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DHappel

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  5. Rovicon V!! Aug 25th - 27th

    in NCLR Scheduled Trips and Event Information

    Posted

    In other news, it's been discussed before and it's come up again - if we have a few late-model trucks like LR3/4/RR/Defender that would like to dip a toe in and 'test the waters' a bit, I can do an over-night run for them perhaps out to Spider and back or even to Buck if things move well.  We'd need to work out logistics and review your truck specs, but it is possible to rock crawl these rigs too with the right mental attitude, armor (lots of armor), and some mods.

  6. Rovicon V!! Aug 25th - 27th

    in NCLR Scheduled Trips and Event Information

    Posted

    I don't really have any photos this year - I got lazy and rarely pulled out the camera plus I was always the first one out so not many others got photos of me either!  

    We had a better turn out than I expected with a number of last minute folks jumping in.  Made some of the logistics difficult but still great to have them decide to come.  

    This year we didn't really stick to our previous run group schedule so much.  Things got scrambled pretty quickly each day.  I started out leading group one and by the granite bowl had to turn back to assist somebody back to the trail-head for repairs so I sent the rest of my group on expecting it would be no trouble for me to catch back up to them.  But then at the bottom of the bowl I found Mike F replacing a broken rear axle and stopped to help, then just fell in with that group.  Similar story on day 2 - started first but while I was playing in Little Sluice some of the guys that took the bypass got ahead of me, then just at the bottom of Indian Trail I heard a call over the radio for asking Don to come back and help with a roll.  I couldn't get them to respond so again I sent my guys ahead w/o me following Mike (?) and got half way back to Arnold's Rock before I got back in touch on the radio.  Turns out it was a group of Jeeps coming down Cadillac Hill and they were looking for a different Don so again, reversed direction and caught back up to my group while making repairs to a holed front dif at the V-notch before Buck Island.  And then on Sunday....well, after Donnie made a strong showing Saturday night I wasn't exactly up for leading a group out early.  In fact, Mike and I were the last ones to leave camp at 11.

    Over all I thought the trail was a little more chewed up than the last couple years which is good as it seemed to be getting easier and I'm glad to see some challenge come back.  Little Sluice and the squeeze rock after Buck Island in particular are getting tougher.  I did think Cadillac was easier; possibly this was from the work RTF put in earlier this year or maybe it was just that Mike and I were able to drive up w/o a lot of stop and go to wait for people.   

    I had wanted to run the RTF loop before Buck Island but with things moving at a slow pace that day (possibly the longest I've ever taken to get to Rubicon Springs) that was a no-go; so still need to check that box as well as Old Sluice - gonna have to find somebody who's willing to run that one with me some day!

    I did give Soup Bowl a try, but with a lot of standing water and the only spotter around just some random guy who had probably never seen a Rover on the trail before, I gave up before doing something stupid and breaking an axle.  When I've made it up it's always been with very careful pin-point tire placement and low-drama crawling.  This time I was on different lines and was starting to get aggressive with the throttle before I caught myself and waived off.  Pretty sure I could have still gotten up in the wet with a couple more psi (I was at 5 and was catching the rear dif; moved up to 7 later) and better line choice but again...I have to drive this junk home!

    There was perhaps a bit more carnage than in past years, but really not anything crazy.  Nobody rolled, though there was some body damage.  Ted's Santana 110 broke a rear spring on the way into Winter Camp and that cause the rear tire to roll back/up into the fender.  Some of the kids spotting their dads made questionable calls (but hey, still great to see them out there learning!) and one put a D90 door into a tree root.  Serge got to play winch-man and pull him sideways off the root w/o any more damage.  Of course Eric killed a rear dif; likely because he did a quick and dirty rebuild just before heading out and didn't really have time to test it.  We had a D2 kill a front dif or maybe it was both front axles?  Not sure which.  Big Burt, Steve's new 110 Defender on 37s which made it through w/o breaking last  year took it a little harder this year.  He broke a front driveshaft U-joint on day one and a rear half shaft on day 3, then while replacing the half shaft the air suspension went active and inflated the airbag with the suspension still disassembled until it blew it out.  That was one part Steve didn't have with him so he ended up limping out the rest of the way (he was already past the lookout point anyway) on the bumpstops.  We had a couple of broken motor mounts on a D1 and Lutz's 110 HiCap - not exactly a surprising turn of events there.  Greg made multiple attempts to throw his borrowed D1 on it's side but never quite pulled it off ( :) ).  I replaced a failing front track rod bushing with a spare from Gustav at Winter Camp...  Probably a few others I can't think of or didn't see but again, nothing too serious and everybody drove out so that's a win.

    And yes, Donnie did come out to play Saturday night.  Since Don is now into his 50s, he doesn't so much appreciate when Donnie appears but it seems like maybe once a year he still manages to sneak out.  I blame the whiskey.  And beer.  And Tequila.  And probably some other things.

    While I'm all about the seat time, a big part of the enjoyment to me is seeing people making their first trip and really getting a first taste of rock crawling.  It's always great to sort of 're-see' things with fresh eyes again and hopefully we'll get some stories from those first time attendees.  And just maybe that will encourage a few more to give it a try.  That's really what this event was created for - so many Rover owners never get into rock crawling because it seem daunting or just not their thing or they want to but don't know how/where/with who - this is the perfect way to dive in with maximum support from people who know Rovers and how to make them work in the rocks.

