IE4W November '01 Beginner's Run - TruckHaven
AKA Pete's 2nd Annual TruckHaven Fun Fest

Nov. 16, 17, 18

Club Members:

Pete Griffith w/Alicia and Jonathan - '86 CJ-7 (RCKN CJ)
Terry and Bonnie McNeil (Spelling?) - '80-something CJ-7
Don and Kathy Gardner - '98 TJ (CHILIPEPPER TJ)
Eleanor Rothenberg and Michael Goar - '76 CJ-5
Mike Moore - '01 TJ (MNSTR TJ)

Guests:

Alan (Do I need 4WD yet?) Rohrabacher - '97 TJ
Bob - '76 CJ-5
Jerry - '01 TJ (still had paper plates, but was way built)
Jack Mcafferty - '85 CJ-7
Mel - '00 TJ
Eric Faley - '89 Comanche (MJ)

Friday Nov. 16:

I had been planning this trip for quite some time, and despite some minor setbacks, was very much looking forward to this run.  I had done quite a bit of work to the Rockin' CJ, and hoped that finally it could live up to it's name.  My first excursion to the Hammers in October painfully outlined my need to get my Jeep further off the ground.  This was accomplished with new (but used) 4" lift springs and a new (but used) set of 35's.  Oh, and then I found I needed longer shocks.  Wait...and now I needed longer brake lines.  Oh, and maybe a CV rear driveshaft, too, to get rid of that awful driveline vibration.  Well, everything was done except the driveshaft by Thursday night.  I had ordered one on Tuesday from South Bay Driveline up in San Jose (absolutely excellent customer service.  They specialize in custom heavy duty off-road driveline solutions), but was not expecting it to arrive on time to get it installed.  To my surprise, it arrived at my house Thursday night.  I installed it Friday morning, and then packed up the RV  and the kids and headed out. 

I was expecting a light crowd, since everyone made plans to go to the Hammers and Parker instead, but was pleasantly surprised when I pulled into camp around 3 PM to find Jack McCafferty, Bob, and Alan already there and rarin' to go. Well, actually, they were there, but I didn't recognize Jack's RV, and drove right by thinking that someone else had snagged my campsite.  I went across the wash (which is in GREAT shape this year) and found a spot to camp on the other side.  I unhooked the Jeep and took it for a test spin to see if everything was working ok.  I went through a twisty little notch right by camp, and then when I hit the brakes my foot went to the floor. Uh-oh.  I went back to camp and found that my brake lines were still just a little short on the drivers side, and the stre ching pulled the fitting loose on the caliper.  After scratching my head for a while, I got the fitting re-tightened, and then re-routed the brake line under the frame to give me more length.  That worked, and I did a quick bleed on the brakes and was back in business.

Once I had my brakes figured out, I hit the wash and gassed it a little.  This produced a nasty grinding noise from the vicinity of the t-case.  Uh-oh again, I thought.  At first I thought it was the new rear CV shaft binding up, but when I checked it I could find nothing wrong.  Then I thought the gears were slipping in the t-case, and took it out for more testing.  No luck.  By this time I was a little worried, but it didn't seem to be affecting the drivability all that much, so I went back over the hill to tell the guys camped in my spot to tell anyone looking for me where I was.  So, I pull into camp and see Jack and Bob relaxing and watching people drive by.  Oops...my mistake.  I quickly went back and pulled up camp and re-located back to my original spot.  I decided to re-visit the grinding in the morning, when I could re-focus.

By 5 we had Eleanor and Michael, and by 7 Don and Kathy showed up, and then Eric.  Terry and Bonnie pulled in sometime really late.  We sat around the fire and admired the beautiful night sky that can only be seen so far away from the big city.  As I passed ou..er..drifted off to sleep, I eagerly anticipated the following day's adventures. 

