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renelozano

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Posts posted by renelozano

  9. Rovicon 3!

    in NCLR Scheduled Trips and Event Information

    Posted · Edited by renelozano

    The majority of us arrive Thursday! Looking forward to wheeling with you again!

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Oh yeah been a long time bud. I’m nervous but excited about the trip. Be a bunch of firsts to scratch off the bucket list. Will you be driving or running as passenger?

  16. May MORG May 1st

    in NCLR Scheduled Trips and Event Information

    Posted

    So no lookout for us; at least the gate for the trail to it was closed.  I think Nick and Gustav were thinking of hiking up to it.

     

    We got a late start as several people were running behind so we actually left about noon.  Of specific interest, we found the gas station in Downieville is closed so the nearest fuel is 30 minutes (about 17 miles) away.  There were a bunch of others including some bikes all looking for fuel as we were meeting up.  In the end we had about 4 jerry cans between us and topped up most of the crew then Gustav made a run up the hill to fill the now empty cans on the idea that he would be able to catch us on the trail since we'd be moving pretty slowly anyway.

     

    All told we had-

    Don - LR3

    Gustav - D90

    Mike - D110

    Nick - 109

    Andrew - D2

      Jamie - riding with Andrew

    Jake - LR3

    Rupert - LR3

     

    Plus guests in a G500, FJ40, and X3.  The G did come along on the trail (she had a wonderful time) but the FJ and BMW (Gustov's girlfriend and father respectively) hung out at camp.  While the FJ could certainly have made the run, the BMW didn't stand a chance.  

     

    The trail starts just outside of town and heads uphill.  It's basically a dirt road all the way up to the fire lookout with no challenges and could be driven in anything.  However as we started to climb we first saw a few traces and finally some large patches of snow ranging from just across the road to perhaps 100' long and up to about 2' deep.  Given the warm temps it was very soft and slushy for maximum sinking.  

     

    We quickly ran into another group who had a Chevy Colorado beached in a longer section of snow.  He'd made it about 3/4 of the way through but got stuck.  One of their jeeps tired to winch him forward but couldn't so they then tried to winch him back with another one and again couldn't do it.  Mike and I were confused and asked why they didn't just use a snatch strap to pop him out forward?  They didn't have one was why.  I lent them mine and despite repeated assurances they had used one before and knew how to do it, the Jeep then proceeded to idle forward and fail to pull out the truck.  We then urged him to back up and take a proper run which he kinda-sorta did but did manage enough inertia to get the truck out.  Thinking we were then done, we retreated back to our rigs to get going only to find they had promptly gotten another Jeep stuck.  This time Mike and Nick in the Defender and Series went up around him and pulled him free.

     

    We did have a few trucks struggle through the snow but nothing serious.  The G got beached as Gail was completely new to off-road and a bit uncomfortable with the way the truck would slew around in the ruts.  I got to drive it a bit and we learned the front locker didn't appear to be engaging though I'm not sure if there was actually a problem or if I just didn't speak German well enough to convince it to do what I wanted (though the center and rear were working).  We did have to snatch it at one point but it was just a small pull to get it out of the hole it had dug.  

     

    Jake got a bit stuck and needed a small pull to get moving.  He hadn't aired down yet and was still at street pressure which certainly wasn't helping.  He decided to try a set of maxtrax which, as predicted, didn't work.  I should point out that these sort of traction boards were originally intended for sand and they work well for that but slick snow usually results in just spinning the tires and melting them.  They're better than nothing, but in snow I find a kinetic rope or strap the go-to device.  At that point Rupert tried to winch him back only to find his winch wasn't working.  Possibly the controller or a fuse.  Regardless, Jake only needed a small pull so we used the winch cable as a tow strap (yes, I know....) to pull him about 3' backward.  After that we aired him down and he was able to make it up the rest of the way under his own power as did the rest of our group.

     

    Once to the top we found the gate blocking us from the fire lookout so we decided to have lunch here along with the other people we'd encountered on the trail.  We did hike down the other side (north side) of the ridge to look at conditions and found the drifts were much larger with some around 4' deep and no quick end in sight.  While the larger trucks in our group could have done it the less built rigs would have been struggling a lot so we decided this was as good a point as any to head back down.  Along the way we hooked up with Gustav & Co. who'd stopped and set up camp just above a mine in a really nice spot.  A couple of our group (Nick and ?) also stayed behind to spend the night there as well.

     

    So while we didn't expect this to turn into a snow run it did.  I guess 6000' will do that for you.  We were able to get a few people in the dirt for the first time and had some recovery work to do so everybody got to have a little fun.  We didn't get to to the harder part of the trail with the river crossing but there's nothing keeping us from coming back once the snow melts.  Perhaps we'll make it a weekend event and hit both this and Sierra Buttes fire lookouts on the same trip.  

     

    The only issue is now we have a Mercedes* owner who might want to join the club.  At least she used to own a D2 and her son is looking at either a RRC or P38 in the future, so they aren't beyond hope.  LOL

     

    *of note, this was the first time I'd gotten a chance to study a G-class.  This was a 2002 G500 with a small lift and 35x12.50x20 tires that has updated plastics to make it look about 10 years newer.  It was really interesting to see how it was packaged.  Divorced transfer case.  The dual exhausts are run on the outside of the frame rails.  The front is radius arms similar to a Rover but the swaybar is connected on the arms instead of the axle.  Everything is tucked up tight - you could pretty much bolt on a flat plate as a center skid plate.  The axles didn't look particularly large and I don't know much about them, but always interesting to check out something new.

    Sounds like a fun trip. Ever since this club introduced me to a kinetic rope many years ago I never leave home without my Bubba. Sounds like I missed out on another cool little gathering.

  19. Rovicon 3!

    in NCLR Scheduled Trips and Event Information

    Posted

    If you drink enough, it becomes morning almost instantaneously. And all camping is, is making it to morning. That and bring food and something to sleep in. I won’t even bring a tent. Just a pad and bag for the back of the D2

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Haha, I like that idea although the next morning for driving would be tough. I have the D2 set up for sleeping inside. like Greg says, I'm a tall dude so not the greatest but I think we will take 2 tents. Do you guys wake up to cook in the morning on the trail or just quick coffees and cold sandwiches or similar.

  21. What Did You Do With Your Rover Today?

    in Show us your Rover!

    Posted

    Loves me some ARB compressor (I bought the Twin with tank.)  Which one did you go with and did you do a permanent installation or a mobile install?

     

    The ARB-in-a-box is a nice way to share the love.  I can hand over the entire box and anyone can air up without driving over to me. 

     

    Admittedly, the two Viairs Don installed in his truck look sweet...

    I did a permanent install under the passenger seat, I to went with the twin compressor. I thought about getting the tank but didn't like the size and shape so have ideas in the future to custom make my own tank. I was told I could possibly run my impact on my setup with the tank but I'm not sure how that will work.

  22. What Did You Do With Your Rover Today?

    in Show us your Rover!

    Posted · Edited by renelozano

    Not to thrilled with how little air my power tank holds and how often I need to go fill it so I decided to install a ARB compressor in my Landy to make things easier. So far this unit has worked great. Did 8 tires, 4 32's and 4 33's with ease without heating up or shutting down. Now I can help air people up on trails without having to worry about not having enough air or my tank freezing over. Ever on the ropes about getting on board air I recommend it.
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