Big THANK YOU to the Hollister Overland team!
- Thread starter Scott Brady
- Start date
miolnir
New member
First of all I would like to thank all who participated in the recovery. It was a true team effort and could not have been done without that team.
Jon: Mr.Leary made a good account of the scenario. To answer your question the pull pal would have been a good choice as well. We considered using one but we felt there was a good bush-base to provide the necessary anchor to turn the vehicle over, especially since we were employing some redundancy in the two winchlines. In laying out the geometry of the pulls, we needed one line paralleling the fall-line of the hill (roll a ball down the hill = fall line / shortest dist. down) and one line perpendicular to the vehicle to right it back on its tires. This is where the pulley block came in handy to change the angle since there was no way to get a truck over there. Also the more important of the two winchines was on Dans truck which was keeping the van from going down the hill once upright. Jays winch was the steel line going through the pulley, which was used to stand it up and keep it that way at the same time we pulled him forward. Eventually we let go of the pulley line once the van was parallel to the fall line and was not going to roll over again, then re-positioned Jays truck to re-direct Bills van around the corner while letting go of Dans line...boy almost need a diagram to illustrate it.
I'd also like to thank Mr Leary (Mike? sorry I was having a hard time keeping track of names that day) who BRAVELY jumped into the van while it was 100% relying on 2 winchines keeping the van from rolling down the hill. That's called serious pucker factor!
vanderpooch
Authentic Adventurer
Steve,
Which one? The girl at the gate was my friend Adriana...she's single btw...
stevegsmith
Observer
Steve,
Which one? The girl at the gate was my friend Adriana...she's single btw...
Ha ha Christian! Thanks very much but I'm happily married yet I feel it's important to pay compliment where compliment is due. I'm talking about the woman with the dark hair and army hat that was giving trophy drivers the coordinates for the rest of the course.
Of course everyone is beautiful in their own way, right?!
Ha ha Christian! Thanks very much but I'm happily married yet I feel it's important to pay compliment where compliment is due. I'm talking about the woman with the dark hair and army hat that was giving trophy drivers the coordinates for the rest of the course.
Of course everyone is beautiful in their own way, right?!
yes that would be her...we used to work together. I think she really had a good time at the event...
cvbill
New member
This is Bill, I want to thank all of you guys that got my van back upright and level. Mr. Leary, Thor, Brian, J, Dan, Harold and all others. Great group of folks. I find this common among the varius 4X groups I have met.
I pulled the right rear axle back at camp and found the outer cv joint cage blown in pieces. Left the axle out.
I had added a 3/4" spacers to the rear springs about a month or so ago and am thinking that the axle is operating at its max flex too much. Will switch to 930 axles. I drove home (Monterey) in front wheel drive.
Rear locker off, decoupler on, front loocker off. Made it home without the cops stopping me for a smashed windshield, even though I Passed a CHP on 152
The good news is insurance is covering it
Thanks again all, Bill Langan
I pulled the right rear axle back at camp and found the outer cv joint cage blown in pieces. Left the axle out.
I had added a 3/4" spacers to the rear springs about a month or so ago and am thinking that the axle is operating at its max flex too much. Will switch to 930 axles. I drove home (Monterey) in front wheel drive.
Rear locker off, decoupler on, front loocker off. Made it home without the cops stopping me for a smashed windshield, even though I Passed a CHP on 152
The good news is insurance is covering it
Thanks again all, Bill Langan
stevegsmith
Observer
Glad you came out in one piece Bill. And thanks again for coming over to Mike Serpe's G-wagen axle talk. See you at the next one hopefully.
Session Lager from Full Sail Brewing Company - one of my favorites!
http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/session.cfm
Gear
Explorer, Overland Certified OC0020
I'll let Justin tell his story about the Chaser's demise, but I can tell you we got it back home without too much trouble at all.
The Chaser was amazingly easy to repair in the field though, a true testament to the robust simplicity of the design
So here is the story regarding my Chaser going on its lid. I was competing in the Expedition Trophy. In the Jeep with me was Joey(Snow Peak Rep). We had just completed the one Navigational challenge at the top of a very steep hill. Close to 1000' of elevation climb up a switch back, rutted out, dirt road. We were coming down the hill. I was probably doing 10 to 15 mph. Next think I looked in my rear view mirror and saw what looked like my tire buckling under the chaser. I hit the brakes came to a stop and unfortunately the chaser had tipped over on the passenger side and came to a stop about at a 90 degree to the Jeep. The last two feet of the Chaser were now hanging over the edge. My mountain bike was dangling from the rear tire.
