Mr.BlueSky

I’m delighted that mine is not the only L322 in our club to hit the trails as of last weekend. I’ll need to stop referring to it as ‘the L322’ in future.
 
I was the last or second last through some of the interesting challenges and the track was getting rather mashed up by then. I didn’t get to take too many photos myself but a friend caught some L322 action which I have added to the google photo set.
 
Thanks for everyone’s support in getting every vehicle through to the end. Our friends in the D5 were super excited to join the run and are now contemplating what tires to buy to replace the OE ATs. I hope to get them into the club and encourage them to learn the amazing capabilities of their vehicle.

In exchange for decent whisky, but not cheap beer, I will be happy to direct you to someone who can educate you about ham radios — or at a minimum I’ll tell you our secret frequency. See you up there.

Sounds good.

I renewed mine a couple of days ago continuing my membership in this fine organization!

Sign me up for Sat as well!
 
 
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This is a reminder to everyone to renew your membership for 2020. We are a member run and funded club. Make sure to renew your membership so you can participate in all the good stuff we have planned this year. We have a great year already mapped out in the calendar, so check it out and make your plans early! We are a club and not a public service, so membership is necessary. 2020 memberships can be found in our store. I’ve included a link below. Keep in mind that you must be logged in for it to work, otherwise the membership section of the store will appear empty. Any questions, PM me and I will try to help or you can message Miles (the current president).
 
http://norcalrovers.org/forum/index.php?/store/category/4-nclr-membership/
 
 
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That uphill drive won’t be too bad? You are driving a Land Rover right?! Jk, but my D2 with big tires is usually getting passed by guys towing boats and rvs up that hill  
 
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Agreed, that would have been nicer but Shaver Lake is pretty well booked now (at least online bookings) and Auberry is only a 30 min drive. I’m not walking so the uphill drive won’t be too bad. 😄

New to the Club. I'll be coming up from Fresno Sunday for the run. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

I did a pre-trip trip up to Shaver last weekend. There is currently much less snow than last year which makes the experience quite different. While I enjoyed the several feet of snow last year, there was not much wheeling for my L322. There was plenty of fun to be had last weekend with the run up to Bald Mountain providing just the right amount of challenges for a relatively stock and heavy truck. I got stuck a couple of times and held my head in shame as my friend’s 4Runner tugged me out of a few spots.
 
Since the roads are currently clear, I have decided to take my trailer up again and booked a site at Edison Campground (site 228). If the weather deteriorates making the trailer tow treacherous like last year, I will camp in the RTT but have to leave my dear wife at home.
 
I’ll be driving early Saturday like last year to get to the mountain in daylight.
 

 

 

Replying on mobile, sorry for the repeated replies.
 
The model is the AVH-3500NEX. Last weekend I went out to the Panoche Hills BLM and, if you’ve been out there, you know how jarring the main road is. It didn’t have any issues with that, but I have the mounts modified a little to have it fully supported both at the front and the rear. But if it gets ridiculously bumpy, it is easy to fold in (and focus on the trail).
 
For the Gaia app, you just have to search and download the Gaia CarPlay beta app on your phone and it will show up in any radio with Carplay.

With no MORG for February, let's spend the day prep'ing for the Shaver Lake snow-run later in February!
 
Mr. Foster has need of a little TLC on the old P38 so he'll be out at the shop doing front hubs.  I'll likely do a bit of work on either my LR3 front control arms or some minor work on the D1.  If you have a project you need a little help with or just want to get your truck on the lift for a quick inspection feel free to stop by!
 
Start 9am-ish, end when people leave....
 
If anybody doesn't have my address in Walnut Grove, feel free to PM me directly.  Keep in mind ATT is pretty sketchy our here so pay attention if you're relying on google maps.
 
 

My D1 is on 35s and runs a modified steering system with a P38 pump driving a PSC hydro assist (still has the stock box, but a ram to help with the turning).
 
I've not been totally happy with this.  First, I cooked a pump last year.  Then last month I had the new (junk yard) pump start to flake out as well.  Additionally I've felt I had enough pressure but not enough volume out of the Rover pump because turning at a normal rate the hydro worked fine but trying to turn quickly and I wouldn't have enough boost to keep up with it and the steering would go momentarily hard.
 
