2000 miles of nervous nirvana....

[jeepin_idaho]

Looks amazing! I'm sharing the exciting stuff on facebook with the audience of The 4x4 Podcast at facebook.com/the4x4podcast because your trip is such an inspirational adventure.

Dan
http://the4x4podcast.com

 

[Metcalf]

Day Two. The 22nd of May.

This was going to be my first full day on the road. I was trying to make it to the Idaho state line as a rough goal.

I hit the I70 junction early in the morning. I REALLY didn't want to have to take interstate but I had to jump on an off a few times for only a few miles. Looking back I think with a little more time I could have found a better way. The old highway into Green River, Utah was one of the worst sections of road on the entire trip. I think the road was paved sometimes in the 50s. Then they ran a cat with ripper teeth down it. Aliens had removed random sections of road base in interesting shapes. They didn't feel the need to repair any of the road surface where they either had torn out or replaced culverts under the road. There where some hail mary dukes of hazard moments on that short section of road. The Willys didn't fall apart so I guess it was ok? This little Willys was built with just over four inches of compression travel and I used all of it more than once. I probably should have just slowed down more...

Green River was a nice little town. I had never really driven through the town itself. I had always just passed it on the interstate. There was a fantastic looking 600+ yard match range just to the east of town. I passed a mini-refinery on the old highway too. A few dozen mangy range cows to keep me company. I noticed a small issue in green river with my idle speed. It was too high for no real reason. I had a new manual throttle installed and thought that might have been the issue. I found the local parts store that wasn't open this early in the morning, but popped the hood anyways.

I turned out that I needed to move the throttle return spring over to the other side of the arm and rebend the small bracket on the engine to tension the spring more. This fixed that problem for the rest of the trip. It wasn't a big deal, but I wanted to stay on top of things like this on the trip. I think a lot of time you spot more stuff fixing the little stuff.

I had to take another short section of interstate to get to highway 6 headed towards the big city. I had to make a jet change or two but ended up with a combo that worked all the way into Idaho. Sometimes its fun to change jets, sometimes it is a bit of a pain. You can really notice a big difference in mileage, power, and general engine behavior if you stay on top of it. I usually try to run in the 13-14:1 range under cruise vacuum if I can. If it is going leaner than 14.3-14.8 very often I change. If it is going richer and the elevation is going to stay higher I change it. For quicker mountain passes you can just leave it usually.

I hit the end of highway 6 as it melts into the mess that is the Salt Lake metro area. This metro area is just HUGE and stretches for what seems like a hundred miles south to north. I had plotted an old highway and surface street route through town. Sadly I hit this mess just about 11am or so. I would have to cross this concrete and asphalt mess in the heat of the day.

The crossing went well other than a few turn arounds and one section of road that I just HATED. The Bangerter Highway is now on my banned list. This 55mph outer highway was four to six lanes of concrete highway with 20 foot concrete sound walls on both sides. This not so clever configuration of road design formed a giant rock oven that I was lucky enough to get to drive my 70 year old Willys jeep through! Never again! It was probably my least favorite part of the trip. Getting off that road was the best thing ever.

Once on the north end of the mess I call Salt Lake I was able to get on the old highway 89 again. I phoned a friend that I was going to meet for lunch in Bringham City. By the time I got there it was more like an early dinner but I couldn't complain. I talked jeep for a nice long time and got to get about ten glasses of water in me.

I had wanted to get to the Idaho border, but mother nature had other plans. Right after leaving Bringham City the wind picked up a ton and I was just done with it for the day. At this point I had probably done 300 or more miles with a lot of hours in the heat of the midday sun. It just so happened that I noticed a sign for Crystal Hot Springs just north of Bringham city. I wasn't cold really, but soaking for a bit sounded pretty dang good after that day on the road. And, they had camp sights. And, they had trees I could string my hammock up on. Sold! It was probably the best $20 I spent the entire trip so far.

I soaked in the naturally salty mineral waters for more than a few hours. I got to talk with some locals which was interesting. One older lady that was a retired Navy nurse knew a lot about the local area. I don't think many people got WHY I was doing this trip in an old flat fender, but many where interested in my back roads non-interstate journey.

I found out that I didn't pack any tent stakes for my tarp. I ended up finding a piece of mostly not burned firewood in one of the fire pits that I then split and carved into a few stakes. Ray Mears I am not, but I try...

 

[Metcalf]

Day three. May 23rd.

The wind the previous night had made me stop a little south of the Idaho border. This day was the only real day I had a firm plan on where to stop. I was going to be staying at my parents ranch in Idaho for the night, other than that no big deal.

