Remember the time he was trying to climb and obstacle when both his rear tires were spinning in the air and his Jeep was sitting on the fuel tank skid? Pepperidge farms remembers.
Woodrow's 97 Green TJ Moderate Build
- Thread starter Woodrow
- Start date
Remember the time he was trying to climb and obstacle when both his rear tires were spinning in the air and his Jeep was sitting on the fuel tank skid? Pepperidge farms remembers.
I talked to a couple of folks at Genright re TJ armor. One (I think it was Keith) said aluminum for everything except the rockers (unless you only do sand or snow wheeling). The more recent conversation was with Andrew who felt a steel tank skid was necessary for rock crawlers. You may have better luck given the additional height and tire size of your rig. For my build, especially in it's earlier iteration on 33s, I just didn't have the clearance for the stuff I wanted to do. The Rubicon trail especially was hard on everything.
I had the steel skid with my other GR tank and it made it a heavy SOB so I thought I'd try and save a little weight by going with the aluminum skid this time. Even with the larger tires my tank still took a pretty good beating before but we'll see how this one does. I just know to pay more attention to it and be watching.
Yep. Rock Chucker on Metal Masher. Its my current avatar pic. Fun times
Now with the mods you can see if it made enough difference. If not, streeeeeeetch it.
Its on the list. I figure a small rear stretch can happen with outboarding and mid arms. But if I'm going to do all that, I need to find a TJ Dana 44 which I haven't yet.
I've beaten my aluminum Savvy skid quite a bit and haven't noticed any bowing or big dents yet, but its 1" lifted over factory. I wonder if the stretch tank you have just fits lower than the factory one, and makes it more vulnerable?
The design of the Savvy skid may well be better. But it wasn’t available and I would like to stretch, eventually. The GR Crawler tank I have actually has a little better clearance than my ‘97 stock set up did at the back and will allow upto 5” of stretch. But I also have a fairly small lift. 3” springs (which normally give me just over 4 because the Jeep is light, especially in the back (soft top, no rear seat, half doors). In addition, normally I have no rake because the rear and front springs are mis-matched (old BDS 3” rear and new Currie 3” front). However, although I haven’t measured, I’m sure it sits lower in the rear when I’m wheeling with tools, gear, cooler and sometimes camping equipment.
The TJ died on me yesterday. Just driving along in town with the top flipped back, tunes blasting, enjoying some beautiful weather and then nothing. Coasted to the side of the road. After crank but no start, I called a buddy to tow me home (first time with this rig in 5 years of ownership). This morning I went at it. All kinds of bad things were running through my mind.I started with fuel as I just had the tank out for the butt crack delete.
However, pressure was in spec at 48psi while cranking and held 43 psi without drop after 20 minutes.
Next, I checked compression. All good at 145-160psi (9.9-10.9:1). Golen says this motor is 9.5:1.
Also plugs looked good and gaps were 0.-37-0.045”
So probably OK internally. Next I checked spark. Nothing.
I pulled the distributor cap:
Found it
Bad rotor.
$12 part. Never seen this before, though.
Cap was jacked, too.
I replaced the cap and rotor and got a spare rotor for the glove box from Autozone around the corner as NAPA only had 1. Then since they were out, I re-gapped the plugs to spec (0.035”). All of this is less than 15K in so I didn’t do new plugs since they looked OK.
New cap and rotor installed.
Starts rightup:
Plans for Fordyce next weekend remain intact
However, pressure was in spec at 48psi while cranking and held 43 psi without drop after 20 minutes.
Next, I checked compression. All good at 145-160psi (9.9-10.9:1). Golen says this motor is 9.5:1.
Also plugs looked good and gaps were 0.-37-0.045”
So probably OK internally. Next I checked spark. Nothing.
Found it
Bad rotor.$12 part. Never seen this before, though.
Cap was jacked, too.
I replaced the cap and rotor and got a spare rotor for the glove box from Autozone around the corner as NAPA only had 1. Then since they were out, I re-gapped the plugs to spec (0.035”). All of this is less than 15K in so I didn’t do new plugs since they looked OK.
