The Great Smaug

[campfire]

Redridge Dam, take 2.



The Salmon-Trout is a peaceful river, giving no indication of the massive flood held back behind the dam. Even at the lowered level, it's still a lot of water held back.










A better shot of the floodwaters eroding the concrete.


The old track path on top of the trestle.

 

[campfire]

Hey campy that isn't a red leash wrapped around the right side of the rear bumper did you? Hope you didn't go all Griswold and leave the family pooch lashed to the truck and forgot about him, did you?

Yes, it's a leash of sorts. I threw that on there as an extra exhaust hanger. With the flex pipe up front it is free to swing a little bit. Just enough to rattle against the transfer case. I have a real hanger for it now. It'll get installed eventually.

So far that strap has attracted more attention than ANY other mod. An old Suburban with an obscure diesel engine, custom turbo work, 5-speed swap, full-floating van axle swap, new suspension, tires, none of that turns any heads. People just want to talk about the red strap.

 

[ZooMad75]

Yes, it's a leash of sorts. I threw that on there as an extra exhaust hanger. With the flex pipe up front it is free to swing a little bit. Just enough to rattle against the transfer case. I have a real hanger for it now. It'll get installed eventually.

So far that strap has attracted more attention than ANY other mod. An old Suburban with an obscure diesel engine, custom turbo work, 5-speed swap, full-floating van axle swap, new suspension, tires, none of that turns any heads. People just want to talk about the red strap.

Kinda like running a marathon and tripping on your big toe at the finish line. I'm sure once you install the hanger you got for it you'll stop getting questioned for it. For now it looks like you left your dog tied to a leash.

Great trip report though. Keep it up.

 

[campfire]

With the flex pipe up front it is free to swing a little bit. Just enough to rattle against the transfer case.

In other news, sticking a 4" pipe into a hole sized for a 2.25" pipe requires skillful placement and careful maneuvering.

It's very doable, but it wound up taking extra time to get it positioned correctly. If I had been in a hurry I probably would have stuck with 3" until I got past the bottleneck.

Scratch that. I was in a tearing hurry. But by that point I had all my 4" pipe and not much 3" pipe in stock. So I just stuck with the plan.

I wouldn't want to run 4" through there if the T-case was clocked upward.

 

[campfire]

Kinda like running a marathon and tripping on your big toe at the finish line. I'm sure once you install the hanger you got for it you'll stop getting questioned for it. For now it looks like you left your dog tied to a leash.

Great trip report though. Keep it up.

Thanks. It was a great trip.

 

[campfire]

Man am I eating this up. Such a great payoff.

Yes, it was. And we ended the trip happy with the truck, which hasn't happened before. It has taken 8 years and 3 trucks to get here, but we finally have reached the point where I don't need to redo anything to be happy next year. We finally have a good platform, it's just a matter of adding goodies.

 

[Blue85]

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Look, a K5 is the same size as an FJ-40.

And yet it worked flawlessly the entire time. Aside from endlessly adding oil and stuff falling out the back, of course.

Except for the time the starter fell off and it had to be push started, and all the stalling, and the parts being ejected from underhood, etc. But yeah, never stranded. And they were the hardcore ones running open air through the rain and dust. Even Adam had the option of putting the top on.

@Blue85 should probably explain this one. What were you guys doing, anyways?

We were exploring the stamp mill. What does it look like? I was afraid you were talking about the dam. Seemed pretty obvious we turned it into the Redridge shower house. Fortunately you didn't post pictures of that.

 

[campfire]

Look, a K5 is the same size as an FJ-40.

I think he's taller, looking at that picture.

 

[campfire]

Except for the time the starter fell off and it had to be push started, and all the stalling, and the parts being ejected from underhood, etc. But yeah, never stranded. And they were the hardcore ones running open air through the rain and dust. Even Adam had the option of putting the top on.

Was that the 4Runner? I had thought Wes was the one that had starter problems. Oopsies.

