Arctic Ocean Expedition: March-April, 2007

[blupaddler]

Personally, I have never had good luck with BFG off road tires. The tread blocks rip off very easily, and the sidewalls are fragile...yes, *fragile*. I have owned about 5 sets of BFG off road tires over the last 10 years or so, and have had sidewall failures in each and every set I have bought. I can never get more than ~25K on the tires before they are impossible to balance due to missing tread blocks. The good news is that BFG is actually doing something about it. I hear from a good source that their off road tires are undergoing major changes....not just tread changes, but the entire carcass. Here's hoping they get better results this time around!

I just purchased new tires for my 80. I did not buy BFG's because I was going to be on my third replacement (most covered by discount tire's warranty). The first two were sidewall issues and the third was a chunk that came from the rim protector.
However, let it be said, they never left me stranded. I never had to fix or repair a tire out in the field. (knock on wood).
After I purchased my new set of tires, the tire guy told me that the new BFG a/t will have a 10 ply sidewall vs. the 8 ply which were on mine. Hopefully this improvement should solve some...issues.

And, since everyone will want to know...I am now running Toyo Open Country M/T's (285/75/16) on my 80, and after 1500 miles in Baja I am very pleased.






So...Scott, Chris, Pasquale...
Congrats. Did you make it by El Rancho del Suave? Sorry you guys couldn't come down to SoCal. Although after just seeing your pictures, I don't want to be here either.

Congrats once again. Truly a memorable trip. You made us all feel as if we were right there with you.

 

[Scott Brady]

Thanks for all of the well wishes everyone. We are all home, safe and sound and had a wonderful journey.

More details soon!

 

[Super Doody]

Thanks for all of the well wishes everyone. We are all home, safe and sound and had a wonderful journey.

More details soon!

So did you guys go through california?

 

[kcowyo]

We are all home, safe and sound and had a wonderful journey.

More details soon!

It sure looked like a wonderful journey. :safari-rig:

Congratulations on a successful trip and thanks so much to the three of you for remembering the rest of us along the way. Great stories and photos, I'll be looking forward to seeing and reading and hearing more soon.

Well done! :clapsmile

 

[lowenbrau]

I'm glad to know you guys are home safe. It was really nice to meet you while the expedition was under way and thus feel connected to it. I really hope to meet the three of you again sometimeand spend a bit more time with you than just enough to wash down a steak with a couple beers. Perhaps around a campfire.

Cheers!:beer:
Bruce

 

[Mlachica]

Congratulations all, glad you guys made it home safely. And thank you for including us in your journey :REOutIceFishing:

Although after just seeing your pictures, I don't want to be here either.

LOL, couldn't have said it better.

 

[Willman]

Thanks for all of the well wishes everyone. We are all home, safe and sound and had a wonderful journey.

More details soon!

:clapsmile

Congrads!!!!! Can't wait to see the video of this awesome trip!!!!

You guys made me home sick for Seattle wheeling up in my old grounds!!! Ritter pit is a great all-around place to have fun! sorry i missed all ya!

Are you guys still headed to Moab for Easter Jeep Safari?

:safari-rig:

 

[pwc]

Glad to hear you made it home in one piece!!

 

[Scott Brady]

The BFG AT's were the perfect tire for this trip. With 9,000 miles to cover, road manners were even more important than trail performance. They performed exceptionally well on the ice, especially braking and also did well on the snow. The challenge with the snow above Dawson City is how dry it is. It is like sugar and does not stick to itself (you cannot make a snow ball), so the snow gives very little purchase to the vehicle.

We had no traction issues on the WA trail, even in the snow and mud. An AT is obviously not the right tire for WA wheeling though, or mud and deep snow in general.

With these long trips requiring so much road time, I am inclined to run an AT more often now for fuel economy and driver fatigue. Then have lockers and a good suspension (articulation) to make up for the trail requirements.

After spending the day with the AEV trucks, it is hard not to want a set of 40" Iroks on a Jeep :drool:

 

[toyrunner95]

i agree with scott, bfgs are a good tire in washington, the ATs work very well out at ocean shores and in the dunes when aired down, the only qualm i had with them was the way gravel sticks in them and ticks as you go down the road, wow thats annoying, the MTs however dont have as much of that problem and they do a decent job of cleaning out in the mud and in softer dirt areas.

cant wait to get my new set!

scott, sorry if i scared you a bit about rieter, i have only been there once in the dark to extract a friend on a much harder trail, i didnt know there were so many differently rated trails. my mistake.

 

[DaveInDenver]

The BFG AT's were the perfect tire for this trip. With 9,000 miles to cover, road manners were even more important than trail performance. They performed exceptionally well on the ice, especially braking and also did well on the snow. The challenge with the snow above Dawson City is how dry it is. It is like sugar and does not stick to itself (you cannot make a snow ball), so the snow gives very little purchase to the vehicle.

With these long trips requiring so much road time, I am inclined to run an AT more often now for fuel economy and driver fatigue. Then have lockers and a good suspension (articulation) to make up for the trail requirements.

I've come to the same conclusion. Two lockers and 15 psi in the ATs will get me into plenty of trouble and I can still hear the radio on the highway. I don't have experience like you guys with all the different AT and MT treads, but I've always found the BFG AT to be a pretty good snow tire on my trucks. I know some people hate them, but I know other Hilux guys who find them good, too. I run them at around 29 or 30 psi daily and they hook up on snow packed or wet roads just fine for me. Might be the weight balance of the Toyota and (lack of) power in the mighty 22R-E, too.

 

[jeffryscott]

Welcome home ... what a grand adventure. Can't wait for the complete writeup, photos, video ... :bowdown:

 

[pwc]

For the complete writeup, I believe you'll have to get a subscription.....

 

[HenryJ]

Sounds like a split topic is in order. Back to the thread titles intent and discussion of the journey.

My impressions:

I was fortunate enough to meet the trio on their way through. Scott was as I had imagined. Very personable and one of those people who will do well at what ever is put in front of him. He just has one of those forward, personable presences. Not condescending, but genuine.

Chris and I have shared posts for more than half a dozen years now. His truck is awe inspiring. I have followed all the mods and really admire his ability to play well with others. I recognized him immediately, but made a major mix on names

I had imagined him as 6' 3" and 190 lbs. I missed there. He is a little smaller than that. I guess I made him to be a giant in both the modifications and in my mind.

Pasquale I had never met , or corresponded with. I had only seen one picture and nothing to scale. I expected him to be smaller. I bet he wishes he was after riding in the back seat of the Tacoma for extended periods.

I think they make excellent ambassadors to any venue they wish to seek.

I have some questions about the journey that may be set aside if they interfere with the article.

How was mileage? Did you weight the truck / trailer combination? What did they gross?

What did you do for heat? Both the truck and people.

What comfort item did you miss that would be added to the next trip?

You all came down with some sort of intestinal bug? Anything that could have been done prior? I know that we build immunities to what we are exposed. When you travel you are exposed to unfamiliar bugs. Would a flu vaccination been a good pretrip idea? Do you already get a flu shot annually? What about hep or TB testing and other vaccinations?

I applaud your journey and am very jealous of what you are able to do.

 

[Scott Brady]

Sponsorship / Arctic / Fossil Fuel Discussion Moved

At the request of several forum members, I have started a new thread on the sponsorship/Arctic/Fossil Fuel discussion. The discussion is continued / consolidated here:

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5053

The conservation forum is a better place for this discussion anyways as the Arctic thread will be used for future trip planning and research.