Meet at the Obsticle Course between 11am and 12pm.

Hollister Hills

FRS 8
CB 12

Sign-up
-------------------
1. Huey
2.
3.
4.
5.

Meet at the Obsticle Course between 11am and 12pm.

Hollister Hills

FRS 8
CB 12

Sign-up
-------------------
1. Huey
2. Racer Xterra
3.
4.
5.

Meet at the Obsticle Course between 11am and 12pm.

Hollister Hills

FRS 8
CB 12

Sign-up
-------------------
1. Huey
2. Racer Xterra
3. Imacsae
4.
5.

Meet at the Obsticle Course between 11am and 12pm.

Hollister Hills

FRS 8
CB 12

Sign-up
-------------------
1. Huey
2. Racer Xterra
3. Imacsae
4. Yo
5.

Meet at the Obsticle Course between 11am and 12pm.

Hollister Hills

FRS 8
CB 12

Sign-up
-------------------
1. Huey
2. Racer Xterra
3. Imacsae
4. Yo
5. XPLORx4
6.

Bump...

Any other takers? This is tomorrow and it should be a beutiful day to get out.

I would love to go Huey but my truck is in the shop. Header gasket has to be replaced, it is leaking coolant. The mechanic advised me that both sides has to be replaced.

Have fun!!!

So what kind of outing is this gonna be I have never been there. Is it just an obstacle course or will there be some trails? Is there an area to cook out and how long will we be there. Are there bathrooms in case i take my sister. will we be in the same general area most of the day?

-This is a day trip (pack a lunch). Sometimes we head into the town of Hollister to have a group dinner.

-We usually stay till about 4 or 5? Really depends on how long people want to stay

-There is an obsticle course and a number of trails. All clearly marked and rated like a ski resourt, but it really isn't that big.

-There is an area to cook, and I believe there are BBQ pits. I'm usually too lazy to cook, so I'll pick up a bag lunch.

-Yes, there are bathrooms.

-For the most part, yes we will be in a general area.

Ivan, when you get there be sure to ask the Ranger for a map and head over to the obsticle course.

Ivan, it's kinda weird to get in. You'll see a big well marked entrance where you pull into the ranger station. Pay the guys, get your map and then turn around and go out. Continue up the road a little where you'll see a locked gate. The rangers would have given you the combo. Lots of times there's people staging there so it'll be open. The map will tell you where the obstacle course it.

Dudes (and Dudettes)! Thanks for a RAD time today in Hollister! I appreciate your friendliness and your patience. The "out-of-the-box" 2005 XTerra certainly earned it's stripes and its scars today. It is definitely not headed to a life of carting crap from Linens N Things and Nordstroms!

Looking forward to the next one!

~Mike

Good to meet you Mike, glad you had fun.

Keep an eye on this board for trip updates.

Here's the pics.
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2/Hollister%202-11-06/
Best viewed with IE so you can see the thumbnail gallery (click previews). Full res photos available.

Nice meeting you Mike. The answers to your future questions are:

1. Yes you can do xxxxxxx trail if you take off you step rails and mudflaps.
2. Calmini and 4crawler.
3. Bigger tires.

Nice pics! I miss that place!

Where'd you get that diamond plate box? I like it.

Hey John, long time no see. Got it at Home Depot for $50. It's nice since it frees up a lot of room in the back.

Yeah, hope you're doin' well.


...and $50??? That's a bargain compared to what I've seen online lately. (I need something for the "ugly truck" as the top likely will never go back on - we're going on 4 months now without any rain. )

Anyway, great pics, as always - someday I'll have to drag the Scout back up North and join you guys again for some sort of non-pavement run.

Nice pictures Steve!

Did you make it up the ledge in the quarry?
Did Huy and Andy make it up Upper Fremontia?

- Matt

Yup, 50 bucks, pretty good deal and that was it's normal price.

Matt, photo credit goes to my passengers, one of whom is into photography. No, neither I nor Huey made it up the ledge. I kept hitting my tcase cross member and Huey needs a front locker (and/or a solid axle) :p .

Huey made it up the easier section to the left and Rich also made it up without the aid of his locker.

