yes it was a great time, Ill post up more pics later, and pics from todays run at Slaughterhouse

 

Wanted to add that this was an outstanding trip. What a great group of folks. Brian, thanks so much for bringing the little one out to meet everyone. She is so darn cute!

She had to be the calmest passanger i've ever seen on a wheeling trip. Slept through the ledges. Outstanding.

Anyway, great to see old faces and meet new. Thanks ric, molly, troy, brian, brian, adrian, and all guests. That was a real blast.

 

way to beat me to it there ric.

 

Brian, I think you are doomed. Having met you and your wife, you are bound to have a kid that will stay cute indefinitely. If she continues wheeling and is half as enjoyable as you and the wife, you are going to have to build a castle to keep people away.

Still hoping for more pics/videos.

The perspective of the pic Isaac posted of me by the truck always gets me, looks like I was chopped in there or the truck is going to attack. Also reminds me that thing is not exactly small because I am not really either.

 

Looks like it was a good time...sorry I couldn't make it. I didn't get back from my trip until late Friday.

 

I'm digging a moat around my house right now and installing turrets.
Hopefully they can last 18 years

I was really impressed with your truck Adrian - nice and solid.
It sure does beat that old IFS that you replaced like 13 times?

 

Didn't see the planning thread. Was catching up after getting back from Moab & running Poison Spider/Golden Spike/Gold Bar Rim (Sat.) in the rain and then Moab Rim the next day. (See my profile linked in my sig for video frame grabs of that trip).

Besides, my son had a hockey game on Sat. 3pm. Wanted to go up w/o knowing about this ride, and didn't find anyone, so went solo with my son & a friend of his on Sunday PM. All I had was my phone, but got some pictures of the trail above the playground on Crystal. There were no tracks at all past about 1/4 mile above the playground.

Pardon the lousy image quality from the phone

Here's the first real obstacle after the playground. I tried several times to go up the middle, but couldn't get enough traction with the snow to make it up, so had to go on the right.


Here was the next step up


The curve was drifted a little


Very pristine trail


Here's where it turns and really climbs close to the top. The last picture was taken from the top of this pitch looking down at where this picture was taken.


Parked at the very top


Looking down the trail from the very top. You can see the namesake crystal outcropping in the upper center of the picture. It took me several tries to get up the step there. Could not get enough traction to start moving (too steep & slick), let alone climb the step there.


Headed down the steep section from below where the loop comes back together at the top.

 

yeah, Ric needed to get back to D-town, and i was cold. We decided to screw around on the rocks a bit, then head back.

The part we left out of the story, or should i say the rest of them were kind enough to neglect to mention, was that these silly people let me lead the trail.

Yeah, so we were lost for like an hour, while i tried my best to run us all out of gas driving around in circles. Finally Adrian found the right road, and we got up there, but not without significant time losses.

What you did miss, however, was the cutest copilot i've ever seen. She was adorable.

 

Thanks dude. This still has some bugs, but I enjoy dealing with them instead of the IFS stuff that I was sick of.

We stopped at all the ledges. My truck sputtered twice and stalled once. It is an auto so I am not pumped for fuel BS with an external pump, cell and no currently working gas gauge.

Cold? I was fat and cold. Not a good combo, but it was great being in the mountains. I went to the car wash, came home, and got back to school work. It was the best break, though I am not sure the paper faired any better because of it.

 

Nice rig Adrian. Finally got to see it in action. You got longer trailing arms for the back?

 

^you can say that again!!

 

Yeah, you could say that.

 

wow, that is awesome. all Front Range axle housing?
Where did you put the gas tank?

 

And I thought the front end looked really good....but look what a piece of work the rear end is.....

Ring the bell...I believe we have found the baddest 2nd gen on YT.

 

Marc, thanks.

Anthony, I have a small cell immediately above and behind the rear diff. It is roughly 14 gallons, but was made for easy size. I bet I could get to 18 gallons or so with a more custom shape and some monkey work.

I may yet do that, but right now the truck gets driven maybe 50 miles a week because I am back in school and my boss picks me up when I work.

 

Any of you guys go to the CO4x4.org M&G in Loveland on Sunday? I didn't see it listed until after it was done.

 

I may be considering a larger one too, as the range of my 15 gal 'cell is just not enough, but I hear custom ones get ridiculously expensive. Wonder if making a couple would bring that price down...

 

It depends a lot on whom and what.

A pure custom cell out of .093 or .120 is easily a 2-300 dollar job materials only. Add cut time, TIG time, even brake time plus a custom sending unit and you can blow 800 bucks really quick.

 

Which is why I have a "standard" fuel cell LOL.

Molly has finished the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPJ1ICwTyLY

 

Thanks dude. That was really cool.

Yeah, my cell was quick and dirty. Time will tell on adding baffles/making it bigger. Now that I drive very little and would hate to have to spend more than 2 hours at a time cruising it at speed, having this size cell and stopping every couple hours is no worries.