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I have been looking forward to this event since last year. I had such a blast at the Tin Benders 2005 Jamboree, I couldn't wait for the next one. Last year I met some of the Victor Valley 4-Wheelers who have been building the trails from the beginning. This year I met some relatively new, but fearless, 4-wheelers. I also lent a hand in some minor trail repairs with Marlin " The man hisself" Czajkowski on his famous red truck.
Thursday April 20, 2006
We got to the lake bed in fine fashion around 6:00 or 6:30 in the evening. Plenty of time to set up camp and go out for a night run. We rented a 31' Sunseeker with a full slide from All About Fun RV in Ramona. They have good deals and a selection of RV's from camper trailers to Class A Motorhomes.
Unfortunately, I parked a little too close to the soft stuff. Please, no comments about the fashion statement!
A 31' RV isn't easy to get out of a jam like this. I thought if I just moved a little sand out of the way, I could drive it out.
Buried.
I'm glad somebody is having fun!
When it looked like this outside, I decided to leave it where it was and worry about it in the morning. I also decided not to run that night and instead, just relax. The next morning I introduced myself to a 4-wheeler ( Derek?) that towed his rig to the trail with a big green Dodge 4x4 diesel duallie. With two tow straps hooked to the hitch of the RV, his Dodge pulled me out like I was backing up on pavement. He said , " I don't think I have enough torque!" Yeah, right. Thank you, my friend.
Friday April 21, 2006 On Friday, I hooked up with the crew from Marlin Crawler. I was looking for someone to do a run with, and tagged along with Big Mike, Chris, Brad & Pat. Holly was there with Stuart, and her dad Louis, as well as a few other rigs. I don't remember the name of our trail leader, so if anybody knows it, let me know so I can give him credit. He had a nice Toyota and didn't want to go the whole trail with it, but would take us to the first waterfall and drop out on the by-pass. The trail they all decided on was Jackhammer.
Our trail boss and his clean rig.
I started out behind this highly modified Runner.
We didn't get too far before we came upon the winner of last years truck raffle, Dave. Dave sheared off the knuckle studs and was replacing them with ARP studs. Although it looks like it's Dave's buddy ( Tim?) that is actually replacing the studs!
Big Mike takes the hard line, up to and past the trail repair.
Pat was airing out his tires on one of the first sections.
You don't see spring flex like that on a stock 'Yota. Pat has done a lot of work on his trail rig to make it very capable. Notice the bobbed bed, half doors and the trimmed front fenders. You can also see the fabbed front spring hanger and long travel shocks working with the springs. The rear meats stuff up nicely, giving him more stability and control to tackle the most demanding trails. He is protected on the event of a roll-over, by the in cab cage.
This is Brads' classic driving style. Wheels up, total control. He is running a carbureted 22R. Brad has also made many modifications to his rig. Bobbed bed, half doors, in cab cage and has fabbed his own sliders and rear bumper. I believe his spring combo consists of Chevy's in the rear and Toyota rears up front. You can just barely make out his rear spring shackles. What are those? Like a foot long? They not only swing front to back, they flex left to right! Whew! A lot of the engineering that goes into these very capable rigs, is trail tested in the real world. Brads' Toyota is a testament to his fabrication skills.
Chris looks on as a high zoot, big bucks buggy motors past. V8 power, headers, linked with coil-overs and a polished exhaust!
So Brad, are ya' coming? Or you just gonna' stay there?
Picking his line. See the home built front spring hanger? It's got a D-ring welded to the middle of it. Good shot of the cross-over steering. You can also just make out his square tube front drive shaft, and custom cross-member. Nice.
What goes up, must come down. Nicely done. Brad is running Goodyear MTR's.
Oh yeah, that buggy? Check out the rear steer.
Further up the trail, Pat leads Chris as Brad balances on his left front tire and right rear corner of his bumper! Erin took this shot. She should come wheelin' more often. It looks like she has a knack for capturing the action shots!
Here comes Big Mike. Like most all the rigs out here today, Mike started with a relatively stock platform. A step by step process has gotten this Toyota to star status. 3RZ power, sliders, stinger bumper, gears and 37's. Nice clean body.
Chris leads Pat, Brad and the rest of us through.
Here's a lucky guy. Tim gets to pilot Marlin's truck up and over.
Big Mike spots him, while the rest wait to tackle this section.
The little red truck practically drives itself. 3RZ power with triple transfer-case.
Big Mike looking on as Tim negotiates the line.
Bead-locked MTR's
Exo, bobbed bed. That's not a Toyota front axle. Dana?
One handed driving style. Big Mike's having fun.
Brad, Brad, Brad. I think you need bigger sliders. The hood looks good.
Here's a good group. There's Holly's rig with the green flame job. Stuart rolled it later in the day. What'd you let him drive for, Holly?
Very nice, worthy rig. Smitty-Built front bumper, cross-over steering, U-bolt flip kit, custom spring hanger, flared fiberglass fenders, MTR's, and more.
I'm getting some good flex from my Marlin 4" springs. Another good shot by Erin.
I don't think it was much past this point I broke a Birfield. Brad and Louis look on. I have to give props to Louis for helping with the trail repair. He jumped in and helped, getting his hands greasy and even using his air grinder to smooth out the seat for the axle seal. Many thanks Louis.