So what happened. It looks like the passenger side trailing arm nut sheared off on the outside of the arm. The trailing arm popped down with the assistance of the air bag force and the next bump in the road. The shock actually came in contact with the frame's cross member. So essentially the tire turned to were it was almost laying flat causing the sudden shift in weight, combined with my braking, probably sent the trailer over. Here are some photographs.
Overview, Thankfully my Santa Cruz Mountain Bike was not crushed.
This is me directing the winch recovery.
Also above you see two yellow ratchet straps that we used to help hold the trailing arm together so we could get down off the mountain. We loosened the nut on the inside and were able to bang the bolt all the way thru. All be it with out a nut.
Here we are winching from the top right corner. The Orange recovery strap was attached to control the Chaser as it came down. By this time we had about 5 guys holding this strap. The Chaser was lowered in a very controlled manner.
Once we got to camp the group replaced the broken bolt with a piece of 5/8" All Thread and new Nylocks. I did not get a photograph of this taking place so here is one back at the house.
On the way back to San Diego we stopped several times to check things over. About 150 miles out at a diner/fuel stop I notice the inside bracket was ripping at the weld. Dave(TacoDoc) was able to located a welder at the tire shop. An hour later we were back on the road.
I would like to Thank Everyone that helped out that day. Especially Dave(TacoDoc), Robert(barlowrs) and Elaine for escorting me back to San Diego. EXPO Spirit is Fantastic.
Back home safe and sound. I have looked over the Chaser and YES there is damage, but I am quite impressed with how well it took the roll. There was no damage to any of the contents inside the trailer. With a little more fore thought I could have fixed everything on the trail. I will now be carrying a piece of 5/8" All Thread. The Chaser Rocks and I am looking forward to building it back - bigger and better!!
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Driver-Navigator
Explorer
Wow, looks like a great time other than some drama, er, "learning experiences"!
I'm bummed to have missed this, especially since Hollister Hills is so close. I've been there many times. But my Jeep needs some work and I was already double-booked for the weekend. So lucky me, I spent hours standing in a stream taking part in an evidence search. Yay.
Any chance of a repeat event, maybe for 2011?
Loving the pics and the stories. Glad to see the folks that had problems seem to be bouncing back fine, and in good spirits.
I'm bummed to have missed this, especially since Hollister Hills is so close. I've been there many times. But my Jeep needs some work and I was already double-booked for the weekend. So lucky me, I spent hours standing in a stream taking part in an evidence search. Yay.
Any chance of a repeat event, maybe for 2011?
Loving the pics and the stories. Glad to see the folks that had problems seem to be bouncing back fine, and in good spirits.
Dave Bennett
Adventurist
barlowrs
Explorer
Alright, now that Justin has broken the story, I will submit some supplemental pictures:
Installing the 5/8” rod….thank god for Ace hardware:
The scene:
And the welder himself:
We actually have a vid of the master welder at work, but I am too lazy to upload it now, if Justin wants me to I can
Installing the 5/8” rod….thank god for Ace hardware:
The scene:
And the welder himself:
We actually have a vid of the master welder at work, but I am too lazy to upload it now, if Justin wants me to I can
Gear
Explorer, Overland Certified OC0020
Overland Gourmet Rocks!!
The Overland Rally and Expo as an event was a blast. Dave's(TacoDoc) hour long class on wilderness first aid was top notch. The driving and recovery classes were in depth for the specific subject that was presented. If I had one thing to come away with from this event it is that the John and Zach of Overland Gourmet turned it up a notch with there night long feast of food. Well done guys and thanks for the lessons.
The Overland Rally and Expo as an event was a blast. Dave's(TacoDoc) hour long class on wilderness first aid was top notch. The driving and recovery classes were in depth for the specific subject that was presented. If I had one thing to come away with from this event it is that the John and Zach of Overland Gourmet turned it up a notch with there night long feast of food. Well done guys and thanks for the lessons.