Saturday Nov. 17

Saturday dawned bright and clear, with just a slight breeze blowing from the north.  It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day, and we were not disappointed.  We all woke up and started our routines for the day.  I re-visited my grinding problem and found a little more Hammers damage.  My skidplate was bent up into the front driveshaft.  This had not been a problem when I had less lift, but the new lift dropped the driveshaft right onto the plate.  I quickly bent the skidplate back down, and all was good again. 

Mike Moore showed up around 8:30, in plenty of time for the scheduled 9 AM departure time. Around 8 AM Don Bridgewater called and let me know he was on his way.  His Jeep is still in the shop, so he tagged along with Bob for the day. I took a quick look at all of the Jeeps I had for the run, and decided we'd do a little more than just washes and hills.  Only two Jeeps did not have at lease one hard locker, and we have all seen Eleanor's Jeep and what it can do, and the MNSTR TJ...well, all I can say is that Mike's TJ can keep up with just about everything we tried to throw at him.  So anyway, having determined that everyone was up to the task, I quickly headed out into the back country.  I had a general idea of which way I wanted to go, but I knew that I would take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves to me.  We stretched out our suspensions on the twisties leading out to the back country, and then I headed everyone out to Axle Alley.  Along the way my CB quit. 

Now, I'm not sure what happened, but my CB just turned off.  I checked all of the fuses, and they were good.  We finally determined that I lost all constant hot power into my fuse block.  I still had
ignition hot, but no constant hot.  I quickly re-wired my CB into a switched source, and we were on our way again.  We all went through the Axle Alley loop without incident, with Mike Goar driving Eleanor's CJ-5.  He later told us that as he was driving up the waterfall Eleanor looked at him and said, "If you roll my Jeep, I'll kill you, and then I'll be really mad at you!"  Eleanor's Jeep drove right up it, though, no lockers and all.  I remember when she first started coming out with us, and she's really getting the hang of driving that little CJ.  It went everywhere on Saturday.  The TJ's all did well, of course.  And then there was Eric, in his loooooonnnnng Comanche Long Bed pickup.  I think he said 136 for the wheelbase?  At any rate, Eric has just a PowerTrax No-Slip in the rear and a 3" lift with 31's, but that truck went everywhere.  He modified his rear bumper quite a bit, but he said he didn't like it all that much anyway. After we got everyone through the loop, we continued out into the canyon just South of Axle Alley. 

This is my favorite area of Truckhaven, because there is something for everyone.  This particular canyon has some of the easier stuff, while the next one farther South has the harder stuff.  I saved that for the Sunday run.  For this day I picked canyons and notches that would really give everyone an idea of what their Jeeps were capable of, but not so bad that we would spend all day trying to get unstuck.  It was at this point that I lost my CB for good.  You see, I had taken us up this one interesting canyon, and everyone was doing great.  And then all of a sudden there was a big, well, step.  Really, it was a ledge, but only on one side.  There was a way to crawl up the other side, and then I felt I had to hug the wall on the left, and then I would be over.  Well, it seemed to be working fine, until my left rear fell off the wall, and I fell back into the hole.  It was at this point that my Jeep tipped backwards and to the left, leaving me resting against the canyon wall.  The engine stayed running, though, and I goosed it to see if I had any traction at all. I did, so I put it in reverse and slowly backed out of it.  There was quite a bit of grinding, but I made it out on my own power.  My CB antenna, however, didn't fare as well.  As I grazed the canyon wall, it pretty much sheared my antenna and mount right off of the Jeep.  It was at that point that I knew I was destined to be without a CB for this trip.  We found another exit out of the canyon, and I assessed my damage.  All I lost was the antenna and mount, and I lost some of my nice blue paint, but that was about it.

Everyone else climbed out through the escape with no problem, and we continued on.  I took us down some additional twisty canyons, and then stopped for lunch.  Everyone did the usual stuff, and then we look back at Eric, and there he is with his beach umbrella and chair, kicking back in the shade, eating his lunch.  We all made fun of him, but secretly I think we were all jealous. I'm betting I see a lot more of those beach umbrellas at the next outing. 

