2013 FJ-45 Run!!!!!

[esh]

Nice shots! We started to wonder where Slick Rock runners were about the time of the raffle, but wouldn't you know 10 minutes later the sound of engines through the woods. That didn't keep a few HAMs in camp from answering calls and messing with me as I tried to make contact with the trail group.

Kyle I don't think much legitimately scares you.

 

[teapot]

It was great to get the truck out and let her stretch. Slick rock was fun, thanks to Georg for hosting the event. See everyone next year or on the trails.

 

[KWalkerM]

Nice shots! We started to wonder where Slick Rock runners were about the time of the raffle, but wouldn't you know 10 minutes later the sound of engines through the woods. That didn't keep a few HAMs in camp from answering calls and messing with me as I tried to make contact with the trail group.

Kyle I don't think much legitimately scares you.

hehe ya "when in doubt, throttle out" seemed to be the motto for some parts... rocker damage is fine I just don't want to tap the top half on rocks lol

im about to start taking a hammer to the dent today before work. ill be uploading pics tonight or tomorrow I think

 

[djsixbillion]

...The only carnage on my rig was a crunched tailpipe tip...as Luke would say, "cut it off!" Which is what I did.

Looking a bit shorter, but much better.

We cruised in and hung out by the river for a bit on Sunday. Fun trail and a very cool group of trucks there. I got to chat with the owner of the sweet 1HZ 60-series a bit, sorry I didn't catch your name.

Like Steve, I also ended up with a crunched tail pipe as the only trail damage. I think you have the EMS exhaust also, right Steve? Got another pic of how you made the cut, maybe from below? I'm trying to plan how to chop mine a bit but still leave it looking presentable.

Hope to be back next year and maybe stay for a night!

 

[esh]

^^

Is me. Cheers See my sig

I went through a period of crunched exhaust tip and trimming. Eventually it trimmed far enough that it didn't seem to get crunched, or I became a better driver? I tried to trim it to angle down/out each time.

I'm not sure I recommend it, but now that it dumps toward the ground before the rear axle it hasn't been hung up. I only did that because the large rear tank made routing behind the rear wheels too much effort.

 

[jmkfj60]

I am up to 80% in. If I can leave around 1pm Friday, google tells me it is about 11.5h and 600 miles going the east route down CA. Who knew it would be so close? Either I'll find somewhere to pull over and sleep or push through. The diesel is pretty quiet at idle so it shouldn't disturb sleepers.

My research has led me to finding some 10 Barrel and Ft. George in a variety along with a small pack of Black Butte Porter (you guys should be able to get that locally!).

Look for me around the 62. If I'm not around, the fridge is in the middle behind the tuffy with cold beer in it, so help yourself, and restock it if cold supplies are low.

If you do 2m/HAM, what frequencies do you usually use in that area?

The 62 will look like this minus the fluff-run rack.

I saw you drive by house I think on Friday, Adin Ca. As you passed I wished I was going along, nice 62.

 

[KT40]

that is not a willy's wagon, just an illusion speaking of which, did you guys find a welder and fix up its crossmember?

A little tie wire and duct tape! He did just fine getting back out to the pavement.

 

[ToyotaDon]

Working on the Willys.


Tried to snap a pic of the work in progress, but everyone stopped to look at the camera.



Snake pictures?

This is all we got, anyone else get something better?

Out of focus while the shovel was swinging.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_KCKd3KxUX8/UiekpZ3Yr4I/AAAAAAAAFts/x0WA5GhWWcU/s720/IMG_2296.JPG

Burial of the body.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GlFL2bYy6Kg/UiekopHcjpI/AAAAAAAAFtk/7ghqyYQL574/s720/IMG_2298.JPG

Proximity to the tent.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TR9mDhyIc9E/UiekmQM0esI/AAAAAAAAFtU/xEv5mcOJeNA/s720/IMG_2300.JPG

Wheeling photos to come...

 

[esh]

If those signs are the Willys' floors, they are SWEET!

^^
That little girl cracked me up. I have never seen a consistently better dressed camper over an entire weekend.

jmkfj60- Adin was definitely on the route down, later Friday. Not long after I pulled off above Said Valley Res after dodging one too many deer!

 

[CycloSteve]

Like Steve, I also ended up with a crunched tail pipe as the only trail damage. I think you have the EMS exhaust also, right Steve? Got another pic of how you made the cut, maybe from below? I'm trying to plan how to chop mine a bit but still leave it looking presentable.

