Freeway nights run

[Repsolaaron]

Everything was going smooth until my clutch went out. Got a lot of carnage just from being towed. Bent steel rim, bent tie rod, bent drag link, hole in the diff cover and was out of beer to deal with it all. But thanks to everyone who helped.

[Goatman]

Another memorable night run. I gotta quit doing this........

[REDxj5150]

For a lack of anything good to say:

1) We need to work on communication about what's going on behind the lead group.

2) Better decisions needed to be made about how to get the immobile one off the trail.

I realize it's part of the sport, and perhaps the right decision was made because I don't know when and where it burnt up on the trail, but stationary objects tend to have an easier time going downhill than uphill.

[Zak.Taylor]

So what time did y'all get home?

[Zak.Taylor]

Aaron, if your jeep can use the same clutch as my 87YJ, I've got a brand new one you can have. I believe it'll be compatible

[munepit]

[quote="Zak.Taylor"]So what time did y'all get home?[/quote]


I got home at 6am.

[chuckanut105]

Here is my drive shaft. GJ and I both made it home on time thank god. Cody thank you so much for the drive shaft I cant thank you enough. I had a blast it always sucks to break but its part of the sick and twisted fun. Thanks everyone for comming out and making this run a legendary one.

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[Goatman]

I got home at 5:30. Aaron lost a clutch and he got towed by a good number of vehicles to Evans Flat where his XJ was left, he's picking it up today with a trailer. I drove him and his boy home. Chris and Alex towed him the most and Chris looks like he broke a ring and pinion and Alex's rear end was making a little noise also. Pete broke a rear driveshaft and had to get towed up Piston Hill and out to Evans Flat, but he was able to drive home in front wheel drive. Aaron got pulled into some rocks and lost a tire, wheel and bent some steering links.

Matt and Becca lost an alternator on the drive to the trailhead and never made it. Chris took them back to town to get an alternator and then Chris drove on and joined us. Another Jeep had a problem with the low range engaging in the t-case, and he turned around close to the beginning of the trail.

As usual, a great group of people to wheel with, and it would have been nice to get home earlier.

[jkaddiction]

No problem pete glad u guys made it home ok.

[Franeebeth]

Well I had a blast. Feel it today now that I am finally awake. No damage to our rig (that I am aware of anyway) but I am gonna have to take Justin to the urgent care...he's woke up with his eye swollen shut and something in it that won't wash out. Good times, thanks everyone

[KernHydro]

These night runs are never nice.

[Goatman]

Chris left with his battery light on and his diff making noise, hope they made it home OK. Maybe we should consider doing the night runs going up Black Gulch to Davis camp rather than up Bradshaw to Evans Flat. Still fun and plenty of socializing, and we might have a chance at getting home at a decent hour.

[Franeebeth]

Hey we ended up with a ton of tow straps in our rig. We will bring em to the meet and greet Thursday but if you need them before then let me know

[TheBigDogg]

[quote="Goatman"]Chris left with his battery light on and his diff making noise, hope they made it home OK. Maybe we should consider doing the night runs going up Black Gulch to Davis camp rather than up Bradshaw to Evans Flat. Still fun and plenty of socializing, and we might have a chance at getting home at a decent hour.[/quote]
like next weekend?

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[robnoxious1]

[quote="Franeebeth"]Hey we ended up with a ton of tow straps in our rig. We will bring em to the meet and greet Thursday but if you need them before then let me know [/quote]

Yea Ive got one of Arons turnbuckles in my Jeep from 2 weekends ago, gonna bring it to the M&G.

[Desert Dog]

Damnn I was BEAT when I got home.

Big turnout. I was running anchor and GJ was running lead on this run. We were almost to the trailhead, when Matt pulled off to the side of the road with a dead rig. We found that his alternator bit the dust. I drove all the way back to Bakersfield and hopped between Autozones (the only place open at 9:30pm) to find the right alternator for his YJ. Alternator was found, drove all the way back up the canyon, and we finally got Matt going again just before 11:00pm. Matt and Becka decided it was too late for them to continue because they were very tired from moving all day, so they headed home and I decided to hit the trail and try to catch the group.

I got to the trailhead Just after 11:00, ran that bitch like it was the Baja 1000, and caught up with the group in less than a half hour!!!! (they had already been on the trail for over 3 hours). Things were going very slow and people seemed to be struggling to get through, but the beer was cold and the company was good. The usual IOR shit-talking and fun on the trail. I was lucky enough to have Monepit join me in my rig for some interesting tales of anal delight . Jeff, I love you man, you my favorite mofo.

Aaron's XJ broke down. Alex and myself hooked up to Aaron and pulled him up broken axle hill to the can-opener, and I had to winch all 3 rigs up the last 30 feet of the hill. Pete busted his rear driveline on his JK on the same hill, and had to be pulled out.

While pulling Aaron around a tight turn, the tow strap pulled his XJ off the side of the trail into a fallen tree. This popped a tire and bent a rim, so he had to put his spare on.

The shit really hit the fan when we got to piston hill and had to pull Aaron up. My rear end was knocking really bad when pulling Aaron up the hill, so I hooked us up to the winch. My trusty old Warn was pulling my heavy pig (which was buried half way up my 40" tires in sand), Alex's Toy, and Aaron's broke XJ all hooked together and anchored to GJ's Jeep, up piston hill. The winch was actually pulling all 3 of us, but suddenly stopped, my headlights dimmed, and my battery warning light came on.

