Home. Long Long Long Day.

[sethmark]

Had a kick ass morning on Axle Alley with Scott, Stu and a host of other good people, followed by a gawddamb long afternoon and evening. Blew up a 37" MT/R at 75+mph in the pitch black in the middle of nowhere in arizona.

Took every squirt of ingenuity I could muster to jack that rear end up with the stock bottle jack.

Sigh.

[Stu Olson]

Seth,

I am sorry to hear about the blow out! OUCH! I guess our trails are a bit too tough (oh....I couldn't help myself!)

Seriously, I am you didn't have an accident from the blow out....with a trailor behind, that could be scary getting things slowed down and safely off to the shoulder.

I enjoyed the heck out of the run. It was great to dig up some dirt with your! (your axles rock!)

Stu
<aka, AZ Trail booking agent!>

[TJRON]

Pictures! Pictures!
Us picture whores want to see some pictures!

Sethmark,
If you're going to buy a hydraulic bottle jack, Harbor Freight sells one they claim will work in the horizontal position and it's no more $ than the usual garden variety types. I use my bottle jack so much more than my hi lift I usually no longer carry the hi lift.

[sethmark]

Ron,
For the first time, I really wished I carried a hi lift. I will be investing in a new bottle jack, for sure.... I'll check into the harbor freight one!

I'm just REALLY glad I had the spare tire!

[Robert J. Yates]

No AAA Seth? Worth the money IMO, especially if you are routinely taking trips that lead you far from home. I learned my lesson on a trip back from AZ a few years ago when my Teralow decided to grenade itself - now that was a long day. 10 hours to go 350 miles as I had to stop every 75 miles or so and refill the t-case with ATF.

I now have AAA with the long distance towing feature and while I haven't used that feature on my Jeep, it has saved my bacon with the Suburban on 2 ocassions.

Also, the thing with hi lifts and high articulating suspensions - you usually end up at the top of the jack rail by the time you get a tire off the ground to change it and the jack is not very stable at that height - go for the bottle jack,m or else, carry a good floorjack that you can leave behind when you hit the trails. I have a 2.5 ton Sears trolly jack that has its own case that I toss in the Suburban when I go on a trip.

Now, where are the pix from the run?

[sethmark]

Originally posted by Robert J. Yates
No AAA Seth?

Also, the thing with hi lifts and high articulating suspensions - you usually end up at the top of the jack rail by the time you get a tire off the ground to change it and the jack is not very stable at that height - go for the bottle jack,m or else, carry a good floorjack that you can leave behind when you hit the trails. I have a 2.5 ton Sears trolly jack that has its own case that I toss in the Suburban when I go on a trip.

Now, where are the pix from the run?

I have AAA +, 100 miles free towing. But I didn't need towing. I needed a taller jack.

[Paradiddle]

You can also carry a couple short pieces of 4x4 lumber - put your jack on it to raise it up. It certainly isn't as safe as a floor jack, but it will get the job done.

Where the hell are the pictures?????

Jeff

[sethmark]

This isn't real complex and requires its own multi post thread.

I got a flat. I fixed it. It took longer than it should've.

[Chris L]

Carry a small length of chain to wrap around the axle to keep the spring from unloading.

[Beast40]

Sorry to hear the bad news. When I swapped my 37s on all I had was my bottle jack with me and that was an adventure to say the least, the jack is barely tall enough and the entire time I thought it was goign to buckle.

As Robert said hi lifts aren't too great for flexable jeeps, what would you guys carry? Just a bigger bottle jack? A floor jack seems a tad large and heavy.

[Ary'01XJ]

Just carry a bunjee cord and hook it b/w the frame and the axle?? Works great to limit the susp travel, right Brad??

Ary

P.S. Yes, I know it was to retain the coil and not a limiting strap, was just too easy

[Stu Olson]

As soon as my hosting company repairs a couple of things on the web server I am on, I shall post a few pics of the Axle Alley run.

[sethmark]

Stu,
Send them to me. I'll post/host.

SEth

[Daddy Longlegs]

Seth,

Did you get the pics I sent?

Glad to hear nothing more than the tire was lost.

Scott K

[sethmark]

Just went thru them. Thanks!

Scott's Axle Alley Pics

[Beast40]

Those are some great pics, looks like a fun trail!

Anybody attempt that ledge without a cable or is it a no no for a SWB Jeep?

Either way that is one sweet looking trail.

[Beast40]

Wouldn't let me edit my last post cause of a 30min time out....


Does the Red TJ have the new AlumaFlex Long arm suspension or is it custom?

[sethmark]

It was a fun trail. Not nearly the hardest I've ever run, but very entertaining. The waterfalls are badass and will get your attention in a big hurry.

I took the hook on the waterfalls to prevent a windy, windshieldless drive home if I miscalculated.

Seth

[TJRON]

I also enjoyed the pictures. Thanks.

Could I offer a bit of constructive criticism? The pictures are so tightly cropped it's hard to tell what's going on. The terrain is as important as the Jeeps in the the pictures. Maybe step back a bit from the action or widen the lens a bit?
My inspiration for good pictures comes from Jeep Kat. Check some of hers out:

http://www.justaddrocks.com/index.htm

I hope you don't mind the criticism.

Ron

[sethmark]

Doesn't bother me a bit. I didn't take them, I just posted them for Scott!

[Stu Olson]

Ron....nope, not possible. The trail is that tight....hardly no room for spectators.

[TJRON]

Originally posted by Stu Olson
Ron....nope, not possible. The trail is that tight....hardly no room for spectators.

Oh!

[ZUK]

til next time Seth.

[Stu Olson]

For those with broadband, you can see some of Axle Alley (at least the winching parts anyway).



http://www.stu-offroad.com/images/vid/aa-225.wvx

[Daddy Longlegs]

Stu,

Theresa and I enjoyed watching all 36 minutes of it. This is the only shot I have of myself going up the 2nd waterfall.

Thanks!

Scott K

[Stu Olson]

Originally posted by Beast40

Does the Red TJ have the new AlumaFlex Long arm suspension or is it custom?

Yes...Troy was running the new LA kit on his TJ. It is possible that it might be tweaked a bit here or there, but for all intents and purposes, it is the one that will ship (from what I have been told).

[Daddy Longlegs]

That prototype alumnaflex kit seemed to work out well. He was also running his prototype bolt on 4 link truss. The truss bolts onto the upper control arm brackets and the diff cover.

Troy was beating on it hard on the way out and managed to shear a front D44 axle tube but the suspension was doing fine. For those that don't know, that red TJ is driven by Troy from Toys By Troy.

I personally have no opinion in the whole aluminum debate. I'm just observing



Scott K

[Stu Olson]

Rumor has it that aluminum skid plates work well.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Stu Olson
Rumor has it that aluminum skid plates work.

That's better.