Good luck on the upgrades Josh!...looks like a solid upgrade kit. You's got welding skills! See ya on the Rubicon 2019!
2018 Cruise Moab Kokopelli Double-Overnighter Tour Team Member Thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Inukshuk
- Start date
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Great meeting you Ace, was a real pleasure!
I just wanted to say we had a great time meeting everyone on the trail. The trail was fantastic but the traveling with the group is what made the trip. Thanks again to everyone and we look forward to seeing you guys again.
The welds on the axle housing are still holding up great. I did touch base with my welder and he is ready to jump in and do some work to repair (better) and reinforce it all. I did pick up all new OEM bushings and caster plates to get ride of the hard aftermarket poly bushings. So hopfully this will avoid future problems.
The welds on the axle housing are still holding up great. I did touch base with my welder and he is ready to jump in and do some work to repair (better) and reinforce it all. I did pick up all new OEM bushings and caster plates to get ride of the hard aftermarket poly bushings. So hopfully this will avoid future problems.
Hi All
We just got home 2 days ago and settling back into the work a day life.
We had a great time with you all. Like Dana mentioned it is the traveling as a group that makes it so much fun.
It is surprising how fast the time went. We look forward to the next time we see you guys.
Happy Trails
Bruce & Donna
PS: I am working on Pictures!
: Alex & Amanda please check your IH8MUD PM re Biscotti recipe.
We just got home 2 days ago and settling back into the work a day life.
We had a great time with you all. Like Dana mentioned it is the traveling as a group that makes it so much fun.
It is surprising how fast the time went. We look forward to the next time we see you guys.
Happy Trails
Bruce & Donna
PS: I am working on Pictures!
: Alex & Amanda please check your IH8MUD PM re Biscotti recipe.
It's finally done!!! As promised here is the long awaited Kokopelli 2018 video! Dad life, coaching soccer, firefighter in CA during the summer, excuses are abundant, but better late than never! Please watch, like, subscribe to my channel and let me know what you think. Feel free to share!
Cruise Moab - Kokopelli Trail 2018 - YouTube
Cruise Moab - Kokopelli Trail 2018 - YouTube
Hello everyone,
I have some sad news to report. The red Tacoma is no more. Susan, the dog, and I were coming back to Moab from Colorado on I70, and just east of the Glenwood Springs turnoff the left rear tire came off the axle and rolled down the road at 65 mph. The truck fell over onto the left rear axle and brake plate. I slowed down and steered the truck to the side of the road and stopped. I turned off the ignition, pulled out the keys, and opened the driver's side door to check things out, only to be met with a wall of flames. I jumped through the flames, yelled at Susan that we were on fire and to get the dog out, and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the bumper and had at the fire. The extinguisher was useless against 15 gallons of burning gasoline from a ruptured fuel tank, but I grabbed the second extinguisher and tried anyway.
Within seconds the entire truck was fully engulfed. Susan had had to jump out into a puddle of burning gas to get the dog, but by virtue of a heroic and very cognizant effort, she pulled the 80 pound lab out and threw her over the concrete barrier on the roadside before jumping over it for her life. I joined her and we watched as the red truck burned to the ground. The tires started to explode, which was pretty hairy. One tossed some burning debris onto the growth at the side of the road, starting a fire which could have become very serious. Fortunately, a local utility worker had stopped right after me and had a larger extinguisher, which he used to keep the wanna-be forest fire under control until the local police arrived a minute later with other extinguishers and put it out. In the mean time, the local fire department arrived from Glenwood Springs and put out the truck. I will try to attach a picture or two. Amazingly, neither Sussan, the dog, nor i suffered anything worse than some hair burned off the arms, legs, and head. Trivial considering that another 30 seconds in the truck and we would have burned to death.
We lost a LOT of camping gear, personal gear and electronics,and, of course the truck. I am already making plans to rob an armored car to get funds to rebuild. Hopefully we will be back in action by spring.
Lessons learned:
CHECK THE LUG NUTS REGULARLY!! I normally torque them on a regular basis, and had done so 1000 road miles before. I had planned to check before departing Colorado, but it slipped through the cracks.
2. Carry MUCH BIGGER extinguishers!!! I had the minimum required size (3 pounds, I think). I am deffinitely getting much bigger ones and probably more than 2 in the next truck.
3. Expect the worst! I NEVER anticipated having to jump for my life from a burning vehicle. Fortunately, I had my phone and wallet in my pants. Susan had nothing- no ID, no cards, no phone, no clothes, etc. We were given a lift to the local car rental place and rented a one way ride (Enterprise) to Moab. Without one of us having a means to ID ourselves and to pay, we would have had a grim time of it.
We came back 2 days later and spent a whole day digging through the ashes to recover anything we could. Against all odds, Susan dug her wallet out of a 3" thick lump of melted plastic and ash and got her ID and some important photos back. I was able to recover most of my tools from down behind the rear seats (reasonably protected, although under a thick layer of burned plastic) and spare parts, which were stored in the aft part of the truck bed in ammo cans. They were pristine inside the cans, as was a special CV axle for the front end stored in a thick cardboard tube in the rear.
