Miller Rock, Bunce, Ironclads

[EldoradoFJ60]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOahUjdAdnA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2074_vJkKBk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QOcHYG1y2w

[Roostercruiser]

Loooked like a great day to wheel. Thanks for videos

[Jackie]

I didn't realize Bunce offered such challenges as that! (That sucks about the key. Waiting to hear how the recovery went).

[Heather]

Had an AWESOME time. You guys're great - thank you so much for all the help/advice. This was my first time ever as a driver (and I've only gone a handful of times as a passenger in our SuperCrew) and while there were some times that I got a little worried...it totally turned out fantastic and I had a blast and learned a lot. Thank you so much for all the fix-and-tweak on the fly on Chris's Frankenstein. It was definitely a learning and mental-note-taking experience.

Although, not gonna lie - I wanted to punch the ATV-ers in the face that not once, but TWICE slid into and laid over onto the side of my Jeep. Especially that second one. Assclowns.

Going home was a little rough. We parted ways with the wonderful group and thought we were headed to my folks for some grub...Chris pulled out of the Diamond Shamrock and all the sudden he's not going anywhere. He broke his rear drive shaft. All's well that ends well...he made it home in one piece.

[Rob]

I didn't realize Bunce offered such challenges as that!

Those are actually on the Ironclads trail and just before Ironclads. :)

[Haku]

he made it home in one piece.

Good to hear, with his luck today it might have turned out different. Glad you guys had a good time and we'll definitely see you out on the trail again soon.

[Jackie]

No wonder I didn't recognize it. I haven't done that trail yet.

Glad to hear that two of our "newbies" had such a great time! :thumb: I hope to get out with all of you again soon. My weekend was pretty lame in comparison.:frown:

[wyota]

Thanks Todd and all of you guys for sticking with me today in not 1, not 2, but 3 "temporary malfunctions".

No problem it was my/our pleasure. :frontrange4x4:i had a grate time today it was good to see every one! thanks for the vid's Bruce.

[Jackie]

You came to the right group, Chris.:thumb: I keep looking for yours and Heather's Jeeps when I take Annika to school each day, but haven't seen them yet...

[Rob]

Excellent, but tiring, day of wheeling. We had Todd (still visiting from Texas), Bruce riding with Todd, Josh, Chris and Heather and their boys, Gary and me.

We decided to do Miller Rock first. The trail was snowless and dry except for a nice long trough of water after the rock.

Heather did great with a stock Jeep and street tires. One sketchy spot early in the trail where Todd and I tried to run her into her a tree, but that one last try did the trick.

Chris had the only carnage to speak of: broken key and clutch while climbing the step on the Ironclads loop, and a broken rear drive shaft u-joint just outside of Lyons on the way home. To make matters worse, he tried to remove the shaft while lying on a next of red ants.

After Miller Rock, we headed over to Bunce, then went up Ironclads, this time taking the loop clockwise.

On to the photos.

[Rob]

I'm going to merge this thread with the trip report shortly.

[Roostercruiser]

If o didn't have to work I would have been there.look like a great time

[Rob]

More Miller Rock pics.

[GaryG]

Had a great time today too, Didn't get too many pictures since I hung out at the tail end, got to listen to all kinds of different noises coming out of Chris' frankenstein.

Here's Traction Control Todd assisting Heather...
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-eOj2KfUS2Z4/TeRgTAPnhaI/AAAAAAAAAyg/SegtWdr7Tqg/s912/DSCN0814-1.JPG
Chris playing in the mud puddle...
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-10yioy0AZ7E/TeRgco0Om7I/AAAAAAAAAy0/tgy8fyLiMAc/s912/DSCN0819-1.JPG
And Todd (not so much traction control) parking on Joshes back tire...
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-P5lKXIC69cU/TeRgfRCbYOI/AAAAAAAAAy8/UnzzL2NQnMs/s912/DSCN0821-1.JPG

These rest of my pics are up on picassa here (https://picasaweb.google.com/ggubrud/MillerRockBunce05302011?authkey=Gv1sRgCP2Sq9a9s42U LA#)

[Rob]

A few more from Miller Rock.

[Heather]

One sketchy spot early in the trail where Todd and I tried to run her into her a tree, but that one last try did the trick.

That spot...was before genius here (me) realized that the tranny should be in 4 low, not high. Sorry 'bout that...

[Rob]

A few from Bunce and Ironclads.

[Rob]

More Ironclads.

[Rob]

And some more.

[Brad]

Looks like a blast. Thanks for the report and media! :thumb:

[EldoradoFJ60]

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s240/ilbruche/Landcruiser/Front%20Range%204X4/IMG_0760.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s240/ilbruche/Landcruiser/Front%20Range%204X4/IMG_0759.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s240/ilbruche/Landcruiser/Front%20Range%204X4/IMG_0770.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s240/ilbruche/Landcruiser/Front%20Range%204X4/IMG_0765.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s240/ilbruche/Landcruiser/Front%20Range%204X4/IMG_0764.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s240/ilbruche/Landcruiser/Front%20Range%204X4/IMG_0777.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s240/ilbruche/Landcruiser/Front%20Range%204X4/IMG_0775.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s240/ilbruche/Landcruiser/Front%20Range%204X4/IMG_0771.jpg

[Brody]

Great pictures and great report!

Too bad about the minor Jeep issues. I was wondering if the rear u joint was going to fly...

Glad that everyone had fun!

[Brody]

That was what all the folks (me, Todd, and Chris) that looked at it were wondering about. Probably needs to be addressed sooner than later judging from this as when I checked the actual movement of the U joints on the driveshafts, the front one was the only one that had any significant movement. The angle of the rear was the unhappy one...

Replacing the actual U joint isn't a big deal. Cutting and rotating the spring hangers (or installing a stop gap measure like a 6 degree shim) should probably be done before another run to avoid this happening again.

I am assuming that it was the rear one...

[Brody]

HAHA.....right about the entertainment factor!

Probably the very first time anyone has ever heard those words when you broke your key....:D

[4Runninfun]

Looks like a great day wheeling! Thanks for the pics.

[Chris]

Recovery, ther's no recovery! I was simply tying to make the day more interesting. AFter breaking the key trying to restart the "Heep", I then realized that the clutch was "temporarily on vacation". After I fished the broken key out with a pair of needle nose pliers, I put the spare in and slide down the rock out of the way and Todd put on his "Super hero" outfit and found/fixed my clutch issue. After that I went back up to the rock and over it. Thanks Todd and all of you guys for stiking with me today in not 1, not 2, but 3 "temporary malfunctions". I had a great day!


Had an AWESOME time. You guys're great - thank you so much for all the help/advice. This was my first time ever as a driver (and I've only gone a handful of times as a passenger in our SuperCrew) and while there were some times that I got a little worried...it totally turned out fantastic and I had a blast and learned a lot. Thank you so much for all the fix-and-tweak on the fly on Chris's Frankenstein. It was definitely a learning and mental-note-taking experience.

Although, not gonna lie - I wanted to punch the ATV-ers in the face that not once, but TWICE slid into and laid over onto the side of my Jeep. Especially that second one. Assclowns.

Going home was a little rough. We parted ways with the wonderful group and thought we were headed to my folks for some grub...Chris pulled out of the Diamond Shamrock and all the sudden he's not going anywhere. He broke his rear drive shaft. All's well that ends well...he made it home in one piece.

Sorry I missed this but thanks for all the pics! It's great to see you got the Front Range welcome and had a good time despite a few minor incidents. Thanks to all the helped Chris & Heather on their first outing!

[Mporter]

Dang now im bummed that I missed that one

[Brody]

What you said. That area is a very heavily used area by everyone. People have been rock climbing there since the early 60s, hunters wheeled that area before that, and it has seen a lot more use since then. That area was heavily developed by climbers in the late 90s, too, and with the advent of a lot of ATV use, along with 4x4 use, pretty much anything that can be driven to (or on) has been...and for a long time. You have seen that area in the winter and probably seen all the tracks that simply drive through all the places people camp in the summer...and around and through all the 'rock gardens'.

It has been that way since I first drove those roads back in the 70s and hasn't really gotten any better or worse. In fact, for the most part, it is a lot cleaner than when I was first wheeling or climbing there. We used to come out of there with 2-3 LARGE trash bags of junk every time we went way back when.

[Aaron]

That looks like it was a lot of fun!

