Thank you!!!

Frederick Dear

*Photos and text courtesy of Frederick Dear.  Photos taken at Reiter Pit August 2008.

Wonder what Fred’s got under that frame and hood??

Suspension/Drive-train:

4″ TeraFlex Springs
TeraFlex Adjustable Front Track Bar
BDS Extended Rear Track Bar Bracket
H.D. Steering Stabilizer
TeraFlex Extended Quick disconnect Sway-bar Links
TeraFlex Spring Retainers
SpiderTrax 1 1/2″ Wheel Spacers
ProComp Rock Crawler Black Steel 17″x9″ Rims
Toyo 35″x12.50″x17″ Open Country Tires

Engine/Performance:

Airaid Cold Air Intake
Airaid Pre-filter
Airaid Throttle Body Spacer
JET Performance Chip
Pro Comp Accu Pro Speedo/Odo/ Tranny Shift Point Calibrator
Optima Yellow Top Battery
Gibson Stainless Cat-back Exhaust System

Exterior:

OR Fab Front Bumper
Olympic Defender Rear Bumper
Custom Rough Country RCX Winch Plate
Mile Marker SI 9500 Winch
Zenon Flatfenders
Warrior Products Differential Guard
Black Alum. Grill Inserts
KC Windshield-mount Light Brackets
KC Slimlite Off-road Lights
Jeep Black Alum. Gas Inlet Cover
Rugged Ridge Euro Headlight Guards
Taillight Guards
Sylvania Silverstar Halogen Head and Fog lights
LED High Intensity Marine 3rd Brake Light

Interior:

Neoprene Seat Covers
Cobra Handheld CB
Billet Aluminum Shifter
Garmin 7500 7″ screen GPS
Bestop Flex-a-trunk
Custom 1000w RockFord Fosgate/Infinity/Boston Acoustic stereo with 2 12″
Subs

Next on the list is drivelines and added suspension and steering parts.  

Five jeeps came early and stayed at the Temple View Camp ground Friday night.  It is a great place to stay. The breakfast they served was the full meal deal. The rest of the group met us in the morning and we left for the trail about 9:30a.m . We had a total of about 10 jeeps on the trip.The trail starts just outside of town to the south, and heads due east. The trail is very steep in sections making four wheel drive a must. I think it would be passable by most 4×4’s . If you want to bring up the intensity, drive something shiny. Yes I broke down and actually took my new JK off road. I was able to avoid having it rock mountain pin striped with out to much trouble.  Commercial !  The TeraFlex Long Arm was the most impressive ride I have ever experienced on and off road. Truly a joy to drive, No really, I was full on impressed. Bottom line is that anyone should feel comfortable bringing their jeep, regardless of its build state. We only had one jeep drop out, and that was due to a fuel pump failure. We got it running well enough for him to drive out, the rest continued on. The trail winds through the trees and altitude is gained very fast. The temperature on the trail was about 65 degrees, the valley was a clammy 90 degrees. It was perfect wheelin’ weather. When the trail broke out on top, the vistas, views, mountains, meadows, rock gardens, wild flowers, and wild life brought us all to a screeching halt. Even my wing man, Connor (my 7 year old grandson) wanted to stop and drink in the view. You have all got to see this area. We all decided that next year we would make this trail a two day event, so we could see more of the sights. There are trails and lakes all over the place. True to form, the high mountain weather gave us a very brief rain/hail storm, just enough to send everyone scrambling for cover.  After lunch we headed down the main canyon road on the trip back.

Thanks to Mike Ware and his photography. Like an idiot,  I forgot my camera. It won’t happen next year. It seems like I’m always saying, “don’t miss this trail next year”. I really mean it. The whole family would love this, even the off road challenged. Thanks to everyone that came. I hope you all had as great a time as I did.

Next up is the Mona Pole Trail. We will run it on Saturday the 20th of Sept. It ranks a 2+ in difficulty and a 4+ in scenery and fun. We will explore a cool mine  at the top of the canyon.The trail then joins the main Payson canyon road. We will follow it out into Payson then home. See you there.

Wood out

It never takes long to warm up - all the vehicles are ready to go for last years Taylorsville Parade.

No matter what, it’s always a show stopping event that gets the crowd cheering!

Riverton City Town Days Parade Information

Murray City Fun Days Parade Information

Sandy City Fourth of July Parade Information

Here are some pictures we took from the trail run.

