- Thread starter
- #141
Ok since everyone is either on their way up right now, or going on Friday. The plan to caravan has been cancelled... Barry, I think you were the only one left that hadn't said when they were leaving...
2009 ONSC Harvest Haul October 8th-11th
- Thread starter GarnerFJ40
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #142
Alright everyone, we're heading out. See you guys around lunch time...
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
Teaser Pic
Rockwells and ~50" Michelins...
Ramon showing the crowd what a Cruiser is made of
Rockwells and ~50" Michelins...
Ramon showing the crowd what a Cruiser is made of
Last edited:
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
Awesome trip!!
Big thanks to everyone that contributed. Stan and Heather did an excellent job guiding us through the trails and Heather and Brian put together another excellent event and some damn good chili!!
Trails were a bit slick but we still had a great time. Nothing like wheeling a new spot and not knowing what is around the next corner. It's some of the steepest wheeling I've done and when wet equals a high pucker factor.
Can't wait to go back - SOON. Here are a few videos that Jared shot yesterday on our way back down to camp. I've got a ton of pics that I'll post once they upload.
ENJOY!!
YouTube - Harlan Descent - Jon
YouTube - Harlan Descent - Jason
Darn diesels
YouTube - Harlan Descent - Barry
Cool Runnings style
YouTube - Harlan Descent - Bobsled
Big thanks to everyone that contributed. Stan and Heather did an excellent job guiding us through the trails and Heather and Brian put together another excellent event and some damn good chili!!
Trails were a bit slick but we still had a great time. Nothing like wheeling a new spot and not knowing what is around the next corner. It's some of the steepest wheeling I've done and when wet equals a high pucker factor.
Can't wait to go back - SOON. Here are a few videos that Jared shot yesterday on our way back down to camp. I've got a ton of pics that I'll post once they upload.
ENJOY!!
YouTube - Harlan Descent - Jon
YouTube - Harlan Descent - Jason
Darn diesels
YouTube - Harlan Descent - Barry
Cool Runnings style
YouTube - Harlan Descent - Bobsled
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
Pics
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
More
My 4 tires = one of his
.
My 4 tires = one of his
.
jfz80
Cruisin’
those werent the pictures of me "walking" the rock garden I'd hoped for
Man what a trip. I was afraid it might have been spoiled by the rain but we were in luck and had a great weekend at the trails. Harlan is large. It will take many trips to cover the entire area and get to know where you are going.
Thanks to Stan and Heather for the guidance and to Brian and Heather as mentioned for a well planned trip, and even more well planned chili.
todays excursion made the ride home a long one and our RDU crowd should be rolling in her shortly after midnight. It was neat to see mason jar and the yahoos givin it hell in what turned out to be a multi pull winchathon for even the most over built rigs to be found. Lots of gravel for us which finally managed to rattle lose Brians knuckle studs....I smell a HAMON
some of the pics i took
Ramon figuring out why they call it canopener
all you can really say is wow! esp when it came out the other side w/ all the sheetmetal intact
but with all that might and a good dose of redonculousness, Ramon shows em how the lil Yota that could just walked on by the stuck full size on tons and up and out the hardest line; probably the highlight of the trip as i was chasing him down to offer an unecessary spot and got to here all the locals jawwing in amazement
and then there was that other 40 w/ fancy cable lockers and hand throttles and a rattly motor
%20%2009/harlanhaul09055.jpg[/IMG]
Man what a trip. I was afraid it might have been spoiled by the rain but we were in luck and had a great weekend at the trails. Harlan is large. It will take many trips to cover the entire area and get to know where you are going.
Thanks to Stan and Heather for the guidance and to Brian and Heather as mentioned for a well planned trip, and even more well planned chili.
todays excursion made the ride home a long one and our RDU crowd should be rolling in her shortly after midnight. It was neat to see mason jar and the yahoos givin it hell in what turned out to be a multi pull winchathon for even the most over built rigs to be found. Lots of gravel for us which finally managed to rattle lose Brians knuckle studs....I smell a HAMON
some of the pics i took
Ramon figuring out why they call it canopener
all you can really say is wow! esp when it came out the other side w/ all the sheetmetal intact
but with all that might and a good dose of redonculousness, Ramon shows em how the lil Yota that could just walked on by the stuck full size on tons and up and out the hardest line; probably the highlight of the trip as i was chasing him down to offer an unecessary spot and got to here all the locals jawwing in amazement
and then there was that other 40
w/ fancy cable lockers and hand throttles and a rattly motor
%20%2009/harlanhaul09055.jpg[/IMG]
jfz80
Cruisin’
I will admit i was a bit worried and wondering what we had gotten ourselves into when we awoke to a dozen or so rigs of this caliber thursday morning.
someone said gorillas in the mist but it kinda looks kinda like a Lion w/ a banana in the mist to me
wonder what it takes to fit a 405/85 R20 on the 80
saturdays ascent into the clouds and back
packed up
virginia
a long day a wheelin is rough on the old bones
someone said gorillas in the mist but it kinda looks kinda like a Lion w/ a banana in the mist to me
wonder what it takes to fit a 405/85 R20 on the 80
saturdays ascent into the clouds and back
packed up
virginia
a long day a wheelin is rough on the old bones
jfz80
Cruisin’
and a few videos
greg climbing out of 15 on a dry day.... as usual it really doesnt do it justice
ramon entering 13 just past upper damnation
and one of the bronco guys in the rocks
greg climbing out of 15 on a dry day.... as usual it really doesnt do it justice
ramon entering 13 just past upper damnation
and one of the bronco guys in the rocks
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Great trip great pics it's 12:45 and just getting in.....too more RAIN in Cary, when will it ever end.
Hey all.....Garry here. 
Nice to meet all of you and sorry we didn't get to hit more trails Saturday.
We were able to get to a few trails........Frankenstein, Grace trail (passes by lions den) , TV tower and the middle rock garden. We skipped out on the middle rock garden (grapevine) due to the wetness factor. The exit to the middle rock garden was a little more interesting then usual. The rain had eroded quite a bit of the exit away. So, the exit was a small but steep drop off. Definitely was fun dropping off a ledge and staring at the ground directly in front of the vehicle. Plus getting to hear the back bumper smack rocks upon exit is fun also. LOL
I think everyone made a wise choice on heading out. We hit Frankenstein shortly after the departure of the group. I started up first and got maybe a 1/4th of the way into the climb and started spinning out. I attempted several times to back down but my back end just kept sliding towards a large drop off. We tried to pull my back end around but my front end started going over. So, we broke out the winch and pulled myself along with Stan up the first hill. For the 2 of us this was probably a 1+hour adventure. 
Other then that there was no issues.
Anyways, nice to meet u all and if u make it back to Harlan let me know. My work schedule is a jumbled mess so im off during the week sometimes as well. So, if anyone ever comes up during the week and wants some company shoot me a email.
gcs_skins@hotmail.com
Nice to meet all of you and sorry we didn't get to hit more trails Saturday. We were able to get to a few trails........Frankenstein, Grace trail (passes by lions den) , TV tower and the middle rock garden. We skipped out on the middle rock garden (grapevine) due to the wetness factor. The exit to the middle rock garden was a little more interesting then usual. The rain had eroded quite a bit of the exit away. So, the exit was a small but steep drop off. Definitely was fun dropping off a ledge and staring at the ground directly in front of the vehicle. Plus getting to hear the back bumper smack rocks upon exit is fun also. LOL
I think everyone made a wise choice on heading out. We hit Frankenstein shortly after the departure of the group. I started up first and got maybe a 1/4th of the way into the climb and started spinning out. I attempted several times to back down but my back end just kept sliding towards a large drop off.
We tried to pull my back end around but my front end started going over. So, we broke out the winch and pulled myself along with Stan up the first hill. For the 2 of us this was probably a 1+hour adventure. Other then that there was no issues. Anyways, nice to meet u all and if u make it back to Harlan let me know. My work schedule is a jumbled mess so im off during the week sometimes as well. So, if anyone ever comes up during the week and wants some company shoot me a email.
gcs_skins@hotmail.com
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NCFJ
Supporting Vendor
Heather and I had a great time this weekend! Nice to meet all of you and thanks so much for inviting us. I am sitting here trying to recall the last time I was at Harlan and it did not rain, cant for the life of me .
As Gary mentioned we had to winch up the hil climb that leads into Frankenstein. Once up it was no problems, I love that trail it's my favorite. Very tight and highly technical. We went up TV tower as well and that was pretty normal but the decent off TV Towerr was pretty slick, not nearly as bad as the bottom of #15 on Friday. It was pretty slick everywhere we went on Sat afternoon, we got back to the trail head at 7 PM.
We did go to check out grapevine (middle rock garden) and it was rutted out pretty bad from the bigger rigs being in there. It was later in the day by then and I had actually made two whole days at Harlan, in the rain, with no body damage so I figured that this was not the time to go down Grapevine
Glad to hear that you guys had a good time. There is so much more of the park for you to see. Jethro and the boys were all up at Lions Den when we got up there. That green Bronco had evidently gone through the back side.
Thanks again for the warm welcom, Heather and I had a great time.
. As Gary mentioned we had to winch up the hil climb that leads into Frankenstein. Once up it was no problems, I love that trail it's my favorite. Very tight and highly technical. We went up TV tower as well and that was pretty normal but the decent off TV Towerr was pretty slick, not nearly as bad as the bottom of #15 on Friday. It was pretty slick everywhere we went on Sat afternoon, we got back to the trail head at 7 PM.
We did go to check out grapevine (middle rock garden) and it was rutted out pretty bad from the bigger rigs being in there. It was later in the day by then and I had actually made two whole days at Harlan, in the rain, with no body damage so I figured that this was not the time to go down Grapevine
Glad to hear that you guys had a good time. There is so much more of the park for you to see. Jethro and the boys were all up at Lions Den when we got up there. That green Bronco had evidently gone through the back side.
Thanks again for the warm welcom, Heather and I had a great time.
NCFJ
Supporting Vendor
Oh yeah, for those not there. We all stopped at the lower Rock Garden on Fri. When we got there a bunch of larger heavy built rigs were in the top of the rock garden struggling to get up through. Well after they finally moved their "junk" Ray hopped into his 40 and just drove right up through it from bottom to top. It had to blow their minds. PRICELESS!!!
Man those pics look awesome. I was about to post up and ask who's red 80 that was, but then I remembered. Haven't seen it in so long. 
- Thread starter
- #156
Well, made it home safe and sound. Only one of those bolts managed to work its way loose. I heard it as it got shot from the tire up at the undercarriage. So I'll be seeing Chris at FAT for some more, and some more trail spares... I'll be ordering the rebuild kit soon, but I'll be back in Denmark last week of October.
Great weekend, even with the rain at dinners, and the mist in the mornings. Thanks to everyone for the spotting, our rig will look a little different the next time we go up there!
Great weekend, even with the rain at dinners, and the mist in the mornings. Thanks to everyone for the spotting, our rig will look a little different the next time we go up there!
jfz80
Cruisin’
Glad you made it home safe with the family; great wheeling with you and enjoying the lighter side of life thanks to LILY. I think you had Jon and I wondering why we spent all this money lifting and protecting our rigs when you walk through the trail right behind us.
Red loctite my friend.
Red loctite my friend.
Looks like y'all had a great trip. Post up some more pics!
Keep an eye on those knuckle studs. If/when they all get loose and shear off, you have no steering! Hopefully if it happens, it will be on the trail - not the highway.
If you have high-steer, it puts more pressure on the the studs than the standard steering arms. The ARP chromo studs and Loc-tite are a good investment. Also, check the torque on them regularly.
I have seen many FJ40s shear the knuckle studs on the trail. We had 2 rigs with broken studs at the same time once, we were on the trail until 3am swapping out knuckles! I checked the torque on the knuckle studs daily when I had Toyota axles. Once I went with the ARPs I had no more issues.
Keep an eye on those knuckle studs. If/when they all get loose and shear off, you have no steering! Hopefully if it happens, it will be on the trail - not the highway.
If you have high-steer, it puts more pressure on the the studs than the standard steering arms. The ARP chromo studs and Loc-tite are a good investment. Also, check the torque on them regularly.
I have seen many FJ40s shear the knuckle studs on the trail. We had 2 rigs with broken studs at the same time once, we were on the trail until 3am swapping out knuckles! I checked the torque on the knuckle studs daily when I had Toyota axles. Once I went with the ARPs I had no more issues.
jfz80
Cruisin’
Just noticed i got a shot of the innocent downhill on 15 that Jon snapped the next day as it was providing our greatest challenge of the day. Amazing what a 1/4 inch of rain will do.
Here are my Harlan pics...
Back to the trailer after finding the wheel on the 3rd trip along US52...
Close up of the wheel, think its salvageable...
Close up of the hub, note how nicely shaved down the studs are, must be a weight saving thing...
Now for the story.
