Please excuse the power steering belt working overtime. I ran out of room for adjustment before the pump pulley hits the inner fender. I will have to swap to a shorter belt to help the issue. The tires where at 2psi and the front end is locked......
Monday, June 10, 2013
A short little video from the trip....
Here is a short video of my little fun fender working a technical section on one of the mountain passes...
Please excuse the power steering belt working overtime. I ran out of room for adjustment before the pump pulley hits the inner fender. I will have to swap to a shorter belt to help the issue. The tires where at 2psi and the front end is locked......
Please excuse the power steering belt working overtime. I ran out of room for adjustment before the pump pulley hits the inner fender. I will have to swap to a shorter belt to help the issue. The tires where at 2psi and the front end is locked......
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Day 13....the long story
Day 13.
Last day on the road. Homeward bound!
The only thing that stands in my way are three mountain passes over 11,000ft!
The drive through the loop road in the Colorado National Monument was
really super nice. The road was perfect with lots of curves, tunnels,
and bikers to keep you on your toes. I am surprised with how well the
little Willys really corners. You can toss it around pretty good and
it never feels loose or leans too much. It could be something about
how stupid low it sits, how its wider than it is tall, or the fact
that the tires are about 14" wide?
Red mountain pass wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I
don't think I have ever had this thing that high in elevation. I did
change jets in Ridgway but didn't really have to mess with them as
much as I thought I would. The little Willys didn't have any issue
motoring up over the passes. You do get stuck in 3rd gear which with
the 5.38 gears isn't the fastest speed. It will pull WAY more in 4th
gear than I thought it would. It seems corner speed and cooling are
the biggest limiting factors...not power. I do think a 3rd gear with a
Saturn Overdrive would be about perfect for the mountains.
I had some excellent BBQ in Silverton, Colorado just ahead of the
train crowds that filter in about noon. The final drive home was very
pleasant. The gearing is low enough in 4th that you don't really have
to use your brakes much at all even on steep stuff like the south side
of Coal Bank pass.
I made one final jet change once I got down off the mountain before
headed on into Durango and making it home.
What a trip! I think its still sinking in that I did what I just did!
Last day on the road. Homeward bound!
The only thing that stands in my way are three mountain passes over 11,000ft!
The drive through the loop road in the Colorado National Monument was
really super nice. The road was perfect with lots of curves, tunnels,
and bikers to keep you on your toes. I am surprised with how well the
little Willys really corners. You can toss it around pretty good and
it never feels loose or leans too much. It could be something about
how stupid low it sits, how its wider than it is tall, or the fact
that the tires are about 14" wide?
Red mountain pass wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I
don't think I have ever had this thing that high in elevation. I did
change jets in Ridgway but didn't really have to mess with them as
much as I thought I would. The little Willys didn't have any issue
motoring up over the passes. You do get stuck in 3rd gear which with
the 5.38 gears isn't the fastest speed. It will pull WAY more in 4th
gear than I thought it would. It seems corner speed and cooling are
the biggest limiting factors...not power. I do think a 3rd gear with a
Saturn Overdrive would be about perfect for the mountains.
I had some excellent BBQ in Silverton, Colorado just ahead of the
train crowds that filter in about noon. The final drive home was very
pleasant. The gearing is low enough in 4th that you don't really have
to use your brakes much at all even on steep stuff like the south side
of Coal Bank pass.
I made one final jet change once I got down off the mountain before
headed on into Durango and making it home.
What a trip! I think its still sinking in that I did what I just did!
Day 12....the long story.
Day 12. May 31st.
This was my slower day. I was south of where I needed to be so I took my time.
The town I ended up staying at the night before, Manila, Utah, was
right on the edge of the Flaming Gorge reservoir. I stopped at the
Exxon for fuel and asked the lady at the counter and her husband about
where to get breakfast in this sleepy little town. They said there
wasn't anything other than a lodge about 3 miles away down towards the
lake in the 'park'. That didn't sound that fun but I headed that way.
Not 3 blocks down the road was the Villa Cafe. I guess the owners of
the Exxon own the Lodge so they send everyone there. The owners of the
Villa Cafe where not amused! You have to love small town politics!
After a great breakfast I headed south over the mountains toward Vernal, Utah.
I took the side trip down off the mountain down to the dam in the
bottom of the canyon. Highway 191 actually crosses the top of the dam
wall! I stopped off at the visitors center but was sadly informed that
the damn dam tours didn't start until tomorrow! ARG! I wasn't the only
unhappy person. A group of kids from local schools on a camping trip
didn't know that either. I did get to read all the stuff in the
vistors center and look at a lot of old pictures of the construction.
I will have to go back some day for the damn dam tour! The engineering
was pretty amazing. They diverted the entire river through an 1100
foot long tunnel that was 25' or so in diameter when they where
building the dam. Neat stuff.
Off over the mountains I went.
Vernal had fuel and I checked the levels on the transmission and
transfer case again just to make sure since it was getting hotter out
and I was pushing it a little harder on the highways. All was good.
I made a stop at the Dinosaur National monument. Neat stuff! The main
quarry is pretty dang amazing.
Shortly after getting into Colorado I found another section of road I
just flat didn't like. Highway 139 from Rangely to Fruita, Colorado
was just terrible. Its like the highway had 30 years of patches on top
of a road base that was the profile of a 'W'. The deep ruts tossed the
Willys around. The wheelbase didn't match up with anything. Neither
did the track width. Douglass Pass was tight, steep, and 3rd gear all
the way. I did find a HUGE boulder that had caved off the side of the
mountain in the road. Luckily there was a route around on the
shoulder. I think some of the motorhomes and semi's I passed on the
other side where going to have a hard time getting through...
I ended up camping up in the Colorado National Monument just outside
Fruita, Colorado after finding some great Mexican food. The road up
into the park is really cool. I tried to shoot a video of the drive
up. I will have to see if I can get it posted soon.
The camp spots where large but a little expensive. They did have
running water in the bathrooms with flush toilets. It was still WAY
cheaper than a hotel for the night! The weather was great. A clear
starry night. I couldn't complain. I even had cell service!
This was my slower day. I was south of where I needed to be so I took my time.
The town I ended up staying at the night before, Manila, Utah, was
right on the edge of the Flaming Gorge reservoir. I stopped at the
Exxon for fuel and asked the lady at the counter and her husband about
where to get breakfast in this sleepy little town. They said there
wasn't anything other than a lodge about 3 miles away down towards the
lake in the 'park'. That didn't sound that fun but I headed that way.
Not 3 blocks down the road was the Villa Cafe. I guess the owners of
the Exxon own the Lodge so they send everyone there. The owners of the
Villa Cafe where not amused! You have to love small town politics!
After a great breakfast I headed south over the mountains toward Vernal, Utah.
