Joinin' the Montero Club with a Gen 2.5

[jlocster]

Last Chance Gulch and Hungry Valley Off Road Park, Part II

Went back through Last Chance Gulch in Mojave a few weeks ago after initially running the trail with nwoods, billygoats and a few other ExPo folks.

Coming down off the V-notch bypass...again.


Mojave Sunset


Then, last weekend I went back out to Gorman and the Hungry Valley OHV Park. Tried my hand at a few black diamond trials...only to be thwarted midway through all of them.



Inspectigating


No Go...looked steeper in person.


Vic's Cat Trail...this one got freakin' steep, too.


West Freeman Trail is a cool slotted canyon but also a dead ender for full size vehicles.

Night shot after airing up.

 

[off-roader]

Nice!

BTW, that steep trail in Gorman is definitely doable. We've taken a group through it with near stock vehicles (just armor upgrades). It does provide some pucker factor but it's definitely doable. In this case the saying "when in doubt... Gas her out" definitely applies.

That box canyon looks like fun. Was especially funny hearing your passenger constantly exclaim her concerns through the canyon.

 

[nwoods]

That little slot canyon looked really cool!

 

[jlocster]

Operation Disco Inferno Complete

I finished red LED-izing the interior. Tutorial here. The only problem is that dang dash clock. I might have to get out a red Sharpie and get to coloring.

 

[nckwltn]

I might have to get out a red Sharpie and get to coloring.

You can probably put a little strip of red film over it. The kind of stuff they use on studio lights. pretty cheap, you can buy it online for under $10, or I'm sure you can find a place around LA that has scraps of it for even cheaper.

 

[jlocster]

Good call nckwltn, might have to try that!

 

[jlocster]

Snow Wheelin'

Took the Jawbone Canyon/Piute Mountain Road pass from Mojave to Lake Isabella last Friday night. Probably not the best idea to go it alone, but I made it. The 55 mile route climbs from Jawbone Canyon on the Mojave side, up to 8000 ft, and then drops back down into the Isabella Valley. It was a combination of snow and frozen mud/ice as the temps went down to 29 degrees F. The road itself was well graded and passable, but slippery, so I took it nice and slow. All told it took about 5 hours.


Lonely. Road.


On Saturday I tried to make it up to Monache Meadows from Lake Isabella. I got a bit past Sherman Pass before I came across a guy in an F250 who got stuck trying to get a 2nd Chevy of his unstuck. Both trucks were blocking the road. After about an hour, myself and a guy in a Tundra were able to get the F250 out. The Chevy was left there. At that point I decided to turn it around and abandon Monache Meadows.

On the way up to Sherman Pass.


Following the tracks


Mount Whitney left of center, from Sherman Pass


Then I decided I wanted to see what the Jawbone Canyon/Piute Mountain Road looked like in the daytime so today I drove it back the other way, from Lake Isabella to Mojave.

Coming up from Lake Isabella


Road was slushy and muddy in the daytime



Weird structure


Back down on the Mojave side


No worse for wear

 

[eurosonic]

Shooting light all around you like a UFO.

But seriously, that sorta driving freaks me out if I do it alone. Cold, far, alone. Yikes!
But then that's what adventure is all about, yes?

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I just read to page 7 and am heading to bed, a lot of very good info in this thread.

 

[jruba]

I just finished it in one seating , and it was great ! awsome build , im checking out a 99 gen 2.5 montero tomorrow and see what happens ..

 

[jlocster]

Good luck jruba, whether you pick that one up or another, I think you'll really enjoy the platform...super stout, very capable, plenty roomy and decent fuel economy.

 

[jruba]

Good luck jruba, whether you pick that one up or another, I think you'll really enjoy the platform...super stout, very capable, plenty roomy and decent fuel economy.

somebody else beat me to it , the search continues ...

 

[Ahymen]

Loving the interior light set up! Will have to mimick that!

Great ride and writeup as well.

 

[jlocster]

Dual Tire Carrier Swing-out Build

So I bought a new welder and I wanted to use it. Plus, I'm planning to drive the Dalton Highway to Prudoe Bay next summer so I want to be able to carry a second spare.

Removed the stock bumper

Started cutting off frame ends

Using 2x6 3/16" steel for the bumper body
Going to retain the stock recovery point

Tacked up

Test fit

To be continued...

 

[eurosonic]

are you building swing out carriers?