YOU are invited

Details are on the chapter site (http://www.wattora.com) under the "Upcoming Events" section.

Photos from the second pre-run (01/04/2003) are at http://smregal.com/mini_snow_run.htm in case you are interested. (Thanks to "Smegal", AKA "smr4runner")

 

To everyone this is the first time I'v ever been winched out Thanks again Rob

 

No problem. I like using the winch almost as much as most people hate asking me to pull them out

Looking at those pictures, I think it's a good thing you gave up when you did, you were getting painfully close to that drop off. If you had gone off that, the recovery would have been a bit more difficult.

 

I guess I know when to say when.

 

And here is when I said WHEN.

 

Nice pics & vids that Mike got, very nice write-up.

What forest road was this up?
I'm not familiar with Steamboat Ridge unless it's up by 70 or 73, and I have driven past it before.

You know, a lot of people who consider themselves hardcore scoff at winches.
These are mainly people that are not familiar with the type of terrain we have here in the Pacific Northwest.

First time out with my new winch last April, it saved the day.
Unstuck a 2nd gen 4Runner that was buried quite deep in the snow.

Hey Gene, nice new rig you have. First time I have seen the new ride.

 

It's actually "Steamboat Rock" and it's just off the summit of Haller Pass on FS 74/75. At the summit, you take a turn to the South, up a hill climb, wind through the trees and suddenly you are out on this rock in the middle of no where.

It's called Steamboat Rock because from down in the valley it looks like the prow of a steamboat.

http://www.wattora.com/pastevents/20020714/DSCF4516.JPG
http://www.wattora.com/pastevents/20...rail101001.jpg
http://www.wattora.com/pastevents/20020714/DCP0742.JPG
http://www.wattora.com/pastevents/20020714/DCP0743.JPG

 

Thanks Rob. I have not been up on 74 since I got my 4Runner.
I use to take my '90 truck up there long time ago.

I have not explored the area too much, but I remember after going in staying to the left kind of, and you run parallel to a river on the right of you going up the hill.
Camping spots were all around, and it you continued a few more miles, I think you come to a gated section that winds upto the left.

It's been a long time since I have been there.
Corey

 

Great - the first time everyone see's it and it's on the business end of WATRD's winch! Heh-heh.
Well, as Ape pointed out, I wasn't alone. And as always, a low bow of appreciation to The Recovery Vehicle.

 

All hail Rob's winch

Will you be going with a custom bumper setup here in the future?

 

Asking me?

There are SO many things I want to do to this truck. But first, I have to get rid of my wife.

I dunno. I may not go too far with it as I hope to get a new Tacoma in a couple years. Maybe an '05. I'm going to stick to low cost performance mods for now. More lift, air filter, syn fluids, hi-performance cig lighter, you know, the usual!

 

I am just glad I spent the money on the winch... can you imagine some of these runs if we didn't have at least one rig so equipped? I shudder to think about it

I think you should use that as your sig pic for the TTORA boards Gene hehehehhe

You left out the synthetic blinker fluid... that's like 70 hp right there.

I also think I saw a resistor on eBay that you can put on your ECU and get HUGE performance gains... conveniently, I have one I could sell you at a discount. Just drop it in and you will double your horsepower! hehehhehehe I know you can't put a price on that sort of performance gain, but I will let you have it for just $100! hehehehhe That's just a dollar a horsepower. You would have to look far an wide to find a performance boost of this kind for that kind of money...

While you are at it, we can block off your EGR, vent your PCV valve and gut out your cat hehehhe With all that new horsepower, you are going to need wheelie bars! heheehhe

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I have been on four different club boards today and seen one to many Snake Oil pitches I gotta learn to not read any of this stuff, even eBay. All it does is drive my blood pressure up.

Gene has himself a fine rig there. Before long he'll be showing us all how it's done

 

My pleasure I am happy to be of service.

But I think you have the wrong attitude about it. You ended up on my hook because you were WHEELING. Some folks claim to wheel, but if you don't end up getting stuck, you aren't pushing the limits of you and your machine

I applaud you for getting stuck. It shows that the rig is more than a mall crawler

 

Amen to that.
On a run just about a year ago a bunch of us went up to FS road 70 to play.
Just about all of us got stuck that day.

The place where I parked where Todd got a pic of my mug I got stuck when it was time to drive on further.

That was before I had a winch, and Shane's winch was out of commision that day.

He had to use a tow strap to get Baha Billy unstuck.
Needless to say, I had a winch and ARB within a month of that run.
I can see how valuable they are up here.

And the very next trip up there was when I got to use it the first time on that other guy.

 

Exactly.

Snow is a big equalizer, it hates all of us equally. I wheel almost every weekend in some form or another. In the Summer, I can go for weeks without getting to stretch the winch cable out, but in the winter, better than half of my runs involve a recovery at some point or another. As often as not, it's me doing a self recovery, but I get to play with it none the less

After a few years of that, you get pretty good at picking the right angle and technique to accomplish the smoothest recovery Ape's recovery was a double back from a snatch block on a tree, with Gene providing me with an anchor. Ape came out of his stuck slick as [censored] from a goose

Now I *almost* take for granted it being there...

 

It looks like that run you guy's went on is a locker run too 'eh?

I am going to try and get upto Greenwater 70 maybe sometime this month and mess around the gravel pit, or close by.

I use to get out a lot more often a few years ago.

 

Hey Y'all,
First I have to say, if it wasn't for Gene getting winched up that hill, with his BFG digger lugz kicking up the dirt, Jeff and I definitely would have needed Robs winch to get us up the hill.

It was a great time.

 

You know you are welcome to come with us on the 19th... that's why I posted.

Lockers require a careful eye and VERY selective use in the snow. Since you are getting equal traction with them engaged, they tend to cause your tires to track sideways, which is what gets you trouble. I recommend that people NOT engage their lockers on these runs in the snow unless they are already stuck and need the traction. Otherwise it's just too squirelly...

The other problem is too much torque. With an automatic, you will have more control on the slick in 4Hi than you will have in 4Lo because the tires are less likely to break loose. With a manual tranny, you sometimes MUST use 4Lo to keep from stalling it, but you have to be careful not to spin the tires.

Both of these are kind of counter intuitive, but after some experience and much observation, I hold these truths to be self evident...

 

What is you guys expirience with using tire chains in snow runs? We (dad and I when I was a kid) always used them in upstate NY when we went into the woods, but maybe its different when your hill climbing and stuff.

 

As long as you have a good set that fit properly, they can be a god-send in those conditions. I have been on a few runs where the snow started to freeze up in the late afternoon and by the time we were headed down, the conditions were terrifying Having NO control is not a pleasant experience, and chains can help out when the ice sets in or when you are having to push a lot of snow with your bumper.