Spinnin' Fours 4x4 Club of Southern California

I am going out to JV (Means Dry Lake) for at least Friday night... I am bringing the 2nd Turkey for the Tinbenders potluck on Friday evening, so I will be there Friday and Saturday at least, maybe Saturday night.

I don't plan on hardcore stuff, just exploration or maybe hang with the Tinbenders and watch .

If anyone is interested let me know!

I'd love to go watch the Tin Benders with you but unfortunatly I must work this weekend.

I had a great weekend, but... I 'bent' my 4Runner pretty good! #-o

Friday: A beautiful sunny day! Set up camp at TurtleTruck Base Camp (the tent platform I built last trip out) and went out with the Tin Benders to do Aftershock.

How bad could it be? I have done Aftershock with 33's, Smitty Bilt nerfs (destroyed 'em), stock t-case gears and a Tru-trac in front.

The trail was not a lot harder, just different and a little harder. I did struggle on a couple of spots and needed some rocks stacked (never needed that before, except at "Depreciation Knob")... but overall, it is still a trail our club would like to do.

I did get a new ding on my Driver's side, just behind the door. That was more due to not paying enough attention.

"Depreciation Knob" was more difficult to get into. The climb up to it used to have a rock pile ramp, which is now gone. Not too tough but a spotter is necessary to make sure you don't end up on your lid! The last ledge before the squeeze rocks was more difficult and I needed to stack rocks AND winched... I probably could have done it without the winch, but we were a large group and I wanted to keep things moving.

We got back into camp just after sunset and had a Turkey Potluck and typical Tin Bender campfire, complete with Mickey's Bombs!

The lakebed was pretty crowded, I would say about 100 Motorhomes or more... Someone brought some very nice fireworks that we all enjoyed.

Friday night was calm and not too cold.

Saturday: Another beautiful sunny day! I found out that the Tin Benders were going to run Sunbonnet Pass. I have always wanted to at least find out exactly where that trail was, so I planned to tag along and walk the trail.

Jeep Recovery Team (Dave) was looking for open seats so that more people could go... "that trail is PERFECT for your truck" he says...

JRT has never steered me wrong before, so I agreed to do the trail.

The more I thought about it, the more I started to think "No... don't do this trail. You don't want to ding up the 4Runner any more than it already is." 8-[

We got a late start as we waited for a few guys to fix what they broke the night before. We finally left camp at about 11AM. The entire time, and right up to beginning the trail I kept ignoring that little voice in my head that was saying "don't do this trail!"

The trail starts with what is called "Hell's Gate and the Devil's Slide" which climbs up a tight rocky canyon to the top of a ridge, and then drops (slides) down into the canyon that is Sunbonnet Pass. It is a very nice hardcore trail in itself... I took a bad line down Devil's Slide and caved in my Driver's side door, right next to the keyhole. Not enough to break the window (which was down) but enough to make the door handle not work from the outside #-o "OK... I needed a new door anyway" I told myself (and continued to ignore that little voice that was trying to tell me that it wasn't too late to turn back, go down the canyon and back to camp).

We started up Sunbonnet Pass and it was hard, but not any more difficult than Aftershock. I took the easiest line and stayed away from the "Big Dog" lines that the others were enjoying.

In this group I was the "Little Pup" among the "Big Dogs" and the only stock bodied rig in the group. There were 2 Toyota Tube Buggys, 1 Bronco Tube Buggy (with rear stear) 2 Flat Bed Toyota Trucks, the tricked out Tacoma Truggy that Peterson's 4Wheel Drive built, and Mike Schaffer in his trail rig (not competition rig), a VERY well built Jeep.

I managed to get this far, really too late to go back, but I feared that the trail was about to get harder... it did!

A sluice like stretch really gave me a hard time... it seemed that rocks were reaching out to grab me! I got through but not until I had 5 or 6 more major dents and scratches #-o and my poor rear bumper! One of those rocks that reached out an grabbed me bent the side bar out at a 30 degree angle, so then I REALLY started to hang up.

"Oh God" I prayed [-o< "please let me get out of this without completely destroying my truck!"

A little farther on, we tried to straighten it up by backing into a rock, but it only moved a little...

After several more very difficult obstacles, RE:Todd came up to me holding the corner of the bumper, which came off in his hand after bending it a couple of times!