New cap and rotor installed.
Starts rightup:
Last edited:
Glad it was an easy fix!that is a weird issue.
I love starter fluid as a first diagnostic tool. If it starts you look at the fuel side including injector pulse. If it won't start you go right to spark
I love starter fluid as a first diagnostic tool. If it starts you look at the fuel side including injector pulse. If it won't start you go right to spark
I like that approach. Its been a long time since I had to diagnose something like this. I spent the night ruminating and went out to the garage after morning coffee.
The TJ died on me yesterday. Just driving along in town with the top flipped back, tunes blasting, enjoying some beautiful weather and then nothing. Coasted to the side of the road. After crank but no start, I called a buddy to tow me home (first time with this rig in 5 years of ownership). This morning I went at it. All kinds of bad things were running through my mind.I started with fuel as I just had the tank out for the butt crack delete.
However, pressure was in spec at 48psi while cranking and held 43 psi without drop after 20 minutes.
Next, I checked compression. All good at 145-160psi (9.9-10.9:1). Golen says this motor is 9.5:1.
View attachment 546207
Also plugs looked good and gaps were 0.-37-0.045”
So probably OK internally. Next I checked spark. Nothing.
I pulled the distributor cap:
View attachment 546208
Found it
$12 part. Never seen this before, though.
View attachment 546245
Cap was jacked, too.
View attachment 546246
I replaced the cap and rotor and got a spare rotor for the glove box from Autozone around the corner as NAPA only had 1. Then since they were out, I re-gapped the plugs to spec (0.035”). All of this is less than 15K in so I didn’t do new plugs since they looked OK.
View attachment 546209
New cap and rotor installed.
View attachment 546210
Starts rightup:
Plans for Fordyce next weekend remain intact
The $12 part..
Never fails.
Wish that start up clip was longer.. sounds sweet.
The TJ died on me yesterday. Just driving along in town with the top flipped back, tunes blasting, enjoying some beautiful weather and then nothing. Coasted to the side of the road. After crank but no start, I called a buddy to tow me home (first time with this rig in 5 years of ownership). This morning I went at it. All kinds of bad things were running through my mind.I started with fuel as I just had the tank out for the butt crack delete.
However, pressure was in spec at 48psi while cranking and held 43 psi without drop after 20 minutes.
Next, I checked compression. All good at 145-160psi (9.9-10.9:1). Golen says this motor is 9.5:1.
View attachment 546207
Also plugs looked good and gaps were 0.-37-0.045”
So probably OK internally. Next I checked spark. Nothing.
I pulled the distributor cap:
View attachment 546208
Found it
$12 part. Never seen this before, though.
View attachment 546245
Cap was jacked, too.
View attachment 546246
I replaced the cap and rotor and got a spare rotor for the glove box from Autozone around the corner as NAPA only had 1. Then since they were out, I re-gapped the plugs to spec (0.035”). All of this is less than 15K in so I didn’t do new plugs since they looked OK.
View attachment 546209
New cap and rotor installed.
View attachment 546210
Starts rightup:
Plans for Fordyce next weekend remain intact
Definitely good it happenned then, Mike
- rather than in the middle of Fordyce….
You're right about that. It runs a little better now. I'll have to put checking the cap and rotor on my list of things to pay attention to.
How is the play in the distributor shaft bushings? Its the only cause i can think of other than a poorly made rotor?
That crossed my mind as well but I didn't feel anything obviously loose. If it happens again, I may pull the distributor for a more thorough eval.
