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TyTheJeepGuy
August 29th, 2020, 07:05 PM
We had 6 rigs out on the trail today, including 2 new members' first runs. I think Kingston Peak ended up being a great trail for a "green" level trail with hints of "blue" if going by ski hill ratings.

We ran it starting from Alice and split at the end based on who had to be back sooner, those with some more time for sightseeing went through Rollinsville while the rest went over to Black Hawk. Having done it this direction I can see why its more popular to go the other direction, especially if you want to get a few of the other trails in the Yankee Hill network in if you want a longer day. I plan to do this sometime.

The Rocky Mountains gave us an opposite day: Rain storm in the morning, cleared up in early afternoon. I believe I felt very small hail at the Lomond overlook. Temperatures around 42deg F if my Jeep is to be believed. The rain made the trail a little slick but nothing major, it was only a drizzle.

Zach got the Grand Cherokee up on what I counted to be two wheels through an "articulation tester" as I'll call it. Basically two ruts in rapid succession but non-parallel; I think that was the most fun part for him.

Andy's F150 did great. I didn't see it going through the tougher parts but it went through the whole trail with only a few frame bumps and maybe an exhaust pipe smack or two. I'll let Andy fill in the details from the driver's seat.

Roy's XJ got to test out a freshly rebuilt T case. He brought great company that included Anne (I believe that was her name, sorry if not) who drove a lifted TJ and has guided this trail before, and did an excellent job of leading this run over the CB. I already forgot the name of the other driver but her manual Wrangler on 35s did great as could be expected.

I was really disappointed to find out upon arriving at the rendezvous point that the CB "fixes" I did last night didn't fix anything. I could hear everyone but could not transmit. Last night I got an SWR reading of 2 on my driveway after torquing down mounts and rewiring to a 10amp wire and checking grounds. I guess its back to troubleshooting again, I definitely want CB working perfectly before Moab.

Pics and video will be posted here when I have them available, here is a shared photo album if you want to add you own photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5DVixyYRWBRhe3jX8

derf
August 29th, 2020, 10:17 PM
It was a great time meeting everyone. The TJ driver was April and the manual JK was Brandy and her friend Ethan.

I didn't get many pictures but I'll post up some tomorrow.

Brian
August 29th, 2020, 10:45 PM
I got an SWR reading of 2 on my driveway

FWIW, it's recommended to calibrate in an open area like a field or large parking lot away from buildings. Might wanna give it another try.

tirefoamcan
August 30th, 2020, 11:07 AM
We had a great time! Perfect first time trail for us. Was impressed with how the F150 handled, and happy I did well with it, too.

Anca is getting into it, she had fun having a job on the way down to spot me and move some rocks around that we thought may hit. She said she wants to run trails in a quad. The kids, Alex and Addy had a good time. Alex said he was bored, but I think he wants to run the trails on his own vehicle! Addy is a little adventurer and is ready for another run.

I had 4 frame bumps, one on the trans mount cross member, bending it up a bit. One hit on the exhaust. It's a long truck and I found it tough to find good placement on the larger rocks on the way down. If I brought the front up a couple of inches, it would be much better.

I don't think we can wait for our Bronco next year. We're going to start looking at some Jeeps. I like the setup on Roy's XJ. Will be doing some research on what would be good for us. Then, we'll have a couple of truck to off road in by next year.

Thanks everyone! It was a great experience and I'm looking forward to the next one.

FINOCJ
August 30th, 2020, 11:47 AM
If I brought the front up a couple of inches, it would be much better.

that is how it starts...next thing you know you'll be building a custom rock buggy on 40s!

Getaklu
August 30th, 2020, 04:30 PM
FWIW, it's recommended to calibrate in an open area like a field or large parking lot away from buildings. Might wanna give it another try.

Like Brian said, a big open area with doors closed, etc. Here is a link to some good information. https://www.wearecb.com/how-to-tune-cb-antenna.html

tirefoamcan
August 30th, 2020, 10:45 PM
I put together a video from my Go Pro footage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-His2fhYK7Y

TyTheJeepGuy
September 4th, 2020, 09:54 AM
For those that gave CB advice I have an update. I switched to my old (bulkier which was fine in the Grand, not so much Wrangler) radio and that seemed to work just fine when powered by cigarette lighter. I had checked every other variable. So I snipped out the current CB and soldered in the old one and its been working well. Took it to a wide lot for some fine tuning. Only problem is finding a way to keep this one mounted without drilling in to the plastic is more interesting. I'll get a chance to try it out before Moab on the wheeler lake run.

open_circuit
September 4th, 2020, 10:01 AM
For those that gave CB advice I have an update. I switched to my old (bulkier which was fine in the Grand, not so much Wrangler) radio and that seemed to work just fine when powered by cigarette lighter. I had checked every other variable. So I snipped out the current CB and soldered in the old one and its been working well. Took it to a wide lot for some fine tuning. Only problem is finding a way to keep this one mounted without drilling in to the plastic is more interesting. I'll get a chance to try it out before Moab on the wheeler lake run.

If you still need to tweak it next weekend, we can meet up in an empty field out your way and try to tune it.

PennyTJ
September 4th, 2020, 12:33 PM
Hi all. I just joined. I wanted to let you know I posted my photos to the Google album. Please use as you see fit.

Thanks for letting me join you on this trip!

April & Penny