Vermont to Moab, UT (+Expo Pics!!!)

[mph]

Might be able to give u some thoughts....

Great Basin rovers

http://gbrutah.com/index.html

Read your blog and your worries about camping...there are some great places to camp that aren't too far out there...pm me if u need some suggestions

 

[Drover]

Sorry to hear of your troubles Drew. Have you removed the drive shafts at different times and locked the centre diff to verify if the vibrations are front or rear driveline related? Tire pressure? Wheel play? Panhard rod bushings?

Thanks for the suggestions Zach. I suspected one of the u-joints, but there wasn't any play in the driveshaft?
I figured the hell with it, I took it on an easy trail today to see how it would react.
When I was on a steep descent in 1st it was amplified, so I figured it had to be in the front driveline. In low in drive it wasn't that bad. Amplified only when the tranny was slowing the vehicle?


Well, per Brian's suggestion I was heading over to moab4x4 outpost


Very quickly we had a diagnoses. I have a custom driveshaft , (no rotoflex, double u-joint ) . The u-joints were fine? The cv bearings were smoked. When we tipped it over , a pile of bearings fell out with a hand full of dust!


I figured while it was out, I had them rebuild the whole driveline. So while I was waiting for the work to be done I strolled around the property. These guys aren't quite overlanders, but they sure are capable mechanics/fabricators! Check out some of the vehicles!

So as I was drooling over some of the vehicles, look what pulls in?!


Turns out it was Jordan Blase (previous owner of rovertym) and Jim Markel (red oxx gear) they were on their way to the expo, and stopped in to check the vehicles. We talked for quite a while, really good guys , look forward to seeing them at the expo.

That is one hell of a defender!

Shortly after the rover was fixed. Back on the trail!

 

[Drover]

 

[Jkfisher84]

Love the pics

 

[ZG]

That's awesome that you met Jordan, he was at Rovers North a couple weeks ago building one of the most beautiful front and rear bumper combo for a RRC I've ever seen.

 

[Drover]

That's awesome that you met Jordan, he was at Rovers North a couple weeks ago building one of the most beautiful front and rear bumper combo for a RRC I've ever seen.

He was telling me about that build for Taylor ? Right?

 

[ZG]

He was telling me about that build for Taylor ? Right?

Yeah that's the one, it was beautiful. Make sure you hit up fins n things, that's a super fun trail out there.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

Been following your blog as well. Being a fellow New Englander and having made the drive to Moab in 2010, I know the long drive just to reach the Rockies as an incredibly boring stretch. While the mechanical troubles must have been frustrating, it sure kept your readers waiting for the fix. Originally, my plans included heading out to the expo along a similar route this year but since obligations here have taken over, I'll have to live vicariously through your adventure blog. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Overlandmom]

Day 8 and we are 2 hours from the Expo! We had some great times and challenges in Moab. Canyonlands was amazing. There are some sections that felt like I was on a different planet.

My husband posted our pics from the first day we actually got out on a trail in Moab - I thought that was a fun ride. Plus I actually drove for a few minutes (and we all survived)

Our daughter is too young to enjoy the trails though. She doesn't engage with the outdoors from her car seat. She does enjoy getting out and walking or investigating. I was happy to see her curiosity. I was also vigilant about where she sticks her hand etc...

Here are some pics of our adventures...

The first one is of my husband and our daughter helping a fellow traveler get their spare tire un-stuck from the rear tire swing-out.

We were happy to help another traveler - nice couple from Colorado.



I thought all the desert flowers were beautiful juxtaposed to the desert sands.



Here we are driving 279/Potash Rd. into Canyonlands.



This is the Thelma & Louise lookout point.



Amazing!

We had a rough night but are excited to be going to the Expo today and hopefully we will learn how to be better overlanders!

Will post more pics from Shafer Switchbacks later.


www.overland4moms.com/blog
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kevint]

Something tells me you'll get a little moral support while you are there at the Expo.

Your story resonates with me a little. I've got 10 years on DroverRover and a little over a year ago I got pretty far ahead of my wife on the remote camping idea. We haven't tried anything as grand as you are but a little over a year ago we spent four days here:



That little grey dot is our tent, miles from the nearest person.

And this spring we did a 10 day trip hopping from state park to state park through Texas and New Mexico with one remote night in the Guadalupe mountains. My wife is the one who introduced me to camping so she isn't as far out of her element as you are and she is doing her best to accomodate my desires while I'm trying to dial those desires back.

I don't know what your schedule going forward is but it seems like you are overdue to enjoy your trip. Hopefully you can find a place to set up the tent for a couple of days, spend some evenings around a campfire, sit in your cool chairs, teach your daughter the zen of a perfectly roasted s'more or the wonderment of jiffy-pop. Maybe she's too young for those but everything is a little more delicious when you are camping. Enjoy one another.

Ask around at the expo for some leads on a public or private campground with great scenery like Kodachrome Basin State Park.

Remember, 40 is not too old for this. You have decades to capture the various experiences. You don't have to go for the full experience on the first trip.

Good luck.

 

[Drover]

Sorry I haven't posted in couple of days, things have been moving along quite nicely after our breakdown experience. We drove the potash road ( as previously posted by my wife), and we ran into a couple who lost their whole tire swing out from the washboard road vibration! Their spare was seized to the swing out arm! He was trying to separate the two so he could transport it on his roof rack. They didnt have the appropriate tools, so I stop to lend a hand. Nothing a little pb blaster and a ball ping hammer couldn't fix.;-)

From there we were on our way through the rest of the trail. Came across another Vermonter!
Stop and talked with him for a while,(we had to wait for ten wheelers to pass, they were fixing the road/trail?)

He had a well kitted Tacoma!
Upon finishing the potash road you approach the entrance to canyon lands . We decided to head back and start making our way to the expo! Here are some pics


We ended up passing through moab on our way out of town , got a pic of these two guys.

As we drove to the expo we stopped at the needles in canyon lands . This is newspaper rock, this was really cool to see in person!
Indian petroglyphs

From there we drove through montecello and stopped at a cool little diner.

This trip has had so many aspects to it , it's hard to get all in a daily posts. We were driving through the Navajo reservation and all alon the side of the road they're selling jewelry and such. Of course I had to stop and buy some souvenirs and take advantage or the photo op!

 

[ZG]

Sweet, keep it up Drew! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Overlandmom]

We had a great time at the expo. For those of you who were there you know - it was windy!!!

But my husband perservered and thanks to the help of some friends he managed to set-up our entire system with canopy and everything.
As you can see our daughter helped.

Then it was time to relax and enjoy...




Our Kobe beef does taste better outside! ;-)


Today we left the expo and drove Schnebly Hill into Sedona.

I get a hotel room with running water - my husband is out running a trail. Life is good!


www.overland4moms.com/blog
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Drover]

The expo was awesome! It was great to put names to faces. Met a lot of the vendors, and also staff from overland journal. The wind was horrible , it was like being in a dust storm the whole time. I'm going to go into a little more detail in up coming post, but for those of you who couldn't make it here are some pics!!

 

[peneumbra]

You thought THAT was windy?!? You should be here when it's really blowing.

You guys should move out here and then, next year, you won't have to worry about the long drive...