I took the side trip down off the mountain down to the dam in the
bottom of the canyon. Highway 191 actually crosses the top of the dam
wall! I stopped off at the visitors center but was sadly informed that
the damn dam tours didn't start until tomorrow! ARG! I wasn't the only
unhappy person. A group of kids from local schools on a camping trip
didn't know that either. I did get to read all the stuff in the
vistors center and look at a lot of old pictures of the construction.
I will have to go back some day for the damn dam tour! The engineering
was pretty amazing. They diverted the entire river through an 1100
foot long tunnel that was 25' or so in diameter when they where
building the dam. Neat stuff.
Off over the mountains I went.
Vernal had fuel and I checked the levels on the transmission and
transfer case again just to make sure since it was getting hotter out
and I was pushing it a little harder on the highways. All was good.
I made a stop at the Dinosaur National monument. Neat stuff! The main
quarry is pretty dang amazing.
Shortly after getting into Colorado I found another section of road I
just flat didn't like. Highway 139 from Rangely to Fruita, Colorado
was just terrible. Its like the highway had 30 years of patches on top
of a road base that was the profile of a 'W'. The deep ruts tossed the
Willys around. The wheelbase didn't match up with anything. Neither
did the track width. Douglass Pass was tight, steep, and 3rd gear all
the way. I did find a HUGE boulder that had caved off the side of the
mountain in the road. Luckily there was a route around on the
shoulder. I think some of the motorhomes and semi's I passed on the
other side where going to have a hard time getting through...
I ended up camping up in the Colorado National Monument just outside
Fruita, Colorado after finding some great Mexican food. The road up
into the park is really cool. I tried to shoot a video of the drive
up. I will have to see if I can get it posted soon.
The camp spots where large but a little expensive. They did have
running water in the bathrooms with flush toilets. It was still WAY
cheaper than a hotel for the night! The weather was great. A clear
starry night. I couldn't complain. I even had cell service!
Day 11...the long story.
Day 11. May 30th.
Back on the road!
I ended up driving a LONG ways this day. I made it all the way to the
Wyoming border and it wasn't even late yet. Somewhere along the way I
ended up getting REALLY rained on. So much so that at the next town I
found a laundrymat and dried all my clothes out while I ate lunch!
Warm dry clothes are the best thing ever!
The morning was pretty dang cold. I ended up changing jets in the carb
while I drank some hot chocolate. I think this was the coldest morning
by far. I think going over the pass it was something like 28F! I don't
care who you are or how many layers you area wearing. In an open top
Willys that is plenty cold at 52mph!
I had thought I would end up around the Wyoming border that night but
ended up making it much much further south. Part of it was just
because it was a good road day. Part of it was because I was trying to
get south of the random rain storms. The last part was because I
couldn't find anywhere to freaking camp in southwest wyoming. I ate
dinner and grabbed fuel in Kemmerer, Wyoming. I think just before that
town is where I saw the derailed train. You don't see that every day.
It was just grain, no aliens, toxic waste, or railcars full of crate
jeeps.....
The wind really does blow in Wyoming if there aren't mountains! I
started looking for a place to camp but didn't have any luck. It was
windy enough I was thinking that I needed the lee side of a hill or
something. The sun was still up so I just kept going!
I ended up finding a not-so-cheap but nice enough hotel in Manila,
Utah just across the border at just about dark. I had spent about 12
hours on the road and covered about 500+ miles I think? I was done. I
was WAY south of where I needed to be.
This route down the western edge of Wyoming was REALLY great minus the
last 50 miles of wind and no-tress!
Back on the road!
I ended up driving a LONG ways this day. I made it all the way to the
Wyoming border and it wasn't even late yet. Somewhere along the way I
ended up getting REALLY rained on. So much so that at the next town I
found a laundrymat and dried all my clothes out while I ate lunch!
Warm dry clothes are the best thing ever!
The morning was pretty dang cold. I ended up changing jets in the carb
while I drank some hot chocolate. I think this was the coldest morning
by far. I think going over the pass it was something like 28F! I don't
care who you are or how many layers you area wearing. In an open top
Willys that is plenty cold at 52mph!
I had thought I would end up around the Wyoming border that night but
ended up making it much much further south. Part of it was just
because it was a good road day. Part of it was because I was trying to
get south of the random rain storms. The last part was because I
couldn't find anywhere to freaking camp in southwest wyoming. I ate
dinner and grabbed fuel in Kemmerer, Wyoming. I think just before that
town is where I saw the derailed train. You don't see that every day.
It was just grain, no aliens, toxic waste, or railcars full of crate
jeeps.....
The wind really does blow in Wyoming if there aren't mountains! I
started looking for a place to camp but didn't have any luck. It was
windy enough I was thinking that I needed the lee side of a hill or
something. The sun was still up so I just kept going!
I ended up finding a not-so-cheap but nice enough hotel in Manila,
Utah just across the border at just about dark. I had spent about 12
hours on the road and covered about 500+ miles I think? I was done. I
was WAY south of where I needed to be.
This route down the western edge of Wyoming was REALLY great minus the
last 50 miles of wind and no-tress!
Day 10...the long story
Day 10. May 29th.
This was a day of rest, repack, and refit at my parents house.
I didn't do much. I found a cool stash of old cars that I didn't know
about before. I had some homecooked food which is always good if mom
makes it! Played with my parents new puppies. Did a load of laundry.
Slept in a real bed. Took a LONG shower.
This was a day of rest, repack, and refit at my parents house.
I didn't do much. I found a cool stash of old cars that I didn't know
about before. I had some homecooked food which is always good if mom
makes it! Played with my parents new puppies. Did a load of laundry.
Slept in a real bed. Took a LONG shower.
Day 9...the long story.
Day 9. May 28th.
I headed back towards Idaho and my parents ranch this day.
I ended up getting rained more than enough this day. Maybe this was
mothers natures way of telling me I needed a shower? I ended up
getting wet enough that I needed to find some better rain pants. My
lightweight ones where just not cutting it any more. The water would
kinda get thrown up inside the bowl of the seat and soak through my
light rain gear into my pants. Having a soggy cold back end is no fun
at all.
At some point I pulled over in Hamilton, Montana at a Bob Wards
sporting goods store. The girls there got me fixed up with some nice
WATERPROOF pants and didn't even seem put off by my lack of bathing.
Maybe those road showers really do help?
The best thing ever is the weather underground mobile site for your
smart phone. It lets you see current radar and track trail on your
journey. I used this more than once to time a shoot between a pair of
storms that where moving across the highway.
I stopped and visited with some old friends on the way. Got some great
food. Basically I had a great time even though the weather was being a
pain in my rear.
With an open old flat fender jeep with tires that stick WAY outside of
the body you have interesting inventive thoughts on the road. Have you
ever seen wipers on the INSIDE of a windshield? How do you keep the
water from ending up on the underside of the bikini top and dripping
on your head? What kind of seats would be the most waterproof? Do they
make seat heaters that would work in the rain?
Fun times.....
I headed back towards Idaho and my parents ranch this day.
