially act as a huge bump stop. I think Randy would have gotten really tippy (due to lack of articulation) with that setup, and we still had some of the big hills to get down where you have to turn as you drop. Definitely made for a longer then expected day, but in the end it wasn't too bad.
I took a bunch of pictures and such, as did others, so I'm sure those will be posted soon. There were other adventures and such as well, though more in the wheeling and non breaking nature.
JH
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[quote=FJBRADY;73187]
What did he buy?[/quote]
We wanted a 2nd rig that was easier to drive to the local runs with a longer wheel base versus the Blue Mule so I had my eyes out for a 4Runner or Mini truck. We found a 1985 X-Cab mini truck last weekend for a good price. It has a 22RE, 5 spd with Marlin Crawler dual T-Cases (2.28/4.71), 5.29's, longfield 30 spline axles & birfs, a Detroit Locker in the rear and an ARB in the front. I put 37's and beadlocks on it. It also has an All-Pro roll bar/tube bed in back and bumper/stinger in front with a Ramsey 9500 winch with synthetic line on it.
I rattle can painted it bright green on Saturday (it was multi-color) with orange beadlock rims. The wife chose the color and she wants to call it the "Gecko" (Thats OK, read-on and you'll understand why).
So, it looked good, had new rubber and ran great. Since the Mule is getting FJ60 axles we decided we would take it on a shake down cruise to OCG. Of course, all of my tools, on board air, straps, etc are still in the Mule but I figured "Hey, what can happen":erm:
So the rig is doing really well all day. We did most of the harder lines without spinning a wheel. It's amazing (to me anyway) how much of a difference the longer wheelbase (117") makes climbing and such. Were puddling along and I go over a small rock when I hear a "clang". It sounded to me like we blew a tire and maybe the beadlock rim came off. I get out and look and there are 2 of the 3 leaves from the back half of the spring pack laying on the ground!:eek: Nay gives a pretty good description of the recovery effort so I won't repeat all of that.
But, there I am standing by this severely broke vehicle with basically a 1/2" wrench in my left hand and my **** in my right and nothing else.:o I was as unprepared as you could possibly be. My apologies to everyone because I normally go much better prepared.
However, I don't think I could hold a candle to Josh. He opens the tool box on his truck and this seemingly endless supply of tools begins to appear: 24V wire feed welder, floor jack, hi-Lift jack, air compressor, hand tools, etc. It was amazing. Everyone else pitched in with tools, flashlights, lots of advice and a good attitude considering the circumstances.
We got it patched together and off of the hill by 9:30 about 7 hours later than we should have. At first I was really ticked off at the truck breaking, inconveniencing and delaying everyone, and it was quite cold and very dark. Then I realized that in spite of the uncomfortable conditions, I got to spend a lot of time getting to know a lot of super people that I otherwise would have said "Thanks & Bye" to at the end of the run. Many, many thanks to everyone for all they did, making sure everyone got off of the trail and for being great friends!
Nick, having the spare springs earns you a lot of brownie points but you are still on the **** list for losing my Mag-Lite:D
Last item: While Dee was watching Josh use his Reddi-Welder she asked me if we have one, which I said "No". She said "well go buy one so we have it next time when we need it". You gotta love the woman! :princess::princess:
And for the record, since I knew he was chomping to post up the story of my bad luck: Scoutman lost his muffler AND he had to get a jump start later on the trail, so you ain't as pure as the driven snow either buddy!
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I have never personally seen ALL the leafs break like that. I have had several Nissan Patrols with main leafs that were split at the center pin. They are a military wrap, so no big deal. I did have one that had the main leaf and 2 others crack, but the military wrap spring still hung together. Those were all just a matter of being almost 40 years old. Glad that everyone made it home... And what are the chances of having all the tools/equip in the group! Wow!
[quote=Air Randy;73218]
Last item: While Dee was watching Josh use his Reddi-Welder she asked me if we have one, which I said "No". She said "well go buy one so we have it next time when we need it". You gotta love the woman! :princess::princess:
[/quote]
That is one of the best tools I own! I always carry it with me on a trail more than 1 hour from home. I think that I got mine used for $225 about 5 years ago. Keep your eyes peeled. They come up for sale every so often!
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[quote=Air Randy;73218]
And for the record, since I knew he was chomping to post up the story of my bad luck: Scoutman lost his muffler AND he had to get a jump start later on the trail, so you ain't as pure as the driven snow either buddy![/quote]
also got pulled over on the way home for not having any tail lights. :rant: Josh was following for exactly that reason, but the cop didnt seem to notice. I can't complain though, since I got off with a written warning, and he seemed to not care that 1. my muffler was off and i was loud as hell 2. I couldnt see out my rear window and dont have a passenger side mirror at all 3. my most recent insurance card was 5 months out of date (oops!)
Besides, I'll just blame the battery issue on having to run my grinder for hours on your rig! Although that wasnt the problem at all, since it was dead again when I got home.
[quote=Nay;73190]
Scoutman happens to be the guy with the 120V and a garage full of stuff in the back,[/quote]
what can I say... I end up in that position more often then most!! I always carry my grinder these days, and this certainly isnt the first time it has been used.
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[quote=Air Randy;73218]
But, there I am standing by this severely broke vehicle with basically a 1/2" wrench in my left hand and my **** in my right and nothing else.:o I was as unprepared as you could possibly be. My apologies to everyone because I normally go much better prepared.
[/quote]
Isn't that the truth. I load the 40 like the world will come to an end and each trip I realize there is something else I need.
I am glad everyone made it out of there and yes Dee is a keeper :cool::princess::thunb:
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Dang....well at least you guys all got down safe.
Still waitin on them pics though :lol: