Project Land Yacht! Full size Dodge Diesel 4 door
- Thread starter Outback
- Start date
Outback
Explorer
Little did we know what was going to shock us awake in a few short hours from the time these pictures were taken.Now for a brief summary of our first night out camping.....kinda.
We left Prescott very late on Sunday. At 11:45 pm I decided to pull over and get some sleep. The wife was tired and so was I. We pulled off of highway 318 in Nevada right at the start of the "Narrows" canyon area. The Highway goes right in between two huge rock formations called the narrows because well its narrow. Other Canyons also feed off of this spot and are some great places to see Petroglyphs. I pulled off and opened and closed the busted BLM gate and drove in about 1/8th of a mile back up one of the side canyons. by now its 12 midnight. Tent deployed and we are all in the queen size bed living the dream. Just before 4am we are all awakened by huge explosion followed by the shock wave. Secondary explosions are going off and we are all up. I literally throw the kids into the cab of the truck because I am just waiting for the shrapnel to start landing on us. I stow the camper shell in under 30 seconds! The secondary explosions start subsiding and I grab my cheap camera/video. Theres about a 3/4 moon but its somewhat set by now but I can see the huge fireball and and smoke collum rising into the night sky. Its already a few thousand feet tall with flames spewing out. I turn on my cam corder but there is not enough light. The first few minutes are basically audio only but you can here the stress in my wifes breathing. My fear is that the fire will start to head up the canyon and block us in. The fire ball erupted not far from the entrance to the canyon but I have no choice but to head out that way. At this point I suspect a tanker truck but also suspect in the back of my mind a crashed military jet loaded with ordinance. There are still smaller secondary explosions but nothing like what woke us or the same intensity of the immediate secondary ones. As I get to the head of the Canyon you can feel the heat even inside the cab. The fire is intense! I jump out and open up the BLM gate. This time the gate seemed to just fly open unlike the first time I opened it. Im sure the adrenalin rush helped that out! I pull down the road several hundred yards and run back to what I already know is a hopeless feet to help anyone. Who ever was in what ever type of vehicle it was, died instantly when the first explosion occurred. I couldnt even get within a 100 yards of the vehicle. The fire is simply out of control but luckily still inside the rock wall of the canyon. There is no feeling like that of being helpless to help someone even though you know there was absolutely nothing you could have done. They would have died instantly. Attempts to reach 911 were futile. I stopped the few cars that came and ask them to call as I would when I reached a cell coverage area. Upon talking to dispatch 30 minutes later the lady advised me that people in the town of Hiko heard the explosion and called it in. Hiko is about 30 miles form the Narrows! As of an hour ago NHP lists 318 closed due to vehicle fire. I still do not know what type of vehicle but from the intensity of the explosion (Thank God for the canyon rock wall deflecting the shock wave as well as the effect of the explosion away from us) I would say its was either a fuel tanker or a truck laden with explosives. We said a prayer for the driver and anyone else who might have been inside.
Last edited:
Outback
Explorer
Hey SilverBullet,
I apologize. I was just going back and reading some old posts in my thread and found yours. I just had the Flip Pac installed at AT trailers. I will be going back to Prescott soon though. I will give you a heads up before we head out.
Outback
Explorer
Well the wife and I are excited about the new AT Flip Pac. I think the kids are even more excited. So last night the wife and I grabbed every Overland Journal we have (and thats every issue) and started looking at what are fellow explorers have for kitchen set ups. I am in the field about 330 days a year and do allot of cooking when im camping. For me the simpler the set up the easier it is for me to cook and clean up. I have a Honda 2K generator in my work truck and use that to power a microwave I have mounted in the bed of the truck at the foot of my bed. You wouldnt believe how great a meal (and healthy) I can make in about 8 minutes. For my family Expedition rig I had visions of Snow Peak EVERYTHING. Did I mention I LOVE Snow Peak equipment? Anyway so off I went looking at all the set ups. The more I looked the more I kept thinking about my small Jet boil and my microwave. How easy and quick. After a few hours in bed and a stack of Journals latter my wife and I have come to the conclusion. Keep it simple with the cooking gear but have a nice camp set up like chairs, table and dishes. These we have decided will most likely be from Snow Peak as we love there simply light weight designs. AT Trailers last weekend had an open house which showed us a simple yet space saving set up for a camp two burner stove with freeze fridge above it. This set up pulls out one tray that has a smaller width tray inside the larger one. The fridge pulls out and locks in place. Then you pull the smaller one out further and viola you have your camp stove. This would also be perfect on my work rig. Ive finished drafting up (crude drawing) the other side pull out. This will house our microwave some bottles of wine and all of the camp dishes, mugs and utensils ect. The layout will allow me to pretty much stay in one location (or the wife) and use all of the camp cook ware and be able to reach inside the freeze fridge for a cold beer without any interruption. This should work pretty good and will do a mock up of the design before I start the build. Ive also found some pretty nice stainless steel flush latches used in the marine industry to secure the rest of the interior boxes and drawers. There will be a nice step up to the main camper tent with the kids having a nice sleep area down below. Ive approached this build with an eye to have multiple uses on all of the cabinets. My trusty 2K quiet Honda generator will power my microwave. It will also beable to recharge batteries and other amenities. She only runs now for about 10 minutes at my camp sites when Im at work. A long heavy gauge extension cord and steel cable will keep her somewhat secure. Finish will be LineX with a possible carpet in the walk way. Not sure about that yet. Anyway please chime in with any ideas.
Outback
Explorer
We will be heading out tonight to do a bit of Rock Art hunting. A friend of mine is an Archeologist for the BLM here in Nevada. I told him where we will be heading and he said it was rumored that there is supposed to be some Rock Art up in this particular canyon we will be in. He ask if we would record anything we find with pictures and GPS locations. So not only will we be getting away for a few days but we will now have a mission!
MakersTeleMark
Adventurer
Did you ever find out the story behind the vehicle explosion?
Outback
Explorer
Yes I did. The vehicle was a fuel tanker and the driver fell asleep. He missed the turn and woke up. He tried to correct but went into the embankment but didnt roll the main fuel truck. The rear tanker rolled over and started leaking fuel. The driver started running and the rear tanker exploded. After the rear tanker blew the main tanker blew followed by the trucks fuel tanks. He received 3rd degree burns to his back. He ran towards Hiko. He was picked up by the people I talked with on the other side of the road from the fire ball. He is in a hospital right now.
Last edited: