AZ Run XVI

I just mentioned this to Justin (JTM) and he is interested.  I am thinking about attending this.  Where is the planning for this now?  Did you guys get some dates nailed down?

This sounds awesome, I was just in the area to go hiking at Zion NP and Bryce Canyon NP.

Like Andy said, I am in. Already dumping a crap-ton into the caR50.  

System-F posted:

Like Andy said, I am in. Already dumping a crap-ton into the caR50.  

Nice.  I am wondering from the comments above how "built" a vehicle needs to be to handle the trip?  Mine is nice and all but I am wondering if something more tame like a mildly-built Xterra could manage.  It's quite a trip towing the Frontier out and back if I don't need the monster truck features when I am out there.  Cool, yes, but wondering if somewhat unnecessary.  Of course, mine is built decently for the long-haul stuff so maybe in the end it would be worth it.

Dates are firm - Sunday, 8/28- Saturday, 9/3.  Those able to get to the area on Saturday 8/27 can enjoy a bonus campout on night Minus 1 at Alstrom Point overlooking Lake Powell.  This camp will actually be in Utah.  Directions will be provided to participants in the itinerary (still under development)

We'll officially start the run on the 28th at high noon in the parking lot of the only grocery store in town in Kanab, UT.   Itinerary to follow.

What kind of rig?  A stock rig should be able to do pretty much everything unless we get some very inclement weather, which is entirely likely during Arizona's Monsoon season.  Come prepared for rain.  We'll almost certainly see some.  Mud is our most likely challenge from a wheeling perspective.

Highlights to look forward to:  Mile Zero of the Arizona Trail, Toroweap, Locust Point, Point Sublime, East Rim Trail, etc.   We'll get a great tour of the area.  Bring gas.  10-15 gallons extra minimum.  Services available on the route will be minimal with Kanab being the closest town of any size that might have a parts store.

System-F posted:

Like Andy said, I am in. Already dumping a crap-ton into the caR50.  

Prepare your anus!

Andy,

Awesome, thanks!  I am thinking that because the trip starts and ends so far removed from all of y'all down there that I would not have a place to store a truck and trailer for a week so it may be best to come in something else altogether.  I am actually going to look at an Xterra later this week.

What do y'all think?

true...Brent and I were thinking about checking into truck / trailer storage in Page or Kanab.....I'd rather tow the meany up there than drive it.....but will see.

Desert Rat posted:

true...Brent and I were thinking about checking into truck / trailer storage in Page or Kanab.....I'd rather tow the meany up there than drive it.....but will see.

Let me know if you guys figure something out!  That drive is actually slightly shorter than when I drove to Brent's house for AZ IX.  Still about 33 hours one-way.

Desert Rat posted:

true...Brent and I were thinking about checking into truck / trailer storage in Page or Kanab.....I'd rather tow the meany up there than drive it.....but will see.

I would like to tow my truck there also.  The Dodge is much better for a long drive up hills than the Toyota.  I would have to leave Saturday night to make it to the meeting spot at noon on Sunday in the Toyota. haha

Well, I just bought a truck for this trip.  I now have a Black 2001 Xterra SE-V6 Auto 4x4 that I will take out there.  It's getting the lockers, manual hubs, and skids I have laying around and I will make sliders for it.  I will see about doing something to stretch the fuel capacity as well to heed Andy's warning.

Getting in this deep already I guess I will go ahead and block out my vacation!!!!  I look forward to seeing y'all again!

I won't be towing my rig up there, it's just not going to work with my plans.

I'll have a new overland trailer built by then and there's no way to get my truck and trailer onto my trailer...  I'm also planning on leaving from Kanab after the run and heading to Moab for Blazer Bash right after the AZ run.  If everything works out as it's planned I'll be taking dirt roads as much as possible on the way there to extend my overlanding all the way to Moab.

My vacation is blocked off.  Brent, is this trailer going to be one you can sleep in?

No, we decided to go with a CVT rooftop tent.  It's currently mounted on a "test bed" trailer and we've already spent 15 or so nights in it.  We've got a few things to figure out still, but I've been using the S-10 bed trailer to test different setups.

We'll also be running 12 volt Whynter fridge/freezers.  No more ice!

reddog posted:

No, we decided to go with a CVT rooftop tent.  It's currently mounted on a "test bed" trailer and we've already spent 15 or so nights in it.  We've got a few things to figure out still, but I've been using the S-10 bed trailer to test different setups.

