Moab 13th-16th

[Chris]

We'll be heading west on the mid-afternoon of the 13th and coming home somewhere on the 16th.

We'll meet at City Market at 8am on the 14th and run Fins & Things and probably Top of the World after that.

Trails for the 15th to be decided on the 14th.

[Chris]

Sorry for the thread closure and this new thread but I've changed the way we post runs for greater simplicity.

Of course it makes existing runs a bit messy during the transition.

Notice the RSVP is now the first post in the thread.

[Chris]

Also notice I changed my proposed Purcupine Rim with Top of the World after Fins & Things. ;)

[Chris]

And despite Air Randy's experience I think Elephant Hill would be great for day 2.

[scout man]

:thunb: I dont scare off too easy.

[Chris]

Randy will vouch for me in saying stock trucks can do it but knowing that section of the trail is important w/o a spotter. I do know that trail. ;)

[Aaron]

I'm easy

[Chris]

Just noticed Brad/Dirt Claude is in too :thunb:

[Dirt Claude]

You bet I'm in, I'm stoked for this one. I've been to Moab several times but never wheeled there. I'm open to trail suggestions and not too particular on what we run, they all sound good so far.

[Chris]

Great Brad, you'll love Moab wheeling! The first day is Fins & Things and Top of the World which IMHO is the best intro to Moab for first time visits. I suggest Elephant Hill for day 2 which is a pretty long but fun day since it has a great variety in itself.

Do you have plans for camping or hotel? I know Rob wouldn't mind sharing a room in a hotel. My friend Denny & I will be at the Silver Sage which (with Rob's senior discount) is under $40 a head.

If Steve makes it there will be 6 trucks which is pretty much the perfect count, wouldn't really want much more than that.

[scout man]

I am planning on being in. My schedule is blocked out for it (esp since I got the :princess: approval), but if good $$$ work pops up that might change. I would say I am 95% in. Rob and I were discussing hotel vs camping last night and I think we settled on camping, and maybe grabbing a hotel room one night or something.

[Dirt Claude]

I don't have any set plans yet on camping or hotel, but I too was leaning towards camping. I love camping and what better place to do it than Moab. Sure it could be a little rainy/snowy/windy, but that will only make it more memorable!

[Chris]

Good for you guys, I was planning to camp until my 2nd full day of wheeling last time and I decided that a comfy room with bed and hot shower suited this old body best. :lmao:

[scout man]

yea, I agree that a bed would probably feel great by the second night or so, but it also hurts the wallet a lot more.

I cant wait to go! I am ready! The scout isnt, but I am!

[Chris]

The scout isnt, but I am!

So get off the computer and get to work, 9 days to go!

[scout man]

I was about to do that, but new posts keep popping up!

The only thing I HAVE to do before moab is change out my front leaf springs. Half day job once I get the u bolts, which I am about to go do. There are lots of things I would like to do though, but wont have the $$ or time to do them. But its just luxury stuff like wiring up that power inverter, and getting my dual battery setup wired up, getting my new gears installed, and stuff like that. Nothing that will stop me from wheeling though.

Edit: oh, and my new 12v fan of course!

[Dirt Claude]

Yeah, I've got a few things to button up too, mainly mounting the skid plates and installing the CB.

[Aaron]

Steve, I can bring the Jeep's old rocker stuff with me if you'd like. Seems weird to drive to Utah to give it to ya, but...

[scout man]

ah, i forgot about those. I will have room for them to bring them back, so if you have room that would work out. I know you will have a pretty full car tho, so if you cant squeeze them in I can get them from you when we get back.

[Brody]

ah, i forgot about those. I will have room for them to bring them back, so if you have room that would work out. I know you will have a pretty full car tho, so if you cant squeeze them in I can get them from you when we get back.

I am working with Aaron on a hinged lid for his military trailer. He can drop these off at my place and I can get them to Chris when we do the rear fender protection on his rig. They will end up in Aurora eventually. Let me know if this works for everyone. It isn't a problem for me as I can store them in my garage or on my rear deck .

[Chris]

Do we want to caravan out there or just meet in Moab? I plan on leaving 10-11am which I know leaves you out Aaron.

[scout man]

I am with you Chris. I plan to leave thursday morning sometime, and wouldnt mind caravaning.

[Rob]

X2.

[Lysmachia]

Also notice I changed my proposed Porcupine Rim with Top of the World after Fins & Things. ;) Good Call. Porcupine Rim is chock full of Dirt Bikes, pedal power bikes and is just bumpy as hell.... I didn't think it was that much fun - and I was so worried we'd hit one of the bikes...


Do we want to caravan out there or just meet in Moab? I plan on leaving 10-11am which I know leaves you out Aaron.
If we can make it I'd love to caravan but "Ron" is a DOG over the passes.....

[Chris]

I haven't been on Porcupine in years, guess things have changed.

I do better on the passes than I used to but the speed limit isn't something I strive for.

So how about a 10:00am meeting place? Steve & I live close so what would work for you Rob? I-70 and ???

[Rob]

So how about a 10:00am meeting place? Steve & I live close so what would work for you Rob? I-70 and ???

Works for me. Pick a spot, and I'll be there.

[scout man]

So, I have a last minute project before I can come. I was driving around today and my transmission is suddenly slipping really bad. I am fairly sure though that it is just a band adjustment, which I can do it one messy, oilly afternoon. I am still fairly sure i will be there. At least it happened today and not thursday though right?

[Chris]

Keep us posted Steve, let me know if you need a hand.

[scout man]

thanks Chris, will do. Unfortunately I probably wont get to look at it until monday afternoon, but I read throught the manual a while tonight to refresh my brain, and it could be one of a few simple things. The first and formost being that it is a bit over-filled right now, and that can cause the fluid to foam and lose pressure. I knew it was overfilled, but it used to leak so fast that I figured in a week or two it would be just right. Well apparently it doesnt leak as much anymore. If I can find a way, I would like to just suck a bit of fluid out, and avoid removing the pan at all (no drain plug) and see if that fixes the problem. If it does not, then I can adjust a band that is adjustable from the outside, and still avoid removing the pan. If that doesnt fix it, then I need to open it up to adjust the other band. Any idea how to jsut suck some fluid out of the dipstick hole? I know subacool had a post up about this a while ago, I need to see if I can find what he did.

[Chris]

Apparently oil change places that do tranny fluid changes do it that way. That's or maybe some fish tank tubing to siphon?

[Dirt Claude]

Do we want to caravan out there or just meet in Moab? I plan on leaving 10-11am which I know leaves you out Aaron.

Yep, I'm up for a caravan too. I'm coming up from Castle Rock, so maybe I-70 and 6th Ave, or something around there?

[scout man]

Would that work for you too Rob or would that be out of your way? I am ok with whatever. We could always do something like Idaho Springs if that makes more sense for people.

[Chris]

yeah, let's do Idaho Springs, 11am?

[Rob]

Idaho Springs works for me.

[scout man]

11am sounds good for me too. Just at that McDonalds at the first exit?

[Chris]

Yes, let's call it 11:00 at McDonalds in Idaho Springs. :thunb:

[Dirt Claude]

Yes, let's call it 11:00 at McDonalds in Idaho Springs. :thunb:

Works for me

[Aaron]

You guys bring lots of photographic and video-graphic equipment. We'll have a couple cameras but its tough to get pictures of yourself :)

[Chris]

We'll see you caravan guys at McDonalds and Marty & Aaron in Moab.

We'll have plenty of pics to prove your smile was ear-to-ear on Kenny's Climb Aaron. ;)

[scout man]

yea, I will be camera-less. I dont own one. I did buy the fiance a real nice one for her birthday a few weeks ago, but she wont let me take it :frown:

[Dirt Claude]

Any word on the tranny Steve? Is she gonna be a able to pull through??

[scout man]

I think so, but not ready to say that for sure yet. I checked yesterday and it was way overfilled, so I pumped a quart out of it.... then it wasnt even touching the dipstick so I put half a quart back in. I drove it a little at speed, and the only time i noticed any kind of a slip was starting up from a dead stop, which could be unrelated, as it just does that sometimes. I wheeled with it for a little bit and it felt fine. I am going to drive it for a while today though and see if it acts up at all. If it does fine today, then all is good, if not, then I need to check on the bands and stuff.

[Dirt Claude]

Well that sounds promising, hopefully you'll be able to get everything dialed in!

[scout man]

eh, maybe I jumped the gun. I just drove it to the gym and back, and it did fine until I got into the parking lot, and it was slipping in and out of frist... same thing leaving the parking lot, but then it was fine the hole way home :erm: I have to run downtown, and may or may not drive it, but then I think this afternoon I need to just plan on getting messy. I should probably just go ahead and drop the pan and see what is going on in there. I can make sure both bands are adjusted right, and make sure there isnt anything weird happening in there. I still plan on making the trip though! Right now, if the band adjustment doesnt fix it, my next course of action is to swap in the spare valve housing I have sitting in the garage. It is possible some junk got in there and is blocking a ball-valve or something. So I am still hopefull, just need to get dirty now. Hopefully it doesnt rain all afternoon.