The night before I had given the Willys a good look over. I added a bit of fluids to the transmission and transfer case. I had a few new leaks but nothing too bad. I think this old jeeps just leak. You just need to stay on top of it.

I was packed up early and headed north. I think I killed a few minutes NOT wanting to be the first person to fire up an engine in the campground. The V6 in the old Willys just isn't the most quiet thing....

The drive up and over the Idaho state line went well. I have driven this route on the interstate many times but never on the old highway and back roads. It is amazing the difference in the stuff you see. Lots of small towns, random stop signs in the middle of nowhere, a cool old car collection, or whatever. I was using paper directions so there where a few street signs that didn't match or where missing. A few wrong turns. A few times I second guessed myself on where the road should go or be. Nothing major.

Once I got into Pocatello, Idaho around noon I had my first 'issue'. The drivers side front wheel was squeaking. My disc brakes drag a little sometimes and make an odd noise but this sounded more serious. I pulled over and jacked up the offending wheel to see how it felt. Nothing was loose, nothing felt that bad really. I thought it was the brake dragging or maybe a piece of something on the brake pad. Packed back up and on the road again I didn't make it 5 miles before I knew it wasn't just the brake. I figured I better stop and take a better look. I found the closest parts house and pulled in the parking lot.

This time I tore down that front corner a bit more. I had it down to just the bearing hub and was still getting the noise, even with no load on the bearings. Everything was tight, but it just made that bad squeak noise. I decided to tear it down and see what I could see. The parts house had a spare bearing and race which I picked up just in-case anyways. They didn't have an outer spindle seal that was the right size though.

I ended up pulling the outer bearing and scraping out all the old grease. I cleaned and repacked the outer bearing along with trying to work as much new grease into the inner bearing that was trapped behind the spindle seal. It only took an hour or so and almost a complete roll of shop towels to complete the project. I could have probably driven on it. There was grease in the groove between the bearings but the outer bearing looked a little dry and gritty so spending the time on it was probably best.

Just north of Pocatello I found a super cool old junkyard full of 1950s and 1960s iron. It hadn't been crushed, I was amazed.

Lots more miles that day but nothing exciting happened. A few wrong turns, a few more old roads, a corndog for lunch, and then I was at my parents ranch just south of the Montana border by about 4pm I think. I stopped off at the local tire shop to pick up an emergency tire tube and some larger tire patches. I don't carry a full spare tire because of tight space and weight. These BFG Krawlers are pretty dang tough tires and I wasn't THAT worried about it, but having some insurance was probably a good thing.

I had dinner out with the folks, took a nice long shower, and fixed a few little annoying issues with the Willys in the garage. The rear axle was leaking a bit where the full float axle meets the bearing hub. I had some flat gasket stock so I decided to make a few gaskets.

I also weighed the Willys in there somewhere at a random weight station that wasn't manned. It was 3460 total I think. Slighty front heavy, but I didn't have my extra 15 gallons of fuel in the cans yet. I think the total for the trip was just under 3600lbs with all fuel and about 40-60lbs rear heavy (booo!).

 

[Metcalf]

More from Day three....

My next project? My dads M170 needing some love! Pretty clean rig overall.

Making some rear axle gaskets using my front drive flange as a pattern. The gasket worked well and stopped THOSE leaks. The rear axle also leaks at the spindle seal however. I just don't think those seals can seal just gear lube. I have some mods in mind for later.

 

[Metcalf]

Day Four. May 24th.

By now I felt pretty good on the road sections. I figured if the engine was going to scatter it would have probably done it by now. I was headed north to Missoula montana to meet up with my friends for the actual 'wheeling' portion of the trip.

The drive up went fine. I had to stop and visit some old friends. Cell phone coverage was a bit spotty so trying to figure out the meting time involved a bit of phone tag. We where both coming from opposite directions...I traveling much slower and stopping more often. I don't know what it is about an old Willys jeep and being well hydrated but my tank was much smaller than the Willys. Maybe its the seat angle and the frequency of the vibrations...but I had to pee a lot! Well, except for that oven section through Salt Lake where I drank like a gallon of water in 3 hours and never had to stop once! Is that bad?

Anyways. Right after I crossed into Montana the rain clouds showed up on the horizon. Shortly after that I got my first 'road shower' on the way into Hamilton, Montana. The weather forecast concerned me enough that I stopped into the local hardware store for some rain supplies. I found some nice thick 40 mil clear plastic, some tape, and some magnets. I had an idea!