Truth be told, I'm a friggin idiot and lucky to not have had a big problem. My trip was reliant upon someone standing in for me on Friday at Durham Academy. The guy who agreed to do it got "the junk" and was sick Mon-Wed. Never made contact with him until after mid-day Thur, he was well enough to do the duty which put the trip back on.
Getting home ~7:30 Thur, I started packing and getting everything ready to leave at 2am Friday. Since I already had everything laid out, all I had to do was load the trailer/FJC, fill the water tank and do a check of all things. Checked lights, wiring, coupling, tire pressures, ARB fridge functioning filled with a double batch of chili, plenty of beer, rain gear, extra towels, tarp, camera, batteries. All was good but something kept me from sleeping well, something I missed.
Leave a little after 2am after making a thermos full of espresso, grabbed the dog and pulled out. Only trips with the trailer had been quick shake-down trips around Green Level Rd, around Jordan and it towed great. Same Friday morning. Heading through the streets to Hwy 55, gradually increasing road speeds to Hwy 40 and all is great at 65 mph.
Making my way through Greensboro heading north, planning on taking the "fast" way through Bristol. Heading past W-S, I feel a little wobble going over an overpass, didn't think much of it since it was one that was kind of off-camber. Somewhere around the Hwy 8 exit, I feel another "thump", thought I hit a pot hole or something. All is driving fine, look in the mirrors and don't not anything odd.
Bare in mind that the trailer is the same width as the FJC, if not a bit more narrow and thats at the outside of the fender. In the darkness of 4:30 in the morning or so, all I could see is the glow of the marker lights unless I passed under a street light. Going under an underpass, I hear something like is dragging. Look around again, nothing odd that I can see. Hell, I've got to make time, no need to slow down and check things out, right?
Go under another underpass, sound is still there, intelligence finally kicks in and I decide to take the next off-ramp and check things out. Pull over, get out and find I'm missing a wheel. Dang, I hate it when that happens. Realizing I'm nearly in Mt. Pilot, I figure I'd best find help back in W-S or G-boro. Being 3 hours until anything opens, I decide to drive over the route to see if I could find the wheel. The tire only had under 200 miles on it and I didn't want to have to pony up for a new tire also. Couldn't find it. figured it bounced off the guardrail and was wedged in someone's grill/windshield/front porch.
Found a Northern Tool and across Hwy 40 was a trailer supply/repair business in Colfax. Figured one or the other would be able help me out with either a new hub or replace the studs in the existing hub but neither opened until 8am. The guys at Colfax Trailer & Repair were very helpful and had what I needed. So, with a new hub in hand, it was back to the trailer to pull the old hub, install the new hub, put the spare on and get back on the road.
On the way back to the trailer, while talking to Greg on the phone, I spy my wheel laying agains the center guard rail. I pull over, jump out and recover it.
The hub swap was a piece of cake, 10 min max. Then came jacking up the trailer, that became a new issue. Having not jacked it up loaded before, it took me a few tries to find the right place to put the Hi-Lift so it would stand up, not tip over. Then, I had to find a way to bend/re-shape the fender so I could get the wheel back on. This part of the task took some time.
The amazing part was how many people stopped to offer help. If this happened in Cary, I'd probably been run over by all the commuters. I was not on the highway, I parked it at the end of the off-ramp at the widest place I could find, having it completely off the road on the shoulder. I had 4 different people stop to offer help. Either I looked like an accident ready to happen or the people of King NC were very friendly. Couple guys stopped to shoot the sh!t for a while to check out the FJC and the trailer.
Moral of the story, one I'll never forget again...check your lug nuts. I'd like to place blame somewhere else but it can't be anything other than what it was, lack of planning on my part, rushing and not paying attention to the details. This could have been much worse than the cost of a new hub, the time I burned replacing it and missing a day of wheeling with my buds.
So sorry I missed out on Friday's wheeling and hanging with everyone. Yet, I'm also glad to have put my trailer through this ridiculous test. No issues other than the hub, no broken welds, twisting of anything else, just a well abused hub. Yet, all things happen for a reason. I cheaped out with the fenders on the trailer and this motivated me to get rid of them and do the tube fenders I originally planned on.
I deserve any abuse, ridicule, flogging or just plain laughing at for being stupid. Hopefully, this incident will help remind anyone else how important the little things are in our ventures into the great outdoors...
Back to the trailer after finding the wheel on the 3rd trip along US52...
Close up of the wheel, think its salvageable...