Best Classic Jeep – #21: Irving Hunsaker ’82 Scrambler

2nd Place Classic Jeep – #18: Joe Thompson ’51 Willy’s Pickup

3rd Place Classic Jeep – #13: Justin Fulton ’89 Commanche

Best Competition Jeep – #26 Jake & Andrea Mecham – Buggy

2nd Place Competition Jeep – #90: Clay Egan – Buggy

3rd Place Competition Jeep – #31: Brad Nelson CJ7

Best Trail Jeep – #32: Brad Knaphus ’78 Wagoneer

2nd Place Trail Jeep – #20: Phil Safford ’83 Scrambler

3rd Place Trail Jeep – #29: Paul Hiatt, ’98 Wrangler

Best Daily Driver – #14: Randy Zundel ’98 Wrangler

2nd Place Daily Driver – #1: Gerad Rose ’00 Wrangler

3rd Place Daily Driver – #3: James Bell Jr. ’99 Wrangler

Best RTI Score – #7: Mike Ramos ’97 Wrangler

Peoples Choice – #15: Tim Cook, ’98 Wrangler

Best of Show – #24: Tom Carlsen ’07 Wrangler Unlimited

Here are all of the winners!

We had a great show at the RTI Ramp this year - here are the top ten RTI scores:

1. Mike Ramos, 1000
2. Shaun Mickelsen, 957
3. Brad Nelson, 888
4. Gerad Rose, 856
5. Scott Johnson, 844
6. Clay Egan, 843 Front, 921 Rear
7. Jake & Andrea Mecham, 841
8. Kevin Borg, 810
9. Nate Hiatt, 771
10. Scott Steffen, 766

Along with the RTI Ramp score, we also weighed the vehicles.

And let’s not forget the U4WDA Raffle…

A big thank you to the Utah 4-Wheel Drive Association and Sarge for being our DJ again this year!

Here are some other highlights from the show.

Here are the results from the event:

Street Stock
1. Robby Flandro
2. Carl Whitmore
3. Karl Bringhurst

Legend Class
1. Jared Hansen
2. Steve Crabtree
3. Rick Hopkins

Unlimited
1. Carl Nelson
2. Dan Cressel
3. Rawlin Mcguie

Check out RME for more discussion about the event.

*Photos courtesy of Stratton Graves and Jason Goates

If you would like to caravan down with us - we’ll be leaving from TeraFlex PLUS at 7:00a.m. on Saturday, June 14, 2008. Contact Dennis Wood with any questions.

*We will be wheeling while we’re down there.

Click here to check out their website, where you can download more information, or download the files here in a PDF format. King Challenge Poster 2008, King Challenge Sponsorship Letter, King Challenge Sponsorship Levels, King Challenge 2008 Rules, and King Challenge 2008 Registration.

For forum postings on the event, check out Rocky Mountain Extreme.

Note: For anyone who would like to compete, if you register before June 2nd there is a discount. If anyone wants to plan on coming down Friday and staying, the King Crawlers are working with a couple of hotels (Holiday Inn and the Best Western) to get discounts for competitors.

Price, Utah

Doc’s 06’ Jeep Rubicon Unlimited utilizes a 6-speed manual transmission and flexes through incredible obstacles with a TeraFlex 6” MAX-LCG 4-link Long Arm Suspension Kit incorporating the TeraFlex High Steer Conversion and TeraFlex Quick Disconnect System.

Doc runs 37” Toyo MT’s on Champion Bead Locks. For rescuing his friends, he bolted on a Warn HS-9500 Winch, and for rescuing himself… he has a RockHard bolt in roll cage and Poison Spyder Rocker Knockers. Not forgetting his undercarriage, Doc has the full TeraFlex brand skid plate line protecting the engine, transmission and gas tank.

Doc has a built drive train with a Dana 44 in the front with Alloy USA Chromoly axle shafts, a Dynatrac diff cover and 4.88 gears. As far as the rear axle, this was Doc’s only weak spot. After breaking his Rubicon 44 rear axle multiple times he brought it in to TeraFlex PLUS to be replaced with a TeraFlex CRD60R - unbreakable even by the toughest of rock crawlers. The beefy CRD60R bolts right on and with extended brakelines, Doc was ready just in time for last weeks trail run to Five Mile Pass.