I believe that the cause of the ruptured gas tank is understood. I found the rear section of the driveshaft as well as the fractured spline which slides into the universal joint yoke right aft of the carrier bearing. The splined shaft was bent and also fractured in a spiral-ish pattern. There was some discoloration in the break which makes me wonder if the shaft had had an incipient crack for some time. My theory is that when the left rear axle hit the pavement, it stopped the left rear axle, and because the right rear tire was doing 65 mph, that put a huge torque through the differential (Nitro 4.56:1 gears) onto the driveshaft, which broke and let the rear section of the drive shaft whip around, breaking the gas tank in spite of the 1/4" steel skid plate. There is a buge straight dent in the driveshaft near the forward end, right about where one might match it up to the gas tank if you were messing about with it under the car with the yoke detached. Something of an improbable freak accident, but it happened to us.
We are safe, Glenwood Springs didn't burn down, we met a WHOLE BUNCH of nice firefighters, policemen, tow drivers, and others who came running to help. That is what is important. We have mourned the truck, which got us to a lot of great places and gave us such good service and adventures. Now it is time to move on. I am already looking for a suitable vehicle to start modifying. I hope we are up and running by Cruise Moab 2019, but as always, if you show up here, showers, a BBQ, and a lot of car tools are waiting for you should you need it.
All the best. Be safe out there!
Michael and Susan and Teddy (the dog)
I have some sad news to report. The red Tacoma is no more. Susan, the dog, and I were coming back to Moab from Colorado on I70, and just east of the Glenwood Springs turnoff the left rear tire came off the axle and rolled down the road at 65 mph. The truck fell over onto the left rear axle and brake plate. I slowed down and steered the truck to the side of the road and stopped. I turned off the ignition, pulled out the keys, and opened the driver's side door to check things out, only to be met with a wall of flames. I jumped through the flames, yelled at Susan that we were on fire and to get the dog out, and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the bumper and had at the fire. The extinguisher was useless against 15 gallons of burning gasoline from a ruptured fuel tank, but I grabbed the second extinguisher and tried anyway.
Within seconds the entire truck was fully engulfed. Susan had had to jump out into a puddle of burning gas to get the dog, but by virtue of a heroic and very cognizant effort, she pulled the 80 pound lab out and threw her over the concrete barrier on the roadside before jumping over it for her life. I joined her and we watched as the red truck burned to the ground. The tires started to explode, which was pretty hairy. One tossed some burning debris onto the growth at the side of the road, starting a fire which could have become very serious. Fortunately, a local utility worker had stopped right after me and had a larger extinguisher, which he used to keep the wanna-be forest fire under control until the local police arrived a minute later with other extinguishers and put it out. In the mean time, the local fire department arrived from Glenwood Springs and put out the truck. I will try to attach a picture or two. Amazingly, neither Sussan, the dog, nor i suffered anything worse than some hair burned off the arms, legs, and head. Trivial considering that another 30 seconds in the truck and we would have burned to death.
We lost a LOT of camping gear, personal gear and electronics,and, of course the truck. I am already making plans to rob an armored car to get funds to rebuild. Hopefully we will be back in action by spring.
Lessons learned:
CHECK THE LUG NUTS REGULARLY!! I normally torque them on a regular basis, and had done so 1000 road miles before. I had planned to check before departing Colorado, but it slipped through the cracks.
2. Carry MUCH BIGGER extinguishers!!! I had the minimum required size (3 pounds, I think). I am deffinitely getting much bigger ones and probably more than 2 in the next truck.
3. Expect the worst! I NEVER anticipated having to jump for my life from a burning vehicle. Fortunately, I had my phone and wallet in my pants. Susan had nothing- no ID, no cards, no phone, no clothes, etc. We were given a lift to the local car rental place and rented a one way ride (Enterprise) to Moab. Without one of us having a means to ID ourselves and to pay, we would have had a grim time of it.
We came back 2 days later and spent a whole day digging through the ashes to recover anything we could. Against all odds, Susan dug her wallet out of a 3" thick lump of melted plastic and ash and got her ID and some important photos back. I was able to recover most of my tools from down behind the rear seats (reasonably protected, although under a thick layer of burned plastic) and spare parts, which were stored in the aft part of the truck bed in ammo cans. They were pristine inside the cans, as was a special CV axle for the front end stored in a thick cardboard tube in the rear.
I believe that the cause of the ruptured gas tank is understood. I found the rear section of the driveshaft as well as the fractured spline which slides into the universal joint yoke right aft of the carrier bearing. The splined shaft was bent and also fractured in a spiral-ish pattern. There was some discoloration in the break which makes me wonder if the shaft had had an incipient crack for some time. My theory is that when the left rear axle hit the pavement, it stopped the left rear axle, and because the right rear tire was doing 65 mph, that put a huge torque through the differential (Nitro 4.56:1 gears) onto the driveshaft, which broke and let the rear section of the drive shaft whip around, breaking the gas tank in spite of the 1/4" steel skid plate. There is a buge straight dent in the driveshaft near the forward end, right about where one might match it up to the gas tank if you were messing about with it under the car with the yoke detached. Something of an improbable freak accident, but it happened to us.
We are safe, Glenwood Springs didn't burn down, we met a WHOLE BUNCH of nice firefighters, policemen, tow drivers, and others who came running to help. That is what is important. We have mourned the truck, which got us to a lot of great places and gave us such good service and adventures. Now it is time to move on. I am already looking for a suitable vehicle to start modifying. I hope we are up and running by Cruise Moab 2019, but as always, if you show up here, showers, a BBQ, and a lot of car tools are waiting for you should you need it.
All the best. Be safe out there!
Michael and Susan and Teddy (the dog)
NLXTACY
Wits' End
Woah!!!
So glad you guys are OK! Craziness!
Man! What a story! Glad you guys are ok. Sad about the truck!