I ended up getting rained more than enough this day. Maybe this was
mothers natures way of telling me I needed a shower? I ended up
getting wet enough that I needed to find some better rain pants. My
lightweight ones where just not cutting it any more. The water would
kinda get thrown up inside the bowl of the seat and soak through my
light rain gear into my pants. Having a soggy cold back end is no fun
at all.
At some point I pulled over in Hamilton, Montana at a Bob Wards
sporting goods store. The girls there got me fixed up with some nice
WATERPROOF pants and didn't even seem put off by my lack of bathing.
Maybe those road showers really do help?
The best thing ever is the weather underground mobile site for your
smart phone. It lets you see current radar and track trail on your
journey. I used this more than once to time a shoot between a pair of
storms that where moving across the highway.
I stopped and visited with some old friends on the way. Got some great
food. Basically I had a great time even though the weather was being a
pain in my rear.
With an open old flat fender jeep with tires that stick WAY outside of
the body you have interesting inventive thoughts on the road. Have you
ever seen wipers on the INSIDE of a windshield? How do you keep the
water from ending up on the underside of the bikini top and dripping
on your head? What kind of seats would be the most waterproof? Do they
make seat heaters that would work in the rain?
Fun times.....
Day 8...the long story.
Day 8, May 27th
The last day on the trail. I didn't take many pics. Hopefully I will
get some from friends in the near future.
We made it up a ways towards a high mountain lake but got stopped in
one area with some VERY bad exposure below a sidehill section of road.
It was only about 500 feet down to the bottom! EEEEKKKKK! He ended up
using the winch to get turned around an we all headed out for the last
night of camping....well, camping in the woods....or rather 'wheeling
camping. I had another 3-4 days to go.
I need to find some pictures. Maybe they didn't upload. I will check tonight....
The last day on the trail. I didn't take many pics. Hopefully I will
get some from friends in the near future.
We made it up a ways towards a high mountain lake but got stopped in
one area with some VERY bad exposure below a sidehill section of road.
It was only about 500 feet down to the bottom! EEEEKKKKK! He ended up
using the winch to get turned around an we all headed out for the last
night of camping....well, camping in the woods....or rather 'wheeling
camping. I had another 3-4 days to go.
I need to find some pictures. Maybe they didn't upload. I will check tonight....
Day 7...the long story.
Day Seven? May 26th
This day was freaking perfect. We covered a lot of miles and
everything was really clicking.
We where back in the middle of nowhere for sure. We backtracked over a
pass we had already gone over to get back into another area. Sadly we
where not able to connect out the other side of much stuff, but it was
still fun none the less!
I got to break trail over a small pass this day. It was REALLY nice to
lead through some stuff. It made me feel like my driving was catching
up with the other guys ( yeah right! ).
This was the day we finally had to use our auxiliary fuel. I put in 10
gallons, I think one of the TJs squeezed in 14 gallons. I seemed to be
using about the same amount of fuel as the larger jeeps. That wasn't
too bad for my carbureted old engine I don't think. Both TJs are
running 5.3 GM engines. The super siphon worked GREAT for transferring
fuel. No mess, no sore arms from holding up the can, etc. My friend
REALLY liked it after I let him try it on one of his cans!
Off we went in another direction. This day was my favorite by far. I
got to break some trail effectively, we covered a lot of ground, no
problems at all really.
This day was freaking perfect. We covered a lot of miles and
everything was really clicking.
We where back in the middle of nowhere for sure. We backtracked over a
pass we had already gone over to get back into another area. Sadly we
where not able to connect out the other side of much stuff, but it was
still fun none the less!
I got to break trail over a small pass this day. It was REALLY nice to
lead through some stuff. It made me feel like my driving was catching
up with the other guys ( yeah right! ).
This was the day we finally had to use our auxiliary fuel. I put in 10
gallons, I think one of the TJs squeezed in 14 gallons. I seemed to be
using about the same amount of fuel as the larger jeeps. That wasn't
too bad for my carbureted old engine I don't think. Both TJs are
running 5.3 GM engines. The super siphon worked GREAT for transferring
fuel. No mess, no sore arms from holding up the can, etc. My friend
REALLY liked it after I let him try it on one of his cans!
Off we went in another direction. This day was my favorite by far. I
got to break some trail effectively, we covered a lot of ground, no
problems at all really.
Day 6...the long story.
Day six! May 26th...
I was pretty nervous this day after my lack luster performance the 1st day.
Finding a stuck Subaru down the road from the camp site cheered me up
a bit! He had tried to come up our tracks and got stuck....go figure.
We gave him a tug and sent him down the road. He didn't make it more
than 20 feet into the snow on the road bed, at least I had made it
about 2 miles. Go Willys!
We headed down into some really great backcountry along some fat snow
fed rivers. We looped back over the mountains on a random pass road
that was paved?!?!?! It was snow free...boring.....and topped up with
fuel again.
After that we headed back up into the mountains.
Somewhere in there I decided to try 1psi instead of 2psi. What a
difference it made! It made a LOT of difference. I think my driving
was also catching up with the other guys and I was getting the 'feel'
for this 'new' vehicle I had. My Krawlers are pretty rock worn and
have rounded edges on the tread blocks. This really hurts you in my
opinion in the snow. I just didn't have the 'traction' that the new
MTR/K's or custom grooved Swamper Radials had. In my opinion those
MTR/K goodyear tires are among some of the best I have seen all
around. They did VERY well in the deep snow, I know they work well in
the rocks, and they even go down the road pretty well.
After the change to 1psi things started to work for me. Don't forget
that we probably aired up and down about 10+ times on this trip since
we where going in and out of the snow so much.
Everyone eventually got sidehilled out again this day but we made it
over one pass and WAY into the back country. It was more a combination
of huge tree wells, sidehill, uphill, and crappy snow conditions in
some light rain. The Willys was working pretty well at this point and
I actually did some things that amazed even my friends. Yeah Willys!
I was pretty nervous this day after my lack luster performance the 1st day.
Finding a stuck Subaru down the road from the camp site cheered me up
a bit! He had tried to come up our tracks and got stuck....go figure.
We gave him a tug and sent him down the road. He didn't make it more
than 20 feet into the snow on the road bed, at least I had made it
about 2 miles. Go Willys!
We headed down into some really great backcountry along some fat snow
fed rivers. We looped back over the mountains on a random pass road
that was paved?!?!?! It was snow free...boring.....and topped up with
fuel again.
After that we headed back up into the mountains.
Somewhere in there I decided to try 1psi instead of 2psi. What a
difference it made! It made a LOT of difference. I think my driving
was also catching up with the other guys and I was getting the 'feel'
for this 'new' vehicle I had. My Krawlers are pretty rock worn and
have rounded edges on the tread blocks. This really hurts you in my
opinion in the snow. I just didn't have the 'traction' that the new
MTR/K's or custom grooved Swamper Radials had. In my opinion those
MTR/K goodyear tires are among some of the best I have seen all
around. They did VERY well in the deep snow, I know they work well in
the rocks, and they even go down the road pretty well.