Only a few wet roads and rain showers to dodge on the way to the last fuel stop. I topped off the fuel cans with 15 gallons total and met up with one friend while another was going to meet us at camp that night having left work later that day.

The drive into the 1st campground was good. 4wd required, tires aired down, etc. I think we where the 1st 4 wheel vehicles in that year. The weather was spitting rain but it wasn't too bad. We had stopped for firewood down lower earlier in the day. I set up my hammock that night. I love not having to sleep on the wet ground on trips like this!

Not too long after we got into camp my other friend showed up. Everyone was safe and sound. The fire....a real fire....was started. Dinner was cooked. We stayed up a little too long talking around the fire, but boy this was the life!

 

[DarinM]

This is fun reading!

I made some long runs on my motorcycle last summer in full-gear. One trip I remember how much I drank. I have a 3 liter camelbak. From Austin to Wichita I drained it twice. I also drank 2 32 oz. Gator-Aids and a super big-gulp iced tea. I believe the temp on that day was ranging from 105-115 at various portions along the trip, with ground temps of course being much higher. Even with drinking all that, my pee was still a really dark orange color. Bad things...

 

[Metcalf]

Day 5. May 25th.

Let the snow-wheeling begin!

Up and over the mountains we went. The snow got deeper. The sidehills got steeper. The exposure got more severe.

To be honest this day ended up being just too much too quick for me. Basically all my friends do is go snow wheeling they are on a whole new level in there vehicle preparation and driving skill! This is the first time I had had my little Willys out in the deep deep snow. I had done a lot of snow-wheeling back in the day, but I was WAY behind my friends. Basically I was a rusty driver in an unfamiliar vehicle, in unfamiliar terrain. I flat got my butt whooped this day.

At one point towards the end of the day we where working this section of sidehill going towards a campground high up in the mountains. My tires where down to 2psi and the old Willys was just flat having a hard time. It wouldn't stick to the sidehill and I constantly was sliding downhill to the somewhat exposed section of the road edge. I wouldn't get 'stuck' really but I just couldn't move more than a few feet. I couldn't get the vehicle to climb back up on the snow by itself. I would have to winch back up. That old belleview sure pulls nice for a "6000lb" winch though! I am REALLY happy with that old thing after this trip. Both my friends run 8274's and I can now fully appreciate the modern brake system and power out motor. I have some upgrades to do in the future!

One of my friends popped an outer bead off after taking a pretty bad bounce. He was using the long pedal a bit through a section and took a sideways hop on a sidehill section. The downhill rear tire took all the weight of the jeep at speed, at about a 90 degree angle to the bead, and pealed off. Both of the TJs are running what I call Tape-Locks. A few raps of gorilla tape are added over the safety bead area on the wheel to make the tire fit MUCH tighter on the rim. Honestly, this flat works about 99% of the time. This lost bead was from a BAD bounce at speed at probably 3psi or less. The TJ isn't a light weight rig either at over 5000lbs fully loaded. He had no other bead issues the rest of the trip. It was more driver error than beadlock error.

We scouted up the road a bit and found much more sidehill and it was getting worse. At this point I just called it. I was pretty much done for the day...

We backtracked to a nice camp spot alongside the road still in the 'snow' section to limit holiday traffic

 

[Metcalf]

Day six! May 26th...

I was pretty nervous this day after my lack luster performance the 1st day.

Finding a stuck Subaru down the road from the camp site cheered me up a bit! He had tried to come up our tracks and got stuck....go figure. We gave him a tug and sent him down the road. He didn't make it more than 20 feet into the snow on the road bed, at least I had made it about 2 miles. Go Willys!

We headed down into some really great backcountry along some fat snow fed rivers. We looped back over the mountains on a random pass road that was paved?!?!?! It was snow free...boring.....and topped up with fuel again.

After that we headed back up into the mountains.

Somewhere in there I decided to try 1psi instead of 2psi. What a difference it made! It made a LOT of difference. I think my driving was also catching up with the other guys and I was getting the 'feel' for this 'new' vehicle I had. My Krawlers are pretty rock worn and have rounded edges on the tread blocks. This really hurts you in my opinion in the snow. I just didn't have the 'traction' that the new MTR/K's or custom grooved Swamper Radials had. In my opinion those MTR/K goodyear tires are among some of the best I have seen all around. They did VERY well in the deep snow, I know they work well in the rocks, and they even go down the road pretty well.