Fordyce. Some say its the “hardest” trail in CA. I doubt that considering Johnson Valley. Nevertheless, its a level up from the Rubicon for sure and has been on my radar for a while. Last year I did the Rubicon with @Alex01. I was on 33s and had the smallest rig we saw. It was fun and I did about everything except the Soup Bowl. There was a LOT of undercarriage contact. This year, on 35s with more armor and clearance and a little more wheel time, I felt ready to try Fordyce. Currently, my rig is somewhat similar to Alex’s in that its a TJ on 35s with a manual and a 5:1 Atlas but he has mid-arms, 1 ton PSC steering and built Dana 44s with 4.88 gears vs my short arms, ZJ steering, and Dana 30/35 with 4.11s. And he is an experienced and adventurous driver. Whatever…
So I loaded up the Jeep on my trailer and drove 450 miles to Truckee, CA where I met Alex. It was hot on the drive down (104 deg). There are a bunch of mountain passes to climb and my new gauges gave me a feel for what the tow rig is dealing with (IATs 125-130 degrees, density altitudes 3-4K over actual and hot EGTs). But I was careful to keep the EGTs at or below 1300 and the rig did well.
After crashing at Alex’s Thursday night, me, Alex and his 4 year old son (who was really good on his first overnight camping trip
) headed out Friday morning. Fordyce is only about 30 min out of Truckee. The trailhead.
Posing early on:
Like the Rubicon, much of the trail is loose boulders (I think the term is decomposed granite). Actually, its slightly less tedious than the Rubicon which is a 22 mile endurance run of non-stop boulders but not too many discrete obstacles. Fordyce is only 11.5 miles but still has lots of the above and also many un-named legit obstacles.
Finally, there are the “Winch Hills” numbered 1-5. There are also 3 required crossings of Fordyce Creek. It is, therefore, critical to know the flow in the creek before you head out as at high flow it can be impassable. The water level was a non-issue for this trip. Neither Alex nor I are great photographers. If @MagnumV8 was along, I would have have way better documentation. Several miles in we came to Winch Hill 1. Its a boulder filled chute which tapers to a v-notch and then a wall at the top. Its intimidating. Here’s Alex working his way up with a buggy in front of him.
The group of 5 we met here was 4 buggies and a JK on 38s (which took the bypass). There were a couple of ways to do this. Alex did the wall at the top by staying left, getting his driver front about 4 feet in the air, rotating passenger and scrabbling up the wall (after a bunch of tries).
My turn. I tried the same but failed. In the end, I took a more central line that my rig would climb.
Tippy…
Tight…
Up.
But not before ripping off a valve stem from my driver rear and banging my passenger corner into a rock as a fell back after a failed attempt. The valve stem loss deflated the tire, obviously, but the Coyote bead lock kept it seated and I made it up on a flat tire without assistance. I also hit my passenger rocker armor hard multiple times. Alex said he could see it flex but it did not bend. All and all, I felt like I beat the snot out of the rig to get up but despite the carnage, I would call it a success. I carry no spare but I did have a patch kit and Colby emergency valve stems. We threw one in and got the tire re-inflated.
However, you can’t run the Coyote bead lock with a Colby stem because it has no channel behind it to get air between the inner bead lock bladder and outer tire, so I had to deflate the bead lock and run higher PSI (15) in that tire. One major obstacle in, and I’m already wounded
We had started at around 9 and shortly after 3 we were at Winch Hill 2 near Committee Crossing, where we planned to camp. We played around for awhile in this area:
Then we crossed the creek and found a great spot to pitch our tents.
There was a beautiful falls/water slide and a swimming hole which we availed ourselves of. Super cold at first, but refreshing and nice to get cleaned up.
It was burgers and beans & weenies plus some fruit and beer for dinner. What a great evening. Alex and I debated the problems of the world for hours and then turned in for nice nights sleep. It rained over night and and the following morning and trail conditions were totally different. I hadn’t wheeled in wet conditions before. I was not surprised that what was easy became challenging.
Winch Hill 3 was next. The original line is a wide v-notch that Alex exploded his front axle in last year. Apparently, it took 2 rigs to winch him out. Looking at it, the shape/width just doesn’t seem amenable to TJ width axles. Talking to some buggy guys on the trail this year, it sounded like most of them also do the harder of the 2 go rounds. So we did that. You know its a real trail when the go round is challenging.
Alex was concerned that I was about to drive into the 8 foot deep buggy line to passenger. He probably saved me there.
At Winch Hill 4 we met some friends of Alex’s and his son’s coming down from Meadow Lake. They had some nice rigs (40s was the smallest tire I saw). Alex had some trouble with his front locker near the bottom, but once that sorted it self out, he got un-turtled and got up well.
