jbob
Observer
Just got back from a six-day adventure in western CO and SE UT last week in our "new" rig, a 2003 Bigfoot 24SL 7.3L with SK 4wd conversion. We probably got a little more adventure than we had bargained for, lol...bonus points for performing a trail repair on a 14k-lb motorhome.
Background: We've had some great adventures in our Lexus LX450, which is set up pretty nicely on 35s, locked front and rear, etc. Did the Rubicon a few years ago with another family. After retiring from the Marine Corps last fall, we wanted to get a more substantial rig for family trips while the kids are still at home (currently in 9th and 10th grade). RTT or trailer for the Lexus probably wasn't going to cut it, particularly if we were going to use the rig to travel to soccer tournaments. While shopping for pickups and truck campers, we stumbled upon this Bigfoot at an RV (primarily TT and 5th wheel) dealer in Denver. Seemed like a great fit for our needs/desires, so we bought it. Aside from a couple of day trips and spending the night in our driveway, this was our first real trip in the rig.
Our planned route was basically Grand Junction (Fruita) - Muley Point - Valley of the Gods - Comb Wash - Bear's Ears - southern Beef Basin - Moab. Goal was to spend as much time on dirt roads and trails as possible.
Camping and mountain biking on BLM land in Fruita:
Valley of the Gods:
Followed a fun Jeep trail out of Valley of the Gods (FR 226), hiked to the Fish Creek cliff dwellings off Comb Wash Rd, and visited Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument, then headed up to Bear's Ears.
Short overlook trail near Natural Bridges:
Just north of Bear's Ears, the snow and mud was getting pretty nasty, so we aborted (backing through a 50' mud pit on a shelf road was fun...) and went a different route.
Camping spot off FR 228:
The next morning, we started heading north on FR 88 towards Beef Basin. This was supposed to have been a fairly well maintained forest road, but there was still a lot of snow in some sections, particularly the north faces:
The RV did surprisingly well, but it was tough cutting a wide track through the virgin snow, and we got to see how a dually setup doesn't like to go straight (since the rear tires jump in and out of the tracks from the fronts).
We found out later that we were the first vehicle to drive those roads this season, aside from two RZR side by sides. We ended up getting stuck three times, extricating ourselves with our winch and shovels:
Why didn't we turn around, as we had done the day prior near Bear's Ears? During our first winch recovery, a sweet four-door Jeep Rubicon with a trailer had pulled up behind us. The driver, John from Four Corners Adventures in Blanding, UT (he's in the picture above), was looking for one of their RZRs that had broken down up there the previous weekend. With him behind us, we pressed on. After each bad section, we'd have 10+ minutes of dry roads, lulling us into continuing. However, after our third winch recovery, I was exhausted, cried 'uncle', and turned around. John forged ahead in the Rubicon, promising to check on us on his way out.
Right after turning around, we got stuck a fourth time. That's when I heard a loud 'bang' from the front end and knew something really, really bad had happened. Turns out we had snapped the drag link (on the steering knuckle end):
I managed to splice everything together, rig some rudimentary steering to go straight or left, get unstuck, and move the RV to dry ground. Thankfully, John swung back through, and we threw the whole family, our dogs, some overnight bags, and the broken drag link in his Jeep and drove down to Blanding. I can't speak highly enough of the owner and staff of Four Corners Adventures, as they went out of their way to help us. Moreover, the local NAPA had the exact part we needed, we found a nice motel (Stone Lizard Lodge) that put us in their last vacant room and allowed our dogs to stay, and Four Corners Adventures worked out a deal with us on renting that Rubicon overnight.
Pretty incredible the way everything was working out...until I read the weather forecast, which was calling for up to 12-18" of snow in the mountains that night. Needless to say, it was difficult to sleep (Was the part going to fit? Was the RV going to be snowed in? Were we going to make it through the nasty uphill sections on the way out?)
We made it back to the RV by about 0915 the next morning, which was nice, because the snow and mud were still frozen. We also had to beat another cold front that was supposed to hit the area that afternoon. Anyway, I changed the drag link in about 15 minutes, the RV started right up, and we drove out with the Rubi in the lead:
Didn't get stuck once, even on the long, snowy uphills, which was a huge relief, particularly since I was emotionally and physically drained!
After returning the Jeep, we continued on our trip and managed to salvage a short stay in Moab, replete with awesome hiking and mountain biking.
Trail just south of Moab:
Camping spot in Moab:
Now that we're home, I've been thinking about the root cause - corrective action (RCCA) for the broken drag link. The one I bought from NAPA (stock E450) is very straight compared to the original one that broke. I wonder if SK put a bend in the original drag link to add additional clearance from the leaf spring? The new one rubs just slightly on the leaf spring. My hypothesis is that the additional bend in the original one introduced a bending moment, and the drag link started to weaken through fatigue loading in the threaded area, which has the smallest cross-sectional area and a stress riser from the threads to boot. Anyone else experienced a similar failure?