Lastly I had a bit of a leak at the reservoir making a mess.
 
So today I swapped the pump out for a GM 'canned ham' pump as used on just about everything in the 70s and 80s.  Even some Mopar stuff used this pump.  It's super common and works well.  
 
Although you could certainly sort it out yourself, figure out the right pump (lots of variations), swap the pulley, make some brackets, find all the appropriate adapters for the plumbing, etc, I took the easy but more expensive way and ordered a kit from Nick Markiw on Defender Source.  He's just down in SoCal so it was easy enough.
 
I did have to make some small tweaks as my truck isn't stock; I had to gently bend the return pipe on the pump to clear my aftermarket shock towers and although the kit came with an adapter and hose to plump the return direct from the steering box I have a cooler so my run is different and I had to pick up a few feet of hose to complete the installation.  Over all it went in pretty easily and it seems to have plenty of power driving around the yard/driveway.  Nick actually didn't think I'd even need the PSC ram anymore as he's run this pump with 35s himself, but it's not like I'm going to get rid of it...you know 37s are going to happen eventually. 
 
Here are a couple pics, along with a link to a better write-up of the installation than I could do.
http://3rj.org/Auto/LandRover/PowerSteeringConversion/
 

 

 

 

 

Thank you! 
 
It seems I ALWAYS forget until last minute and it becomes a internet scramble before a camping trip.

And further on this topic, here's a video of using a damper on a winch line as intended instead of a kinetic strap.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPba-34ARZY
 
What I take away from this-
First, many people claim a synthetic line will simply 'drop to the ground' when it breaks.  From personal experience and as you can see in the video that's far from the truth.  However, even though the line recoiled up against the tree in the video (aka one of the vehicles) even without a damper it hit with very little force.  The line synthetic line simply doesn't have enough mass to do much damage.  If you were foolish enough to stand right in front of it and got hit as shown in that demo you may need some new shorts but I don't think you'd actually be injured and it certainly wouldn't damage a vehicle.  Again, I've actually broken synthetic gear and while it did recoil back against the front of my truck it did no damage.  
 
Don't take this to imply winching or recovery work in general isn't dangerous, or that you don't need to take precautions just because you're using synthetic line, but it does demonstrate that I'm not necessarily suicidal if I don't put a damper on. 

No problem Robert, it was good catching up with you as well! 
 
And as a bonus... the food was fantastic. Bill of Fare has been added to our favorite breakfast restaurants list

Thanks for organizing Miles. It was great to catch up today.

I am very sad that I am going to miss this... it is literally the one place the Snowflake feels at home

JR brought the rally Rover (D2) down.  There may or may not have been an undisclosed D90 present too.
 
Though I have a not-so-secret plan to build a Series truck in the future, I think there's a legit claim that the RRC is the best looking Rover.  Full Stop.

So anyway.... wrenching day was relaxed.  JR came by and we did an under-truck inspection looking at what's what.  Didn't find anything too scary and we were able to repair a stripped oil pan bolt by drilling and tapping for a larger bolt from the old parts bin.  On my truck I got the new high output alternator installed and made up a larger 4-gauge wire from the alternator to the distribution block to better handle the current.  I pulled my old coil bracket off but didn't get around to putting the new coils on it just yet.  I'll do that tomorrow I suppose as I need to dig out my T25 Torx.

It'll be this Sunday, Jan 19th. 
 
 
And that's a very interesting name for a restaurant... The Bill Off Are.
I wonder what it means. 

For those like me who struggle with the website, could you please share the date?

And after you return, will you share that pot of gold with those similarly afflicted....err blessed?

Just a friendly reminder to renew your campfire permit, which expires December 31 of the year in which it was issued.
They're required for campfires, camp stoves, and propane fire rings (basically anything with a flame).
 
Fast (2 minute video and 8 question quiz), easy, free, and here's the link.
 
http://permit.preventwildfiresca.org

I have to work. I would rather be wrenching and sharing a beer.