S
Scenic WonderRunner
Guest
Gear said:
I Feel the Love..............!:elkgrin:
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I Feel the Love..............!:elkgrin:
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HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
DuctTape won the war!
We were planning on meeting you guys @ Christmas Circle on Sunday morning but had some equipment problems while searching for flowers today. The good news is- the flowers are starting to bloom! My untrained eye still thinks it'll get better over the next week or two but there's some nice color to be seen.
We took Canyon Sin Nombre to Arroyo Seco, down the dropoff and exited via Fish Creek. EVERYBODY and their grandma was out today. Campgrounds were as busy as I've ever seen and the trail was packed (yes, there's a Dodge Neon in there):
Our new pup, Borrego, enjoyed his first trip to Borrego:
We got out of the truck to hike somewhere between the dropoff and Fish Creek campground and on our return noticed the Maggiolina wasn't square with the fiberglass shell. On closer inspection I saw that all 4 of the mounting brackets were missing! They must've broken off at some point. There's nothing holding the tent to the roof, it's just laying on the shell:
The tent either would've slid off during a turn or blown off as soon as we got any speed. This was one of those head scratcher moments. I could easily slide the tent around with one hand. If we wouldn't have stopped right when we did, I'm pretty sure we would've seriously damaged the tent. Is there a Guardian Angel of camping gear?:bowdown:
As my grandfather used to say, "DuctTape won the war!":
We limped out of Fish Creek and decided to call it a day as we weren't sure if our RTT could withstand any more bumpy trail. We were doing 50mph on the 78 and the wind was easily blowing 40+mph right on our nose. I spent the whole drive out of the valley with one eye on the road and the other on the DuctTape. It didn't budge!
If I can peel myself out of bed tomorrow, I'll see you guys at the Circle (something tells me I'll still be checking my eyelids for holes, though).:sombrero:
Have fun!!!
We were planning on meeting you guys @ Christmas Circle on Sunday morning but had some equipment problems while searching for flowers today. The good news is- the flowers are starting to bloom! My untrained eye still thinks it'll get better over the next week or two but there's some nice color to be seen.
We took Canyon Sin Nombre to Arroyo Seco, down the dropoff and exited via Fish Creek. EVERYBODY and their grandma was out today. Campgrounds were as busy as I've ever seen and the trail was packed (yes, there's a Dodge Neon in there):
Our new pup, Borrego, enjoyed his first trip to Borrego:
We got out of the truck to hike somewhere between the dropoff and Fish Creek campground and on our return noticed the Maggiolina wasn't square with the fiberglass shell. On closer inspection I saw that all 4 of the mounting brackets were missing! They must've broken off at some point. There's nothing holding the tent to the roof, it's just laying on the shell:
The tent either would've slid off during a turn or blown off as soon as we got any speed. This was one of those head scratcher moments. I could easily slide the tent around with one hand. If we wouldn't have stopped right when we did, I'm pretty sure we would've seriously damaged the tent. Is there a Guardian Angel of camping gear?:bowdown:
As my grandfather used to say, "DuctTape won the war!":
We limped out of Fish Creek and decided to call it a day as we weren't sure if our RTT could withstand any more bumpy trail. We were doing 50mph on the 78 and the wind was easily blowing 40+mph right on our nose. I spent the whole drive out of the valley with one eye on the road and the other on the DuctTape. It didn't budge!
If I can peel myself out of bed tomorrow, I'll see you guys at the Circle (something tells me I'll still be checking my eyelids for holes, though).:sombrero:
Have fun!!!
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Dave Bennett
Adventurist
HMR said:As my grandfather used to say, "DuctTape won the war!":
HOLY SMOKES BATMAN!!! :yikes:
You are very fortunate NOT to have dumped your Maggie!
S
Scenic WonderRunner
Guest
HMR..........
Great pics and Info!
Thanks for sharing!
I'm sorry to say......that there is No Way ALL of your brackets just fell off....ALL at once! These are very expensive items. Just check Craigslist!
I'm sure they must have been stolen while you were away from your truck! Unless somehow I missed something in your story.
This is the very reason why....I never leave my truck! ....and sometimes I even Pack!
I'm very sorry!
Great pics and Info!
Thanks for sharing!
I'm sorry to say......that there is No Way ALL of your brackets just fell off....ALL at once! These are very expensive items. Just check Craigslist!
I'm sure they must have been stolen while you were away from your truck! Unless somehow I missed something in your story.
This is the very reason why....I never leave my truck! ....and sometimes I even Pack!
I'm very sorry!