Anyway, we're home safe and have memories that will last a lifetime. I told my son, "you can't buy adventure like that!" He retorted, "well, I think you could pay someone to drop you off in the middle of nowhere and break your steering." Smart-***** teenagers...
Jason
Background: We've had some great adventures in our Lexus LX450, which is set up pretty nicely on 35s, locked front and rear, etc. Did the Rubicon a few years ago with another family. After retiring from the Marine Corps last fall, we wanted to get a more substantial rig for family trips while the kids are still at home (currently in 9th and 10th grade). RTT or trailer for the Lexus probably wasn't going to cut it, particularly if we were going to use the rig to travel to soccer tournaments. While shopping for pickups and truck campers, we stumbled upon this Bigfoot at an RV (primarily TT and 5th wheel) dealer in Denver. Seemed like a great fit for our needs/desires, so we bought it. Aside from a couple of day trips and spending the night in our driveway, this was our first real trip in the rig.
Our planned route was basically Grand Junction (Fruita) - Muley Point - Valley of the Gods - Comb Wash - Bear's Ears - southern Beef Basin - Moab. Goal was to spend as much time on dirt roads and trails as possible.
Camping and mountain biking on BLM land in Fruita:
Valley of the Gods:
Followed a fun Jeep trail out of Valley of the Gods (FR 226), hiked to the Fish Creek cliff dwellings off Comb Wash Rd, and visited Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument, then headed up to Bear's Ears.
Short overlook trail near Natural Bridges:
Just north of Bear's Ears, the snow and mud was getting pretty nasty, so we aborted (backing through a 50' mud pit on a shelf road was fun...) and went a different route.
Camping spot off FR 228:
The next morning, we started heading north on FR 88 towards Beef Basin. This was supposed to have been a fairly well maintained forest road, but there was still a lot of snow in some sections, particularly the north faces:
The RV did surprisingly well, but it was tough cutting a wide track through the virgin snow, and we got to see how a dually setup doesn't like to go straight (since the rear tires jump in and out of the tracks from the fronts).
We found out later that we were the first vehicle to drive those roads this season, aside from two RZR side by sides. We ended up getting stuck three times, extricating ourselves with our winch and shovels:
Why didn't we turn around, as we had done the day prior near Bear's Ears? During our first winch recovery, a sweet four-door Jeep Rubicon with a trailer had pulled up behind us. The driver, John from Four Corners Adventures in Blanding, UT (he's in the picture above), was looking for one of their RZRs that had broken down up there the previous weekend. With him behind us, we pressed on. After each bad section, we'd have 10+ minutes of dry roads, lulling us into continuing. However, after our third winch recovery, I was exhausted, cried 'uncle', and turned around. John forged ahead in the Rubicon, promising to check on us on his way out.
Right after turning around, we got stuck a fourth time. That's when I heard a loud 'bang' from the front end and knew something really, really bad had happened. Turns out we had snapped the drag link (on the steering knuckle end):
I managed to splice everything together, rig some rudimentary steering to go straight or left, get unstuck, and move the RV to dry ground. Thankfully, John swung back through, and we threw the whole family, our dogs, some overnight bags, and the broken drag link in his Jeep and drove down to Blanding. I can't speak highly enough of the owner and staff of Four Corners Adventures, as they went out of their way to help us. Moreover, the local NAPA had the exact part we needed, we found a nice motel (Stone Lizard Lodge) that put us in their last vacant room and allowed our dogs to stay, and Four Corners Adventures worked out a deal with us on renting that Rubicon overnight.
Pretty incredible the way everything was working out...until I read the weather forecast, which was calling for up to 12-18" of snow in the mountains that night. Needless to say, it was difficult to sleep (Was the part going to fit? Was the RV going to be snowed in? Were we going to make it through the nasty uphill sections on the way out?)
We made it back to the RV by about 0915 the next morning, which was nice, because the snow and mud were still frozen. We also had to beat another cold front that was supposed to hit the area that afternoon. Anyway, I changed the drag link in about 15 minutes, the RV started right up, and we drove out with the Rubi in the lead:
Didn't get stuck once, even on the long, snowy uphills, which was a huge relief, particularly since I was emotionally and physically drained!
After returning the Jeep, we continued on our trip and managed to salvage a short stay in Moab, replete with awesome hiking and mountain biking.
Trail just south of Moab:
Camping spot in Moab:
Now that we're home, I've been thinking about the root cause - corrective action (RCCA) for the broken drag link. The one I bought from NAPA (stock E450) is very straight compared to the original one that broke. I wonder if SK put a bend in the original drag link to add additional clearance from the leaf spring? The new one rubs just slightly on the leaf spring. My hypothesis is that the additional bend in the original one introduced a bending moment, and the drag link started to weaken through fatigue loading in the threaded area, which has the smallest cross-sectional area and a stress riser from the threads to boot. Anyone else experienced a similar failure?
Anyway, we're home safe and have memories that will last a lifetime. I told my son, "you can't buy adventure like that!" He retorted, "well, I think you could pay someone to drop you off in the middle of nowhere and break your steering." Smart-***** teenagers...
Jason