Yup, EMS. Had already shortened it when modifying to fit past my subtank, but obviously still hanging down too low for Sourgrass. No issues with some of the huge drop-offs at Cruise Moab, though. Go figure.

I removed the rear section (three bolts), and did a quick blue-tape of where I wanted to cut. Hit it with the side-grinder and stainless-steel cutting head. Finished it off using the face of the grinder across the hole so it was 100% even. A bit of 120 grit, and she looks fine. As Esh said, if it keeps getting banged-up, I will eventually cut it off up high, though I like the idea of it venting away from the side of the truck.



Steve

 

[ToyotaDon]

^^
That little girl cracked me up. I have never seen a consistently better dressed camper over an entire weekend.

That's my 7-year old Adelaide. She definitely gets her taste from Mom.

 

[ToyotaDon]

Our trip was long, though not as long as some. First stop at Merced for lunch...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZgMOBVmNULQ/UiemUZ-s-6I/AAAAAAAAF2s/oJ4lA6MIDkM/s720/IMG_2206.JPG

...and to smell the flowers
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-oBjczB6ZrrE/UiemTNkyGOI/AAAAAAAAF2k/keeF7USqNeY/s512/IMG_2207.JPG

The kids ended up walking part of Sourgrass Trail, even the easy stuff.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F9WjSM_WsB0/UiemSJorERI/AAAAAAAAF2c/Iu2qAEUrJus/s720/IMG_2209.JPG

More of Kory's BJ45 (he was trying to get out of the picture).
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GUi35cz3UKE/UiemNh_dLsI/AAAAAAAAF2E/v6d452Mj6YQ/s720/IMG_2212.JPG

Leaving Sunday morning, diesel purring.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z296w4CafIQ/UiemJUQURDI/AAAAAAAAF1s/SDrwmetI3fw/s720/IMG_2216.JPG

The prospector.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UvSkFKdsV0k/UiemKM4Ir5I/AAAAAAAAF10/rILWkQR2dbY/s720/IMG_2214.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-90gGZan80uw/UiemL1_hiiI/AAAAAAAAF18/6q-mNIrJCg0/s720/IMG_2213.JPG

Slickrock trail run: We started off at the tail end and seemed to be staying with the rest of the group.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-EECGZUtopTs/Uielt3qlqEI/AAAAAAAAFzc/c9AK1LvYmuc/s720/IMG_2235.JPG

That was until KWalkerM got hung up in the first gully.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gPZj98pwlWo/Uielpnny8nI/AAAAAAAAFzE/e1MnIQJv4J8/s720/IMG_2238.JPG

Something about having a V8, stuck in 4hi, waiting on a twin stick install from Valley Hybrids. We finally got him un-turtled, broke in (and broke) my winch, and continued toward Slickrock Trail.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WktjaJTp82M/UielfDAGqUI/AAAAAAAAFyM/If3_kCsO2JA/s720/IMG_2246.JPG

There ended up being 4 of us who stayed grouped together; Mike & Chad in the FJ Cruiser, Darrell in his FJ60, and Kyle in his FJ60, with yours truly taking up the rear (actually we swapped places a few times, but that's basically it). The green FJ40 stopped at the Sourgrass day use area, and we continued on without them. Someone had been to Slickrock previously and remember getting there from Lake Alpine, so our next stop was the Lake Alpine picnic area parking lot. A good time to use the restroom and dump some trash, while consulting the guidebook. Discovered we needed to backtrack a little bit; I had the GPS coordinates and the GPS, so into the lead I went. We aired down at the trailhead (Kyle got into 4lo) and began our trek. The most eventful parts are in these next pictures. You've seen some of Darrell's, but here's what we got.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y5v1b31vikc/Uielb7Dz5nI/AAAAAAAAFx8/hrdpQO2Nde0/s720/IMG_2250.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6uTzmEp4Qnk/UielaUDP-JI/AAAAAAAAFx0/qp6TtYGfR7Y/s720/IMG_2251.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-01wxfeSjJrQ/UielXxgqtiI/AAAAAAAAFxk/YNfqdmH9W-8/s512/IMG_2254.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QJQcLgdooEE/UielVDqGIjI/AAAAAAAAFxU/NU49CqJnIck/s720/IMG_2259.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YxUyvZ3mC6A/UielTnekQzI/AAAAAAAAFxM/pZZaAppwPgg/s720/IMG_2260.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hhqREao8zhs/UielMfHVkCI/AAAAAAAAFws/tuBxCHoFIwQ/s720/IMG_2264.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IXLRscB9OQo/UielK0PURHI/AAAAAAAAFwk/ejvBOk1ALKE/s720/IMG_2265.JPG

