China Head Mountain trip completed

[BC Explorer]

Well we finished our yearly cross country excursion through some of the most beautiful country starting north of Pemberton BC and coming out at Chasm.
Total 985 km's round trip and run by 2 Jeep YJ's and 2 Toyota's (4 Runner and a Taco).
I decided before we left to give my YJ a 1" body lift and put on some 31" MTR's for a little more traction and clearence.

Some pics of the trip...
The exhaust on the ground is to replace the one I ripped off on the way up.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0006.jpg
Heading along the trail towards 2nd night camp
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0035.jpg
Taking in the view of the valley at 6500 ft. on the way to camp.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0056.jpg
This is the 2nd night camp (N51 10.702 W122 37.071, 1919 meter elav.) and a beautiful morning.
I sleep in the orange 2 man tent.
The peak behind is Poison Mtn. and has a track that goes to the peak that we planned on doing after breakfast.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0077.jpg
A view of Poison Mtn. and you can just see the track on the left heading up.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0080.jpg
Another beautiful view while heading to 3rd camp.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0095.jpg
Our transportation at about 7200 ft.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0121.jpg
Back on the trail
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0124.jpg
Finally at the end of the China Head trail after 3 days, still 1 to go.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0134.jpg
3rd night camp and it got chilly (N51 10.570 W122 15.430, 1312 meters elav.)
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/PICT0136.jpg

[Exrunner]

very cool trip...great pics too.

[SeaRubi]

wow - that's epic! Love your YJ - that looks perfect for an "expo" style rig. easier on gas, good on the sideslopes, and no complications from suspension madness. Those little MT/R's do grip like the dickens - you'll like 'em! I got about 36k out of mine with hard use.

cheers
-isaac

[JeepinBear]

Great pics!

Where do you keep the spare on that YJ??:peepwall:

[97 zj steve]

great pics :lurk:

[BC Explorer]

wow - that's epic! Love your YJ - that looks perfect for an "expo" style rig. easier on gas, good on the sideslopes, and no complications from suspension madness. Those little MT/R's do grip like the dickens - you'll like 'em! I got about 36k out of mine with hard use.

cheers
-isaac


Thanks

The YJ has been great so far, the only complaint is the rear springs.
There are sacked and should be replaced soon.
It is awesome on fuel but, I did noticed a drop in fuel milage after going from 30" tires to 31"s.
This is now my third set of MTR's and really love them. They not all that great in the snow but, we don't see much snow any more here.

[BC Explorer]

Great pics!

Where do you keep the spare on that YJ??:peepwall:


No spare, I haven't had a punture yet with an MTR (knock on wood) and don't really put my tires or the truck on the rocks any more. If I was to get a punture through the tread I would just plug it and air up, hopefully I wont rip a sidewall.

[BC Explorer]

Here is the link to page two if anyone missed it....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17620

[SeaRubi]

Thanks

The YJ has been great so far, the only complaint is the rear springs.
There are sacked and should be replaced soon.
It is awesome on fuel but, I did noticed a drop in fuel milage after going from 30" tires to 31"s.
This is now my third set of MTR's and really love them. They not all that great in the snow but, we don't see much snow any more here.

no they are not. I imagine siping the center lugs would help a ton, but I never got around to it. :smiley_drive:

http://www.speakeasy.org/~thefains/img/snow/rubi_winter.jpt.jpg

[Milehi explorer]

Looks like a blast!

[Backwoods Rambler]

Great report and pics :costumed-smiley-007

..... but shouldn't this be in the Completed Expeditions or Completed Adventures and Events area?

[BC Explorer]

Great report and pics :costumed-smiley-007

..... but shouldn't this be in the Completed Expeditions or Completed Adventures and Events area?


I agree, now how do I move it ?

[Ed B]

What brand gear rack are you using on the inside?

[BC Explorer]

What brand gear rack are you using on the inside?


I custom built it for the YJ and one for my old XJ.
Works great.