After the change to 1psi things started to work for me. Don't forget
that we probably aired up and down about 10+ times on this trip since
we where going in and out of the snow so much.
Everyone eventually got sidehilled out again this day but we made it
over one pass and WAY into the back country. It was more a combination
of huge tree wells, sidehill, uphill, and crappy snow conditions in
some light rain. The Willys was working pretty well at this point and
I actually did some things that amazed even my friends. Yeah Willys!
Day 5....the long story
Day 5. May 25th.
Let the snow-wheeling begin!
Up and over the mountains we went. The snow got deeper. The sidehills
got steeper. The exposure got more severe.
To be honest this day ended up being just too much too quick for me.
Basically all my friends do is go snow wheeling they are on a whole
new level in there vehicle preparation and driving skill! This is the
first time I had had my little Willys out in the deep deep snow. I had
done a lot of snow-wheeling back in the day, but I was WAY behind my
friends. Basically I was a rusty driver in an unfamiliar vehicle, in
unfamiliar terrain. I flat got my butt whooped this day.
At one point towards the end of the day we where working this section
of sidehill going towards a campground high up in the mountains. My
tires where down to 2psi and the old Willys was just flat having a
hard time. It wouldn't stick to the sidehill and I constantly was
sliding downhill to the somewhat exposed section of the road edge. I
wouldn't get 'stuck' really but I just couldn't move more than a few
feet. I couldn't get the vehicle to climb back up on the snow by
itself. I would have to winch back up. That old belleview sure pulls
nice for a "6000lb" winch though! I am REALLY happy with that old
thing after this trip. Both my friends run 8274's and I can now fully
appreciate the modern brake system and power out motor. I have some
upgrades to do in the future!
One of my friends popped an outer bead off after taking a pretty bad
bounce. He was using the long pedal a bit through a section and took a
sideways hop on a sidehill section. The downhill rear tire took all
the weight of the jeep at speed, at about a 90 degree angle to the
bead, and pealed off. Both of the TJs are running what I call
Tape-Locks. A few raps of gorilla tape are added over the safety bead
area on the wheel to make the tire fit MUCH tighter on the rim.
Honestly, this flat works about 99% of the time. This lost bead was
from a BAD bounce at speed at probably 3psi or less. The TJ isn't a
light weight rig either at over 5000lbs fully loaded. He had no other
bead issues the rest of the trip. It was more driver error than
beadlock error.
We scouted up the road a bit and found much more sidehill and it was
getting worse. At this point I just called it. I was pretty much done
for the day...
We backtracked to a nice camp spot alongside the road still in the
'snow' section to limit holiday traffic
Let the snow-wheeling begin!
Up and over the mountains we went. The snow got deeper. The sidehills
got steeper. The exposure got more severe.
To be honest this day ended up being just too much too quick for me.
Basically all my friends do is go snow wheeling they are on a whole
new level in there vehicle preparation and driving skill! This is the
first time I had had my little Willys out in the deep deep snow. I had
done a lot of snow-wheeling back in the day, but I was WAY behind my
friends. Basically I was a rusty driver in an unfamiliar vehicle, in
unfamiliar terrain. I flat got my butt whooped this day.
At one point towards the end of the day we where working this section
of sidehill going towards a campground high up in the mountains. My
tires where down to 2psi and the old Willys was just flat having a
hard time. It wouldn't stick to the sidehill and I constantly was
sliding downhill to the somewhat exposed section of the road edge. I
wouldn't get 'stuck' really but I just couldn't move more than a few
feet. I couldn't get the vehicle to climb back up on the snow by
itself. I would have to winch back up. That old belleview sure pulls
nice for a "6000lb" winch though! I am REALLY happy with that old
thing after this trip. Both my friends run 8274's and I can now fully
appreciate the modern brake system and power out motor. I have some
upgrades to do in the future!
One of my friends popped an outer bead off after taking a pretty bad
bounce. He was using the long pedal a bit through a section and took a
sideways hop on a sidehill section. The downhill rear tire took all
the weight of the jeep at speed, at about a 90 degree angle to the
bead, and pealed off. Both of the TJs are running what I call
Tape-Locks. A few raps of gorilla tape are added over the safety bead
area on the wheel to make the tire fit MUCH tighter on the rim.
Honestly, this flat works about 99% of the time. This lost bead was
from a BAD bounce at speed at probably 3psi or less. The TJ isn't a
light weight rig either at over 5000lbs fully loaded. He had no other
bead issues the rest of the trip. It was more driver error than
beadlock error.
We scouted up the road a bit and found much more sidehill and it was
getting worse. At this point I just called it. I was pretty much done
for the day...
We backtracked to a nice camp spot alongside the road still in the
'snow' section to limit holiday traffic
Day four....the long story.
Day Four. May 24th.
By now I felt pretty good on the road sections. I figured if the
engine was going to scatter it would have probably done it by now. I
was headed north to Missoula montana to meet up with my friends for
the actual 'wheeling' portion of the trip.
The drive up went fine. I had to stop and visit some old friends. Cell
phone coverage was a bit spotty so trying to figure out the meting
time involved a bit of phone tag. We where both coming from opposite
directions...I traveling much slower and stopping more often. I don't
know what it is about an old Willys jeep and being well hydrated but
my tank was much smaller than the Willys. Maybe its the seat angle and
the frequency of the vibrations...but I had to pee a lot! Well, except
for that oven section through Salt Lake where I drank like a gallon of
water in 3 hours and never had to stop once! Is that bad?
Anyways. Right after I crossed into Montana the rain clouds showed up
on the horizon. Shortly after that I got my first 'road shower' on the
way into Hamilton, Montana. The weather forecast concerned me enough
that I stopped into the local hardware store for some rain supplies. I
found some nice thick 40 mil clear plastic, some tape, and some
magnets. I had an idea!
Only a few wet roads and rain showers to dodge on the way to the last
fuel stop. I topped off the fuel cans with 15 gallons total and met up
with one friend while another was going to meet us at camp that night
having left work later that day.
The drive into the 1st campground was good. 4wd required, tires aired
down, etc. I think we where the 1st 4 wheel vehicles in that year. The
weather was spitting rain but it wasn't too bad. We had stopped for
firewood down lower earlier in the day. I set up my hammock that
night. I love not having to sleep on the wet ground on trips like
this!
Not too long after we got into camp my other friend showed up.
Everyone was safe and sound. The fire....a real fire....was started.
Dinner was cooked. We stayed up a little too long talking around the
fire, but boy this was the life!
By now I felt pretty good on the road sections. I figured if the
engine was going to scatter it would have probably done it by now. I
was headed north to Missoula montana to meet up with my friends for
the actual 'wheeling' portion of the trip.
