 |
The Thanksgiving trip went off without too much of a hitch. The magazine stories were submitted, the Tacoma loaded... ...and the turkey eaten. The Dodge pulled the loaded trailer like a champ and we made it to the desert Friday just after dark. After dinner we loaded up the trucks and headed for a run up the Sledgehammer trail. All was going well in the Tacoma until the bang of a front axle shattering. The Dana 44 has Chromoly shafts, but with all the low gearing and the power of the super charged V-6 it doesn't take much effort to break something, especially when the tires have traction and since I was running some competition compound Nitto mud grappler's there was definitely some traction. it was a simple repair, but it took an hour or so to do it in the rocks. luckily it was a beautiful night with a blazing full moon so it passed quickly. As I finished I decided to head back to camp and find everyone.
The next day we loaded up for another trail ride but became separated from the group and ended up just exploring the desert. then later in the day we headed out for a final easy run. this is when disaster struck, I stopped to talk to some friends and shut off the engine and electric fan to make it quieter. Then I forgot to turn the fan back on when we headed off and then next thing I knew there was another boom and the radiator came apart. needless to say we had a fun ride back to camp behind the wrong end of a tow strap and now I'm hunting for a replacement radiator. oh well, you win some you lose some, and sometimes you get old and forgetful. hopefully the next trip to the desert will have more wheeling, but all in all it was a great time and always fun to come home dirty and tired from so much fun.
|
Share This
|
|
|