I guess I underestimated your ability Captain Computer, I just drove right through, no spotter, no getting out, but I did shift to double low and lock both ends, like I said, it was JUST like Arizona, I can do that stuff in my sleep.

On the 3rd day I'm always tired. I like to wind down with an easy trail.

 

Actually, lets just set the record straight here. When pulling Schaefer up Widow Maker, we had about 8+ guys on the end of his winch line, to load the front end.

When it was my turn, I bumped it, and almost made it up without any assistance. After sliding back down, Adrian and a guy named Brian from a Colorado club, were the only two guys on the end of my winch line, as Schaefer was putting his synthetic rope away.

Also, there is an obstacle right after Double Whammy, where the bypass is to the right (right before Body Snatcher), I went to the left and up a waterfall. If I recall somebodys words "She said no", and they took the bypass. Who could that be, hmmmmm.

I wish I could have done Lions back in the morning with Schaefer though. No doubt it was scary, but that rush is half the fun. Acutally, I probably would have had my wife drive it, she does the really dangerous stuff anyway, like Rock Chucker.

 

On top of Lions Back.



Where's Hunt?

 

He was on the road to home with his cb whip between his legs......

Awesome PIC!

 

Sorry for the noobie question, but when you say load the winch line, is the line actually anchored to anything and/or just has people holding on to keep the vehicle from flipping backwards?

 

Maybe the terminology was incorrect, but having people on the front of the winch line is two fold. 1) Yes, to keep the vehicle from tipping the wrong way. 2) When people pull on the winch line, it is nearly the same as having somebody put their weight on the front of the rig. With more weight on the front of the rig, you will get better traction to the front tires, thus pulling the rig up the hill.

 

Thanks for the clarification, I was trying to picture what you guys were talking about.

 

People pull on the rope so the front tires get more grip. If 5000 pounds goes backward, chances are the people will let go. The vehicle still must use all it's power to drive up, the same thing could have been done with a strap.

 

That is a "schae"weet pic! Someday...someday...

Looks like you guys had a blast!

 

The people on the rope DO considerably supplement your torque and traction. I once saw a half dozen guys pull a Toyota P/U up the face of the rock wall to the left of Cleveland Rock on Holy Cross after his engine stalled. (That's above the city, and is an insane obstacle. I believe it's as steep as Widowmaker, though taller.) It was amazing, and quite instructive to me of how much power a tug-of-war crew can actual muster -- it evidently isn't as insignificant as I thought. Though obviously not as difficult of a task, I had a tug-of-war crew pull me over The Crack last year.

Steve, you say 5000 pounds going backward, but since the truck is not hanging in mid air, but is instead on a sloped surface, the force is something under 5000 pounds (some of the weight is being carried by the rock under the tires). (Consider the difference of pulling a refrigerator up an incline verses straight up.)

 

We did not make it to the Cliffhanger at the end of the trail. The place Steve and I went down and then back up was off camber, unnerving, but not impossible. I spotted Schaefer once or twice, mostly I listened to his stories and talked shop.

Neither Schaefer nor Hunt took strings with power. We loaded the front by tugging at Widowmaker for both and then Jim and I pulled on Schaefer's front when he crawled the waterfall to the right on Poison Spider since he was crawling and Jim and I tugged on SteveO's because he was not crawling.

It is almost 1 p.m. Mountain time and I should be rigged by supper again. I will have the new lawn ornament out of the way too.

There was good spotting and great driving. I got to put a stock rental Wrangler up the Wedgie with open diffs and a 5 spd. It is not a tough obstacle, but it was cool to do it for the guy.

There was a pile of carnage at the bottom of Double Whammy, SteveO spanked it, then Schaefer swept it and spanked it. They are both capable driver's with built trucks.

I have to check the digi when I get back to Wisconsin, should have some new pics to add, but I was doing a lot of spotting later in the trip, so I do not have as many.

Schaefer's rig looks sort of like an Arctic truck with those big drag slicks and not a lot of lift. It sure did perform though.

Thanks all for a great trip!

 

So it looks like that 83 axle was good? Rebuild that sukka and we'll hang it.

 

Oh, I assumed that, since there were six guys holding on to Steve's winch cable on Widomaker, there was some tugging occuring... so I was surprised when Hunt made it up with only two people.

 

Yeah, Caskey should be coming by to snag it for easy transport in a couple hours if all goes well. It needs to be dipped in a vat of parts cleaner, I am amazed Darren's rig stayed clean. Now the problem is that it weighs more than I thought, so the roof is out of the question.

Schaefer's "man winch" was 8 people power. Hunt's was 2 and I regret not letting him give it another bump. I just meant to say, when those rigs are pictured with winch cables strung, it is not under power, just a fat guy from Wisconsin and a little Colorado love.

Mike's videos are awesome, really captures each obstacle. I look forward to reviewing the complete footage.

 

HEY YA'all,

A hearty thank you to Mike Brown (A.K.A; Aurora Sandman) for the videos. There are now 4 videos from Moab on my website. Check out

http://www.hunt4steve.com/excursions/videos.htm

If you don't see any information concerning the below listed titles, refresh your screen by hitting the F5 key a couple of times. There is:

Steve Schaefer on Rock Chucker
Steve Hunt on Rock Chucker
Widow Maker
Double Whammy

 

Not too long, just right and awesome!

 

Awesome pics and vids guys. Looks like ya'll had a great time

 

Ironically, I almost had last friday off work and was off early thrusday. If it wasn't for the fact that my rear e-locker wasn't working, I probably would have been on the road to Moab. Then the boss call me later that day to say we were gonna work friday....bummer. I did get my locker problem fixed, turns out the harness going to the axle got cut some how.

I'll have to plan on going out there next time....... Great Job guys!!!!!

 

More Moab Pics

This trip was the best trip I've ever been on. The wheelin' was awesome and our families did great together. My daughter won't stop talking about Hanna (Mike's Daughter). And, please pass along to all of your wives that mine says thanks, and she had a great time (which was awesome for her first wheelin' trip).

Now that I have an E-locker and a TrueTrac my rig is becoming quite capable, I was surprised at what it could do. I'm still working on the driving part though, but having teachers like SteveO, Schaefer, Mike and Flygt I am becoming a pretty quick study. Thanks for all the help and of course the great spotting.

And Mike, I'll be expecting that certificate soon

 

The pics and vids are really great, guys! Looks like you had a blast.

I was wondering, though, about the wheelie bars on Jim's and SteveO's trucks...