The drive up went fine. I had to stop and visit some old friends. Cell
phone coverage was a bit spotty so trying to figure out the meting
time involved a bit of phone tag. We where both coming from opposite
directions...I traveling much slower and stopping more often. I don't
know what it is about an old Willys jeep and being well hydrated but
my tank was much smaller than the Willys. Maybe its the seat angle and
the frequency of the vibrations...but I had to pee a lot! Well, except
for that oven section through Salt Lake where I drank like a gallon of
water in 3 hours and never had to stop once! Is that bad?
Anyways. Right after I crossed into Montana the rain clouds showed up
on the horizon. Shortly after that I got my first 'road shower' on the
way into Hamilton, Montana. The weather forecast concerned me enough
that I stopped into the local hardware store for some rain supplies. I
found some nice thick 40 mil clear plastic, some tape, and some
magnets. I had an idea!
Only a few wet roads and rain showers to dodge on the way to the last
fuel stop. I topped off the fuel cans with 15 gallons total and met up
with one friend while another was going to meet us at camp that night
having left work later that day.
The drive into the 1st campground was good. 4wd required, tires aired
down, etc. I think we where the 1st 4 wheel vehicles in that year. The
weather was spitting rain but it wasn't too bad. We had stopped for
firewood down lower earlier in the day. I set up my hammock that
night. I love not having to sleep on the wet ground on trips like
this!
Not too long after we got into camp my other friend showed up.
Everyone was safe and sound. The fire....a real fire....was started.
Dinner was cooked. We stayed up a little too long talking around the
fire, but boy this was the life!
Day three....the long story.
Day three. May 23rd.
The wind the previous night had made me stop a little south of the
Idaho border. This day was the only real day I had a firm plan on
where to stop. I was going to be staying at my parents ranch in Idaho
for the night, other than that no big deal.
The night before I had given the Willys a good look over. I added a
bit of fluids to the transmission and transfer case. I had a few new
leaks but nothing too bad. I think this old jeeps just leak. You just
need to stay on top of it.
I was packed up early and headed north. I think I killed a few minutes
NOT wanting to be the first person to fire up an engine in the
campground. The V6 in the old Willys just isn't the most quiet
thing....
The drive up and over the Idaho state line went well. I have driven
this route on the interstate many times but never on the old highway
and back roads. It is amazing the difference in the stuff you see.
Lots of small towns, random stop signs in the middle of nowhere, a
cool old car collection, or whatever. I was using paper directions so
there where a few street signs that didn't match or where missing. A
few wrong turns. A few times I second guessed myself on where the road
should go or be. Nothing major.
Once I got into Pocatello, Idaho around noon I had my first 'issue'.
The drivers side front wheel was squeaking. My disc brakes drag a
little sometimes and make an odd noise but this sounded more serious.
I pulled over and jacked up the offending wheel to see how it felt.
Nothing was loose, nothing felt that bad really. I thought it was the
brake dragging or maybe a piece of something on the brake pad. Packed
back up and on the road again I didn't make it 5 miles before I knew
it wasn't just the brake. I figured I better stop and take a better
look. I found the closest parts house and pulled in the parking lot.
This time I tore down that front corner a bit more. I had it down to
just the bearing hub and was still getting the noise, even with no
load on the bearings. Everything was tight, but it just made that bad
squeak noise. I decided to tear it down and see what I could see. The
parts house had a spare bearing and race which I picked up just
in-case anyways. They didn't have an outer spindle seal that was the
right size though.
I ended up pulling the outer bearing and scraping out all the old
grease. I cleaned and repacked the outer bearing along with trying to
work as much new grease into the inner bearing that was trapped behind
the spindle seal. It only took an hour or so and almost a complete
roll of shop towels to complete the project. I could have probably
driven on it. There was grease in the groove between the bearings but
the outer bearing looked a little dry and gritty so spending the time
on it was probably best.
Just north of Pocatello I found a super cool old junkyard full of
1950s and 1960s iron. It hadn't been crushed, I was amazed.
Lots more miles that day but nothing exciting happened. A few wrong
turns, a few more old roads, a corndog for lunch, and then I was at my
parents ranch just south of the Montana border by about 4pm I think. I
stopped off at the local tire shop to pick up an emergency tire tube
and some larger tire patches. I don't carry a full spare tire because
of tight space and weight. These BFG Krawlers are pretty dang tough
tires and I wasn't THAT worried about it, but having some insurance
was probably a good thing.
I had dinner out with the folks, took a nice long shower, and fixed a
few little annoying issues with the Willys in the garage. The rear
axle was leaking a bit where the full float axle meets the bearing
hub. I had some flat gasket stock so I decided to make a few gaskets.
I also weighed the Willys in there somewhere at a random weight
station that wasn't manned. It was 3460 total I think. Slighty front
heavy, but I didn't have my extra 15 gallons of fuel in the cans yet.
I think the total for the trip was just under 3600lbs with all fuel
and about 40-60lbs rear heavy (booo!).
The wind the previous night had made me stop a little south of the
Idaho border. This day was the only real day I had a firm plan on
where to stop. I was going to be staying at my parents ranch in Idaho
for the night, other than that no big deal.
The night before I had given the Willys a good look over. I added a
bit of fluids to the transmission and transfer case. I had a few new
leaks but nothing too bad. I think this old jeeps just leak. You just
need to stay on top of it.
I was packed up early and headed north. I think I killed a few minutes
NOT wanting to be the first person to fire up an engine in the
campground. The V6 in the old Willys just isn't the most quiet
thing....
The drive up and over the Idaho state line went well. I have driven
this route on the interstate many times but never on the old highway
and back roads. It is amazing the difference in the stuff you see.
Lots of small towns, random stop signs in the middle of nowhere, a
cool old car collection, or whatever. I was using paper directions so
there where a few street signs that didn't match or where missing. A
few wrong turns. A few times I second guessed myself on where the road
should go or be. Nothing major.
Once I got into Pocatello, Idaho around noon I had my first 'issue'.
The drivers side front wheel was squeaking. My disc brakes drag a
little sometimes and make an odd noise but this sounded more serious.
I pulled over and jacked up the offending wheel to see how it felt.
Nothing was loose, nothing felt that bad really. I thought it was the
brake dragging or maybe a piece of something on the brake pad. Packed
back up and on the road again I didn't make it 5 miles before I knew
it wasn't just the brake. I figured I better stop and take a better
look. I found the closest parts house and pulled in the parking lot.
This time I tore down that front corner a bit more. I had it down to
just the bearing hub and was still getting the noise, even with no
load on the bearings. Everything was tight, but it just made that bad
squeak noise. I decided to tear it down and see what I could see. The
parts house had a spare bearing and race which I picked up just
in-case anyways. They didn't have an outer spindle seal that was the
right size though.
I ended up pulling the outer bearing and scraping out all the old
grease. I cleaned and repacked the outer bearing along with trying to
work as much new grease into the inner bearing that was trapped behind
the spindle seal. It only took an hour or so and almost a complete
roll of shop towels to complete the project. I could have probably
driven on it. There was grease in the groove between the bearings but
the outer bearing looked a little dry and gritty so spending the time
on it was probably best.