My climb was uneventful (amazingly).
Before Winch Hill 5 the rain was back.
WH5 itself looks like nothing in the pic but it was steep. I put wheels on it but didn’t make it past halfway.
We were both pretty sure it was very doable in dry conditions but we took the go round.
Not long after that, the weather cleared and we were at the far trail head:
We did it! Mild carnage but nothing we couldn’t fix and no winch line pulled. Once, again I didn’t see a smaller rig on this trail. Alex’s comment: “I’m really impressed with our baby tire rigs”
Meadow Lake from higher up on the road out:
On the way back from Fordyce to Truckee, the Jeep was fine upto about 55mph, then the imbalance from the extra valve stem really was jarring:
Despite the tire issue, Fordyce was some of the best wheeling I’ve experienced.
Time to head home Saturday afternoon.
Mt Shasta ahead:
With cooler weather, the numbers all look great and I got 15mpg on return trip (vs 13 on the way down in the heat). Not too bad hauling 7500-8000K through the mountains.
Siskiyou pass on I-5:
After every trip, you gotta clean up and do damage assessment.
At home, I cleaned up the passenger corner scuff to get the sharp edges off and smooth it out a little.
Any better than that, and I wouldn’t notice it. As it is, it will make me smile at the memory of WH1 when I see it.
The rockers also took some hits, especially passenger.
I can report the butt crack delete and steel tank skid worked great! Numbers of hits were way down, especially for a trail like this. Although the skid is certainly broken in, there are no bends, just scrapes and not near as many as I expected
No pics but the belly skid only got a few scuffs
Now the Jeep is clean and has dried out in the sun. Spare is on and the rig goes down the road straight, smooth and steady at 80mph. Ready to drive to work tomorrow
So I loaded up the Jeep on my trailer and drove 450 miles to Truckee, CA where I met Alex. It was hot on the drive down (104 deg). There are a bunch of mountain passes to climb and my new gauges gave me a feel for what the tow rig is dealing with (IATs 125-130 degrees, density altitudes 3-4K over actual and hot EGTs). But I was careful to keep the EGTs at or below 1300 and the rig did well.
After crashing at Alex’s Thursday night, me, Alex and his 4 year old son (who was really good on his first overnight camping trip
) headed out Friday morning. Fordyce is only about 30 min out of Truckee. The trailhead.Posing early on:
Like the Rubicon, much of the trail is loose boulders (I think the term is decomposed granite). Actually, its slightly less tedious than the Rubicon which is a 22 mile endurance run of non-stop boulders but not too many discrete obstacles. Fordyce is only 11.5 miles but still has lots of the above and also many un-named legit obstacles.
Finally, there are the “Winch Hills” numbered 1-5. There are also 3 required crossings of Fordyce Creek. It is, therefore, critical to know the flow in the creek before you head out as at high flow it can be impassable. The water level was a non-issue for this trip. Neither Alex nor I are great photographers. If @MagnumV8 was along, I would have have way better documentation. Several miles in we came to Winch Hill 1. Its a boulder filled chute which tapers to a v-notch and then a wall at the top. Its intimidating. Here’s Alex working his way up with a buggy in front of him.
The group of 5 we met here was 4 buggies and a JK on 38s (which took the bypass). There were a couple of ways to do this. Alex did the wall at the top by staying left, getting his driver front about 4 feet in the air, rotating passenger and scrabbling up the wall (after a bunch of tries).
My turn. I tried the same but failed. In the end, I took a more central line that my rig would climb.
Tippy…
Tight…
Up.
We had started at around 9 and shortly after 3 we were at Winch Hill 2 near Committee Crossing, where we planned to camp. We played around for awhile in this area:
There was a beautiful falls/water slide and a swimming hole which we availed ourselves of. Super cold at first, but refreshing and nice to get cleaned up.