We'll also be running 12 volt Whynter fridge/freezers.  No more ice!

 

My brother has one of those CVT tents mounted on his trailer and loves it.

I am thinking pretty seriously about getting a Dometic fridge/freezer for this trip.  The Xterra already has a power outlet in the back and I could always use it with the Frontier as well.  Their CFX-35 would fit under my tonneau cover.

Awesome Brent.  I purchased an arb fridge.  Ever since i got the 5th wheel we do not use the camping trailer much so i am going to tear it down to bare minimum.  Nothing but a tent, water heater, water batter, and a very small storage compartment. Hoping for sub 1000lbs loaded.

Here's what I am bringing as long as it doesn't blow up before then:

I will be doing another cargo mod to keep my stuff dry on the run.  I'm expecting monsoon rain on this AZ run.

I dreamt it all up while driving home from Vegas yesterday.

Yeah I am hearing your warnings and am on the hunt for better tires for this Xterra.  Craigslist and local boards not delivering yet, need to be cheap!

I want to know about your storage plans?!?! I was thinking about an ARB awning for the truck, they aren't too expensive and get good reviews, but the idea of bad weather also make me want my roof top tent, but of course when it comes to fabrication I am about as creative as a Klingon so I will wait and see what Brent has in store while getting ideas from Expedition portal.

will be another storage tier on the bed with a removable rack to accept a couple big bins to put clothes, tent, sleeping bags, etc in to keep them dry, since I have a regular cab truck and will very likely have a passenger this year.

Well I took that Xterra out in the snow last night, it seems to drive all right and 4wd was definitely doing its job!!!  Sadly I forgot that the heater core is bypassed due to a hose issue in the engine compartment so it was a cold ride.

I think I have an axle or hub issue I need to fix well before the run. Hoping it's just the hub and not the cv axle. Radiator is showing signs it might crap out on me by summer; running warmer than usual and it's winter time. Radiator is 12 years old. Dammit, I need AC this summer. I need to replace a tube then hope it'll take a charge and not leak. I have a rear spring pack that needs some attention, but I need to get the right ubolts before I even think of taking it apart.  Plan on getting a 6th tire for the run. I'll pretty much be sleeping in a tent or in the truck. With the run being September, I probably won't sleep out in the open on a cot.....bugs, flying teeth.

Georgie, you're welcome to come dig through my junk pile...may have some OEM Ubolts...probably not a full set but at least a couple.

what's the axle/hub issue?

Betcha Brent would be willing to help out with charging your AC system if you want to just buy and replace the parts rather than taking it in and paying through the nose.

The meany is in the shop getting its cargo mod now

Thanks. May take you guys up on the offer. I'm getting a pop when I make a tight turn to the left. That's why I'm thinking the cv axle is an issue. Upper and lower ball joints are all around a year old. New tie rods last year. I rebuilt the steering last year. I had an alignment last month. I think that leaves an axle or hub. I had some issue with the hub on the driver side popping when 4wd was engaged. When I know what's broken I can generally fix it it. I'm not terribly good at troubleshooting though, so I'm pretty much going from easiest to hardest to fix. My knowledge is limited. I'm just handy

Thinking of also reindexing the torsion bars to soften the front end. It's riding kinda harsh and clunky. Just a notch or two. 

Desert Rat posted:

The meany is in the shop getting its cargo mod now

 

So the run is in Sept this year?  I think it might be time to return to the AZ Run.  I have always wanted to do the AZ Strip.  That is where my great, great grandfather settled and had a homestead.

Reindexing Tbars won't do anything for ride.  unless you were bottoming out before or you have them cranked to where you're on the bumpstops for down travel.  Regardless of where they're indexed, the ride quality will be the same because the spring rate doesn't change...they still settle to where they're going to settle with the weight of the truck on them.  As long as where they sit is in the operating range of the suspension, you're fine where you are.

As for the pop, get under the truck and crank down those 4 bolts on the front most cross member.  Popping from there is pretty common.  See if it goes away.  Otherwise, another set of hubs should be easy enough to find,  and reman'd axles are under $100 and can be replaced in about 30 minutes.

