2017 Kokopelli Expedition team member thread (1 Viewer)

[woooody]

Hi everyone,

My name is John Sarratea and I will be traveling with my wife Heather. This will be my 4th trip to Cruise Moab and my first on the Kokopelli Run. I've ran San Raphael Swell twice, but I have always trailered my 1978 FJ40. I will be bringing my 1988 FJ62 on this trip, and driving it all the way from Reno, NV. I am leaving Reno and taking I80 on Sunday, April 30th and making the trip to the Campground near Rabbit Valley by Monday night. I'm really happy that I will get to make the run this year with everyone. I have cooked with Ross at Rubithon and have only missed three Or four Rubithons since I was 16 years old. My first Rubithon was in 1993 and the FJ40 was my first car and it has gone through a large overhaul over the years.

Looking forward to it John!. Love the 40, but I understand bringing the 62. I'm leaving my 40 home as well. Looking at driving out Sunday also, but I suck at leaving on time. Where are you planning on stopping Sunday night? When I drove out with BK, we stopped in Wendover and camped in the casino parking lot.

 

[woooody]

I run a Yeasu FT-7800 and have been very happy with it. The faceplate is mounted up front and the unit is mounted inside the glovebox. Since most folks will not have HAM, we'll primarily use CB. @bluecruiser and I will use HAM to keep in touch if we spread out or if he takes a group on one of the more difficult sections while I stay on the main trail. We'll have an assigned 2M frequency by the CM directors and I'll monitor 146.460 most of the time. We'll be up on a few plateaus along the route and you can easily reach out 40+ miles on simplex.

Since I will use CB and HAM a lot while leading trails, I keep one mic (the one I'll use the most) on a seltbelt mic holder that @nakman of Gamiviti sells. These things are great for trips like this. I never fumble for the mic and I don't have to look away from the trail to find it. I can just reach down, key-up and talk. Mic Holders


KØFSH

Stan - Is there a repeater in the area, or do you mostly stick to simplex? Isn't 146.460 the default Rising Sun club channel? A lot of Land Cruiser groups use it (NorCal 80s for one). It's good, because it's easy for people to set it up, just curious what options are out there.

Thanks

 

[woooody]

Getting close!

No one mentioned anything about the potluck yet. This is a great way for us to get together on Tuesday night. Please plan on bringing something to share. We'll arrive at camp pretty early on Tuesday and after camps are set, we'll start working on dinner.

Please bring at least one bundle of firewood as well. We have a great spot for sitting around a campfire. I'll have pork/chicken green chile and all the fixings. If you've never had authentic chiles from Colorado or New Mexico, you're in for a treat. Green chile is not chili. I will make it medium-hot. Not burning, but just a little kick.

@woooody is an award winning BBQ chef and has been recognized by the San Antonio/Las Vegas/Oakland Raiders (sorry Ross) for his tailgate feast at all Raiders home games. No pressure and we know you're traveling all the way from NorCal, but we're expecting something tasty.

Gee, no pressure, right Stan? I'll probably bring the California special - Tri-Tip. What is our fire permit situation? I usually cook it at camp, but if we have restrictions, I may need to bring something else. Let me know

 

[Garth223]

Hello everyone!

I'm a bit late getting into this thread, but I'm here now!

My name is Garth and this is my second CM. I was also along for last year's Kokopelli Trail in a 1st gen Tacoma, which I converted from 2WD to 4x4. My girlfriend, Andrea and I drove it from New Hampshire, out to Grand Junction in less than 3 days, and we were pretty exhausted for the begining of the trail.

We had a great time, it was my first experience wheeling out west, and I decided I wanted to return this year, but in a bigger vehicle. A 4 cyl automatic regular cab truck was not the most comfortable cross country road trip vehicle, and I set about looking for a vehicle which met the new criteria I had. It had to have more motor, a manual tranny, plenty of interior space, and be white or silver. After about 4 months of searching, looking at at least a dozen different 4Runners, I found the perfect one. I bought a completely stock 2000 Highlander package, with a 5VZ V6, 5 speed transmission, open rear differential, that was the right color. Its not so easy to find anything thats 16 years old and in decent shape out here in New England because in the winter they dump road salt by the ton.

After bringing the truck home, I found it had blown head gaskets which were leaking coolant into the valley of the block. This was the start of an 8 month build up with the goal of making it to CM in 2017. I rebuilt the top end of the motor, swapped the manual locking hubs from my Tacoma over to the 4R, installed some heavy 80 series springs in the back, dual cases with 4.70 gearing and triple sticks, 35" tires, full armor with flat belly skids all the way to the rear axle, and probably some other junk too. Every single wear item on the truck has been replaced with a brand new stock or heavier part. I built some beefy custom link bars for the rear suspension and a new crossmember for the dual cases, and modified most of the parts I did buy to make them work for me. I

I'm a heavy industrial mechanic and build 50 ton wood grinders, so I have access to a full fabrication shop with all the steel I could need. This build has been something of a second full time job for me over these last 8 months with countless hours in the garage, and I havent had much of a social life, but I did meet my goal! Its only been driving for about a week now, but I am working hard to finish the little details and iron out any kinks.

Once again Andrea and I will be making the trip out to Grand Junction, but this time we are allowing more time for a leasurely 2200 mile drive. We will be staying at a hotel there in town Monday night, and we would love to meet up with anyone else who is in the area.

I'll add some pictures to this in a few minutes

Also, I'm thinking about making some beef stew for the potluck, and Ill bring some good New Englad craft beers with me. Heady Topper anyone?