It was burgers and beans & weenies plus some fruit and beer for dinner. What a great evening. Alex and I debated the problems of the world for hours and then turned in for nice nights sleep. It rained over night and and the following morning and trail conditions were totally different. I hadn’t wheeled in wet conditions before. I was not surprised that what was easy became challenging.
Winch Hill 3 was next. The original line is a wide v-notch that Alex exploded his front axle in last year. Apparently, it took 2 rigs to winch him out. Looking at it, the shape/width just doesn’t seem amenable to TJ width axles. Talking to some buggy guys on the trail this year, it sounded like most of them also do the harder of the 2 go rounds. So we did that. You know its a real trail when the go round is challenging.
At Winch Hill 4 we met some friends of Alex’s and his son’s coming down from Meadow Lake. They had some nice rigs (40s was the smallest tire I saw). Alex had some trouble with his front locker near the bottom, but once that sorted it self out, he got un-turtled and got up well.
My climb was uneventful (amazingly).
Before Winch Hill 5 the rain was back.
WH5 itself looks like nothing in the pic but it was steep. I put wheels on it but didn’t make it past halfway.
We were both pretty sure it was very doable in dry conditions but we took the go round.
Not long after that, the weather cleared and we were at the far trail head:
We did it! Mild carnage but nothing we couldn’t fix and no winch line pulled. Once, again I didn’t see a smaller rig on this trail. Alex’s comment: “I’m really impressed with our baby tire rigs”
Meadow Lake from higher up on the road out:
On the way back from Fordyce to Truckee, the Jeep was fine upto about 55mph, then the imbalance from the extra valve stem really was jarring:
Time to head home Saturday afternoon.
Mt Shasta ahead:
With cooler weather, the numbers all look great and I got 15mpg on return trip (vs 13 on the way down in the heat). Not too bad hauling 7500-8000K through the mountains.
Siskiyou pass on I-5:
After every trip, you gotta clean up and do damage assessment.
At home, I cleaned up the passenger corner scuff to get the sharp edges off and smooth it out a little.
Any better than that, and I wouldn’t notice it. As it is, it will make me smile at the memory of WH1 when I see it.
The rockers also took some hits, especially passenger.
I can report the butt crack delete and steel tank skid worked great! Numbers of hits were way down, especially for a trail like this. Although the skid is certainly broken in, there are no bends, just scrapes and not near as many as I expected
No pics but the belly skid only got a few scuffs
Now the Jeep is clean and has dried out in the sun. Spare is on and the rig goes down the road straight, smooth and steady at 80mph. Ready to drive to work tomorrow
Last edited:
Fordyce. Some say its the “hardest” trail in CA. I doubt that considering Johnson Valley. Nevertheless, its a level up from the Rubicon for sure and has been on my radar for a while. Last year I did the Rubicon with @Alex01. I was on 33s and had the smallest rig we saw. It was fun and I did about everything except the Soup Bowl. There was a LOT of undercarriage contact. This year, on 35s with more armor and clearance and a little more wheel time, I felt ready to try Fordyce. Currently, my rig is somewhat similar to Alex’s in that its a TJ on 35s with a manual and a 5:1 Atlas but he has mid-arms, 1 ton PSC steering and built Dana 44s with 4.88 gears vs my short arms, ZJ steering, and Dana 30/35 with 4.11s. And he is an experienced and adventurous driver. Whatever…
So I loaded up the Jeep on my trailer and drove 450 miles to Truckee, CA where I met Alex. It was hot on the drive down (104 deg). There are a bunch of mountain passes to climb and my new gauges gave me a feel for what the tow rig is dealing with (IATs 125-130 degrees, density altitudes 3-4K over actual and hot EGTs). But I was careful to keep the EGTs at or below 1300 and the rig did well.
After crashing at Alex’s Thursday night, me, Alex and his 4 year old son (who was really good on his first overnight camping trip
View attachment 548152
Posing early on:
View attachment 548178View attachment 548179
Like the Rubicon, much of the trail is loose boulders (I think the term is decomposed granite). Actually, its slightly less tedious than the Rubicon which is a 22 mile endurance run of non-stop boulders but not too many discrete obstacles. Fordyce is only 11.5 miles but still has lots of the above and also many un-named legit obstacles.