[Ed B]

I'm looking at the Kilby rack as the interiors of these Jeeps fill fast. Looks like you had a great Jeep. Thanks

[BC Explorer]

I'm looking at the Kilby rack as the interiors of these Jeeps fill fast. Looks like you had a great Jeep. Thanks


Are you putting it in a YJ or TJ ?
I think the Kilby one is over priced so I built mine at a fraction of the price.
The other thing I didn't like about the Kilby unit was how it attached. It has legs at the front of the rack that extend down to the main hoop. The rears are attached to the factory rear seat locks and I feel these legs get in the way of being able to slide a cooler or like right agianst the wheel tub.
Mine mounts directly off the roll bars main hoop and to the rear stays.
This allows me a place on top of the wheel tub to put my tent and bed roll or anything else. The rack is also removable by undoing the bolts on the side of the rack then removing rack and leaving the supports attached to the roll bar and not in the way of anything.
As an extra bonus I went to get something out of the back of the Jeep and the tail gate was locked so I thuohgt I would just reach in and grab what I needed, NOPE ! I could barely fit my arm in and still coundn't get out what I needed. NICE SECURE AREA
The rack is strong enough to hold my daughter standing on it.

I looking into making and selling these at a very competitive price.
We have a full fab and welding shop for mass production.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/DSCF2590.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/yuchym/DSCF2583.jpg

[Ed B]

It's going in a TJ. Other than one other rack made by Olympic I have not found a lot of other choices. Yours looks well made and makes use of all available space. If I had the skills, I might try to build my own but fabrication is not something I have had much experience at. Later

[computeruser]

BCEx: Very nice rear rack setup!! I'd be interested to know what sort of competitive price you had in mind before I go buy more steel and fire up the welder. Particularly after nearly losing some of my strapped-down stuff when I accidentally got a bit airborne on the dunes...



EdB: The trick to making a TJ livable for multi-day trips is in organization. I've been working on a camping trailer for multi-day, multi-person trips and hope to have it completed soon, but was pleasantly surprised just how well organization helped make the TJ more comfortable and efficient on the UPOverland trip. In the past I've always kept things in duffels and plastic milk crates, tucked in nooks and crannies, and whatnot, thinking that soft and packable made for a more efficient use of space. Though undoubtedly true in volumetric terms, this always made it a pain to actually get to the stuff. So this time I tried something different:well-packed, well-chosen boxes!

Immediately behind the front seats I had two small (8gal? 9gal?) action packers holding my kitchen and camp supplies (one box) and my food (human and dog, the other box), sitting on top of an 81mm rocket case filled with spare parts, fluids, only-needed-if-stuck-real-bad recovery gear pieces, etc. Tools were in soft-side bags on the floor behind each front seat, as was the air compressor. My folding chair and tripod were also tucked behind the seat, widthwise. My entire campsite was in one full-width Contico SUV box at the back of the vehicle (tent, mattress, sleeping bag, stakes, first aid kit, ground tarp, extra tarps), and my coolers and 6 gal water were alongside the rocket box, behind the front seat; the coolers consisted of one soft-side 12-can cooler, and one MaxCold tip-top playmate-style cooler. My clothes were in a duffel that was, at various times, either on the passenger floor or atop the action packers. And my books/maps/cameras/radio/etc. was in a backpack that was hung off the passenger seatback when the top was up, or placed on top of the rear windows when the top was taken down. Winch controller and recovery/tree straps were on the driver side floor to the left of the seat and beneath the seat, and D-shackles, an extra hatchet and dog bowl/leashes were on the passenger side.

I was able to pack the entire vehicle up in the rain one morning without opening any of the soft top windows, or getting the interior wet. And everything stayed put throughout the trip, and was easy to get to when I needed it.

At no time in the course of four days did I feel cramped or disorganized. Everything had its place, and when I got home I still had enough food for another 4 days! My accumulation of stuff was barely taller than the tub sides, and was strapped down with ropes run through eye bolts that I put through the hardtop mounting holes.

Admittedly I was traveling with myself and my dog, but the additional gear required for a second person instead of a canine would have been minimal. With the addition of a rack, you could easily carry a larger cooler or a small/medium Engel/ARB fridge, and still have plenty of space for enough supplies for 4-8 days for two people, resupplying only with ice and fuel along the way.

[August]

What is the road condition of the traverse from Poison to China Head? It's been 7 or 8 years since I've done it.

[RedDog]

Excellent as always! Wish I was there.

[BC Explorer]

What is the road condition of the traverse from Poison to China Head? It's been 7 or 8 years since I've done it.


pretty rough but, still fun.

[BC Explorer]

Excellent as always! Wish I was there.

We will be making this trip every year now and will be extending the duration of the trip from 4 to possibly 5 or 6 days and you are more than welcome to join us.
We have now completed our 2nd trip and the group gets bigger each time after they see the pics of the trip.
We are making plans already for next year and have picked up 2 more trucks making 6 so far.