Big Bear This Saturday (15 May 04)

[Elusive]

we have 2 TJ's both locked with winches on 35's going to Big Bear this saturday with our families. It will be liesurly and I plan to do some geocaching while up there.
We wil be leaving EARLY saturday AM from Temecula.

[PondScum]

You guys camping or anything or is this just a day trip?

I'm looking at going up there in the "off-season" whenever that is i heard cabins that sleep 8 can be had for around $70 if it's not ski season.

I'll check with the wife and see what we have going, i'll post back here when i know if i'm free or not.

[Elusive]

we were planning a day trip... really just trying to squeeze wheeling into a busy weekend.

[peteyg]

Hey! Good to see you over here Chris.

I'm the second TJ. The plan is Gold Mountain/John Bull. Should be a fun day.

[Guest]

The Big Bear Jeep Jamboree is that same weekend. Expect delays out on the trails. Other than that, have a great time!

[Elusive]

ow.. bummer.. might go somewhere else...

[jmbrowning]

I may be up for this instead of Miller this weekend. Anybody else?

[Elusive]

Pete and I decided we don't want to get ANYWHERE near the jeep jambo USA crowd, so we are gunna go to Stoddard Valley instead.
all are welcome.

[jmbrowning]

I've never been to a Jeep Jamboree, but just curious why the aversion to being ANYWHERE near the JJ'ers. Will they be asking for donations or performing elimination functions at the trailside?

I called my friend who runs a B&B in Big Bear and he tells me this weekend is fairly empty for his place and a lot of the places up there.

I put in a call to Joelle at Mark A Smith Off Roading to see what the enrollment is like and also what their itinerary is to avoid getting backed up.

[jmbrowning]

John Bull despite Big Bear Jeep Jamboree

Well, after much long discussion, the Missus and I decided to head up to Big Bear to wheel John Bull in the newly lifted TJ, 4" OME lift and 1" body lift (the body lift will play a part later)

Initially thought we might just take the TJ, but the Missus dusted off her XJ when I told her that I would be driving up to Big Bear without doors. This also proved to be a fateful decision.

Big Bear didn't seem all that different for Jeep Jambo being in town. Denny's had about thirty Jeeps in its parking lot on Sunday AM. We didn't really understand why someone might pay $250 to go wheeling in Big Bear, which is pretty well marked, free, and public to boot. Go figure.

I think Sunday was a light day as it was also the last day of Jeep Jambo. Saw all of 4 Jeeps on John Bull proper. The TJ flexed mighty fine on the trail. I got seriously stuck however while horsing around on the Lucerne Valley overlook campsite entrance. I thought it would be fun to go down the early entrance to the campsite and got very high-centered with the soft-top making awful scraping sounds while supporting the weight of my rig against a Jeffrey pine.

Thank goodness the Missus brought along the old Grocery Getter as I needed quite a tug and a lot of jacking and stacking of rocks to get me off my driveshafts. The tug was at a 90 degree angle to the trail so we broke out the tree saver and snatch block to do a winch extraction (Hooray our first winch-out!). I dusted off the soft top and we were on our way.

After John Bull, we took a nap under the pines at the end of 3N10. Aired up, respooled the winch cable and headed down Highway 18 back to stress, boredom and tedium.

Right before we hit the 30, my cabin filled with smokey fumes emanating from my engine bay. I hit the brakes and slid into a turnout. I radioed the Missus regarding the sudden change in visibility and she reversed 200 feet on the Highway to the turnout.

I hopped out of the Jeep, extinguisher in hand, hoping for the best and expecting the worst. No flames, no black smoke, just white steamy stuff that smelled bad. OK, now what is all this red stuff that is pouring onto the pavement from under my rig?

I popped open the hood carefully. Still no flames, but this red stuff was also on every surface of my engine bay and steaming off of the engine block! I took a quick look at the engine coolant reservoir. It's got red stuff in it, but it looks awfully empty...down to the fill line.

A quick check of the hose from the engine coolant reservoir diagnosed the problem. My body lift of 1.25" resulted in fan shroud interference with the fan. The fan shroud was cutout to prevent interference, however the engine coolant hose also lives under the now non-existent fan shroud. The fan had whacked halfway through the hose and the coolant had sprayed up all over the engine bay.

A vise-grip and peon (surgical clamp) stopped the hemorrhage of coolant and resulting minor ecologic catastrophe. A quick trip down the 18 to the Wal-Mart on Highland and the AutoZone on Baseline and Palm rewarded me with a jug of pre-diluted ethylene glycol coolant and a fistful of hose splices.

Back on the road in 45 minutes, feeling tired but accomplished, we headed back to home.

Take home lessons:
1) Always take two vehicles when off-roading, even when Jeep Jambo is in town
2) Check for possible interference whenever new mods have been done
3) Always carry hose splices and clamps
4) Always carry coolant!
5) A tarp is nice to lay on when napping and also when working under the Jeep in the field
6) Be thankful that the hose croaked 15 minutes from WalMart and not on the JB trail!

[JeepGal]

Youre stories are always sooo good

thanks for the trail update and information.

Tam

[paulhead]

Excellent summary of your trip. I enjoyed it too.

[blkTJ]

sorry to hear of the misshap(sp?), glad everything worked out. see ya soon.