Anyone else here into 4wd travel?

[1LegLance]

One of the places I enjoy a cigar most is out exploring the desert southwest of the USA in my old 1970 Suburban. Either going down a trail or sitting around a campfire a cigar is a great thing to have with me.

The desert temps are perfect right now with 70's F during the day and 50's F at night.

Over the last 2 months my rig has gotten a ton of work done by myself and a great friend of mine...well he did most of the work, I paid for the parts and generally tried to do little touches that kept him laughing at me.

Recently we got to the point of needing a shakedown so a day trip was needed.

Join along for the ride.

My rig is the blue 70 and my buddy Nick has the orange 72. It has a Cummins 5.9L diesel and manual trans while I run a fuel injected 350 and 700r4 auto. My fake leg will let me drive a stick shift but an auto is easier in the dirt for me.

Here we are stopped to air down the tires for traction and comfort.

This job isn't finished as you can tell by my prototype center console, lack of door panels but we wanting some diagnostic time to get another chip burnt for the computer. I use a laptop for nav which has topo maps, old historic maps and notes on the cool mine ruins and ghost towns we love to explore.

The trail started easy enough with just some gravel. More concerned here about high speed oncoming ATVs, Motos and other 4wd folks.

[1LegLance]

Things got a little more interesting with soft gravel in the washes that this trail uses. Folks don't realize how fast a flash flood can travel in the desert and you are always watching for dark clouds even far away.

And you never go blasting around a corner without knowing what is there. Even the toughest axle and suspension will break if you bonk into a big ol' rock like this.

More fun to slow down and enjoy a day of play that being drug back to the asphalt and onto a trailer.

Besides you never know what interesting messages might be on the rocks. Normally we are on the lookout for ancient stuff but mine claims are serious business and there are still folks pulling gold, silver and gemstones out of the mountains & deserts here.

[1LegLance]

Now I usually bring lunch in my ARB 12vdc fridge which is good as the meat was a little rank on this calf carcass. The smell was also a bit much while taking this pic so I jumped back into the rig pretty quick.

Normally I am not much of a rock crawler, but if I know there is something worth seeing I will take on a challenge. This wasn't much really and I have front & rear air lockers plus a bunch of recovery gear. Another vehicle helps also.

The real goal is to protect the rig and get back home safely so turning around is always an option. Not needed this time but worth keeping in mind.

And this was the goal. We wanting to check out the smelter buildings from this silver mine. The mines were way up the mountains but the operations here were the cool stuff. These guys were tough cookies who risk local native american hostiles, terrible heat, rough work conditions all in the hope of a big payday. Most only got daily wages but the gold and silver was an amazing mental tug.

Building with local stone and some iron rods with nuts/plates to hold it all together. Two stories tall on each building, it must have been something back in the day.

[El Presidente]

Great stuff

I love nothing more than getting away in a 4x4. You have reminded me to do it more often!

[1LegLance]

These were the smelters where the crushed ore would be melted down and the slag poured off to get to the precious metal.

You can still see plenty of slag on the walls and imagine the heat and noise.

Not sure where the bricks came from as there were no markings much the archwork was well done.

Water was not only important for the men but you had to have it for this kind of operation. I hike up a ways to find the spring which still had pipework in place. Of course now it led to a stock tank for local cattle but easy to see how everything worked back then.

Pretty site but honestly that was not what anyone cared about back then. It was all about the gold and silver and the operation moved on when the mine played out.

Not sure in anyone else around here enjoys 4wd remote area travel...but here in the desert southwest we have ghost towns, mine ruins, old military camps and so much more. The desert is amazing in the spring with the wild flowers in bloom and there is far more wild life than people expect.

I have plenty more work on my rig but anything that gets my family out of town is worth it.And getting to enjoy good cigars along the way is a nice bonus.

[1LegLance]

Thanks for the comment Rob....

My family and I spent 7 weeks in Australia a ways back...4 weeks of that was in a 4wd exploring from Coffs up to the Whitsundays.

We spent 4 days on Fraser Island and it wasn't enough by far. You have killer play areas on the Gold Coast my friend.

We really loved Oz and plan to go back and see friends again. Too bad I wasn't thinking straight when we passed through Brisbane or we would have stopped by for a bit of a chat.

I subscribe to 4wd Action as the mag beats anything here in the States and the DVD's are a hoot for us to watch in camp using my laptop, projector and a bed sheet

[El Presidente]

Fraser Island is 4x4 heaven. I also love Moreton Island (70 minutes away by barge).

Love nothing more than playing in the sand for a week or so. Glorious beaches, cold beers, BBQ, cigars, unsurpassed scenery.

Next time you are down, make the time and we will hit the sand together.

[...]

Very cool stuff Lance, thanks for sharing!

[madandana]

Looks like fun Lance. Would love to try that some day. Nice Rig.

There's something about 4x4. The existent of mine is plowing snow and playing around my compound in my Polaris Ranger but it's still a hoot.