It is not that I didn't have great spotting, I did. It was just that this trail was no place for a full bodied 4Runner (unless you like body damage)... it was tight, and it was full of BIG rocks and ledges.

A few more tough spots, and we came to the crux of the trail. It was dark by this time, and in my headlights I saw a huge boulder blocking the trail. The easiest line (which was VERY difficult) was to put your driver's side tires on the huge rock and your passenger side tires on the rocks of the canyon wall, with a 4 or 5 foot hole underneath you . I was able to get into position up on the rock, but had no choice but to drop off of the far side with my driver's side front tire... BANG I came down really hard on my driver's side rock slider... Rather than try to move off of this spot and take a chance on sliding into the gap, we set up a winch anchor and I winched/drove off the rock. Some great spotting and many thanks to Marlin Crawler and I was done with that section!

I went to open my door and discovered that my rock slider was bent up about 1/2" and I couldn't open my door! I have come down on these rock sliders really hard before, and this didn't feel any worse than those times. Later I saw the huge gash in the bottom of the slider and realized that it must have been the most violent hit they ever took.

Several others struggled on that same spot, but no one had to winch. One of the Toyota Flat Bed's broke a front ring and pinion. Todd said he saw a spark shoot out of the bottom of the diff! It turned out that the drain plug had come out and that is why the spark could be seen. The truck made it off the obstacle and finished the trail nursing along in 2WD as much as possible.

After this the trail is just a steep rocky climb to the top of the ridge and then down a VERY steep trail into the canyon where Aftershock starts.

We got back to camp at 8PM... The wind was howling across Means Dry Lake like a banshee, kicking up dust clouds so dense that you couldn't see at all for a few moments. The Tin Bender fire was throwing sparks 100's of feet across the lake bed.

I had not properly secured my tent (no rainfly to help spill the wind and no BIG rocks to keep the stakes from pulling out) and I now have several new bends in my tent poles #-o ...

I took stock of the situation, realized that in this wind I was not going to sleep well at all, and packed up. I was home by 1130 PM.

Hard lessons are the ones best remembered. This was a pretty hard one. It wasn't JRT's fault (it turns out that he had only been on the trail once before, and not since the flash floods). I take full responsibility for my decisions and for ignoring my inner voice of reason and sanity...

I didn't get any pictures because I left my camera at my Brother's house on Thanksgiving ](*,)

I hope your watching so when we try again we won't be picking up glass to cover our tracks.




That little voice is usually right.

I think this should have been your first clue to listen to that little voice. ](*,)




More clues here, that voice should have been sreaming at you!!! :-k




#-o .....'nuf said.




So this is when your little voice started yelling and screaming at you, cussing you out, then told you that "You're on you own now buddy", then disapeared in a puff of smoke. :clap:




This is about the time that your little voice reappeared in a puff of smoke and said, "I told you so!!!" =;




:-k Didn't we just discuss the fact that one of these days you were going to be unable to open your doors? #-o




One of my many reasons to leave my tent in it's stuff-sack and crawl into my shell to sleep when I don't take the van.




You'd think that you would have learned lesson #1....... Tin Benders x extreme rigs x Tin Benders x Johnson Valley x Tin Benders + 1 well set up 4Runner = ARE YOU NUTS!!! If there is one thing I've learned over the years after talking with people, different people have different thoughts about what a moderate or hardcore or extreme trail is depending on the rig they use. What we think as being easy would be extreme for someone else. Then if you throw the Tin Benders in the mix who knows what will happen. I'm sure JRT was not intending to mislead you but I'm sure his idea of an extreme run differs greatly from yours, that will teach you not to listen to your inner voice. #-o {|=

After all the times I have poked and prodded you into doing something only to have your inner voice chop my head off, you'd think when a Tin Bender told you that it wasn't too bad bells, buzzers, whistles, TRAIN HORNS, air-raid sirens, would have told you to get under your desk, lace your fingers together and place them over your head, assume a fetal position and hide. {|=

Sounds like you had a great time though, to bad about the wind cutting it short. I think TurtleTruck needs some TLC maybe you should talk to Eric about giving it a good massage.

Because I didn't listen to that still, quiet, voice of reason... let that be a lesson to you!

Where are the pics? I don't care if they are only of the damage taken in your garage.

How convienent....... ever here about this new thing they do called 1hr. developing?