Just north of Pocatello I found a super cool old junkyard full of
1950s and 1960s iron. It hadn't been crushed, I was amazed.
Lots more miles that day but nothing exciting happened. A few wrong
turns, a few more old roads, a corndog for lunch, and then I was at my
parents ranch just south of the Montana border by about 4pm I think. I
stopped off at the local tire shop to pick up an emergency tire tube
and some larger tire patches. I don't carry a full spare tire because
of tight space and weight. These BFG Krawlers are pretty dang tough
tires and I wasn't THAT worried about it, but having some insurance
was probably a good thing.
I had dinner out with the folks, took a nice long shower, and fixed a
few little annoying issues with the Willys in the garage. The rear
axle was leaking a bit where the full float axle meets the bearing
hub. I had some flat gasket stock so I decided to make a few gaskets.
I also weighed the Willys in there somewhere at a random weight
station that wasn't manned. It was 3460 total I think. Slighty front
heavy, but I didn't have my extra 15 gallons of fuel in the cans yet.
I think the total for the trip was just under 3600lbs with all fuel
and about 40-60lbs rear heavy (booo!).
Day two....the long story.
Day Two. The 22nd of May.
This was going to be my first full day on the road. I was trying to
make it to the Idaho state line as a rough goal.
I hit the I70 junction early in the morning. I REALLY didn't want to
have to take interstate but I had to jump on an off a few times for
only a few miles. Looking back I think with a little more time I could
have found a better way. The old highway into Green River, Utah was
one of the worst sections of road on the entire trip. I think the road
was paved sometimes in the 50s. Then they ran a cat with ripper teeth
down it. Aliens had removed random sections of road base in
interesting shapes. They didn't feel the need to repair any of the
road surface where they either had torn out or replaced culverts under
the road. There where some hail mary dukes of hazard moments on that
short section of road. The Willys didn't fall apart so I guess it was
ok? This little Willys was built with just over four inches of
compression travel and I used all of it more than once. I probably
should have just slowed down more...
Green River was a nice little town. I had never really driven through
the town itself. I had always just passed it on the interstate. There
was a fantastic looking 600+ yard match range just to the east of
town. I passed a mini-refinery on the old highway too. A few dozen
mangy range cows to keep me company. I noticed a small issue in green
river with my idle speed. It was too high for no real reason. I had a
new manual throttle installed and thought that might have been the
issue. I found the local parts store that wasn't open this early in
the morning, but popped the hood anyways.
I turned out that I needed to move the throttle return spring over to
the other side of the arm and rebend the small bracket on the engine
to tension the spring more. This fixed that problem for the rest of
the trip. It wasn't a big deal, but I wanted to stay on top of things
like this on the trip. I think a lot of time you spot more stuff
fixing the little stuff.
I had to take another short section of interstate to get to highway 6
headed towards the big city. I had to make a jet change or two but
ended up with a combo that worked all the way into Idaho. Sometimes
its fun to change jets, sometimes it is a bit of a pain. You can
really notice a big difference in mileage, power, and general engine
behavior if you stay on top of it. I usually try to run in the 13-14:1
range under cruise vacuum if I can. If it is going leaner than
14.3-14.8 very often I change. If it is going richer and the elevation
is going to stay higher I change it. For quicker mountain passes you
can just leave it usually.
I hit the end of highway 6 as it melts into the mess that is the Salt
Lake metro area. This metro area is just HUGE and stretches for what
seems like a hundred miles south to north. I had plotted an old
highway and surface street route through town. Sadly I hit this mess
just about 11am or so. I would have to cross this concrete and asphalt
mess in the heat of the day.
The crossing went well other than a few turn arounds and one section
of road that I just HATED. The Bangerter Highway is now on my banned
list. This 55mph outer highway was four to six lanes of concrete
highway with 20 foot concrete sound walls on both sides. This not so
clever configuration of road design formed a giant rock oven that I
was lucky enough to get to drive my 70 year old Willys jeep through!
Never again! It was probably my least favorite part of the trip.
Getting off that road was the best thing ever.
Once on the north end of the mess I call Salt Lake I was able to get
on the old highway 89 again. I phoned a friend that I was going to
meet for lunch in Bringham City. By the time I got there it was more
like an early dinner but I couldn't complain. I talked jeep for a nice
long time and got to get about ten glasses of water in me.
I had wanted to get to the Idaho border, but mother nature had other
plans. Right after leaving Bringham City the wind picked up a ton and
I was just done with it for the day. At this point I had probably done
300 or more miles with a lot of hours in the heat of the midday sun.
It just so happened that I noticed a sign for Crystal Hot Springs just
north of Bringham city. I wasn't cold really, but soaking for a bit
sounded pretty dang good after that day on the road. And, they had
camp sights. And, they had trees I could string my hammock up on.
Sold! It was probably the best $20 I spent the entire trip so far.
I soaked in the naturally salty mineral waters for more than a few
hours. I got to talk with some locals which was interesting. One older
lady that was a retired Navy nurse knew a lot about the local area. I
don't think many people got WHY I was doing this trip in an old flat
fender, but many where interested in my back roads non-interstate
journey.
I found out that I didn't pack any tent stakes for my tarp. I ended up
finding a piece of mostly not burned firewood in one of the fire pits
that I then split and carved into a few stakes. Ray Mears I am not,
but I try...
This was going to be my first full day on the road. I was trying to
make it to the Idaho state line as a rough goal.
I hit the I70 junction early in the morning. I REALLY didn't want to
have to take interstate but I had to jump on an off a few times for
only a few miles. Looking back I think with a little more time I could
have found a better way. The old highway into Green River, Utah was
one of the worst sections of road on the entire trip. I think the road
was paved sometimes in the 50s. Then they ran a cat with ripper teeth
down it. Aliens had removed random sections of road base in
interesting shapes. They didn't feel the need to repair any of the
road surface where they either had torn out or replaced culverts under
the road. There where some hail mary dukes of hazard moments on that
short section of road. The Willys didn't fall apart so I guess it was
ok? This little Willys was built with just over four inches of
compression travel and I used all of it more than once. I probably
should have just slowed down more...
Green River was a nice little town. I had never really driven through
the town itself. I had always just passed it on the interstate. There
was a fantastic looking 600+ yard match range just to the east of
town. I passed a mini-refinery on the old highway too. A few dozen
mangy range cows to keep me company. I noticed a small issue in green
river with my idle speed. It was too high for no real reason. I had a
new manual throttle installed and thought that might have been the
issue. I found the local parts store that wasn't open this early in
the morning, but popped the hood anyways.
I turned out that I needed to move the throttle return spring over to
the other side of the arm and rebend the small bracket on the engine
to tension the spring more. This fixed that problem for the rest of
the trip. It wasn't a big deal, but I wanted to stay on top of things
like this on the trip. I think a lot of time you spot more stuff
fixing the little stuff.
