DHappel

I'm packed other than putting some drinks in the fridge. Just have to send out a few last emails then I'm hitting the road about 10. I'm planning to hit Loon around 12:30 - will see you guys there!

I prefer mid-week just because there will be fewer people out. It's more a matter of my personal schedule at them moment than weekday vs weekend.

With RS being on private property I don't think there is any worry about fire restrictions. The rest of the trail.....well, that's a different story. I'm 100% sure there will be many campfires on the trail this weekend. Will they actually be legal is another thing entirely. I'm planning to leave the house by noon Thursday and should be to Loon by 2. I'll roll out a bit earlier if I can. I'm bringing our new 10x10 pop-up canopy and will try to set it up in a conspicuous area to help people find their way in, but as Eric already said basically just start rolling down the trail any you'll run into us in a couple minutes. Since it's open area we can't reserve a space but we'll likely end up near where we were last year. See everybody there!

Short notice, but going out to PC tomorrow morning for a little play time. If anybody wants to come along shoot me a PM.

I'm definately interested ... just depends on timing with work projects. Right now I'm away for Rubicon trip, get back Sunday, then leave Monday for a week in Portland (work), then I have to start catching up two big projects I've got going on here. So getting away mid-week that soon will be tough.

Looks like I'm not going to be up for Hollister. I had planned to work at home today to take care of some paperwork and get shop related jobs done for next week, but instead had to run down to Sausalito for the day, so now I need to do Friday's work on Saturday. I can still get away for a little while to play, but the 5-6 hr round trip to Hollister isn't going to fly. I'll try to get out somewhere closer for a few hours; maybe PC. I need to verify their hours.

I confess I'm not looking forward to 5 hrs of highway driving in 90* weather just for a few hours of playing in the dirt. I mean, Arthur is cool and all but you have to set some limits..... If nobody else is interested in Hollister I'll probably head up to Prairie City for a couple hours Saturday. Which ever way I go, I'll post up here Friday night.

I'm not usually a fan of camo, but the grey tones work. Looks great! BTW, Looks like we have a MORG on Saturday if you want to get some dirt on that thing.

I didn't have anything specific in mind. I happen to be up closer to Prairie City, (about 1 hr vs 2.5 hr) but it's a really small park and definitely not my favorite. I haven't been to Hollister in quite a while since it's such a haul, but I can still make it. I'll see if there's been any other chatter around since I've been mostly out of the communications loop today with work but sounds like Hollister is likely.

He look - I'm not dead! I know I've been largely absent this year other than Whatsapp; things have been pretty wacky with my schedule for various reasons and I've been working a lot of weekends. I was actually scheduled to work this weekend as well but just cancelled. That means by some magic confluence of events we have: 1- a weekend off 2- on the first sat of the month I see we currently have Hollister set for the Aug MORG. But given the general disarray of the entire schedule is anybody interested in going Saturday? Or interested in going anywhere else? I really should get the Disco out and make sure I remember how to put it in low before heading out for Rubicon in a couple weeks! I'll post this on Whatsapp as well and try to check in here daily.

Very cool. What's the relative power gain? And more importantly, is it so similar looking that it'll pass smog visual 'under the radar', or will you have to referee it? Because ain't nobody go time for that CARB crap....

Let's see how things go this summer and maybe we'll do a late-model Rubicon run. I'm thinking just go in to the bowl for starters; maybe push on to Spider and spend the night there then come back out. That would give a good feel without getting into the hardest parts. I've never seen or heard of an L322 on the Rubicon. To even get through the gatekeeper you'll need at least 32s, rod lift or similar (2-2.5"), GOOD sliders (you'll use them extensively), steel bumpers or the willingness to damage your plastic ones, a winch, and skid plates. I'd say that pretty much holds true for any late model Rover. Robert would be a good one to discuss this with as he was at one time thinking his L322 might be up for the Rubicon, but after riding though decided maybe a solid axle truck would be a better option. After taking my LR3 through I pretty much came to the same conclusion! If you dig around here you can find the write-up I did after taking the 3 though in '16. Here's a link to photos of that trip as well. https://goo.gl/photos/jWHxnecygy65o4ZV8

Of course you'll be there - who else will drag my sorry a$$ out?

Ashcroft? I was able to get stuff from them quickly despite the Covid fun.

Think of it this way - it'll be a change of pace from wiring.

Spending that Covid check I see! Don't forget to pick up some sawzall blades while you're at it....