 

[ToyotaDon]

Darrell's turn.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xzm-dqUWKfE/Uiek-LmqV2I/AAAAAAAAFvk/WgUKju8M650/s720/IMG_2273.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GpeiMLTleSY/Uiek8kR19BI/AAAAAAAAFvc/ic02qPvkPo0/s720/IMG_2274.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K66_ZZCNaKw/Uiek5Sh0LQI/AAAAAAAAFvM/ECpSKI2b2N4/s720/IMG_2276.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u9B7FVsbrfk/Uiek3VpqcAI/AAAAAAAAFvE/3vbRHYW1fPI/s720/IMG_2277.JPG

Too close..
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1SHv6FR1Lyc/UiekzTsXSkI/AAAAAAAAFus/zntxIUVvTVI/s720/IMG_2280.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WaRs5D4GERE/UiekyOX2OYI/AAAAAAAAFuk/kl5h-He_4yE/s720/IMG_2281.JPG


"I thought I heard something, how bad is it?"
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-winsdhuM9wI/UiekwlEAptI/AAAAAAAAFuc/Bp54nOy5cqY/s720/IMG_2282.JPG

Not too bad.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-blLwj4yjd2o/UiekvAwgyBI/AAAAAAAAFuU/mJMdsJxMHd8/s720/IMG_2286.JPG

Then it was my turn, which was quite un-dramatic. The 80-series continues to impress me in many situations. Selectable lockers make a huge difference.



We finally caught up to the rest of the group, except they were going the other way! It was decided to turn around and head back through what we'd just traversed, rather than face the hard section at the other end.







The rest of that run we have on several videos, which I'm working to get uploaded to YouTube.

End of our time there on Monday.


Mark (YZFTaco) had an extra day off, so they stayed over.



Creek crossing on the way out, then rolling home.

 

[SLOonTheGo]

We had a great time hanging out with everyone over the weekend and catching up. We especially had a great time hanging out with the kiddos and watching them do back flips with the RC truck. Luckily that thing is built tougher than my 40.

Had a great time running Slickrock with LilDave from Utica all the way through, we got some body damage and a few good hits to the sliders but it was a blast. I learned that my carb hates being at altitude and off camber so luckily that is going to change.

Wish I had taken more photos, I will have to steal them from the GF and post some up. Can't wait for next year!

 

[ToyotaDon]

Yay, videos!

[FONT=&quot]


[/FONT]
KWalkerM had his V8 FJ60 in 4Hi, so this little dry creek crossing proved difficult. By his own admission, “When in doubt, throttle out!” To put it in 4Lo, he had to go underneath with a hammer and hit the shift linkage. At the end of the video, you see Darrell getting out his tow strap to make a first attempt at “unsticking” Kyle.
[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]
The strap forward didn’t work, so I ended up winching him backward off the rocks.[FONT=&quot]


[/FONT]





[FONT=&quot]Kyle got real close.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]


Stay off the throttle. The V8 won't help you here.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]




[FONT=&quot][/FONT]












I was trying to get my front locker disengaged. It wasn’t allowing me to turn when the tires were jammed against the rocks.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]






We stacked a few smaller rocks to get onto the first boulder, and then had to keep a tire on the ridge of the second one to avoid slipping down.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]






There were four of us who were left behind when Kyle got stuck in the dry creek bed. We went to the top of Slickrock Trail and headed down, but met the rest of our group coming up. This was just after we’d made it through the difficult section, but we turned around and headed back up.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]






Kyle backing up to take another line.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]




Open differential Jeep, purchased recently by someone new to 4-wheeling (or so I was told).
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]






He finally made it over with some weight on the back bumper.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]






Final shot at the creek crossing. All loaded up and heading out.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

 

[T-bones 60]

Nice videos! SO wish I could have been there!

 

[orangefj45]

Gret pics and vids Ken! Stoked you made if, had a good time hanging out with you again. It's been too long!

Glad everybody enjoyed the event. I think Sourgrass will be our permanent home for the "FJ45 Run" until further notice. Just a great place to recharge your batteries ......

Georg @ Valley Hybrids

 

[lilredfox]

We had a great time even though it was just for Sunday night.
Here's a few pics I took.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Geenfox must've been out causing trouble...

 

[TallCanDan]

We had a great time even though it was just for Sunday night. Here's a few pics I took.

What's the digital read out thingy on top of the RC crawler?