On the trail run Doc was asked if he felt any difference with the new Tera CRD60R. He said his confidence was”through the roof!” No more walking on eggshells; it’s game on for the Unlimited. Doc has always been a ‘no fear’ guy, but now his drive train will hold up to his conquer-all driving style.

Along with the new CRD60R, Doc had a new Tattons driveline installed. The higher pinion on the 60 helped with his pinion angle problems. Now even with his 6″ lift, he has no driveline vibration. He also had a 1350 u-joint put in on the differential side and changed the yoke on the front to 1310 in order to run u-bolts instead of straps offering more security to the yoke.

With a Rubicon 4 to 1 transfer case, Doc is now ready to hit the trails with even more confidence.

Photos courtesy of Dave “Doc” Call and his jealous friends.

Ok, so here’s the rundown. The good news is, we all made it to the trail. In the first few hundred feet of Rattlesnake we lost an axle in a Dana 35 housing in a TJ. Talk about being blindsided, who saw that coming? A broken Dana 35? We made it through the first obstacle and past the big rock you have to squeeze past. The next obstacle is the one that offers several ranges of difficulty. Stay left and it is just a foot and a half ledge to bounce over. Hang to the right and it is kinda nasty. Several bad to the bone wheeler dudes decided to take the hard line in order to prepare for the more difficult trail ahead. It’s really no big deal, unless one happens to go to far right at the top. The right front tire slips off the big ole rock and WHAM, say good bye to a hundred bucks. The tie rod folds like the currency that used to be in your wallet. Three of the contestants that chose the line were dominated by the rock, but all continued on, undaunted.

Next on the fatality list was a spring hanger on the front of Todd’s CJ 7. It broke at the front passenger side. If you ever go off-road you want Brian Crist to come along. He is what you would call, “well equipped”. Jacks, tools, air, welder, (complete with face shield), and you name it, his long arm TJ will come to the rescue. He welded the hanger, and warranteed it for a full 5 feet, and we were on the road again.

P.S. It held the rest of both trails.

Wayne’s World did its job. Add a little mud to the bottom and you have yourself one fine obstacle. Seven or eight tried it, but only Seth, Al, and yours truly drove it. Al made it look easy. What a great spectator venue, everyone had a great time watching, driving, spotting, and giving pointers from the sidelines. All the ingredients for a great day.

With Wayne’s World out of the way, it was on to Constrictor. I did a quick assessment of rig capability, and talked to everyone about what was ahead.

Everyone continued on despite some serious fear and trepidation from some of the more stock vehicle drivers. Not fear of the trail, but of the pending home front repercussions should any damage occur to the wife’s jeep. I assured everyone that they could stop at any point. Body damage is not anyone’s goal. It’s amazing but we had no casualties through the much harder Constrictor, until the waterfall at the end of the trail. I think it’s called the Eagles Nest. Seth Bauer shot right up it first try. Very few have ever driven this obstacle without a strap. Impressive. When I finally caught up to the front runners on the trail, it was: “Seth drove it are you going to try? Huh Dennis can you do it? Come on Seth did it. Wanna be like Seth ? Do you ? Not scared are you?” Yes, everyone was very supportive and encouraging. With careful guidance from the king of the hill, I painstakingly positioned the yellow YJ so as to have the same successful line. Second gear and floor it was the command. I repeated it back to be sure. Well, if you wanna be a man sometimes you gotta hit the loud pedal. The tune port roared to life, a huge boulder shot out of the rear tire and just narrowly missed the peanut gallery. The YJ bounced up the wall a good foot. There was an $800 noise from the rear end and when the dust settled I seemed to be right where I started. I think I’ll go with the wheel base card, yeah that’s it.

Over the next hour we winched everyone else over. Brian took out a nerf bar on his TJ while winching up the waterfall, but they needed to go anyway. (nerf bars are so last week). Everyone was very kind as they drove around me on the way out. Watching with concern as the rear end would lock up every 50 feet and slide the rear tires. What a great time. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. It’s good to get out break stuff every once in a while. Thanks to everyone that came. Especially the winching crew. They got everyone out when I had to leave so I could be strapped up the last part of the trail (thanks for the pull Vince).

Lastly: At the trail head we talked about the upcoming trail closures, including Rattlesnake and Constrictor. Please send a letter (they seem to be more impressive) to the BLM. Let them know how much you enjoyed the trail. Management is important but closure is not the answer. Let them know how you feel. Be positive. It doesn’t have to be long, just let them know we’re out here.