View attachment 548173View attachment 548174View attachment 548175
Finally, there are the “Winch Hills” numbered 1-5. There are also 3 required crossings of Fordyce Creek. It is, therefore, critical to know the flow in the creek before you head out as at high flow it can be impassable. The water level was a non-issue for this trip. Neither Alex nor I are great photographers. If @MagnumV8 was along, I would have have way better documentation. Several miles in we came to Winch Hill 1. Its a boulder filled chute which tapers to a v-notch and then a wall at the top. Its intimidating. Here’s Alex working his way up with a buggy in front of him.
View attachment 548166
The group of 5 we met here was 4 buggies and a JK on 38s (which took the bypass). There were a couple of ways to do this. Alex did the wall at the top by staying left, getting his driver front about 4 feet in the air, rotating passenger and scrabbling up the wall (after a bunch of tries).
View attachment 548167
My turn. I tried the same but failed. In the end, I took a more central line that my rig would climb.
View attachment 548168
Tippy…
View attachment 548169
Tight…
View attachment 548170
Up.
View attachment 548171But not before ripping off a valve stem from my driver rear and banging my passenger corner into a rock as a fell back after a failed attempt. The valve stem loss deflated the tire, obviously, but the Coyote bead lock kept it seated and I made it up on a flat tire without assistance. I also hit my passenger rocker armor hard multiple times. Alex said he could see it flex but it did not bend. All and all, I felt like I beat the snot out of the rig to get up but despite the carnage, I would call it a success. I carry no spare but I did have a patch kit and Colby emergency valve stems. We threw one in and got the tire re-inflated.
View attachment 548172However, you can’t run the Coyote bead lock with a Colby stem because it has no channel behind it to get air between the inner bead lock bladder and outer tire, so I had to deflate the bead lock and run higher PSI (15) in that tire. One major obstacle in, and I’m already wounded
We had started at around 9 and shortly after 3 we were at Winch Hill 2 near Committee Crossing, where we planned to camp. We played around for awhile in this area:
Then we crossed the creek and found a great spot to pitch our tents.
View attachment 548165
There was a beautiful falls/water slide and a swimming hole which we availed ourselves of. Super cold at first, but refreshing and nice to get cleaned up.
View attachment 548163View attachment 548164
It was burgers and beans & weenies plus some fruit and beer for dinner. What a great evening. Alex and I debated the problems of the world for hours and then turned in for nice nights sleep. It rained over night and and the following morning and trail conditions were totally different. I hadn’t wheeled in wet conditions before. I was not surprised that what was easy became challenging.
Winch Hill 3 was next. The original line is a wide v-notch that Alex exploded his front axle in last year. Apparently, it took 2 rigs to winch him out. Looking at it, the shape/width just doesn’t seem amenable to TJ width axles. Talking to some buggy guys on the trail this year, it sounded like most of them also do the harder of the 2 go rounds. So we did that. You know its a real trail when the go round is challenging.
Alex was concerned that I was about to drive into the 8 foot deep buggy line to passenger. He probably saved me there.
At Winch Hill 4 we met some friends of Alex’s and his son’s coming down from Meadow Lake. They had some nice rigs (40s was the smallest tire I saw). Alex had some trouble with his front locker near the bottom, but once that sorted it self out, he got un-turtled and got up well.
View attachment 548185View attachment 548186View attachment 548187
My climb was uneventful (amazingly).
Before Winch Hill 5 the rain was back.
View attachment 548177View attachment 548176
WH5 itself looks like nothing in the pic but it was steep. I put wheels on it but didn’t make it past halfway.
View attachment 548162
We were both pretty sure it was very doable in dry conditions but we took the go round.
Not long after that, the weather cleared and we were at the far trail head:
View attachment 548161
We did it! Mild carnage but nothing we couldn’t fix and no winch line pulled. Once, again I didn’t see a smaller rig on this trail. Alex’s comment: “I’m really impressed with our baby tire rigs”
Meadow Lake from higher up on the road out:
View attachment 548155
On the way back from Fordyce to Truckee, the Jeep was fine upto about 55mph, then the imbalance from the extra valve stem really was jarring:
Despite the tire issue, Fordyce was some of the best wheeling I’ve experienced.