I had to take another short section of interstate to get to highway 6
headed towards the big city. I had to make a jet change or two but
ended up with a combo that worked all the way into Idaho. Sometimes
its fun to change jets, sometimes it is a bit of a pain. You can
really notice a big difference in mileage, power, and general engine
behavior if you stay on top of it. I usually try to run in the 13-14:1
range under cruise vacuum if I can. If it is going leaner than
14.3-14.8 very often I change. If it is going richer and the elevation
is going to stay higher I change it. For quicker mountain passes you
can just leave it usually.
I hit the end of highway 6 as it melts into the mess that is the Salt
Lake metro area. This metro area is just HUGE and stretches for what
seems like a hundred miles south to north. I had plotted an old
highway and surface street route through town. Sadly I hit this mess
just about 11am or so. I would have to cross this concrete and asphalt
mess in the heat of the day.
The crossing went well other than a few turn arounds and one section
of road that I just HATED. The Bangerter Highway is now on my banned
list. This 55mph outer highway was four to six lanes of concrete
highway with 20 foot concrete sound walls on both sides. This not so
clever configuration of road design formed a giant rock oven that I
was lucky enough to get to drive my 70 year old Willys jeep through!
Never again! It was probably my least favorite part of the trip.
Getting off that road was the best thing ever.
Once on the north end of the mess I call Salt Lake I was able to get
on the old highway 89 again. I phoned a friend that I was going to
meet for lunch in Bringham City. By the time I got there it was more
like an early dinner but I couldn't complain. I talked jeep for a nice
long time and got to get about ten glasses of water in me.
I had wanted to get to the Idaho border, but mother nature had other
plans. Right after leaving Bringham City the wind picked up a ton and
I was just done with it for the day. At this point I had probably done
300 or more miles with a lot of hours in the heat of the midday sun.
It just so happened that I noticed a sign for Crystal Hot Springs just
north of Bringham city. I wasn't cold really, but soaking for a bit
sounded pretty dang good after that day on the road. And, they had
camp sights. And, they had trees I could string my hammock up on.
Sold! It was probably the best $20 I spent the entire trip so far.
I soaked in the naturally salty mineral waters for more than a few
hours. I got to talk with some locals which was interesting. One older
lady that was a retired Navy nurse knew a lot about the local area. I
don't think many people got WHY I was doing this trip in an old flat
fender, but many where interested in my back roads non-interstate
journey.
I found out that I didn't pack any tent stakes for my tarp. I ended up
finding a piece of mostly not burned firewood in one of the fire pits
that I then split and carved into a few stakes. Ray Mears I am not,
but I try...
Day one....the longer story.
I am still processing that I did a trip this epic but I figured I
better post up some stuff before the natives get restless....
Day one. After work on Tues the 21st of May.
I spent the day at work trying to be productive. I had a random issue
with the Willys where the battery was DEAD the night before. My 8+
year old optima had finally given up the ghost. I didn't want to mess
with it anymore. I didn't want to have to worry about it. I just
bought a new optima red top and installed it about 10 minutes before I
left. A quick change of clothes and some pictures with the misses and
I was ready to head off on this crazy adventure.
Up to this point I think the longest I had driven the Willys in one
stretch was maybe 20 miles on the highway, now I was going to do 2000
or more miles across four states over the next 10 or so days. In it's
previous incarnation this vehicle had done some 300-700 mile trips but
that was over 7 years ago I think and WAY before the big recent
complete rebuild. I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad
thing. A 'new' vehicle can be much more fickle than an old trusted
one.
The drive towards Moab went well. It takes a little bit of an
adjustment to get use to traveling at about 52mph when everyone else
is going much much faster. I try and pull over and let people pass
whenever I can, but sometimes those poor rushed souls just have to
wait until they get a change to pass. Early on in the trip I learned
that big semi trucks and trailers need to be respected and even
slightly feared. The big box trailers really have a large wake of wind
alongside and behind them. They generally push, pull, and toss the
little Willys all over the road when they pass you in the other lane
going either direction! The Willys also has enough road noise that you
also don't always hear people coming up behind you. A surprise pass by
a semi truck with trailer going 70mph is always interesting!
Moab came in a few short hours. I made it to town just about dark. I
tried to instigate a rule that I wouldn't be driving after dark if I
could help it. If the entire point is to see more why drive at night?
I grabbed some taco's in Downtown Moab, topped off with fuel, and
headed north of town to find somewhere to camp for the night.
Most of the campgrounds close to town where very full. I decided to
just head north and find somewhere to camp under the starry sky. The
weather was nice, it wasn't cold, and wasn't even windy. I ended up
camping about 5-10 miles south of the interstate on some piece of dry
lakebed I found about a mile off the highway on some random side road.
My dreams that night where just flat crazy. I still remember something
about a flat tire, a crazy group of desert mechanics in some huge
abandoned underground warehouse.
Morning came early. I was just with the sun and on the road for the next day...
better post up some stuff before the natives get restless....
Day one. After work on Tues the 21st of May.
I spent the day at work trying to be productive. I had a random issue
with the Willys where the battery was DEAD the night before. My 8+
year old optima had finally given up the ghost. I didn't want to mess
with it anymore. I didn't want to have to worry about it. I just
bought a new optima red top and installed it about 10 minutes before I
left. A quick change of clothes and some pictures with the misses and
I was ready to head off on this crazy adventure.
Up to this point I think the longest I had driven the Willys in one
stretch was maybe 20 miles on the highway, now I was going to do 2000
or more miles across four states over the next 10 or so days. In it's
previous incarnation this vehicle had done some 300-700 mile trips but
that was over 7 years ago I think and WAY before the big recent
complete rebuild. I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad
thing. A 'new' vehicle can be much more fickle than an old trusted
one.
The drive towards Moab went well. It takes a little bit of an
adjustment to get use to traveling at about 52mph when everyone else
is going much much faster. I try and pull over and let people pass
whenever I can, but sometimes those poor rushed souls just have to
wait until they get a change to pass. Early on in the trip I learned
that big semi trucks and trailers need to be respected and even
slightly feared. The big box trailers really have a large wake of wind
alongside and behind them. They generally push, pull, and toss the
little Willys all over the road when they pass you in the other lane
going either direction! The Willys also has enough road noise that you
also don't always hear people coming up behind you. A surprise pass by
a semi truck with trailer going 70mph is always interesting!
Moab came in a few short hours. I made it to town just about dark. I
tried to instigate a rule that I wouldn't be driving after dark if I
could help it. If the entire point is to see more why drive at night?
I grabbed some taco's in Downtown Moab, topped off with fuel, and
headed north of town to find somewhere to camp for the night.
Most of the campgrounds close to town where very full. I decided to
just head north and find somewhere to camp under the starry sky. The
weather was nice, it wasn't cold, and wasn't even windy. I ended up
camping about 5-10 miles south of the interstate on some piece of dry
lakebed I found about a mile off the highway on some random side road.