Dave Bennett
Adventurist
HMR said:I'll be unveiling my new and improved bracket design in DV.
Theft proof those suckers!
Scenic WonderRunner said:
I was thinking the same thing! No way they all fell off... all at once... :littlefriend:
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
LOL! They weren't stolen!!!
Remember, these are brackets I fabbed up myself when I switched from Yakima to Thule loadbars:
They've worked flawlessly for thousands of miles and run all over AB and other trails in CA & beyond without a problem. I just re-installed the RTT last night and triple-checked everything. All 4 were in place when we turned down Canyon Sin Nombre. At some point after Diablo Dropoff I'm guessing one broke then the others followed with the increased load?
The new design will have the studs going through the loadbars and should be a bit stronger than those offered by Yakima & Thule. The funny thing is- now that I'm at home trying to remove it- I put that DuctTape/tie wrap combo on all 4 sides and it's probably stronger than anything short of welding the bars together.
Remember, these are brackets I fabbed up myself when I switched from Yakima to Thule loadbars:
They've worked flawlessly for thousands of miles and run all over AB and other trails in CA & beyond without a problem. I just re-installed the RTT last night and triple-checked everything. All 4 were in place when we turned down Canyon Sin Nombre. At some point after Diablo Dropoff I'm guessing one broke then the others followed with the increased load?
The new design will have the studs going through the loadbars and should be a bit stronger than those offered by Yakima & Thule. The funny thing is- now that I'm at home trying to remove it- I put that DuctTape/tie wrap combo on all 4 sides and it's probably stronger than anything short of welding the bars together.
TheRoadie
Explorer
Sorry to miss all the fun today, but I have a chance to skip work on Monday, so I'm going out there tomorrow. Planning Coyote and Rockhouse canyons unless somebody comes back with a flower report that's good elsewhere on the north side. Not getting caught up in the weekend traffic jams - priceless. SWR: good luck with getting your son out of hock at the hospital.
RAM5500 CAMPERTHING
OG Portal Member #183
Scenic WonderRunner said:
Me neither, never ever ever
Hopefully ya solve this soon and are back up in no time!
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
Thanks everyone but I'll say once again, the brackets were NOT stolen! It was a flaw in my design that caused the brackets to break. I'll be in the garage this evening building the "new and improved" version. FWIW- Most of my long-distance exploring and camping is on motorcycles. I've learned a few things about theft prevention.Boston Mangler said:
Now... back to the original topic: 1Leg, Gear, Miles, etc.- Looking forward to hearing about your trip.
:lurk:
1leg
Explorer
Pics Will be up soon. Time to go to bed.
Quick report.
Coyote canyon was a parking lot. Seeing all the Honda civics makes me think getting a Jeep might have been a mistake :xxrotflma
Flowers are going off big time in Coyote Canyon. The Aroma was amazing. This was my first time out to see the flowers. I was blown away :exclaim:
We then went to Little Blair valley to get away from the Crowds. Some went on a hike, some stayed back and took a nap (Me).
Then Gear, Miles, TD64 and A couple nice ladies ate a fine meal in Santa Isabel(spl).
Shout out to Mike and Mark for joining in.
A few from the trip.
Quick report.
Coyote canyon was a parking lot. Seeing all the Honda civics makes me think getting a Jeep might have been a mistake :xxrotflma
Flowers are going off big time in Coyote Canyon. The Aroma was amazing. This was my first time out to see the flowers. I was blown away :exclaim:
We then went to Little Blair valley to get away from the Crowds. Some went on a hike, some stayed back and took a nap (Me).
Then Gear, Miles, TD64 and A couple nice ladies ate a fine meal in Santa Isabel(spl).
Shout out to Mike and Mark for joining in.
A few from the trip.
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S
Scenic WonderRunner
Guest
...............TRIP COMPLETE................
Thank You All......who joined in the fun! I enjoyed meeting new ExPo folks.........and had fun greeting old ExPo Friends. Not that you are that Old!.......:ylsmoke:
Looking forward to next year!
Here is the un~edited version of a wonderful spring day in Anza~Borrego.......
Perfect end...to a Perfect Day! A Sunset Dinner in Little Blair Valley ......at my favorite campsite!
Thank You All......who joined in the fun! I enjoyed meeting new ExPo folks.........and had fun greeting old ExPo Friends. Not that you are that Old!.......:ylsmoke:
Looking forward to next year!
Here is the un~edited version of a wonderful spring day in Anza~Borrego.......
Perfect end...to a Perfect Day! A Sunset Dinner in Little Blair Valley ......at my favorite campsite!
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