[Duxnutz]

Good stuff. I used to have a kitted out Grand Cherokee and used it a bunch. Would love to trade in the current ride for another 4x4. I only use my car to park at the airport!

[First Lady]

This is my car on the weekend at Moreton Island, fishing and driving along the sand... love it

[bradbrennan]

Grew up with a suburban very similar to that, we used it for everything as large farm/ranch family...yours is in much better shape

[SofaKing]

4 wheeling in New England isnt quite like out west. For a number of years a couple of friends and I would fly out to Moab UT and spend a long weekend out camping and roaming the desert. Was always a good time but some how one of us always managed to break a jeep. Oh and that red clay all over yourself by days end was a *****.

[...]

Quick questions Lance: when you bleed air from the tires, what's your starting pressure and how low do you drop it?

What is your safe max driving speed with that tire pressure?

How many plies are the tires you use (flanks/sole)?

Love camping/roaming

[headstand]

Thanks for sharing the adventure Lance.

[headstand]

This is my car on the weekend at Moreton Island, fishing and driving along the sand... love it

Nice picture Lisa. That is some beach.

PS nice we will seeing more of you in the new year...

[leftimatic]

Love them old suburbans. I grew up exploring all the old ghost towns and gold mining operations of British Columbia, my dad and I would be gone for days. I can't count the times we camped in the middle of the ruins of a ghost town. Most are gone now even in the last 30 or so years, just turning back to dust. The old railway lines and trestles weaving through the mountains here are nothing short of amazing.

Thanks for the inspiration. My boys are starting to come of age, Time to take them out exploring.

[mash]

I love the scenery. I was in Scottsdale and Prescott last week, and it was beautiful. You're lucky to live in such a nice part of the world.

[Colt45]

"Anyone else here into 4wd travel?"

Whenever there's a decent snowfall

[PuffDaddie]

Love 4x4

[Mr.T]

Great post and pictures. I love it too, but don't do it enough. Did some with my brothers out in Oregon this summer and loved the solitude and beauty it brought...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1LegLance]

Quick questions Lance: when you bleed air from the tires, what's your starting pressure and how low do you drop it?

What is your safe max driving speed with that tire pressure?

How many plies are the tires you use (flanks/sole)?

Love camping/roaming

The "airing down" question is like asking about which box code is best....wow you can start some serious fire side chatter

So the idea is to increase contact patch and deflection of the tire around an obsticle.

There is also the shock absorber effect of the squishy tire that helps the kidney pain of washboard roads.

Every surface means a different pressure. Sand more than gravel, snow & mud more than rocks....and it can change with the day.

As for driving speed it is all about keeping heat down as the flexing of the tire generates heat. So you top speed goes down as the heat of the day builds and if you cross on to asphalt. Not to mention so fast turns on squishy tires.

So for me I don't go by numbers...other than my street pressure which is set with a chaulk test.

Go to a big parking lot where you can drive quiet in a straight line and do this once for your loaded traveling wgt and once for your empty everyday wgt.

Take some sidewalk side thick chaulk and draw lines side to side across your tires a few times, then drive straight for 50-100 ft and look at the lines..

Rubbed off the in center too much air, rubbed off on the outside too little air.

Make changes in pressure until you get even wear.

Airing down is just about feel and "bagginess" of the sidewall. It is a trial and feel thing with no real right answer.

I hope this makes things a bit more clear and is an example of why on board air compressors are such a nice thing. I have been on trails where I might change my pressure 2-3 times in the day and then air up to go home...Not to mention blowing out the dust before camping keeps the wife happy

[topdiesel]

Awesome trip Lance.

I spent 10 years in Colorado and my two best friends and I went all through that region during the 90s in his 69 Jeepster (or his dad's 62 Willys) and the other one's decked out Land cruiser. I had a boring two year old wrangler, but as a California boy the other two rides had way more personality and made me feel like a real Colorado Native. Funny how a different ride can change the whole experience.

[Paul3]

Hard to get enough 4WD time in. Simply a great way to enjoy the outdoors, relax and spend time with good people...not unlike enjoying the cigar culture. I've been fortunate enough to go on a small handful of very memorable 4WD/Overland adventures. This is a pic from a Baja trip that I know Lance is familiar with. I drove my 78 Scout from Tennessee to Baja and back to Tennessee...fantastic.

[Paul3]

Perhaps my most memorable journey was an 8000 mile adventure in 2010 with my dad. We spent just over a month going from North Carolina to a small lake in British Columbia where we spent two weeks fishing and living in a small cabin; no electricity, no phone, no TV, just peace, quiet and quality time spent with family. Then on to Lake Tahoe, CA for 10 days; half that time on the trails and finally back to North Carolina. Truly an epic trip that I will always carry with me.

The first pic is the requisite 'poser' shot on the trail up to our fishing lake in B.C. The second is just on the Tahoe side of the infamous Rubicon trail....made it without a scratch.