Andy didn't go, I think you're thinking of Ivan with the black SAS xterra? Anyway, I was the only one to make it entirely up fremontia, thanks to the front locker. Ivan couldn't get enough traction with the loose soil. Even I barely made it. I had to just keep on the gas and powered through it an inch at a time. Dean said he could see my front tires bowing in. This is mostly because of the unbraced frame at the rear lower A-arm mount. It's a known problem for the older 4runners.

After Ivan backed down he noticed something wasn't right and found his front driveshaft CV had a problem. That effectively ended his day.

Steve,

I saw the black XTerra and assumed it was Andy, my bad.

The ledge in the query seems to be getting a bit harder. I made it up last year with no issues but this year I couldn't find the traction to pull the truck over the top, probably didn't help that my tires were fill of mud.

Congrats on making it up the right side of upper Fremontia!

btw. If you run across any 3rd gen 4runners with a 5spd and locker for sale drop me an email.

- Matt

Gah!
No, get something with a SA front...even Steve is going to go that route.

I suppose I could approve of this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyota-4R...611853062QQrdZ1
or with a manual
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymo tors/lifted-t...1QQcmdZViewItem

Geoff

Honestly, I would give up on finding one with a rear locker and just concentrate on the manual tranny. Add the locker later. I believe you can get brand new elocker thirds straight from toyota for $800 (maybe even $600...I forget now). I think you can order them up to 4.56s.

The minor housing mods can be done at our super duper secret mega Xtreme fabrication facility over in oakdale. It would only cost you some beers, energy drinks and soda.

Ok, I officially declare this thread off-topic. If people are offended let me know and we can take it to email.

Geoff,

I'm definitely very concerned about moving from a solid axle to an IFS front end. The only reason I am considering the move is that ultimately the Jeep gets pretty bad gas milage (13-15mpg) and is really not "driveable" enough to use daily. I'm not looking for a dedicated rock-crawler, instead my goal is a truck I can reliably drive to Tahoe for skiing or take on trails up to about the level of the Rubicon without excess breakage. It seems that a moderately build 4runner could fit this bill.

Steve,

Thanks for the information! I think you're right, the 5spds w/ e-lockers are almost non-existant. I'm still not 100% sure I want to go with the 5spd, it is much nicer to drive on the street but autos do have benefits on the trail.

Thanks both for your iput.

- Matt

Ok, let's say hypothetically that I found locally a 1999 SR5 5spd with e/locker. In fact let's pretend this is the relevant information.

SILVER 1999 TOYOTA 4RUNNER SR5 4X4 5 SPD MANUAL TRANSMISSION 114,500 MILES V6 3.4L MOTOR 90K SERVICE CHECKUP A/C P/S P/W P/D/L P/M C/C SUNROOF ABS CD SURROUND SOUND ROOF RACKS AND TOW PKG. RECENT SMOG AND CLEAN TITLE TAGS ARE GOOD TILL DEC. 2006 SACRIFICE $8900. LITTLE BIT NEGOTIABLE DOESN'T NEED ANYTHING,

I've emailed to confirm it has an e-locker.

Steve, Geoff,

In your opinions, realistically how much of an issue are busted cv's assuming 33" tires, a crawler, open front, Rubicon, and a light throttle foot?

- Matt

No, no, you don't understand. Our entire goal in life right now is to get you, Huey and Dean to SAS and build ridiculously huge trucks. :p

Nice low miles.

I wouldn't worry too much about CVs, just be sure to carry a spare. It seems most people break them when locked in the front, steering wheel cranked and reversing. I believe schaefer over on YT had 35s when he finally broke his CV at moab.

Also be sure to check or ask about rear axle seals and rack and pinion bushing wear (not sure how to check that though). I think there's also a squeaky clutch problem but that's easily remedied.

Not sure if you've seen this thread:
http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.php?t=78450

Steve,

I'll definitely check out those items. And whose to say the 4runner won't spround a solid axle at some point.

I've seen that thread on YT, and have been emailing with Ken (paddlenbike) about 3rd gens.

So, the big questions are now do I want to spend $9500 (with taxes) on a new truck, and how long is it going to take to sell the ZJ since I don't really want to have three cars for an extended amount of time again.

Hmmm... 4runner for $9500 - $5k for the jeep, suddenly things don't look so bad, then.... $800 in tires, $800 in lift, then sliders, skids, crawler, bumpers, arggg... I hear money burning somewhere.

- Matt