TLCA Official 26th Rubithon Thread 2014 (1 Viewer)

[BadReligion]

Got into Buck Island a bit later that night. Didn't take any more pics but here is the start of day 2 just past the dam on buck. I chose a "40" line and got high centered on my skid plate. Had to take a strap but oh well.

A mostly stock 40, open up front too putting me to shame. She was a really good driver!

Heading down "big sluice." The top wasn't too bad as a lot of the bad spots were filled in, but it did get exciting towards the bottom. Still plenty of tight squeezes.

A few of the tight spots

First body damage. Surprised it didn't happen sooner. Now its christened.

Finally at the springs.

Not a bad place to camp.

Pretty cool sight to see so many other cruisers and Toyotas in general.

Day 4 (Sunday). Less than 5 minutes after breaking camp I blow a bead. Had been running 15 psi but that was last measured 2 days ago after driving for half the day in the sun. Should have checked before leaving as they were now at 12 psi. Stock wheels with 345s and 12psi don't work too well.
Luckily with a CO2 tank and some tugging, we were able to re-seat the bead (thanks doug!)

Didn't take enough pics of Cadillac Hill. Scared the wife and she got out without the camera. Again, much steeper than what photos show. The Tahoe high/lows did an awesome job of spotting and keeping things smooth in this section.

Finally up to observation point. Photos of this place from last years Rubithon thread are what inspired me to go! Glad I did.

Thats pretty much it. The rest of the way to the Tahoma exit was dusty and rocky but nothing bad. Again, thanks to everyone that put this on and all that helped me along the way. My wife and I had a great time and will definitely be back for more!

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

Great rubithon, thanks to Eric and trail committee, cooks and everyone who made this happen. Great to meet old friends and make new ones. Exit up Cadillac was down right speedy, spotters did a good job. Looking forward to next year.

 

[45Kevin]

BR, awesome pics. I'm reliving last year's trip there.

I don't know how it was for the first 24, but Eric and his crew did an outstanding job last year.

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

A few piks my wife snapped from the Thursday Breakfast run.

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

 

[mustardfj40]

Had a great time! Thanks everyone especially Andy and Tom - the trail leaders for the wagon run. My lady took this video:

 

[Bad Coco]

Within 1 hr of making it known we were broke at 9PM on a Monday night, we had two offers of repair shops willing to take on work without notice and an offer of a driveway and a transmission jack. The Cruiser community is the greatest!
The clutch was toast. The clutch disc came apart w/o warning. Thanks to Steve Wardens Auto Repair near Placerville that put our job ahead of others, it allowed us to make it to the trail.

We caught allot of good breaks on this trip as to where we broke down, the people we met, and help getting off the trail. Fortunately we weren't very far into the run.

Unfortunately we didn't catch any breaks on the frequency and amount of breakdowns.

After breaking a rear locker on the trail and an attempt to make a Rubicon Lincoln Locker out of it failed, I slapped t he spare open third member in to get us on the road.

Our intentions were to drive down to the springs from the Tahoe end for Fri/Sat, but now it doesn't appear that's going to happen. As small and trivial as it seems, a cracked steering reservoir which trumps getting a locker in will prevent us from making the event.

It was great meeting everyone we met, and we met some truly nice people.

While not great to win both the Iron Butt and the Hard Luck award, I will be mailing both of them out to you.

After the dedication of back to back years of trying to get out here and do Rubithon with us, Steve Warden said even if you can't get your vehicle Rubithon ready, you are welcome to his passenger seat next year so you can see the trail and join us in the Springs. I really hate your circumstances, but glad you got to see what a great group of people are a part of TLCA and Rubithon specifically!

 

[PabloVTA]

great job putting on the event. Wish we could do it three times a year.

 

[PabloVTA]

and more

 

[PabloVTA]

and then this happened;

 

[PabloVTA]

more sights

 

[PabloVTA]

another in the "wood under the Hood" crew.
Lost my sway bar bracket spacer on the Cadillac Hill exit, got 500 miles on the block so far and it's all good.

 

[bflynn1717]

Here are a few pics of the Friday 7AM run. It was quite the trek leaving Loon Lake promptly at 7 and arriving at the Springs a whopping 11 hrs later. We found out a few things. 1) A mostly stock cruiser, with no lockers, can get through the con. All it takes is patience, an occasional tow strap and a lot of positive attitudes! 2) Wheeling is always better with Marlin only about an hour behind you. 3) Life on the trail is so much better with a HAM radio. If you don't have one, get one.

Anyone looking to make the Rubithon next year that can't commit to all the time off that some of the trips require are more than welcome on the Friday 7 AM run. (AKA Jon and Brian's Excellent Adventure)

Fun trip. Thanks to all. See you next year.

 

[reddingcruiser]

Fantastic Trip!

Tuesday Run, came in from Wentworth Springs just to make it different. No crowds, great weather, great companions, fun for all.

 

[mr_manny]

My 10th Rubithon

Amazing how something like buying an old FJ40 can change your life…

 

[poose]

Was a good trip glad to see everyone. We had no major issues on Cadillac, that was good. I would like to thank Jon for working with us on lower after having a full day on Friday coming in. Figured we would put him in the hardest spot to keep him awake.

 

[Bad Coco]

I would like to thank everyone that came out to Rubithon this year and made it a great event. I'd especially like to thank all my trail leaders and committee members for making sure everyone got in/out safely. Thanks to Marlin from Marlin Crawler for again being our sweeper run leader and leaving no one behind!

Thanks to Jerry and Julie Reffner for organizing yet another great RTF fundraiser wine tasting event, and for all your help, along with Michael Dremann in registration.

Special thanks to to Robert Mutzig for being the "Go-To" guy in camp, between you and the camp committee guys, you had the Springs in great shape!

Last but not least, I can not express my gratitude enough to Kade Hendrick and the Tahoe Hi-Lo's for doing such a great job getting everyone up Cadillac Hill safely and quickly. I as well as everyone I have spoken to, hope that you will join us again next year!

For everyone that ordered stuff at the event, or was unable to make it, I will put in the order by Monday and will be mailing everything out as soon as possible. I'll email you when it's on it's way!

We are looking forward to next year already and the opportunity to spend more time with such a great group of people.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[FL cruiser]

While not great to win both the Iron Butt and the Hard Luck award, I will be mailing both of them out to you.

Eric, Thanks!! Very kind of you! Again thanks to everyone that assisted in repairs and help off the trail.
We will be back!! ....well maybe my wife won't. I'll be lucky if she rides in it for a 10 min ride to the beach after this trip.
Made it to Colorado so far on our trip back.

 

[kevin colton]

Another BIG thank you to Eric and all the hard working crew! Special thanks to Casey for helping change out my steering box.(after attempted rebuild) Thanks for your knowledge and your tools, we completed the trip and had a great time! Hope to see everyone next year.

 

[Bad Coco]

Does anyone have contact information for Ryan Finney. If you do, can you please message me that info please. Thanks, Eric