After the change to 1psi things started to work for me. Don't forget that we probably aired up and down about 10+ times on this trip since we where going in and out of the snow so much.

Everyone eventually got sidehilled out again this day but we made it over one pass and WAY into the back country. It was more a combination of huge tree wells, sidehill, uphill, and crappy snow conditions in some light rain. The Willys was working pretty well at this point and I actually did some things that amazed even my friends. Yeah Willys!

 

[Metcalf]

Day Seven? May 26th

This day was freaking perfect. We covered a lot of miles and everything was really clicking.

We where back in the middle of nowhere for sure. We backtracked over a pass we had already gone over to get back into another area. Sadly we where not able to connect out the other side of much stuff, but it was still fun none the less!

I got to break trail over a small pass this day. It was REALLY nice to lead through some stuff. It made me feel like my driving was catching up with the other guys ( yeah right! ).

This was the day we finally had to use our auxiliary fuel. I put in 10 gallons, I think one of the TJs squeezed in 14 gallons. I seemed to be using about the same amount of fuel as the larger jeeps. That wasn't too bad for my carbureted old engine I don't think. Both TJs are running 5.3 GM engines. The super siphon worked GREAT for transferring fuel. No mess, no sore arms from holding up the can, etc. My friend REALLY liked it after I let him try it on one of his cans!

Off we went in another direction. This day was my favorite by far. I got to break some trail effectively, we covered a lot of ground, no problems at all really.

 

[Metcalf]

Day 8, May 27th

The last day on the trail. I didn't take many pics. Hopefully I will get some from friends in the near future.

We made it up a ways towards a high mountain lake but got stopped in one area with some VERY bad exposure below a sidehill section of road. It was only about 500 feet down to the bottom! EEEEKKKKK! He ended up using the winch to get turned around an we all headed out for the last night of camping....well, camping in the woods....or rather 'wheeling camping. I had another 3-4 days to go.

I need to find some pictures. Maybe they didn't upload. I will check tonight....

 

[Metcalf]

Day 9. May 28th.

I headed back towards Idaho and my parents ranch this day.

I ended up getting rained more than enough this day. Maybe this was mothers natures way of telling me I needed a shower? I ended up getting wet enough that I needed to find some better rain pants. My lightweight ones where just not cutting it any more. The water would kinda get thrown up inside the bowl of the seat and soak through my light rain gear into my pants. Having a soggy cold back end is no fun at all.

At some point I pulled over in Hamilton, Montana at a Bob Wards sporting goods store. The girls there got me fixed up with some nice WATERPROOF pants and didn't even seem put off by my lack of bathing. Maybe those road showers really do help?

The best thing ever is the weather underground mobile site for your smart phone. It lets you see current radar and track trail on your journey. I used this more than once to time a shoot between a pair of storms that where moving across the highway.

I stopped and visited with some old friends on the way. Got some great food. Basically I had a great time even though the weather was being a pain in my rear.

With an open old flat fender jeep with tires that stick WAY outside of the body you have interesting inventive thoughts on the road. Have you ever seen wipers on the INSIDE of a windshield? How do you keep the water from ending up on the underside of the bikini top and dripping on your head? What kind of seats would be the most waterproof? Do they make seat heaters that would work in the rain?

Fun times.....

 

[Metcalf]

Day 10. May 29th.

This was a day of rest, repack, and refit at my parents house.

I didn't do much. I found a cool stash of old cars that I didn't know about before. I had some homecooked food which is always good if mom makes it! Played with my parents new puppies. Did a load of laundry. Slept in a real bed. Took a LONG shower.

 

[Metcalf]

Day 11. May 30th.

Back on the road!

I ended up driving a LONG ways this day. I made it all the way to the Wyoming border and it wasn't even late yet. Somewhere along the way I ended up getting REALLY rained on. So much so that at the next town I found a laundrymat and dried all my clothes out while I ate lunch! Warm dry clothes are the best thing ever!

The morning was pretty dang cold. I ended up changing jets in the carb while I drank some hot chocolate. I think this was the coldest morning by far. I think going over the pass it was something like 28F! I don't care who you are or how many layers you area wearing. In an open top Willys that is plenty cold at 52mph!

I had thought I would end up around the Wyoming border that night but ended up making it much much further south. Part of it was just because it was a good road day. Part of it was because I was trying to get south of the random rain storms. The last part was because I couldn't find anywhere to freaking camp in southwest wyoming. I ate dinner and grabbed fuel in Kemmerer, Wyoming. I think just before that town is where I saw the derailed train. You don't see that every day. It was just grain, no aliens, toxic waste, or railcars full of crate jeeps.....