Time to head home Saturday afternoon.
Mt Shasta ahead:
View attachment 548154
With cooler weather, the numbers all look great and I got 15mpg on return trip (vs 13 on the way down in the heat). Not too bad hauling 7500-8000K through the mountains.
Siskiyou pass on I-5:
View attachment 548153
After every trip, you gotta clean up and do damage assessment.
At home, I cleaned up the passenger corner scuff to get the sharp edges off and smooth it out a little.
View attachment 548156View attachment 548157
Any better than that, and I wouldn’t notice it. As it is, it will make me smile at the memory of WH1 when I see it.
The rockers also took some hits, especially passenger.
View attachment 548159
I can report the butt crack delete and steel tank skid worked great! Numbers of hits were way down, especially for a trail like this. Although the skid is certainly broken in, there are no bends, just scrapes and not near as many as I expected
View attachment 548160
No pics but the belly skid only got a few scuffs
Now the Jeep is clean and has dried out in the sun. Spare is on and the rig goes down the road straight, smooth and steady at 80mph. Ready to drive to work tomorrow
View attachment 548158
Man, you guys have some great wheeling out there!
Fordyce. Some say its the “hardest” trail in CA. I doubt that considering Johnson Valley. Nevertheless, its a level up from the Rubicon for sure and has been on my radar for a while. Last year I did the Rubicon with @Alex01. I was on 33s and had the smallest rig we saw. It was fun and I did about everything except the Soup Bowl. There was a LOT of undercarriage contact. This year, on 35s with more armor and clearance and a little more wheel time, I felt ready to try Fordyce. Currently, my rig is somewhat similar to Alex’s in that its a TJ on 35s with a manual and a 5:1 Atlas but he has mid-arms, 1 ton PSC steering and built Dana 44s with 4.88 gears vs my short arms, ZJ steering, and Dana 30/35 with 4.11s. And he is an experienced and adventurous driver. Whatever…
So I loaded up the Jeep on my trailer and drove 450 miles to Truckee, CA where I met Alex. It was hot on the drive down (104 deg). There are a bunch of mountain passes to climb and my new gauges gave me a feel for what the tow rig is dealing with (IATs 125-130 degrees, density altitudes 3-4K over actual and hot EGTs). But I was careful to keep the EGTs at or below 1300 and the rig did well.
After crashing at Alex’s Thursday night, me, Alex and his 4 year old son (who was really good on his first overnight camping trip
View attachment 548152
Posing early on:
View attachment 548178View attachment 548179
Like the Rubicon, much of the trail is loose boulders (I think the term is decomposed granite). Actually, its slightly less tedious than the Rubicon which is a 22 mile endurance run of non-stop boulders but not too many discrete obstacles. Fordyce is only 11.5 miles but still has lots of the above and also many un-named legit obstacles.
View attachment 548173View attachment 548174View attachment 548175
Finally, there are the “Winch Hills” numbered 1-5. There are also 3 required crossings of Fordyce Creek. It is, therefore, critical to know the flow in the creek before you head out as at high flow it can be impassable. The water level was a non-issue for this trip. Neither Alex nor I are great photographers. If @MagnumV8 was along, I would have have way better documentation. Several miles in we came to Winch Hill 1. Its a boulder filled chute which tapers to a v-notch and then a wall at the top. Its intimidating. Here’s Alex working his way up with a buggy in front of him.
View attachment 548166
The group of 5 we met here was 4 buggies and a JK on 38s (which took the bypass). There were a couple of ways to do this. Alex did the wall at the top by staying left, getting his driver front about 4 feet in the air, rotating passenger and scrabbling up the wall (after a bunch of tries).
View attachment 548167
My turn. I tried the same but failed. In the end, I took a more central line that my rig would climb.
View attachment 548168
Tippy…
View attachment 548169
Tight…
View attachment 548170
Up.