My dreams that night where just flat crazy. I still remember something
about a flat tire, a crazy group of desert mechanics in some huge
abandoned underground warehouse.
Morning came early. I was just with the sun and on the road for the next day...
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Silverton!
Over red mountain pass I went. One heavy jet change in ridgeway Colorado was all it took. The air is cool and heavy so it wasn't bad. I could sure tell the loss of power at that kind of elevation. I think red mountain is just over 11000 feet. Maybe I need a Turbo? Lunch in town and then off towards home.
Last day on the road...
I am in Montrose Colorado headed south for home. I am headed over red mountain and coal bank pass. I see more carburetor jetting in my near future. It has been such an epic trip so far. This should be a good way to finish it. The high country is amazing this time of the year.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Butt kicked...
There are some roads that will just kick your butt. Highway 139 from Rangely to Fruita was that road for me. The road surface was just brutal with the short wheelbase of the willys. I came very close to airing down for a better ride. The pass was tight, steep, and had a lot of interesting features. This included a rock that probably weighed more than my old Jeep RIGHT in the middle of the road. I am glad I wasn't under it when it caved off the hillside...
Side trip.
I have been trying to slow down and see the sights today. I made a stop at the dinosaur national monument for an hour or so. Neat stuff. The willys needed a jet change. Well half a jet change. I am.sending this from dinosaur Colorado. I need some more water. It has to be in the middle 70s now. The little old willys could use some more cooling capacity. I am not pushing it and the temp is in the 190 range. It is nothing to worry about, but it will need more margin since the outside temp is still maybe only 80f on the road. I am headed toward grand junction via rangely.
Dam
No dam tours at the damn dam till tomorrow! Oh well. The info and old pictures in the visitors center where pretty good for the flaming gorge dam. I'm in vernal for lunch and the sun is out. Its warm and sunny outside. I stopped in at the local Napa parts house to give the willys a once over. Everything checked out OK. A few little leaks after doing something like 500-600 miles yesterday. Today is going to be a lot more mellow. I didn't drive just long enough. There is lots of camping just south of Manila,Utah but finding those would have been tough in the dark. The drive over to Vernal was pretty amazing. I will have to come back to this area for sure.
Small town politics....
The lady at the Exxon says there is nowhere to eat in town except three miles down the road in the flaming gorge park....need a park pass too. Not three blocks away is The Villa cafe. This place is full of locals and the food looks great. I told them the story about the Exxon lady....Haha
Breakfast in....
When you really get into areas that are out of the way I have noticed a shortage of services. Its not overpriced hotels, or fuel, or cell phone coverage. Its things like a place to camp or a place to get breakfast. I need breakfast! Anyways. Off I go on a hunt.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
You don't see that every day...
In kemmerer, Wyoming for dinner. Saw a bunch of derailed railroad cars pm the way down the west edge of the state.
Going for Wyoming
Got rained out once. Laundrymats make great places to dry gear while you eat lunch.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
A day of rest.
I am hanging out at my parents ranch for the day. I got to take a much needed shower and got to sleep in a real bed and everything. The drive from missoula was a bit wet but not bad. I did have to stop in Bob Wards in Hamilton for some better rain pants. There is a HUGE difference between water resistant and water proof. All is well. I will be back on the road south tomorrow. I think I am going to go down through western Wyoming.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Out of the woods!
I am back in the modern world! We covered over 300 miles in the back country. I have spent a lot of time in the woods but this trip will rate very high on my list of greatest adventures ever in my life. The first day was a little overwhelming. It has been a long time since I have driven in deep deep snow and the first time I have had this little willys out in terrian like this. My friends have progressed to a level beyond mine in both driving skill and vehicle capability. 2psi was not the magic tire pressure...it ended up being just about 1psi with the stiff sidewalls of the bfg krawlers and my total vehicle weight of 3600lbs. Once I got the courage up to run at that low of a tire pressure things started working much better the second day. There was also a pretty steep curve with trying to catch up to my friends skill level. They have both progressed far beyond me since my college years.
The rest of the days where pretty epic. I actually got to a point where I got to break trail over one pass. Everyone had to use there winch at least once. I used mine a lot the first day but then started to get the hang of things. Sometimes it is just faster to winch out of an issue rather than work it till you get into a bad situation. One of the thing I really like about my friends is the lack of too much pressure when you are near your limits. Thanks guys!
I am back on the road now dodging some brainstorms but all is well. I will be updating from the road when possible....
Friday, May 24, 2013
Montana fun?
In the not currently sunny state of Montana. I hope the Willy's gods watch out for me. The skies look scarry but only a few drops on the windshield so far. I'm up in the mountains for the three to four days. If I can get a signal I will get something up. Great trip so far! Knock on wood and all that...
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Squeaky wheel bearing gets the grease
I had to stop and repack the drivers front wheel bearings. Fun fun. The tools came in handy...
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Camping at Crystal hot springs
I am all tucked in for the night at Crystal hot springs located at the north end of Utah. $20 for a soak, spot, shower, bathroom, and tree's to set up my hammock. I got stopped soon enough I could give the willys a good look over in the daylight. The rear axle flange bolts needed snuggled. I think all the on off throttle in traffic is hard on them. Heck, I almost had a screw loose after all that traffic. I was in a bit of a traffic daze at one point, or a carbon monoxide partial comma, when I looked to my right to see a guy plastered to the window in his yj with a camera. All I could think of was to give a thumbs up and smile. At least I hope it looked like a smile not from someone escaped from the nearest looney bin.
Anyways. The transmission has developed a leak at the front adapter near as I can tell. It only does it when its really hot. Some of those outer 55mph roads I took where like ovens with a 20 foot concrete wall on each side and four to six lanes of traffic. I don't think I will be running guided tours on how to cross salt lake at 50mph in a flat fender any time soon!
And yes. I had to carve some tent stakes out of a scavenged piece of firewood. I knew that axe would come in handy...
I lived through the crossing...
...of the endless expance of the Salt Lake metro area. Dinner at Maddox steak house with Wjeeper from the pirate forum at a place called Maddox.
Morning from outside of moab...
A decent night with wild dreams. I was up with the sun and on the road north. I am sending this just south of Price, Utah. Over the mountain I go after a fuel stop and a re-jet on the Carb. I feel like I am in the movie Two Lane Blacktop with half the engine and no mechanic....
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Moab!!!!!
Im in moab. Im tempted to just stay here and wheel for like ten days. I love this place. The need for dinner is great.....must find tacos. The willys did well. The most happy road speed seems to be about 52mph. No real issues so far. I will give it a good look over in the morning......every morning.
Food. Fuel. Sleep.
Utah!
Next state! All is well. Demo's suck headed toward you or passing you. Go little flat fender go.
Monday, May 20, 2013
This is a test, only a test...
I will be updating this blog with pictures and tails from the road as much as possible.....
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