37s? When did this happen?

Looking forward to this and hoping for redemption for some of the carnage from last year. Would be great to see Zach and the 4BT Series 'unicorn' make the whole trail instead of having a critical failure before even getting to the bowl! And you know, maybe I won't end up on my side too.

You would think anything involving the word 'yacht' would pretty much automatically disqualify you from 'essential'. Yet I'm still working, pretty much normal pace. I've had a few cancellations; lost a delivery to MDR for this month for example, but nothing big. Still plenty of work. Since I work alone and rarely interact with others I'm pretty much just keeping a low profile and just doing my thing. Michele has been strictly wfh for weeks now and has been traveling to the bay with me as an excuse to get out. This is a sometimes good/sometimes bad thing.... Mostly I'm eager for the barbers to re-open! this 2 months between haircuts thing has me starting to eye my beard trimmer and think bad thoughts. On the other hand, I've gone on a Rover-Improvement program for the D1. Completely re-doing my OBA setup to include (2) 2 gallon tanks and front/rear air quick connects Ditched my existing small compressor/tank system that ran the front locker and tied that into the tanks Swapped the rear Detroit Locker for an Ashcroft air locker (also part of the air system now) Pulled out half a mile of random wiring and switches and changed to an VoSwitch digital controller/relay box Sent both driveshafts off to Tom Woods for a refresh Installed a remote control engine kill/battery disconnect at the dash Finally installed a fan shut-off switch for deep water crossings Rebuilt and re-valved all the shocks Re-organized my on-board tools storage for the 12th time Probably a couple other things I can't think of off the top of my head. I think much of this is a way to avoid doing the job I really should be doing which is swapping all the doors/front fenders over from the parts truck and re-painting. But then again I've always been good at avoiding jobs like that. All this and nobody will even be able to tell a difference! But hopefully she'll be good to go for the Rovicon and Moab later this year! Oh yeah, speaking of Moab, also bought new axles/wheels for the trailer and have plans for some mods to that. I'm still not comfortable with the adapters that I'm running after last year's episode. Had that tire gone into traffic, that could have been a major issue instead of just a major annoyance.

Where's that Hayne's manual when you need it? (I actually have one for the RRC/D1, but nothing for the D2/P38 stuff)

Honestly, I got nuthin. I sadly have to admit I've never had the heads off a Rover engine so I'm not going to be a lot of help. But in general, as you pull it apart you should see what comes off and what you'll need from the kit to put it back. (ahem) How hard can it be?

Glad you guys found some snow after all. I was worried it would be a total wash. And thanks for taking over!

So it looks like now I'm out too. I've got a tiny bit of a head cold. In other words, I've totally got the corona virus and will bring death and destruction to all who come within 1 mile of me. Or maybe it's just a small cold like everybody gets every year, but let's be honest with ourselves, global pandemic is far more likely isn't it? Regardless, our man Jamie has agreed to lead so no fear - we're still on and you don't have to die from exposure to my horrible virus! After I pass, please bury me in my Rover on the Rubicon. Somewhere near the overlook would be nice.

As the astute among you will have noticed, this coming Saturday (3/7) is the first Saturday of the month. And we all know what that means - MORG time! And those of you who read the calendar will have noted this month's plan was for a snow run to Uncle Tom's Cabin then some easy trails toward Wentworth Springs campground area. Well, it appears Mother Nature has seen fit to give us another very low snow year and I don't expect we'll have anything on the ground at these elevations. There is a small chance we'll get some snow on Saturday as we climb but the weather looks too warm at Georgetown. But snow or no, we'll still be rolling out! The plan is to meet on the main drag of Georgetown at 10am. You'll want to be sure you have fuel as this is the last stop before leaving the mountains. From here we'll caravan up to the (in)famous Uncle Tom's Cabin along Wentworth Springs Rd. We'll stop here for beverages and BS'ing then plan to head higher to find some dirt and (possibly) some snow. Expect to be on the trail most of the day, leaving via Ice House Rd. down to highway 50. Bring snacks/lunch as there will be nothing in the area once we leave UTC, though they do usually have a very basic menu available there. (best not to count on it though) As always, feel free to PM me directly with questions or reach out on WhatsAp. Cell coverage in the mountains is sketchy at best, but we'll be on 146.460 if you're trying to reach us. I'll also bring a couple extra radios should you want to borrow one. See you there!

No man left behind. Even goes for the Toyotas and Fords.