Andy, I let Jay know about this run and he is going to look at his schedule to see if he can make it.  He went wheeling with a bunch of us in KY this past week so I let him know I was planning on heading out.  I also have drummed up some interest and there may be one or two other rigs that caravan out with me.  Too early to tell for sure but when I mention the Grand Canyon people get excited!

Ok.  don't expect anything extreme on this trip unless we get a lot of weather.  This one is for the views and the remoteness.

If it rains a lot (which it very well may - Arizona Monsoon season), then some of the backroads could get real fun.

Desert Rat posted:

Ok.  don't expect anything extreme on this trip unless we get a lot of weather.  This one is for the views and the remoteness.

If it rains a lot (which it very well may - Arizona Monsoon season), then some of the backroads could get real fun.

I think that is exactly what people are interested in, not doing hardcore wheeling but getting out and seeing the back country.  That's why I am not planning to bring the Frontier and instead bought that Xterra.  Bryan G is definitely heading out with me, the only question is whether he wants to also bring his new-to-him Xterra that he bought just over a month ago.  We even batted around the idea of towing one with the other most of the way out there.

Trail guide is about 50% complete.  Time permitting hope to have it done in the next couple weeks.

Get those Tshirts ordered!

Decent price.  Not sure how well they compare to a Yeti, but thought someone might be interested before AZ Run.

http://sport.woot.com/offers/o...rs?ref=sp_cnt_wp_1_1

Trail guides done.  Taking Tshirt preorders now thorugh 7/15.

Have you found a place to park a tow rig? I skimmed through the guide and it looks good.  Holy Waypoints Batman!  Going to take some time to get all of them into Google Earth and onto my GPS.

Agreed with above.  Trailer parking?

No I have not found a place to park trailers yet.  I wanted to concentrate on getting the trail guide done first.  I probably have 30-40 hours in that.

I understand.  Just wondering

Tentatively I think Bryan G and I will make it to the Night Zero camp.  We are starting to get serious about planning out the travel portion of the trip.  On Saturday 9/3 what time do you think we will actually split from the group to hit the road?  I am just wondering what are our chances of getting back to Page, AZ and loading up before dark.

you should be able to get back to page by midday on the 3rd.  Its about 50 highway miles after about a 90 minute drive on dirt from the previous night's camp.

Desert Rat posted:

you should be able to get back to page by midday on the 3rd.  Its about 50 highway miles after about a 90 minute drive on dirt from the previous night's camp.

Cool deal.  About how long a drive is it from the storage lot to the Night Zero Camp?  We are trying to figure out if we will have time enough to make it.  Sorry for not consolidating questions; I am just now starting to formulate the actual transit plans for this trip since I will be doing 100% of the driving to/from NC to AZ.  Bryan G is doing all the driving on the run.

Man, I really need to get started on my new trailer....  Almost time to go!

A/C done. Spring pack rebuild done. Drive belts done. Replaced radiator this past weekend. I found a hairline crack at the top; barely started leaking. Upgraded to a 2-row radiator so I ended up having to trim a little plastic on the shroud by the steering pump to get everything to fit. Replaced the clutch fan blades; cracked out. Had to have the radiator bracket remade to fit the radiator better without straining the mounts. Hillbilly repaired a variety of body cracks in the radiator core support. Replaced a bunch of hoses. Still have a couple things left to do like put the hubs on and replace O2 sensors which seem to be really stuck in there good; or I'm just wimpy. Feeling the pressure to get this crap done. It's been really slow going on the truck since my grandma had a hemorrhagic stroke 6 weeks ago and I spend a lot of my free time with her.

Vato Zone has an O2 sensor wrench you can borrow (or buy) that works really well to get more leverage when removing them.

Sounds like your pile is just about ready to go

Desert Rat posted:

Vato Zone has an O2 sensor wrench you can borrow (or buy) that works really well to get more leverage when removing them.

Sounds like your pile is just about ready to go

Yeah, I tried all of the O2 sensor sockets. Put some PB Blaster on there a few times, no budge. Onto Kroil now and my truck smokes like crazy by the O2 sensors with those oils on there. Will try the actual O2 sensor wrench next. If I can't break them loose by this weekend, I'll have run out of options and have to hit up a shop. I realize that a torch might break them loose, but my luck is that I'd probably "F" it up; and my last little cheapy torch leaked at the valve and caught fire on me. I'm a little weirded out about it.