[scout man]

ok, I think I am good. I need to drive it tonight and see how it does, but it seems to be better. Unfortunately now it is leaking even worse, which kind of pisses me off, because I even used a real gasket this time instead of just RTV. I should have let it sit for a while before adding fluid, but i just didnt have time, and didnt think it would matter with a gasket in there. Oh well, I will take a leak as long as it works right. I will post back tonight on the results, gotta run for now.

[Chris]

Fingers crossed for you Steve! Also watching the weather, it looks like they'll have Vail Pass clear of the coming snow when we head through. ;)

[scout man]

Good news bad news.
The good - tranny seems ok now, didnt slip at all tonight and I drove it a decent amount.
The bad - I told an employer of mine that I would be out of town this weekend... unless the RIGHT job came up. Meaning it was a good sized job with lots of hours and money. (un)fortunately that right job may have come up. I will talk to them tomorrow to find all the details and make the decision when I am more informed. However, at this point there is probably a 50/50 chance that I will be bailing. I really really really dont want to, but I suppose I have to be responsible about it too. So I will let you guys know for sure tomorrow. :frown:

[Chris]

Earning money's not a bad thing Steve, hope it turns out to be a lousy paying, short hour job. ;)

[scout man]

hope it turns out to be a lousy paying, short hour job.

x2!!!!!!

[Rob]

Hope you can still make it, Steve.

I'm primed and ready to go. The weather in Moab is supposed to be about 20 degrees warmer than it will be on the Front Range on Friday and Saturday. Looks like Moab might be getting rain, but no snow.

[scout man]

I am IN!! I talked with the employer, and he said there is no reason to stick around this weekend, he will have better work for me next weekend anyways and "Sh*t, go to moab! No reason to stick around here because of work. I am sick of work" :D So I am in... only thing left on the rig (i think :rolleyes:) is to replace my alternator belts, because the squeeking annoys me... so I should be good for the morning!

[Chris]

:2thumbup: Good to hear! This is going to be fun! I can't wait to leave this freakin' snow behind.

[Aaron]

Woohoo!!! I'm ready!

[Dirt Claude]

Woohoo x2!! I'm ready to roll.

Is it just me, or does anybody else find themself with a big list of things to do at the last minute. I've be working at it for weeks, but there's still stuff to be done. Nothing that would prevent me from going of course. :thunb:

[Chris]

Yeah Brad, I just spent an hour getting my oil drain plug out so I could change the damned oil! Of course I can't blame anyone but myself but still, geez it's supposed to be a quick and easy job. :frown:

Yes, a new plug is going in and I'm officially ready to roll. :D

[Dirt Claude]

That's funny, I changed my oil the other night and it took 3 times longer than it should have. I'll just say it got a little messy. Hope my alternator doesn't mind being bathed in oil!

[scout man]

s it just me, or does anybody else find themself with a big list of things to do at the last minute.

Man, dont even get me started on this one. Monday afternoon I shut the hood with a very satisfied feeling that everything was ready to go... now i am running around like a madman finishing up the scout, and tons of other life stuff. Lets just say tearing into my tranny yesterday was NOT on my to do list.


I'll just say it got a little messy.
:D I was draining my tranny yesterday (no drain plug) and I was doing really really well. Not a drop hit the driveway, all of it was in the pan or on some cardboard I put down.... then I dropped the actually tranny pan itself. That didnt go so well. I took a nice fluid bath as well as the rest of my driveway. I was so mad!

Well hopefully we are all getting our issues out of the way now, and moab will go nice and smooth! I need to swap out my alternator belts and load everything up and I am good! :thunb:


Chris - when are you planning on leaving your house tomorrow?

[Chris]

9:30 - !0:00 should I wait for you Steve?

[Aaron]

Should we exchange some digits in case someone has trouble or wakes up late or something...

Mine: 303-717-5344
My Bride's: 303-717-1802

[DKDunn04]

I REALLY want to go to Moab because I have never been. I would be going to this but I already put in a pass for this month.

[ROKTAXI]

9:30 - !0:00 should I wait for you Steve?
:)

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/mavalos27/Moabweather.jpg http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/mavalos27/JeepRace.gif

[Rob]

Should we exchange some digits

3 0 3 - 6 4 1 - 6 1 2 0

[Chris]

Pm'ing mine!

[scout man]

314-303-9283

Dont worry about waiting for me Chris. If Josh is up for it I am going to try to meet him on the way out of town to grab his camera from him. He is being nice enough to let me borrow it!

[Chris]

:thunb:

[Dirt Claude]

3 0 3 - Four Eight Three - One Seven Four Six

[Lysmachia]

I hope you guys are having a blast! My Moab Zu Zoo (Isuzu) friends are all out there this weekend, and I'm not *pout* Nothing beats Moab in May!