 

[Garth223]

Unfortunately I will not be bringing the Trepadors with me, I do not yet have a trailer to haul them along. I will be arriving with Toyo All Terrains instead

 

[justpez]

God man... That is a great story... Will you write mine next time? lol! Great looking truck. I forgot about the Highlander Package until it clicked in my head after a few seconds... I thought you had an actual Toyota Highlander. I was like "holy crap? Is he serious?".

Craftbeer nerd here... Headytopper??? Yes please. I just got some 2017 KBS that I was saving for this trip. Do you get that out your way?

 

[cruiserfien]

I wanted to share this for all of the other 80 series owners if they didn't already know, but in the Nov-Dec 2015 issue of Toyota Trails there was an article on breaking or shearing the knuckle stud bolts off which basically renders your steering useless. One of the incidents actually happened on the kokopelli trail. It looks like a fairly inexpensive kit to buy and somewhat easy to replace in the event the bolts were to shear off. I will be purchasing a kit from my local Toyota parts department so if anyone happens to have this issue on the trail we are taken care of.

View attachment 1415907 View attachment 1415908

This same thing happened to me in my LX in Canyonlands 2 summers ago. It was a nightmare. I now go nowhere without a complete set of studs, washers, cone washers and nuts as well as a spare knuckle. UGH..

 

[1973Guppie]

question: how are the bugs / mosquitos out there at night? prep my camp stuff and we are sleeping in the back of the truck and using a little tent that sits on the back of the cab, it does have a few openings but won't be an issue if bugs are not bad. Mosquitos have been bad for us lately (compared to what we are used to) because of all the rain.

 

[V8 RUNNER]

im not sure how many of our spare parts will interchange... but the two 4th gen 4runners from illinois will have a spare set of upper control arms, outer tie rod ends, rear links, and u joints. should be the same parts as the gx470. not sure about others. we also will have a limited tool selection. basics like sockets, screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, etc.

 

[Ferretlegger]

If anyone thinks it would be useful, I have room to bring an air impact wrench (1/2"), an air grinder with cutoff wheels, sanders, wire brush, burrs, etc, and a deWalt handheld drill (and drills) and spare batteries. Anything else that might be really handy in a pinch?

 

[1973Guppie]

If anyone thinks it would be useful, I have room to bring an air impact wrench (1/2"), an air grinder with cutoff wheels, sanders, wire brush, burrs, etc, and a deWalt handheld drill (and drills) and spare batteries. Anything else that might be really handy in a pinch?

absolutely! I don't think I will have room for all that so if you can have it on hand that is good. I have an inverter that can run a drill or grinder as well as an air setup that can run air tools

 

[Ferretlegger]

Guppie,
What sort of fittings do you use on your air system. I use M fittings, the one with the thin ridge on the male fitting, not the T fitting which (I believe) has a wide ridge on the male fitting. I can make an adaptor if needed for the two systems.
Michael

 

[1973Guppie]

Guppie,
What sort of fittings do you use on your air system. I use M fittings, the one with the thin ridge on the male fitting, not the T fitting which (I believe) has a wide ridge on the male fitting. I can make an adaptor if needed for the two systems.
Michael

huh? not sure, I am sure in a pinch we could figure something out, ie: hose clamp

 

[srwruns]

Not sure if this affects the last part of our trail or not but thought I'd post this. It's in our local paper.

 

[paflytyer]

^^Thanks!

This looks like it will impact us. For now, we will plan to exit via Onion Creek instead of Loop/Sand Flats Road. @bluecruiser

This is actually the way we've gone 2 out of the 3 previous years. Day 2 and 3 are really long days in the saddle and by the time we complete Rose Garden Hill, it's still another few hours of driving to reach Moab. Onion Creek is shorter and more scenic IMO. Plus, there's about 30 water crossings. All shallow and super clean. It's kinda fun to splash around after 3 days of nothing but dust.

This won't change much for us. The only section we're missing is the climb up into the La Sal Mountains and Sand Flats Road. We'll arrive in Moab via Onion Creek/Fisher Valley and Rt 128.

 

[paflytyer]

Weather looks like it will be nice all 3 days!



I know I'm ready for a few days in the wide open spaces of Colorado and Utah. I hope you are too.

 

[bluecruiser]

Weather looks like it will be nice all 3 days!



I know I'm ready for a few days in the wide open spaces of Colorado and Utah. I hope you are too.

Ready!!

 

[FJ6012HT]

We are headed out the door right now. First stop is Coeur de lane ID then on to Bozeman, MT and Jackson,WY and then Rabbit valley. Looking forward to meeting you all and enjoying the outdoors. Hoping for a breakfast burrito at rabbit valley, any chance of that Stan?
My mobile number in case anyone needs help on the way or there is something we need to change. 360-602-9787

 

[bluecruiser]

We are headed out the door right now. First stop is Coeur de lane ID then on to Bozeman, MT and Jackson,WY and then Rabbit valley. Looking forward to meeting you all and enjoying the outdoors. Hoping for a breakfast burrito at rabbit valley, any chance of that Stan?
My mobile number in case anyone needs help on the way or there is something we need to change. 360-602-9787[/QUOTE

@paflytyer has to bring burritos otherwise he won't have an excuse for a late arrival.......hahaha....

 

[woooody]

I decided on Tuesday that I needed to finally install a real dual battery set up. Of course, I've had no time to work on it, just a few hours after work in the driveway. So I get to finish that up tonight. Packing on Saturday. Leaving Sunday before noon, taking I-80 out to Wendover Sunday night, and then Grand Junction Monday night.

See you all then!