I immediately disconnected myself from the threesome, blasted up the hill, and checked under the hood. The winch was too hot to touch, the engine was the hottest its ever been, and the battery appeared to be close to a meltdown. I didn't want to turn my Jeep off, for fear that it wouldn't start again. Richard cautioned that my alternator may be fried also, so I made a decision to haul ass off the trail as fast as I could for the last mile and hopefully break down on Rancheria where I could recover my Jeep with my trailer later. The knocking in my rear axle was getting worse too. Luckily, the Jeep made it to town before the battery went so low that it could no longer run the computer. Fortunately, I had a spare battery in my garage, retrieved it, and got my sick jeep back to my house.

I haven't had the time to open up my rear diff cover or survey damage to the electrical system, and i'm not sure I want to at this point. I started the Jeep and re-spooled my winch line yesterday, and the winch works fine. I am still getting noise from the rear axle though, and my "check engine" light wont go off.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and everyone always has a better idea of how to do things after the damage is done. But there is things to learn from this;
* We could have pulled him down the trail, which is longer but less stressful on the tow rigs. But also very dangerous going down several of the steep hills, off-camber sections, and through the switchbacks with sheer drop-offs on the sides. IOR has had rigs flop and near-disasters with rigs almost going off the trail being pulled down Freeway Ridge. So even though pulling Aaron down the trail would have been easier on the tow rigs, IMO it was more dangerous than just going the 1.5 miles into Evans Flat. Others may look at this differently, and that is understandable.
* Since Aaron's rig still had a running engine and working winch, we could have let Aaron winch himself up the two hills before Evans Flat, rather than destroying other rigs by pulling him up. In retrospect, we should have done this. I think Aaron even mentioned this just before my rig broke, but I was in a hurry and didn't think it through totally. I blame myself for this oversight. I have been through enough of these to know better.
* Break-downs happen, and the rigs that broke were built well and mechanically sound before the run. It was a big turn-out, and the more rigs you have the more break-downs you have. Its simply statistical probabilities multiplied by Murphy's Law. When you put more than 10 rigs on the trail, you are never going to get through without problems. Just a fact of life.
So there is my bit of Monday morning quarterbacking to add to everyone else's.

Frances, My strap is the orange ARB with the silver shackle on one end.

It was really nice to have chuckanut join us. Sorry I didn't get the time to hang with you more.

Ohhh, and it would have been nice to have the 9-11 run organizer join us

[munepit]

Well, I got drunk again!!! Sorry if I was an ass. I need to go easy on the drinking and not drink that much. I had a blast! It was fun riding with Pete and DD!!! Damm that was a long night!!! Fun though.

Thanks guys for putting up with my drunk ass!!!!

[abendx]

Umm.... what's the story with Justin.... is he okay or ???

[Franeebeth]

Justins eye o's still swollen but I got the first aid eye wash out and he was able to flush out whatever it was that stuck. We will see how he is after work today. Thanks for checking in Brad

[AJ99]

MERPHYS LAW RUN #2????

(those of us who have been in infectious for over 3 yrs should remember that run up freeway...)

[Desert Dog]

[quote="AJ99"]MERPHYS LAW RUN #2????

(those of us who have been in infectious for over 3 yrs should remember that run up freeway...)[/quote]
HAHAH, Bert got the "tow-rig" damage on that one

[AJ99]

[quote="Desert Dog"][quote="AJ99"]MERPHYS LAW RUN #2????

(those of us who have been in infectious for over 3 yrs should remember that run up freeway...)[/quote]
HAHAH, Bert got the "tow-rig" damage on that one [/quote]

Yup and i blew up a 5 speed on that run. a jk had sensors going nuts, a yj ran a tree branch through his windshield, and quite a few other mishaps.
I also was also taking out an axle shaft of berts jeep on the side of 178.

That was an awesome trip. you had to of been there. One of the best runs ive been on. You werent part of infectious back then huh chris?

[Desert Dog]

[quote="AJ99"]That was an awesome trip. you had to of been there. One of the best runs ive been on. You werent part of infectious back then huh chris?[/quote]

Yep, was running with infectious, but did not join that run. Burt gave me the run-down on what happened at the next meet & Greet. Bert had the most built JK back then, until professor JK went bigger.

I used to run BC109 with Brian (outlaw) and Henry. The first time I met Brian, I still had my XJ. Outlaw works at the business right next to mine so I used to talk to him all the time (except for when his twin brother tricked me).

I even met you a long time ago at a new years Calico run where the Trailblazers ditched you at the begining of the trail and ditched me further up the canyon. I was just about to join the Trailblazers when that happened.

I met you again the next new years at a run set up by Jim Lange when you guys left NAXJA. I think I met Borris on that run too. I already had the Dana 60 in the front of my JK by then.

[AJ99]

[quote="Desert Dog"][quote="AJ99"]That was an awesome trip. you had to of been there. One of the best runs ive been on. You werent part of infectious back then huh chris?[/quote]

Yep, was running with infectious, but did not join that run. Burt gave me the run-down on what happened at the next meet & Greet. Bert had the most built JK back then, until professor JK went bigger.

I used to run BC109 with Brian (outlaw) and Henry. The first time I met Brian, I still had my XJ. Outlaw works at the business right next to mine so I used to talk to him all the time (except for when his twin brother tricked me).
[b]
I even met you a long time ago at a new years Calico run where the Trailblazers ditched you at the begining of the trail and ditched me further up the canyon. I was just about to join the Trailblazers when that happened. [/b]
I met you again the next new years at a run set up by Jim Lange when you guys left NAXJA. I think I met Borris on that run too. I already had the Dana 60 in the front of my JK by then.[/quote]


the only time i have been to calico was when i went with jeepxj.com. now xjsocal.com or something like that which is when i broke my drive line when i slamed down on the waterfall. I remember you out there on that run. Thats the first time i met ya. back when your jeep looked like a jeep not a buggy lol