I KNEW that was going to be brought up I am surprised Ron didn't hit me with it first

You are 100% correct... I did say that, and I meant it, and I still mean it, I just went a little :screwy: ... sort of a "momentary lapse of reason"... call it peer pressure, testosterone, stupidity, macho :bs: .... :dunno: they all apply

Time for my 2 cents...

Mark went. :clap:

Mark did the trails. :clap:

Mark's truck made it all the way through the trails. :clap:

Mark's truck is now slightly modified by contact with boulders. :clap:

Sounds like a Successful, enjoyable trip to me.

If it was me, I would just get out the slide hammer and a gallon of bondo, buy a new door and get it painted and be ready for the next challenge.

No matter how bad he feels about the damage to his truck, it still beats staying at home and missing out on the adventure.

I salute you Mark.

Now on a completely greedy note:
Damn you for not bringing your digital camera so I could drool over the pic's. [-X

I don't want to be the only one around here to call someone on something but now that the book is open I do have a comment about RabbitTruck, she is soooo purdy..... and dentless. Oh, and what happens to testoserone, stupidity and macho when I apply peer pressure to you?





You forgot one:

Mark really didn't want to do it.

I think maybe that passenger he had with him had something to do with it. :-k

One more thing, this was his thread starter comment in his defense. Guess that sutble peer stuff is sometimes pretty powerfull.

OK... I finally got around to it.

Passenger side, 3 pictures




Major wheel grindage


Rear bumper carnage, 3 pictures




Driver's side, 3 pictures




Fender mounts ripped out and fender buckled


The rock slider cross member bounced so high that it dented the rocker panel and almost got the door!


I still can't see where the sliders bent, but they sure don't fit like they used to...

:?

Just 2 questions?

1- Did you have fun?
2- Can you fix it?

If your answer is yes to both, look a the damage as just more character Mark's
\:D/

1- Yes

and

2- Yes

Those are some cool badges of honor you got there #-o :clap:

I did a little surgery today

I think that the driver's side door can be saved. \:D/ I was able to pound out the dent at the door handle from the inside to the point where I can now open and unlock the door from the outside :tbsup: and pushed out the dent in the center of the door (from the Minicon) too!

In order to open the driver's side door all the way I had to bash on the fender some, but that fender is toast anyway.

So... I think a little Bondo and the door will be fine! I still need to replace both front fenders, but they needed to be replaced anyway before all this carnage happened.

Thanks for reminding me, went out and checked, have left and right fenders and a hood (red) let me know if you are interested and I'll see if they are available and for how much.

I don't need a hood (yet) but please get me a price on the fenders. Thanks!

Ok I finally remembered to ask about the fenders, got you a real good deal. How does FREE sound? I brought them home, and may be cruising past you place tommorrow on the way to Vegas. If I do I will drop them off as I go by. If no one is going to be home I'll put them in front of your 4Runner.

\:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

:tbsup: :tbsup: :tbsup: :tbsup: :tbsup:

:bow:

8)



Thanks!

More spares! :clap:

You were not home so I left them on your patio, saw you getting home as I was leaving but I needed to get going before the holiday traffic started clogging up the freeway, enjoy them.

Thanks Ron... Happy New Year!!!!

What kind of material was this made out of?



It looks like it was made for show not the rocks.

I know know how you feel about putting those dents in your rig. Last time I went out I put some dents that aren't worth fixing. I think yours is still worth fixing.

The part that broke off is .120" wall 2" HREW, maybe if it was 1.5" it would have held up a little better... this bumper has held up to a lot of abuse. The problem is that there is no bracing to the frame for the wrap-around corner pieces (poor design on All Pro's part).

The next bumper will probably be from Marlin Crawler. His DOES tie to the frame on the sides.

You are right... all the dents are worth fixing. I am just mad at myself (over it now) for dinging up the truck more when I vowed to save the Hammers for my other truck (project in progress).

It is all good

How did it get ruined? Did you peel it straight back?

I didn't see it happen (passenger side) but it bent straight back at about a 30 degree angle... then it really started hanging up. We tried to straighten it by backing into a rock, but it didn't move much, hung up more, and then came off in RE:Todd's hand.

So is anyone going out this year? :-k If anyone does I'll be up for going

Holy thread resurrection Batman!

Yes it looks like several of us are interested in going 11/25 - 11/27. We will probably go to our new trails, not the "Hammers"... stay tuned over in "Club Runs".

It was wsn't it