Big THANK YOU to the Hollister Overland team!

[Christian P.]

I haven't had a chance to chime in here, so better late than never.

I just wanted to say that I had a great time at the Hollister gathering. I would like to thank the crew from Expeditions West for putting together a fantastic event in a very short timeframe. JP, Brian, Scott, Jeremy, Andre, and the rest all did a spectacular job. Thanks to all the volunteers and speakers too. And a special thanks to Kurt and Jonathon for feeding me all the time. Phenomenal what those two pulled off.

I am very honored to be involved with this event, and look forward to next year. I haven't figured out how to drive to England yet, but I am working on it.

If you can find a way to join the Rallies next year, it will be well worth your time.

cheers,

Paul,

It was nice to meet you at the event. Thanks for coming.

And thanks again for the glass of juice in the morning...was perfect to help cure a hang over.



Christian

 

[barlowrs]

He was mid bounce when the photo was snapped. There was deflection before and after the pic.

That makes sense then, I was wondering as well. I know tyically when I am down 20-22, my tires seem to deflect quite a bit, but it did look odd in that picture.

 

[TangoBlue]

He was mid bounce when the photo was snapped. There was deflection before and after the pic.

A-ha! Kudo's to the photographer for catching it in mid-air!:bike_rider:

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Making repairs for the drive home

fin..

Is he working underneath a vehicle supported by a highlift jack? I can't see any other supports.... I have to assume they are there, but are somehow not in the picture?

Honest question about the recovery effort:

First, I'm staggered to hear that "bushes" could hold a vehicle? Amazing. I'm not sure I'd try that on bushes growing in soft ground, but it's pretty interesting none-the-less.

Now, it looks to me like the winch line being used to right the vehicle is attached to the passenger frame rail. A longer moment arm would make rolling the vehicle easier, so an attachment even higher up... not sure where exactly on that van. Was there no higher place to attach? Pictures not clear enough. But maybe somewhere on the rocker.

In rally recovery, we use a device called a "stiff leg" to help roll a vehicle back over. It's basically a stick which increases the moment arm even further. Is this never used in the truck world?

 

[Dave Bennett]

Is he working underneath a vehicle supported by a highlift jack? I can't see any other supports.... I have to assume they are there, but are somehow not in the picture?

Honest question about the recovery effort:

First, I'm staggered to hear that "bushes" could hold a vehicle? Amazing. I'm not sure I'd try that on bushes growing in soft ground, but it's pretty interesting none-the-less.

That does look scary :Wow1:

Bushes? Ever watch "Axemen' on TV?

In the logging world, high lead and shotgun logging setups using THOUSANDS of feet of heavy cable pulling THOUSANDS of pounds of logs up steep hills and are many times "tied back" with whatever is available ( a main "tailhold" aka stump that is then tied to many supporting stumps, bushes, vine maple - whatever is at hand to get the job done.

Anchoring to an available bush makes perfect sense to me and works

 

[Mr. Leary]

First, I'm staggered to hear that "bushes" could hold a vehicle? Amazing. I'm not sure I'd try that on bushes growing in soft ground, but it's pretty interesting none-the-less.

Root systems can be pretty strong, especially in hillsides, where they effectively hold the hillside in place. As long as they are dry...

Now, it looks to me like the winch line being used to right the vehicle is attached to the passenger frame rail. A longer moment arm would make rolling the vehicle easier, so an attachment even higher up... not sure where exactly on that van. Was there no higher place to attach? Pictures not clear enough. But maybe somewhere on the rocker.

The one break we caught during the recovery was that there was a small depression in the trail near the driver side wheels. This acted as anchoring point for the wheels when we were righting the vehicle, so that less force was needed to flop it back over. In effect, its the difference between trying to flop over a shoe box sliding on a wood floor and one that is up against a door jam. A lot less leverage is required.

There was no stable place to attach the strap to on or near the rocker, and the frame seemed a little safer then the b pillar.

In rally recovery, we use a device called a "stiff leg" to help roll a vehicle back over. It's basically a stick which increases the moment arm even further. Is this never used in the truck world?

That would have been handy...

 

[R_Lefebvre]

The one break we caught during the recovery was that there was a small depression in the trail near the driver side wheels. This acted as anchoring point for the wheels when we were righting the vehicle, so that less force was needed to flop it back over. In effect, its the difference between trying to flop over a shoe box sliding on a wood floor and one that is up against a door jam. A lot less leverage is required.

That makes sense. Otherwise, it looks like you would have just dragged him up the hill on his side.

Having trouble finding a picture of the stiffleg I'm talking about... It's just a bar, with a yoke on one end. In this case, you would stand it up on say, the frame rail, route the cable over the yoke, and attach the cable to the B-pillar, roof, or in our case, top of the rollbar. It holds the cable out away from the body, and greatly increases the rolling torque on the body. There's no other way to roll a vehicle over if it on snow.

 

[taco chaser]

Have the results for the race been posted up anywhere ???

