Big50
Adventurer
Went out with my buddies to "prerun" a route for a larger event where we'll be taking about 10-12trucks on in a couple months. The goal of the trip was to validate the route and to mark the major hazards. We covered total trip was right around 600 miles in two days. 500 of which were dirt. Our route started in Carson City and then on to Fallon, Tonopah, Mina, Hawethorne, and finished back in Carson City.
We did run into a bit of trouble though. I made a poor decision, and let my buddy lead since I was taking a slightly slower pace while marking hazards with the lowrance. I try to keep him behind me because he has a lead foot and can get himself into trouble. Sure enough, he came over a rolling hill and at the bottom was a pretty nasty washout which took out his spindle. Doh! Unfortunately, for us we were just outside Tonopah, which is the furthest point from home of the whole trip. We decided to go back in town to see if we could locate a trailer to rent so we could tow him home. We did find one at uhaul but there was no way the Raptor was going to fit on that. We were then left with one option, have his wife swing by my house to pick up the stock spindles sitting in my garage and drive them 7.5 hours to Tonopah NV from San Jose, CA. Not ideal but we didn't have much of a choice.
Once we knew she was on her way with the replacement spindle, we began pulling the broken one. Once we wrapped that up, myself and my other buddy set off to finish the "prerun". We left behind 3 of our group with their trucks. 1 being the broken Raptor, Superduty, and another Raptor. Not something I liked doing but they had everything under control and the route needed to be finished. Everything went smoothly from there. My buddy and I finished in Carson City around 9pm and the wrest of our crew got into Reno around 10pm. They decided to get a room vs pushing on to San Jose since it was already 2am.
Overall, it was an epic trip despite the ordeal. I'm actually proud of how we handled it and were able to take care of "business". Doing 500 offroad miles in 2 days is no easy feat. The terrain itself may not br overly difficult but it's the long hours behind the wheel and not making a mistake. We definitely had a mistake but it's the price we pay to play. I have to say Nevada is a hidden treasure. The pics below do not do the amazing views justice. I can't wait to go back and explore more!
IMG_0243 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0239 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0240 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0236 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0232 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0229 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0227 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0215 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0213 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0208 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0207 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0204 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0203 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0196 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0190 by Big5050, on Flickr
We did run into a bit of trouble though. I made a poor decision, and let my buddy lead since I was taking a slightly slower pace while marking hazards with the lowrance. I try to keep him behind me because he has a lead foot and can get himself into trouble. Sure enough, he came over a rolling hill and at the bottom was a pretty nasty washout which took out his spindle. Doh! Unfortunately, for us we were just outside Tonopah, which is the furthest point from home of the whole trip. We decided to go back in town to see if we could locate a trailer to rent so we could tow him home. We did find one at uhaul but there was no way the Raptor was going to fit on that. We were then left with one option, have his wife swing by my house to pick up the stock spindles sitting in my garage and drive them 7.5 hours to Tonopah NV from San Jose, CA. Not ideal but we didn't have much of a choice.
Once we knew she was on her way with the replacement spindle, we began pulling the broken one. Once we wrapped that up, myself and my other buddy set off to finish the "prerun". We left behind 3 of our group with their trucks. 1 being the broken Raptor, Superduty, and another Raptor. Not something I liked doing but they had everything under control and the route needed to be finished. Everything went smoothly from there. My buddy and I finished in Carson City around 9pm and the wrest of our crew got into Reno around 10pm. They decided to get a room vs pushing on to San Jose since it was already 2am.
Overall, it was an epic trip despite the ordeal. I'm actually proud of how we handled it and were able to take care of "business". Doing 500 offroad miles in 2 days is no easy feat. The terrain itself may not br overly difficult but it's the long hours behind the wheel and not making a mistake. We definitely had a mistake but it's the price we pay to play. I have to say Nevada is a hidden treasure. The pics below do not do the amazing views justice. I can't wait to go back and explore more!
IMG_0243 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0239 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0240 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0236 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0232 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0229 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0227 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0215 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0213 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0208 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0207 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0204 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0203 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0196 by Big5050, on Flickr
IMG_0190 by Big5050, on Flickr
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