View attachment 548171But not before ripping off a valve stem from my driver rear and banging my passenger corner into a rock as a fell back after a failed attempt. The valve stem loss deflated the tire, obviously, but the Coyote bead lock kept it seated and I made it up on a flat tire without assistance. I also hit my passenger rocker armor hard multiple times. Alex said he could see it flex but it did not bend. All and all, I felt like I beat the snot out of the rig to get up but despite the carnage, I would call it a success. I carry no spare but I did have a patch kit and Colby emergency valve stems. We threw one in and got the tire re-inflated.
View attachment 548172However, you can’t run the Coyote bead lock with a Colby stem because it has no channel behind it to get air between the inner bead lock bladder and outer tire, so I had to deflate the bead lock and run higher PSI (15) in that tire. One major obstacle in, and I’m already wounded
We had started at around 9 and shortly after 3 we were at Winch Hill 2 near Committee Crossing, where we planned to camp. We played around for awhile in this area:
Then we crossed the creek and found a great spot to pitch our tents.
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There was a beautiful falls/water slide and a swimming hole which we availed ourselves of. Super cold at first, but refreshing and nice to get cleaned up.
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It was burgers and beans & weenies plus some fruit and beer for dinner. What a great evening. Alex and I debated the problems of the world for hours and then turned in for nice nights sleep. It rained over night and and the following morning and trail conditions were totally different. I hadn’t wheeled in wet conditions before. I was not surprised that what was easy became challenging.
Winch Hill 3 was next. The original line is a wide v-notch that Alex exploded his front axle in last year. Apparently, it took 2 rigs to winch him out. Looking at it, the shape/width just doesn’t seem amenable to TJ width axles. Talking to some buggy guys on the trail this year, it sounded like most of them also do the harder of the 2 go rounds. So we did that. You know its a real trail when the go round is challenging.
Alex was concerned that I was about to drive into the 8 foot deep buggy line to passenger. He probably saved me there.
At Winch Hill 4 we met some friends of Alex’s and his son’s coming down from Meadow Lake. They had some nice rigs (40s was the smallest tire I saw). Alex had some trouble with his front locker near the bottom, but once that sorted it self out, he got un-turtled and got up well.
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My climb was uneventful (amazingly).
Before Winch Hill 5 the rain was back.
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WH5 itself looks like nothing in the pic but it was steep. I put wheels on it but didn’t make it past halfway.
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We were both pretty sure it was very doable in dry conditions but we took the go round.
Not long after that, the weather cleared and we were at the far trail head:
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We did it! Mild carnage but nothing we couldn’t fix and no winch line pulled. Once, again I didn’t see a smaller rig on this trail. Alex’s comment: “I’m really impressed with our baby tire rigs”
Meadow Lake from higher up on the road out:
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On the way back from Fordyce to Truckee, the Jeep was fine upto about 55mph, then the imbalance from the extra valve stem really was jarring:
Despite the tire issue, Fordyce was some of the best wheeling I’ve experienced.
Time to head home Saturday afternoon.
Mt Shasta ahead:
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With cooler weather, the numbers all look great and I got 15mpg on return trip (vs 13 on the way down in the heat). Not too bad hauling 7500-8000K through the mountains.
Siskiyou pass on I-5:
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After every trip, you gotta clean up and do damage assessment.
At home, I cleaned up the passenger corner scuff to get the sharp edges off and smooth it out a little.
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Any better than that, and I wouldn’t notice it. As it is, it will make me smile at the memory of WH1 when I see it.
The rockers also took some hits, especially passenger.
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I can report the butt crack delete and steel tank skid worked great! Numbers of hits were way down, especially for a trail like this. Although the skid is certainly broken in, there are no bends, just scrapes and not near as many as I expected
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No pics but the belly skid only got a few scuffs
Now the Jeep is clean and has dried out in the sun. Spare is on and the rig goes down the road straight, smooth and steady at 80mph. Ready to drive to work tomorrow
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Looks like fun, someday I'll make it out there.
That’s awesome, Mike. You are livin’ the life. Great to see Alex’s face as well.
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