Rockrawler

In response to customers’ requests to take their newer model Toyota 4x4s to the next level off-road, All-Pro Off Road organized a Hammers Run in Johnson Valley, CA, held on March 8, 2008. Registration was open to all newer model Toyota 4x4s, and a select few were picked from the numerous entrants. They were required to have 33” tires and 2 lockers, or 35” tires and at least 1locker, trail armor, and a winch.

Johnson Valley is home to some of the most hardcore rock crawling trails in the country, the best known of which are The Hammers. The Hammers are typically traversed by trucks with short wheel-bases, solid front axles, and large tires. Jon Bundrant, All-Pro's owner, led the way up Claw Hammer in his newly SAS’d FJ Cruiser, making it look easy.



Nine IFS rigs followed, with eight finishing Claw Hammer. The group consisted of seven FJ Cruisers, one newer model Tacoma, and one 4th generation 4Runner, all with independent front suspensions. The fact that this had never been done before didn’t deter them as they pushed their vehicles to their limits, and a few beyond.

The day started with breakfast from the Johnson Valley Community Center as everyone got acquainted. The cameras started rolling as driver interviews were conducted. FJ Cruiser Challenge “Survivor” T-shirts were handed out as incentive to be just that – a survivor of Claw Hammer. Everyone packed up, aired down, and headed for the trail.



A Rock Crawling 101 Seminar was given at the trial head by Team All-Pro Racing spotter and Rock Crawling Champion, Larry McRae. He educated the drivers on key aspects of rock crawling, including tire placement, spotter signals, throttle control, locker usage, etc. The spotters thought it would be a long day, but everyone was back to Jon’s cabin by 4pm. Although every vehicle made it through without body damage, there were 2 vehicles that broke.





The first breakage was a tie rod on Bill Wright’s FJ Cruiser. Bill, also known as Billybongo, made the long trek from Cedar Hills, OR with his daughter on her 17th Birthday. Trouble started long before they even hit the trail with the beadlocks and ABS line. The steering was fixed on the trail, but then Bill broke his rear ring & pinion gear, ending his quest to conquer Claw Hammer. The rear ends of these newer model Toyota 4x4s are notoriously weak from the factory, combined with the force of larger tires and a supercharger, the gears simply couldn’t handle the stress. All-Pro’s mechanic Mike Schoffstall with the aid of Marvin McQuown, replaced the third member back at camp, getting Bill and his daughter back on the road home to Oregon.







The other breakage of the day occurred on the last obstacle, as John Goodman, a.k.a. “bellydoc,” got hung up. While trying to back up and realign with his tires turned and locked, a load pop was heard – the dreadful sound of the CV breaking. John was pulled out by All-Pro’s FJ-40 Land Cruiser. With its 420 HP engine, the FJ-40 pulled the heavy FJ Cruiser up the rest of the trail with ease. A replacement CV shaft was given to John, which he replaced when he got home to Phoenix, AZ, where he is a practicing physician who performs ground breaking surgeries.

Getting pulled to the top

The two drivers that experienced breakage had a lot of faith driving their FJ Cruisers such a long way to an event that they may not have been able to drive home from. Fortunately, with a little aid, both were able to drive home, as was Jerry Brown, who got the long distance award, coming all the way from Seattle, WA. He drove the only yellow “Sun Fusion” FJ Cruiser in the bunch, but it wasn’t just the color of his FJ that stood out, it was the ease that Jerry made the obstacles with the help of his Inchworm Lefty transfercase that caught the attention of spotter Kelly Lee, as he praised his driving ability at the celebration BBQ dinner. Jerry thought it was going to be a long day when his ARB locker wasn’t engaging on the first obstacle. Pit chief Mike fixed the air line problem and got him on his way. Jerry’s love or rock related sports is evident from his screen name “ropedrag,” a term used in his other hobby of rock climbing.





