He'll have all my front end junk in by then.

DR - Sound like great line up...

I should be on 33's and a rear locker by then..

Lookin' foward to another great run...

So Andy, what's the deal with Upper Ajax? and these harder trails? are we just going to bypass them or what?

No reply to my previous post?

Steering, a good tow strap. Recovery points.

SPARES-

cv assembly

T-Bar anchor/adj

front hub

Armor, Armor, Armor...
Skid plates, rock sliders, solid bumpers...

Tie Rod Ends, Ball Joints...

motor mounts


Hadn't thought about just doing a PML and a steering kit - that wouldn't cost too much (or if I can get stuff from Stone, even better ).

so what are the less equiped folk like myself going to do on the harder trails? bypass? wait? etc?

Keith.. I ran Upper Ajax, with a 3" lift, IFS, no locker, and 32s on my pathy. I think you can do it. You'll need a winch at the big waterfall, but everything else you'll be ok on.

We ran Martinez today.. that trail is downright NASTY now. Much much more technical/difficult than it was last time we ran it. The whole trail has been rearranged.

There has been talk of running multiple trails each day. If there's a particularly difficult trail scheduled, such as Martinez Canyon, another group could be formed to run the Coke Ovens trail- which is a great trail, very scenic with some quite challenging lines for those so inclined- and bypasses for those that aren't. I personally think this is a great idea, everyone gets to run trails that they are set up for, and still get the group together afterwards.

Another proposition is to run multiple trails of matching difficulty- for instance, the hardcore crawlers divide into 2 groups. Group 'A' would run trail 'X', and group 'B' would run trail 'Y'. Next day they would switch and group 'A' would run trail 'Y' and so on. This would cut down the number of trucks on a trail at one time, and greatly reduce the amount of time standing around waiting for the caterpillar effect. Keep in mind I said 'proposition', voice your opinion accordingly.

A word on 'recommendations' as to which trucks and what equipment levels can make certain trails: My truck meets the minimum suggested requirements for Martinez- it's a '95 HB KC 5 speed with 5" of lift, rear locker, sliders/bumpers and upgraded steering. I ran Martinez Canyon 9-10-05 (yesterday), with 5 SFA trucks (Andy, John and 3 Cherokees). The IFS wasn't an issue(as in I didn't break a halfshaft), the lack of a front locker wasn't an issue any more than usual (it would have been nice), but the added 10 inches of wheelbase and lack of crawler gears was a huge issue. I have several dents in my framerails from high-centering on many occasions, and had to be strapped out of a boulder field because my clutch overheated due to my stock gearing. There were several spots on the trail with dropoffs to one side that would not be passable with anything wider than the trucks we were in (we had to do a trail repair just to get us through after Andy started to slide sideways into a 4 foot ditch- the ditch being much preferrable to the dropoffs on most of the trail). The switchbacks are incredible- the trail folds on itself. The surface of the road (where it isn't boulders) is loose slippery stuff. There are no bypasses for the nasty obstacles this trail throws at you. There is no turning back once you get on the trail.

To sum this up, my truck will not go on this trail again without t-case gears (and a spare half-shaft). Even then, I would take more frame damage due to the length of the truck. Anything wider than my mini would never make it. Period. Unfortunately, 'not making it' doesn't involve having to turn back in disgust- it means rolling down a hill sideways, or sliding down a steep grade out of control, possibly taking out other trucks in the process. When Andy puts his foot down on full size trucks making this run, he's doing it for a reason. It's not a question of skill- Martinez is a round hole, so your square truck better be pretty small to make it through.

-Spike

On the first 3 days, I'm thinking about splitting the group. Depending on the numbers we have, it would be something like this:

Day 1 - half do woodpecker, half do Ajax
Day 2 - Switch.

(Telegraph Canyon is right nearby for those wanting a more mild trail eiter day)

Day 3 - Built trucks run Martinez, lesser built rigs run Coke Ovens.

That deviates a little from what we've traditionally done, but large groups on technical trails means slow go.

Would welcome any thoughts, and I'll need trail leaders.

coke ovens is a blast...better have a snorkal if it rains much tho...river, mud, hills, rocks, r&r tracks to straddle. Ya I had fun, can you tell?

I think Coke Ovens would be an up and back for this application right? No need to cross the river then.

I'll lead that one if noone else wants to.

Martinez sounds gnarly and will be even more so after all the spring rains by then.

aawww no river crossing

The river would be optional...just gotta come back across.

Spike states it very well. A-Rod, I'm sensing you feel you're not welcome in this Nissan community. That just ain't so. Part of makes us different from all the other make-specific clubs is that we don't exclude people because they drive something else - we sure as hell don't want to exclude a Titan. I'd love to see your truck with all the mods you've talked about because I own a 4x4 Titan too. For sure I'll be jealous - and that's part of the fun on these runs. But we had a run cut short a couple years ago because of a fatal trail accident (fortunately no one from our group) and we don't want a repeat of that. I can tell you, having personally rolled a truck down a 212 ft ravine, it really ruins your day. I'm very lucky to be alive. Now I pay a lot more attention to what people say when given advice. So please don't feel that you not welcome - understand we want to see everyone back at the campfire every night. I hope you make it!

I guess martinez has gotten way worse than AZ4, that trail is my nemesis.

I thought Prince was your nemesis.

quote:

Spike states it very well. A-Rod, I'm sensing you feel you're not welcome in this Nissan community. That just ain't so. Part of makes us different from all the other make-specific clubs is that we don't exclude people because they drive something else - we sure as hell don't want to exclude a Titan. I'd love to see your truck with all the mods you've talked about because I own a 4x4 Titan too. For sure I'll be jealous - and that's part of the fun on these runs. But we had a run cut short a couple years ago because of a fatal trail accident (fortunately no one from our group) and we don't want a repeat of that. I can tell you, having personally rolled a truck down a 212 ft ravine, it really ruins your day. I'm very lucky to be alive. Now I pay a lot more attention to what people say when given advice. So please don't feel that you not welcome - understand we want to see everyone back at the campfire every night. I hope you make it!

running those trails in my KC with dual lifts and 33's was a PITA and heart stopping due to its length, were just looking out for your safety.