Here’s a link to the BLM’s Utah Off Highway Vehicle Management Page.

Click here for current Five Mile Pass regulations.

Thanks again

Wood out

We had a total of 21 rigs that made the actual trail run. Dan drove down from Logan with his buggy. He spent some time conquering obstacles on the rock crawl course at the Delta Fair Grounds until a front drive shaft yoke gave up and he was done. He got it on the trailer and headed home. Sorry Dan. Those that came down Friday night had the chance to play on the course. It is so much fun… If you ever get the wild hair to make a trip Delta way for some world class wheelin’, do not miss the chance to get a feel for what the rock crawl competitors experience (ok to a small part, but still). The course is open to the public free of charge, and they would love to have you use it, weird huh. Craig Stump has an event planned for May 31. It is all free and designed to be a fun competition for everyone. We will put up a link with the info. April 26 there will be another trail run sponsored by the Delta 4wd club (sorry I didn’t get a name). The run will be one any rig can do. It won’t be too aggressive, so if you have the hankerin’ to see some beautiful country head out to Delta. I guarantee you’ll have a great time and enjoy their hospitality. They know the area like no one else and you’ll see things you would no way find on your own. (Click here to read the post on Rocky Mountain Extreme about the April 26th event.)

If you missed this trail run, do not miss it next time. It had it all, scenery, old mining cabin and equipment, optional you’ve got to be kidding me obstacles, some just nasty enough to give you a good rush. Keith took point and kept us moving. The first real obstacle had a bypass as well as a dry waterfall. It gave some very well equipped rigs some grief. It went vertical about 10 feet with a well placed hole at the bottom designed to throw you sideways on a attention getting off camber slope. When you got to the top you wished you weren’t there. There was a tree at the top and a steep slope to the passenger side. Probably a third of the group tried it. And 80% made it. Everyone that tried probably could have made it, given enough time. (Disclaimer or easy out for the inability and total failure of those that attempted and retreated in shame). Oh lighten up I’m just kidding. Everyone was very courteous and didn’t want to hold up the group. Tom just drove up the obstacle in his ‘07 4door JK Rubicon with barely a tire slip. That 116 ” wheel base really works. Mike and Tom (the two JK drivers), demonstrated the new Jeeps abilities all day long. I wouldn’t have believed how well they preformed. Nice driving guys.– The trail pretty much went from one waterfall to the next. I thought we would have to strap everyone over one loose rock/ledge in particular, but everyone with lockers made it over. One helpful hint to anyone spotting Brian Crist, If you tell him to “drive straight at me” he will. No really, he will. Almost faster than you can run. I gave him an A, on listens to and follows instructions. Lane Bowen got the “hang time” award on the same obstacle. After seeing some others having to work at it for a while, he attacked with a vengeance getting all 4 in the air at the top .I didn’t think his son John would ever stop laughing. Way to get ‘er done. Lane and Dave’s TJ’s did very well, driving every obstacle they tried.

We had lunch at the cabin where the upper section starts. That section is one to behold. Jon Johnson took his buggy up to where the snow became too deep, past three or four ledges I’d have bet a hundred bucks you couldn’t drive. He provided some spectacular front wheel standing action on the way back down. Great lunch time entertainment. Thanks Jon (Idiot).

Chainsaw is a loop trail, assuming you could drive the upper half, and very few can, so we turned around and headed back the way we came. There was a lot of excitement? at the prospect of driving down some of the more interesting ledges/cliffs. There is nothing like a good straight down drop to get your adrenalin pumping. Ask Link Hebrew how he felt as his TBI 350 powered Scrambler suddenly up shifted and launched him off a ledge. We may need to get him some more bump stops if he plans on jumping off, as apposed to driving down ledges that get in his way. That’s ok; any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.

This was one of the best groups I’ve had the pleasure of wheeling with. Everyone helped each other, there was no taunting, great encouragement and cheers as an obstacle was crested. No one went postal if we had to wait a while for every one to get over a hard spot. Good times with good people. Thanks for a great day. All that could, met at a local pizza place and relived the day, and did a little “hanger flyin’” before we started back home. It was a full day and well worth the drive. Thanks again to Craig, Keith, and Dan. Let’s support them in their up coming events.

Wood out.

Delta Trail Run Rig Gallery

Here’s a link to a write up by a participant with some great photos! Jeep Forum