The parts & gear flying out the back were pretty funny to watch.
I kept expecting it to strand them, but it never did. They didn't even get wet! We saw hardly a raindrop all week.

 

[campfire]

I was afraid you were talking about the dam. Seemed pretty obvious we turned it into the Redridge shower house. Fortunately you didn't post pictures of that.

I hafta save something for blackmail, no?

 

[campfire]

We were exploring the stamp mill. What does it look like?

You guys are crouched down like you're about to start a sprinting race.

 

[campfire]

Dump day. I broke this truck's weight record again (hauling concrete). I'm not worried about the truck, but that poor trailer wasn't far from scraping the ground.









11,220 pounds. I've had it at 11,200 pounds before, but that was with a much larger trailer. That poor C20-turned-trailer wasn't meant for 3400# hauls.








If the ground had been any soggier I would have needed to turn the lockouts. Though getting out was much easier than getting in.

7400# is a few hundred pounds more than the K5 or stepside would have weighed. Both those rigs have weighed in at 5500# empty, and the trailer is somewhere around 1500#.

 

[campfire]

Both trucks started out the same shade of blue, and both were later painted grey, before I bought them.

And somehow they're a close color match.

 

[imiceman44]

Dump day. I broke this truck's weight record again (hauling concrete). I'm not worried about the truck, but that poor trailer wasn't far from scraping the ground.


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11,220 pounds. I've had it at 11,200 pounds before, but that was with a much larger trailer. That poor C20-turned-trailer wasn't meant for 3400# hauls.

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If the ground had been any soggier I would have needed to turn the lockouts. Though getting out was much easier than getting in.

7400# is a few hundred pounds more than the K5 or stepside would have weighed. Both those rigs have weighed in at 5500# empty, and the trailer is somewhere around 1500#.

I hauled concrete in a trailer like that before but it was 4200lbs, the trailer was riding on the bump stops.
But I don't take concrete to the dump, there's a crusher that takes them for free and makes aggregate base with them.
Did you have to pay?

 

[campfire]

I hauled concrete in a trailer like that before but it was 4200lbs, the trailer was riding on the bump stops.
But I don't take concrete to the dump, there's a crusher that takes them for free and makes aggregate base with them.
Did you have to pay?

Yes, I paid. And I paid again today. 11,680# this time (3900# net). But I threw a few pieces in the back of the truck this time.

I know it can be recycled, but I don't know if anyone local takes it. I have another couple loads to haul.

 

[imiceman44]

Yes, I paid. And I paid again today. 11,680# this time (3900# net). But I threw a few pieces in the back of the truck this time.

I know it can be recycled, but I don't know if anyone local takes it. I have another couple loads to haul.

I hate paying for something to be buried in a landfill when I can find someone to take it, or even pay to take it like scrap metal.

 

[78K30]

If there’s no rebar in it find a local farmer or land owner that has erosion they’d like to combat. We keep an eye out for “clean” concrete for such reasons

 

[blazinzuk]

I just gotta say your burb looks way better with the van rear axle. Gotta get spacers for mine sometime. Changes the whole look

 

[campfire]

If there’s no rebar in it find a local farmer or land owner that has erosion they’d like to combat. We keep an eye out for “clean” concrete for such reasons

It's yours. When do you want to come get it?

 

[campfire]

I hate paying for something to be buried in a landfill when I can find someone to take it, or even pay to take it like scrap metal.

I agree. I will call the local concrete company in the morning to see if they will take it.

But I'm not going to dally. The 8000lb tractor that I've borrowed is going back to its owner tomorrow afternoon. So the concrete will go to whomever can take it now, before my hydraulics disappear.

I didn't plan for this much success. We burned off the grass covering the debris field, and made a nice dent at burning the pile of timbers there. My mound of loose sand is nearly flat now, having filled in various holes around the property. And the concrete is at least half gone. I've started loading up the trailer for a third trip tomorrow. If I can get the load delivered and load the trailer up a 4th time I think I will have finished the job.