Despite Jerry’s exceptional driving ability, the Driver of the Year award went to Jaya Lozano from Santa Barbara, CA. He was the first IFS rig with an open front diff to make it through Claw Hammer. It wasn’t pretty at times as he pounded his FJ hard, but he made it after bonding well with spotter Julio Monroy and with his A-trac hack working to its full potential. Formerly known as “underthehood,” Jaya is now known as “San-Jaya,” like his fellow superstar from American Idol, but he’d rather be referred to as the “Organic Mechanic.” He and a few friends arrived in Johnson Valley early, and even with a preview of the trail, Jaya wasn’t deterred by its intensity.





Jaya also took the “Throttle King” crown from fellow FJ owner Brent Akers. Brent provided the best quote about what he learned when he stated “Rockcrawling is like golf, when you have a good setup, approach and just the right amount of finesse you make it look easy. If you’re off by an inch, you are all over the place and it makes for a longer day.” Brent has come a long way from his days of making spotters jump out of his way, although it was noted that there was some mysterious yellow fluid dripping out of his cab when he traversed the waterfall.





Another notable throttle exhibition came from All-Pro Off Road employee Terry Baker. Terry, All-Pro’s lead salesman, finally earned his screen name of “RocKrawler,” although some may argue that his wife and daughter are better drivers as they took turns driving his black FJ Cruiser. They put on quite a show as they weren’t afraid to use the skinny pedal, keeping the spotters on their toes.





Another All-Pro employee also attended. The only newer model Tacoma in the group was driven by All-Pro’s manager Sarah Caler. She was the first IFS up Claw Hammer, following Jon’s solid axle equipped FJ Cruiser, only getting hung up a few times trying to follow Jon’s line – a bad mistake as Jon tends to take the hardest lines. The longer wheel base proved to be a blessing at times, yet a curse where the trail was tight. Jaya was right behind Sarah, and his passenger being a fellow Tacoma owner, was drooling at the sight of Sarah’s Tacoma navigating the rocks with ease. He is now ready to take his Tacoma to the next level. Sarah was a little disappointed that no other Tacoma owners stepped up to the challenge, but hopefully that will change now.




The most notable accomplishment in the group was that of Jason Pritchard in his ’04 4Runner. Jason is a paraplegic, using hand controls to drive his 4Runner up Claw Hammer, but you would have never known it. His slow and steady approach made him one of the best driver’s of the day and truly an inspiration to watch.





Jason's hand controls

The only winching of the day was done by “skersfan” Bob Brown in his unique FJ Cruiser with carbon fiber wrapping. Like Jaya, Bob attempted Claw Hammer without a front locker. Although he did make it, he had to winch through one section to prevent breakage. After seeing the difference a front locker made on the run, Bob is now having All-Pro install an ARB locker, which his wife will appreciate since she had quite the wild ride!





The spotters were given much praise and thanks as a collection was taken up by Jerry to provide them with a small token of everyone’s appreciation. Some have said they would have paid for the lessons given by the spotters, but Bob Brown may have summed it up best by saying “The spotters were simply beyond belief. These guys made this doable . . . due to their expertise they made all of us feel we could accomplish this undertaking. I have gained a lot of respect for the guys that make the drivers look so good. These surely are the best of the best.”






Spectators came from far and near to witness this event. All were all impressed by everyone’s abilities, from the drivers to the spotters, and especially how well built the vehicles were to handle a trail of this caliber. They were probably a little disappointed that there wasn’t much carnage, and everyone was just glad the spectators didn’t become hecklers.

Everyone got plenty of camera time, as RP Films, makers of the Haulin’ and Crawlin’ DVDs, were there to capture this adventure on film. They are going to produce a full length DVD, covering everything from the Rock Crawling 101 Course to driver and spotter interviews, and of course footage of the trail run, highlighting the best obstacles. Each participant will get their own copy and All-Pro will also be selling these.

Look for more coverage of this event in the June issue of 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine that All-Pro is the honorary editor of.

Special thanks goes out to the sponsors: Warn, PowerTank, Walker Evans Racing, and Master-Pull. Thanks for the great products!

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Great pics!
Love seeing all those FJs out there.