[GaryG]

Don't worry too much about it, just giving you a rough time. Adds character to your ride.

[KnuckleHead]

Glade to hear that everyone had a great time and a safe day. Thanks for the report and the pix.

[Fordguy77]

Dang i am really bummed i missed out on this one! I was totally in on it, till some stuff came up with the cousins, that i had to go take care of. Yeah that pinion angle does not look like it can go upward without some serious u joint snapage. Hope ya get it fixed soon.

[Fordguy77]

Got a new one tonight, plus an extra for the future! Will be fixed soon, but until then there's always 4 high to make it to Pete's tomorrow night so we can finish the sliders...and talk about my plans for the Heep's future. I see a 100" wheel base coming and at least 38" tires. I want to be able to go anywhere I want!

Let me know what ya find out with the stretch on the WB. Kinda Curious how your gonna end up going about it all.

[Haku]

I have alot of info already. I'm going to go to 100". It will be released next Summer if all goes as planned!

Speaking from experience, definitely get all the drivetrain, steering, and carb gremlins figured out and fixed before you go modifying too much. I'm the first to be thinking ahead about what I want to do, but I know it sucks to do a big project done and working great only to have issues with another part. You have a pretty decentsuspension setup right now, and getting the "good running" stuff done will make a big difference for you. I'm not working a ton lately, so I'm happy to help. Can't claim ANY experience with your rig though, and suck at Carb work. I do know that if there is a reasonably priced Fuel Injection kit made for that engine it will make a huge difference for how well it runs. Some carbs do really well, others struggle a lot especially when you get into really steep or really off camber situations (or both).

100" wheelbase would be nice. I'm at about 110" now on mine and its perfect for me. Its harder to go any shorter then that with an Extended cab pickup, but I don't really feel the need to be any shorter. I know how it is having the short wheelbase though, as I wheeled a Samurai before the Yota. I was planning on making the wheelbase longer before I sold it. Not sure where you are at now, but a bit of extra length is always nice. Should make climbing steep stuff a lot more stable.

[Haku]

hahaa....I hear ya for sure. I have about 5 projects or more brewing right now myself. Its definitely fun to think ahead and figure out where you want to go as long as its at least reasonably realistic. Definitely recommend the big projects for winter time, since it sucks to miss out on prime wheeling season.

[Haku]

Look at Foxtrots rig that he is selling. Its kinda similar build level wise, but is full bodied. Has a few kinks to work out and IMHO needs a cage sooner then later, but its a very decent rig. I think he's asking $4k for it. He's heading out to the Air Force and can't keep it. You can find stock ones for around $1k if you look too. Its not too hard to work on these and there are lots of kits to lift and upgrade them. Lots of take off parts from other rigs work on these too.

I think we have officially derailed this thread :p

[Haku]

No one else seems to mind so I don't have a problem. It happens rather often on here, so business as usual.

[Rob]

I think we have officially derailed this thread

:lmao: That never happens.

Still, I'm still waiting for Heather to post some pics of the 40. :D

[Funrover]

Looks like a good time was had even with the run in. Thanks for the vids/pics

[Coonburger]

sweeet run guys maybe next time itll hook up with my pay cycle lol

[Heather]

Still, I'm still waiting for Heather to post some pics of the 40.

Still have to get pix off of camera (it's been a hell of a week) - here's from phone.

[Rob]

Thanks, Heather. See, I really was on the run!

[Heather]

More...also featuring Todd bonding with Frank...sorry 'bout that...still...

(P.S. Pix taken by Nick)

[Heather]

Here's more photos by Nick: https://picasaweb.google.com/blugnat/FR4x453011?feat=directlink

[Haku]

hahaha....this is a great picture....love the look on everyones faces....

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F4-yjdl1nR4/TehdKBY161I/AAAAAAAAHHg/Nu8SEI2-jWg/s576/DSC02639.JPG

[Heather]

Not sure how to do this; here's a few videos taken by Nick with the camera: http://www.youtube.com/user/BluGnat

[Rob]

Good stuff, Heather!

[Cr33p3r]

Looks like you all had a fairly good time out there, I am totally bummed that I have not been on a runs so far this year!

[jdawg33]

Looks like a fun time was had by all!!! Makes me jealous I missed the run.