This was a very challenging section. Many people got hung up and I broke a stock Birfield. Even buggies were held up here. I eventually backed out after a buggy passed me and got stuck. We were already there half the day and were only half way thru. These guys didn't make it back to camp until after 9:00 pm. I was burned out by the sun, repairing the Birf, and not having any food. It shouldn't have taken long to do the trail, but Jackhammer is one of the most challenging runs I've done out there so far. We backed out of the trial, turned around, got by a Jeep with a dead battery ( If you are reading this, I want my Jumper cables back.). Then we headed back to camp.
Before turning around, I spotted The Hootman at the turnout, checking out the hard core action.
Hoot was out last year and did the SUV trail. This year his Runner is sporting a new lift and 33's.
His Runner is looking pretty tight!
Here he's hammin' it up for the camera. Poser shot.
Saturday April 22, 2006
We head out of camp and over to Outer Limits. It is the farthest trail from camp and we don't expect to get back to camp till late.
A fellow San Diego 4-wheeler, Peter and his 4-Runner. Ya' coming Pete? Pete was wheelin' his 4-Runner. He told me he used to do body work to it. It looks like he hasn't in a while!
Peter's rock dog, Annie.
Here, CJ from Marlin Crawler, shows us why he's here.
He wants to do some crawlin' !
Risking life and limb. Not CJ...the photographer!
Up and over. Nicely done, CJ.
Against Janet's protestation, I tried it. No worries.
I had help from Stuart on both days. He did a fantastic job of spotting for me, and holding me down.
This looks like a good spot to park.
Here's Tim watching casually as I begin to destroy the passenger side of Tuffy II.
I'm starting to change how my truck looks here.
Meanwhile...This is how they drive in Idaho I guess.
What now?
CJ hooks up a cable from his winch to right them.
With a little help from his friends, back in business.
Lunchtime in the shade. Checking out the under-carriage damage. From the left... Stuart, John, CJ and yours truly.
Saturday, the day of the official run, I signed up for Outer Limits. I ran with a lot of people from Marlin Crawler. Here Marlin hones his skills, and Mrs. C. enjoys the view.
A good shot of Marlin's stinger winch bumper, front spring hanger, cross-over steering, Dana 60 knuckles on a Toyota axle, Bilsteins, sliders, half doors and the ubiquitous MTR's.
Marlin, working on having a good time.
At nearly the end of the trail, Marlin chooses a line to the right to avoid body damage.
This proved to be quite a challenge nonetheless.
Here he puts in the first of 6 or 7 plugs in the sidewall, to repair a gash.
Later the relief valve on the air line to the lockers blew open, and the solenoid plugged with debris. The front air locker wouldn't engage and ultimately required replacing.
Back to the business at hand.
I got to turn some wrenches helping Marlin repair the air system for his lockers. That was a real treat. Thanks Marlin. Here he takes the wimpy line. If I was smart, I would have followed him.
But N-o-o-o!
After that last obstacle, breaking a Birf, and fashioning my bodywork after Brad's truck, Peter, Marlin and friends lend a hand. The right front grenaded. So I don't have traction in the front with the other tire in the air.
Do I look like I care?
Meanwhile, The Hootman ran the SUV Trail. He thought it was Lower Big Johnson, but I can't be sure.
That's a damn nice X-tra cab. Must have been the trail leader. He has an in cab cage, bobbed bed, winch, stinger front bumper, real nice protective tubing around the wheel wells, and what looks like 40" Super Swampers, (Hoot runs 33's) and a Marlin sticker. Very nice.
Check out the license plate.
Hoot says they called the full-size Suburban in the back, Big Red.
Hoot, cutting his teeth on the rough stuff. He's been wheelin' with me for years. He's getting the bug, bad.
Road building. Baby steps.
It won't be long, Hootman will be taking giant steps.
Apparently this guy was doing a little R&D for an aftermarket company.
Wheelin' Toyota's new FJ at the Hammers!
Looks like a Rover winching the little FJ.
A bobbed, exo'd 'Yota gettin' it.
Hoot runs open diff, stock gearing. Here he is getting strapped through a section of the trail. I see a locker in his future.
After the run on Saturday, we headed back to the lake bed. The Tinbenders had a barbecue, raffle and live band, and Bobby Long put on an axle breaking exhibition. Every body there was having a good time. I plan to go to the next one, for sure. I want to thank every one who came by my camp to say hello and survey the damage I did to Tuffy II. My wife and daughter enjoyed meeting, walking the trail and wheeling with everyone as much as I did. I thank you all for that. The Tinbenders put on one hell of an event. It all goes to benefit our sport/hobby, and keeps public lands open for public use. Many thanks to all who make it possible.
Sunday we packed up after coffee, and headed home.
Back safe at home the carnage is surveyed.
This is the result of taking the left line at that last waterfall.
This was done in the early part of the trail, where Tim looked casually on. For the weekend, Two Birfields, one tail light lens, one entire lens and housing ripped out, two doors smashed, one X-tra cab window shattered, one fender destroyed, bed damage, cab damage, rear view mirror bracket ripped from the door, and the Bud Built dual transfer-case crossmember was smacked and bent up and to the right, jamming the driveshaft e-brake into the floor pan and the actuating arm into the frame rail. This isn't the last you'll see of Tuffy II. It may take on a different look, or I may decide to restore it to it's former shape. Have you ever read "Christine" by Stephen King? I wouldn't want an evil, possessive car, but right now I sure wouldn't mind one that repaired itself.
Before the next run, Tuffy took on a slightly different look. The re-incarnation of TII.
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Photo
by Erin.
Photo
by Erin.