    And hey, we have free beer!

  10. June 9-11 MORG at Hell Hole

    in NCLR Scheduled Trips and Event Information

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Elherbinator said:

    Small update to my plans. Merlyn will not be joining me on this trip. That means I don’t have to wait until she finishes her dialysis, which was my reason for a 10am departure. My new plan is to leave the bay around 6am and make it to Stumpy around 10:30-11 spending on traffic. I will be meeting fellow member Jeff Blake there. He has Star Link, so we will be able to update the forum on how our plans are working out. So if we are forced to improvise and camp somewhere else, be it dispersed or another FS Camp, we should be able to inform most folks ahead of time. Plus getting to Stumpy early ensures us the best chance at getting a decent spot.

    So like Greg said, let’s get a roll call and include your plans. That way we can best plan for a successful trip for everybody 

    Starlink????     I smell an .......   OVERLANDER!!!

    LR3 / 4 tailgate insert?

    in Modifications and Fabrication

    Posted

    Nothing actually exists yet, more of a 'is there any interest' before he even considers it.  I'm just sorta feeling things out since he doesn't know the Rover world.

    As far as i know, everything he's done so far has been one piece.  He has worked up some SUV stuff for 4Runners and Sequoias but otherwise has been doing pickup tailgates.   I may run my 3 up his way sometime and let him look at it to see if he can work with it.

     

    LR3 / 4 tailgate insert?

    in Modifications and Fabrication

    Posted

    I have a buddy who makes custom aluminum flat tailgate panels, mostly for Toyotas but he's expanding into other vehicles as well.   It occurred to me that the LR3/4 tailgate might be a good candidate for one and he said if there was interest he could probably do it.  This is totally exploratory; I'm just seeing if there might be a market for them.

    I know most of us tend to use the tailgate for all sorts of stuff from cooking to just sitting when camping and I know I've stained the carpet (and put a small tear in it) from years of shoving dirty stuff in/out of the back of the truck.   This might solve that.

    Basically it would be a powdercoated aluminum panel that would replace the carpet.  He offers either off the rack graphics or will do custom by request.  Can't say what pricing would be but his others tend to be about $200 so I'd guess in that area.

    https://snailarmor.com/collections/all

     

    Just floating it out there - I have no horse in the race.

    L322 lift/tires

    in Modifications and Fabrication

    Posted

    On 3/8/2023 at 12:46 PM, SDS said:

    Thank you for this food for thought. I will be watching L8 sales. I try to be careful too, but sometimes "pin it" still somehow happens. Am I right to think that you are running ~33s on your LR3 with the spacers and no issues with unlimited down-travel?

    Welll......34s currently, but who's counting.  😉

    But yes, have not had any issues with down-travel.  As noted, I've broken one front aftermarket CV on a snow run in a heavy throttle situation and one original rear CV during a hill climb that resulted in bouncing/shock loading the rear.  Though as I think about it I don't think I actually had the spacer kit on during either of those cases so kinda irrelevant I guess. 

    L322 lift/tires

    in Modifications and Fabrication

    Posted

    21 hours ago, SDS said:

    I see how spacers will help with stiffness, but not sure about the down travel. Won't you need straps to limit that in order to not over-bend the CVs? This is mostly what stopped me so far. I figured I would need spacers + no straps + HD CVs, and the CVs are expensive!

    By the way, Lucky8 now adds a bracket to their spacer kit to prevent the rear strap rubbing on the inside of the wheel.

    image.png.3b7fdc475647ae5a2a5f3914f06a1f56.png

    After how many years?  I remember when I put my kit on the LR3 and there was no way to install the straps without them rubbing.   Also no way to put them such that they were in a direct pull instead of at a 90* angle.  So I guess that's a good thing.  On the other hand I've been running mine w/o straps for years now without a problem.  Yes, I have broken both front and rear CVs but they were both from high RPM damage, not over extension.  The front was actually because it was a cheap aftermarket part and the rear due to a bounce.  I believe both were before I even put the L8 kit on anyway.  

    I need to research it myself to be sure, but I believe the L322 uses a different CV than the LR3/4 at the dif that can better handle extreme angles.  At least so I've been told.  Either way, I can only speak from my own experience that I've been OK w/o limiting the down-travel.  I do try to be careful when wheeling and I'm conscious of what I'm doing so if you tend more toward the pin it and pray style it might not be a bad idea to run them.  :)

    D1 front suspension mod

    in Modifications and Fabrication

    Posted

    I realized I would need to cut some extra clearance for up-travel on the radius arm and decided to break out the old "cut-fiddy" - my $250 ebay special plasma cutter.  I don't use it enough to be good with it and it's certainly no Miller or Thermodyne, but for $250 it really comes in handy for cutting in weird positions.

    Yes, I did go back and clean the cut up with a grinder.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/9jkfFbuGTgJ7Gjce8

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/BjL9rxCrE1VAAHYM9

    20230203_175527.jpg

    D1 front suspension mod

    in Modifications and Fabrication

    Posted · Edited by DHappel

    I originally thought I would cut a hole through the frame to accommodate the large Johnny mounting bolt then insert a piece of tube to strengthen it as shown here, but in the end I decided to just weld a nut to the back of the mount and only cut a hole in the outboard side of the frame to allow room for it.  

    20230201_200731.jpg

    VideoCapture_20230203-175338.jpg

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