Calamity at Ridgecrest on Sat
Posted: November 29th, 2010, 8:49 amA few of us went to Ridgecrest on Sat for the day. We stayed in the same spot on the trail from 10:30 to 5:30, had to weld/repair two rigs and had two rollovers in the same 30 feet of trail. But we still had a good time. 
It started with Robert breaking a high steer arm off, it was the maiden run for his buggy that he bought used and then we did a bunch of work to, but didn't work on the steering or knuckles. We had to go back to camp to get stuff to weld with, and got it all put back together. We had to weld with three batteries, and my buggy wouldn't start afterwards. Fred and I had climbed up the side of the canyon a little to get out of the way while we did the repair, so Cliff climbed up the side of the canyon next to me so I could get a jump. While he was backing back down he rolled, and then a few minutes later Fred rolled all the way onto his roof while turning around on the side hill getting back down. I needed to winch Cliff over, so I had to turn around on the side of the canyon, without rolling, to get pointing down and got him back on his wheels. Cliff's motor was hydro locked, so the plugs had to be pulled.
Fred had a big rock that rolled down with him, so we couldn't winch him back up, he had to roll the rest of the way over downhill, and Cliff was the only one in position to winch him. So, after Cliff got going he pulled up and winched Fred back on his wheels. Then we saw a lot of oil coming out of Fred's rear housing. The butt weld where his outer housing bearing end and flange was welded to the housing tube had cracked badly when he rolled, so he drove up on a rock to keep the oil from running out. We pulled batteries back out and got him welded up. When we got all put back together and ready to go it was 5:30 and starting to get dark. We spent 7 hours in the same spot of trail.
Still better to be out with your friends on the trail than staying home.
It started with Robert breaking a high steer arm off, it was the maiden run for his buggy that he bought used and then we did a bunch of work to, but didn't work on the steering or knuckles. We had to go back to camp to get stuff to weld with, and got it all put back together. We had to weld with three batteries, and my buggy wouldn't start afterwards. Fred and I had climbed up the side of the canyon a little to get out of the way while we did the repair, so Cliff climbed up the side of the canyon next to me so I could get a jump. While he was backing back down he rolled, and then a few minutes later Fred rolled all the way onto his roof while turning around on the side hill getting back down. I needed to winch Cliff over, so I had to turn around on the side of the canyon, without rolling, to get pointing down and got him back on his wheels. Cliff's motor was hydro locked, so the plugs had to be pulled.
Fred had a big rock that rolled down with him, so we couldn't winch him back up, he had to roll the rest of the way over downhill, and Cliff was the only one in position to winch him. So, after Cliff got going he pulled up and winched Fred back on his wheels. Then we saw a lot of oil coming out of Fred's rear housing. The butt weld where his outer housing bearing end and flange was welded to the housing tube had cracked badly when he rolled, so he drove up on a rock to keep the oil from running out. We pulled batteries back out and got him welded up. When we got all put back together and ready to go it was 5:30 and starting to get dark. We spent 7 hours in the same spot of trail.
Still better to be out with your friends on the trail than staying home.
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