We continued through the tight canyons for a while, and then I headed everyone back to camp.  As we were making our way back, I decided to try an optional notch.  It turned out to be a little bit too optional, and my kids wisely convinced me to back out and try something different.  I'm told that I was well on my way to coming over backwards when I stopped and backed out.  Ah well.  Fortune favors the foolish.  As I was backing out, though, I noticed a shimmy in the front end when I would turn the wheel.  I thought I was slipping on something, and kept going.  The, as we were driving along one of the washes I heard a loud "CLANG" up front.  Uh-oh.  I stopped and got out to take a look.  Sure enough, I had broken the other front spring hanger.  The other one had snapped in Moab.  This time, however, Randy wasn't around to help weld me up.  Luckily, Terry happed to have a spare hanger in his tool kit, and in no time I was back up and running (THANKS Terry!!!!!!!!!).  Actually, it took a little time because the spring wanted to re-locate to somewhere other than where it was supposed to be.  We eventually coaxed it onto the hanger (that 2 lb. sledge I found at the base of El Hill came in very handy) and were on our way. 

We arrived in camp around 3, and everyone relaxed in anticipation for the pot luck (which most of us remembered).  As we pulled in, I saw Jerry (sp?) setting up his tent.  I went over and introduced myself, and then we all stopped to admire his TJ.  It was quite built, and it still had the paper dealer plates on it.  Way to go!  At that point Jack packed up and headed home to take care of some family obligations, and Don B. also said his goodbyes and went home.  I was great to have them there.  It was especially nice to see Jack back on the trail again. 

Dinner was wonderful.  Terry and Bonnie brought an awesome homemade chicken dish over rice that was great, Eleanor brought fried chicken, and the rest of us wimped out and made canned goods.  It was all still wonderful, and everyone had a full belly.  After dinner we started the fire, and enjoyed the cool evening breeze.  Around 7:30 we headed out for a night run.  Since I had no CB, I couldn't do a transmitter hunt.  We explored the notches and canyons just north of camp for about an hour, and then headed back to the fire.  We all intended to stay up for the Leonid meteor shower, but most of us dropped off well before the light show began.  Alicia made it, though, and said it was "cool". 

Sunday Nov. 18

Sunday again dawned bright and clear, except this time I didn't have a headache...something about not drinking any beer the night before...  It was a little cooler, but still very nice.  Don and Kathy decided to pack up and head out, as did Eleanor and Mike, but the rest of us stayed, and we picked up Mel, who got into camp around 8 AM.  We all headed out around 8:30 and I headed straight out to my favorite canyon area.  Along the way on one of the hill climbs, Mel found that it's better to air way down than just a little down.  After that he had no problems until the end of the day.  We headed deep into the canyon, and I found some nice virgin notches to play on.  

At this point I can say without doubt that I am exceptionally happy with my new lift and tires.  I have a new appreciation for Jeeping, since not once during either day was I distracted by any type of grinding, scraping, or other unpleasantness coming from under my Jeep.  So I hit the first nasty notch and picked my way through.  Eric decided to sit that one out and watch, since his long truck was just a little too long to get through without losing the side panels.  I made it through, and then went back to watch as everyone else came through.  Everyone made it, and from the smiles on their faces, I could tell that they were hooked!  We kept going along those lines, hitting every tight, twisty, tire-lifting canyon we could find.  

At around 11 AM I started heading back in the general direction of camp. On the last rocky hill climb, Mel broke his front track bar clean in half.  How this happened we don't know, but it looked as if there was an old stress fracture that finally let go.  We hooked his sway bar back up, and he was able to make his way back to camp, and ultimately back home.  That was the only casualty for the day. When we got back everyone aired up and packed up and made their way out of camp.  I said my goodbyes, and was the last one out.

I want to thank Mike Moore for stepping in and taking the tailgunner slot at the last minute, and to everyone who showed up and made this a great run.  Everyone had a good time, and no-one broke so bad they couldn't get fixed easily. 

Until the next one.

Pete Griffith