Close up of the hub, note how nicely shaved down the studs are, must be a weight saving thing...
Now for the story.
Truth be told, I'm a friggin idiot and lucky to not have had a big problem. My trip was reliant upon someone standing in for me on Friday at Durham Academy. The guy who agreed to do it got "the junk" and was sick Mon-Wed. Never made contact with him until after mid-day Thur, he was well enough to do the duty which put the trip back on.
Getting home ~7:30 Thur, I started packing and getting everything ready to leave at 2am Friday. Since I already had everything laid out, all I had to do was load the trailer/FJC, fill the water tank and do a check of all things. Checked lights, wiring, coupling, tire pressures, ARB fridge functioning filled with a double batch of chili, plenty of beer, rain gear, extra towels, tarp, camera, batteries. All was good but something kept me from sleeping well, something I missed.
Leave a little after 2am after making a thermos full of espresso, grabbed the dog and pulled out. Only trips with the trailer had been quick shake-down trips around Green Level Rd, around Jordan and it towed great. Same Friday morning. Heading through the streets to Hwy 55, gradually increasing road speeds to Hwy 40 and all is great at 65 mph.
Making my way through Greensboro heading north, planning on taking the "fast" way through Bristol. Heading past W-S, I feel a little wobble going over an overpass, didn't think much of it since it was one that was kind of off-camber. Somewhere around the Hwy 8 exit, I feel another "thump", thought I hit a pot hole or something. All is driving fine, look in the mirrors and don't not anything odd.
Bare in mind that the trailer is the same width as the FJC, if not a bit more narrow and thats at the outside of the fender. In the darkness of 4:30 in the morning or so, all I could see is the glow of the marker lights unless I passed under a street light. Going under an underpass, I hear something like is dragging. Look around again, nothing odd that I can see. Hell, I've got to make time, no need to slow down and check things out, right?
Go under another underpass, sound is still there, intelligence finally kicks in and I decide to take the next off-ramp and check things out. Pull over, get out and find I'm missing a wheel. Dang, I hate it when that happens. Realizing I'm nearly in Mt. Pilot, I figure I'd best find help back in W-S or G-boro. Being 3 hours until anything opens, I decide to drive over the route to see if I could find the wheel. The tire only had under 200 miles on it and I didn't want to have to pony up for a new tire also. Couldn't find it. figured it bounced off the guardrail and was wedged in someone's grill/windshield/front porch.
Found a Northern Tool and across Hwy 40 was a trailer supply/repair business in Colfax. Figured one or the other would be able help me out with either a new hub or replace the studs in the existing hub but neither opened until 8am. The guys at Colfax Trailer & Repair were very helpful and had what I needed. So, with a new hub in hand, it was back to the trailer to pull the old hub, install the new hub, put the spare on and get back on the road.
On the way back to the trailer, while talking to Greg on the phone, I spy my wheel laying agains the center guard rail. I pull over, jump out and recover it.
The hub swap was a piece of cake, 10 min max. Then came jacking up the trailer, that became a new issue. Having not jacked it up loaded before, it took me a few tries to find the right place to put the Hi-Lift so it would stand up, not tip over. Then, I had to find a way to bend/re-shape the fender so I could get the wheel back on. This part of the task took some time.
The amazing part was how many people stopped to offer help. If this happened in Cary, I'd probably been run over by all the commuters. I was not on the highway, I parked it at the end of the off-ramp at the widest place I could find, having it completely off the road on the shoulder. I had 4 different people stop to offer help. Either I looked like an accident ready to happen or the people of King NC were very friendly. Couple guys stopped to shoot the sh!t for a while to check out the FJC and the trailer.
Moral of the story, one I'll never forget again...check your lug nuts. I'd like to place blame somewhere else but it can't be anything other than what it was, lack of planning on my part, rushing and not paying attention to the details. This could have been much worse than the cost of a new hub, the time I burned replacing it and missing a day of wheeling with my buds.
So sorry I missed out on Friday's wheeling and hanging with everyone. Yet, I'm also glad to have put my trailer through this ridiculous test. No issues other than the hub, no broken welds, twisting of anything else, just a well abused hub. Yet, all things happen for a reason. I cheaped out with the fenders on the trailer and this motivated me to get rid of them and do the tube fenders I originally planned on.
I deserve any abuse, ridicule, flogging or just plain laughing at for being stupid. Hopefully, this incident will help remind anyone else how important the little things are in our ventures into the great outdoors...