 

[lehel1]

a fantastic experience

hello all

this ralley was indeed a fantastic experience. we went to this event hoping we might put our newly finished fuso camper thru its paces in a save enviorment and came away with so much more.
truly an exceptional run event.

we can't wait till the overland expo

our thanks as well to all the crew and wonderfull people we meet helping make this so great for us

cheers lehel and laura

 

[Mr. Leary]

hello all

this ralley was indeed a fantastic experience. we went to this event hoping we might put our newly finished fuso camper thru its paces in a save enviorment and came away with so much more.
truly an exceptional run event.

we can't wait till the overland expo

our thanks as well to all the crew and wonderfull people we meet helping make this so great for us

cheers lehel and laura

Watching y'all traverse obstacles in the Fuso was one of the highlights of the event for me. Thank you so much for coming!

 

[Brian McVickers]

Expedition trophy challenge results!!

The Results are in!:wings:

We have times, standings and prize announcements for the Expedition Trophy Challenge at the Overland Rally and Workshop at Hollister Hills CA, 2010!

It took us some time but after translating Adriana's notes out of Spanish and deciphering the handwriting of three different course officials we did it.

There were three categories to be scored:
1 - The Obstacle Course
2 - The Navigation Course
3 - Overall Best Time

1 - The Obstacle Course:
With the clock running, competitors were asked a series of questions and asked to produce certain standard items from their vehicles. One penalty point was given for each question missed and each item they did not have. On the driving course competitors were required to drive in between and around poles throughout the course. Drivers received one penalty point for each pole hit. Each point was worth an additional 5 seconds on their time.

Harold D. in his white Jeep had the best time at 3minutes 53seconds including an extra 10second for hitting two poles! Well done Harold:smiley_drive:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js9ID11F86M[/ame]

Obstacle Course Final Results
Driver, Vehicle, Obstacle Course Time
1 Harold D. Jeep 0:03:53
2 Dan Range Rover 0:03:58
3 Mike M. Jeep 0:04:13
4 Robert B. Tacoma 0:04:21
5 Dan R. K30 0:04:40
6 Ray S. Montero 0:05:06
7 Dora & Crash G-Wagon 0:05:23
8 Matt S. 02 Tacoma 0:05:33
9 Carlos. Montero 0:06:01
10 Desmund Land Cruiser 0:06:09
11 Lee A. Discovery II 0:06:17
12 Michael R. Montero 0:07:19
13 Justin P. JK 0:09:32
14 Lehel G. Fuso 41:09:00

2 - The Navigation Course:
Competitors were provided with one set of waypoint coordinates. They were provided these coordinates in print along with detailed verbal instructions as to the location and, if they had a map of the area in their vehicle, they were shown on the map where the coordinates were located. However, to emulate the reality of international travel and language barriers we asked Adriana to provide each driver with all of this information in Spanish with a bit of Puerto Rican dialect!

Ray S. in his Mitsubishi Montero brought in the Navigation win with a time of 41mintues 31seconds! :088:

Also, an honorable mention to Justin who was the first to reach the waypoint but did not finish due to a rolled trailer, and a big thank you to anyone who stopped to help Justin. The results below only show seven of the original fourteen vehicles due to some choosing not to go after the waypoint or getting stuck with vehicle difficulties!

Navigation Course Final Results
Driver, Vehicle, Navigation
1 Ray S. Montero 0:41:31
2 Carlos P. Montero 0:44:41
3 Robert B. Tacoma 0:45:41
4 Harold D. Jeep 0:47:27
5 Dan R. K30 1:00:48
6 Desmund Land Cruiser 1:10:39
7 Mike M. Jeep 1:17:45


3 - Overall Best Time!
After combining the Obstacle Course and Navigation times and correcting for penalty points, the Overall Best Time belongs to Ray Sala and his Mitsubishi Montero!
Ray received 4 penalty points on the Obstacle Course giving him an extra 20 seconds on his time, but a solid performance on the Navigation gave him the best overall time of 46minutes 37seconds! :victory:

Overall Final Results
Driver, Vehicle, Obstacle Navigation Total
1 Ray S. Montero 0:05:06 0:41:31 0:46:37
2 Robert B. Tacoma 0:04:21 0:45:41 0:50:02
3 Carlos P. Montero 0:06:01 0:44:41 0:50:42
4 Harold D. Jeep 0:03:53 0:47:27 0:51:20
5 Dan R. K30 0:04:40 1:00:48 1:05:28
6 Desmund Land Cruiser 0:06:09 1:10:39 1:16:48
7 Mike M. Jeep 0:04:13 1:17:45 1:21:58


Prizes!
Harold wins a One Year Subscription to Overland Journal and a pair of Mountain Khaki Pants!

Ray wins:
Magellan's new Explorist GC handheld GPS unit for winning the Navigation section.
A GoPro Hero HD camera for having the Overall Best Time!


Thanks to everyone for participating, we look forward to seeing you again in 2011.

 

[taco chaser]

Thanks Brian..:victory:

The video would not play for me, something about having to accept a friend request before watching.... come on man lets be friends:elkgrin:

 

[Cabrito]

Look at all the Montero's showing up with high marks! Nice!

Thanks for the video Brian!

 

[Brian McVickers]

OK
The vid is now Public
Thanks.



Brian

 

[barlowrs]

Sweet...great job everyone! I will take a 2nd place, it was a blast! I am surprised I was that quick on the navigation as I chose the black diamond route (but it made it that much more fun!)

Brian, Is there going to be any opportunity to get the raw Go-Pro footage from each of our rigs?

Thanks