The wind really does blow in Wyoming if there aren't mountains! I started looking for a place to camp but didn't have any luck. It was windy enough I was thinking that I needed the lee side of a hill or something. The sun was still up so I just kept going!

I ended up finding a not-so-cheap but nice enough hotel in Manila, Utah just across the border at just about dark. I had spent about 12 hours on the road and covered about 500+ miles I think? I was done. I was WAY south of where I needed to be.

This route down the western edge of Wyoming was REALLY great minus the last 50 miles of wind and no-tress!

 

[Metcalf]

Day 12. May 31st.

This was my slower day. I was south of where I needed to be so I took my time.

The town I ended up staying at the night before, Manila, Utah, was right on the edge of the Flaming Gorge reservoir. I stopped at the Exxon for fuel and asked the lady at the counter and her husband about where to get breakfast in this sleepy little town. They said there wasn't anything other than a lodge about 3 miles away down towards the lake in the 'park'. That didn't sound that fun but I headed that way. Not 3 blocks down the road was the Villa Cafe. I guess the owners of the Exxon own the Lodge so they send everyone there. The owners of the Villa Cafe where not amused! You have to love small town politics!

After a great breakfast I headed south over the mountains toward Vernal, Utah.

I took the side trip down off the mountain down to the dam in the bottom of the canyon. Highway 191 actually crosses the top of the dam wall! I stopped off at the visitors center but was sadly informed that the damn dam tours didn't start until tomorrow! ARG! I wasn't the only unhappy person. A group of kids from local schools on a camping trip didn't know that either. I did get to read all the stuff in the vistors center and look at a lot of old pictures of the construction. I will have to go back some day for the damn dam tour! The engineering was pretty amazing. They diverted the entire river through an 1100 foot long tunnel that was 25' or so in diameter when they where building the dam. Neat stuff.

Off over the mountains I went.

Vernal had fuel and I checked the levels on the transmission and transfer case again just to make sure since it was getting hotter out and I was pushing it a little harder on the highways. All was good.

I made a stop at the Dinosaur National monument. Neat stuff! The main quarry is pretty dang amazing.

Shortly after getting into Colorado I found another section of road I just flat didn't like. Highway 139 from Rangely to Fruita, Colorado was just terrible. Its like the highway had 30 years of patches on top of a road base that was the profile of a 'W'. The deep ruts tossed the Willys around. The wheelbase didn't match up with anything. Neither did the track width. Douglass Pass was tight, steep, and 3rd gear all the way. I did find a HUGE boulder that had caved off the side of the mountain in the road. Luckily there was a route around on the shoulder. I think some of the motorhomes and semi's I passed on the other side where going to have a hard time getting through...

I ended up camping up in the Colorado National Monument just outside Fruita, Colorado after finding some great Mexican food. The road up into the park is really cool. I tried to shoot a video of the drive up. I will have to see if I can get it posted soon.

The camp spots where large but a little expensive. They did have running water in the bathrooms with flush toilets. It was still WAY cheaper than a hotel for the night! The weather was great. A clear starry night. I couldn't complain. I even had cell service!

 

[Metcalf]

Day 13.

Last day on the road. Homeward bound!

The only thing that stands in my way are three mountain passes over 11,000ft!

The drive through the loop road in the Colorado National Monument was really super nice. The road was perfect with lots of curves, tunnels, and bikers to keep you on your toes. I am surprised with how well the little Willys really corners. You can toss it around pretty good and it never feels loose or leans too much. It could be something about how stupid low it sits, how its wider than it is tall, or the fact that the tires are about 14" wide?

Red mountain pass wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I don't think I have ever had this thing that high in elevation. I did change jets in Ridgway but didn't really have to mess with them as much as I thought I would. The little Willys didn't have any issue motoring up over the passes. You do get stuck in 3rd gear which with the 5.38 gears isn't the fastest speed. It will pull WAY more in 4th gear than I thought it would. It seems corner speed and cooling are the biggest limiting factors...not power. I do think a 3rd gear with a Saturn Overdrive would be about perfect for the mountains.

I had some excellent BBQ in Silverton, Colorado just ahead of the train crowds that filter in about noon. The final drive home was very pleasant. The gearing is low enough in 4th that you don't really have to use your brakes much at all even on steep stuff like the south side of Coal Bank pass.

I made one final jet change once I got down off the mountain before headed on into Durango and making it home.

What a trip! I think its still sinking in that I did what I just did!