I see 18 pics in post #1948 and 17 pics in post # 1951. Sorry it took so long, I had to take off my shoes to count that high.
CK5
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Good thing there's not 21 pictures in each post
My dad used to have a saying about times/memories like that.
"Can't buy that in any store"
Looking forward to next time.
See any videos? There are 2 videos in #1948 and 3 videos in #1951, which gets us to the 20-file cap.
I see the loading bars but no videos in either. I'm on a pc if it matters.
The pictures are showing up on my tablet, still only sound on the videos.
Perhaps the fact that being able to upload videos is a new feature, it has some kinks to work out?
Well, since the videos aren’t working, I’ll refrain from uploading any others.
And I’ll give myself a pat on the back for not waiting another month to do another trip report post.
In fact, we’re probably drawing this saga to a close, since there was no more wheeling done on this trip by this guy.
And forgive me if I swoon over Offroad Design a bit more. They are a class act and I will never forget all they did for me and my family to help us get home.
For example, as we pulled back into camp that night after the failure on Kane’s Creek (Riley and Jesse right behind me), James Watson was at our campsite waiting for us, and was under the truck as soon as we parked to see what all was damaged. Y’all may already know, James is Stephen and Brandon’s dad and taught them everything they know
. Who better to have under your truck.James and I discussed what had happened and developed a game plan for the next day, then he, Riley, and Miranda Watson invited my family and me out to dinner with the whole ORD crew. That was quite the feat, since my boys were still riding in car seats and those had to be relocated into the transport vehicle, which ended up being the ORD solid-axle swapped GMT800 quad cab that James and his wife were driving. However, there was only enough room for our two boys and my wife, so I had to find a different ride. Enter Brandon and the K30 convertible.
There was no off-road action, just the short drive to and from the restaurant, but LAWD ... what a truck. Admittedly, I had never used a harness before, so Brandon had to show me how to buckle up, to which I replied, “Oh, this is just like buckling in my children, but for big boys.” Lol.
Chatting with Brandon during the ride was awesome, dinner with the whole crew was awesome, and on the way back, I got a demonstration of what that big engine under the hood is capable of.
The next day, James and Riley gave their day to help me patch up my drivetrain well enough so that I could limp my truck to their shop in Carbondale, Colorado, which was only a few hours away from Moab. James offered to get the suburban up on their lift once there so we could give it a really good inspection and make sure it was ready for the long ride home.
Fortunately, I previously had the np208 attached to the 700r4 by drilling all the way through the trans housing for 3 of the 4 mounting bolts, so securing the magnum 205 to the 700 well enough to make the 3 hour drive to Carbondale was as easy as getting bolts long enough to clamp the adapter to the trans like I had before. This wasn’t a permanent fix though, because with the helicoils having been pulled out some, there was still a bit of trans fluid weeping.
James and Riley left Moab for Carbondale on Monday so they were back at the shop and ready for us. We had originally signed up to attend Fullsize Invasion Monday - Thursday, but with the truck on life support, that was out of the question. We even thought about staying Monday to do some more sightseeing and leaving Tuesday to get up to Carbondale, but we decided it would be best to go ahead and hit the road, stopping to check out a few sights on the way out of town, on that Monday after Blazerbash ended.
There was not much picture taking going on during all of this, so I’ll throw down a few obligatory truck-parked-at-camp photos.
I’ll admit, my loading and packing skills showed up on this trip.
Even though we skipped FSI, I still had shirts to pick up, so I headed up to Xtreme4x4tours to pick up our shirts, and on my way, I came across another burb-lover, who turned out to be the guy from Tom Woods Driveshafts that I spoke to over the phone about two months prior when I ordered my front and rear driveshafts from them. Pretty cool!
And of course, while at the FSI check in, there were some familiar faces and trucks, perhaps y’all recognize this one!
On our way out of town, we did stop to check out the Colorado River overpass, and got some cool photos.
Then began the long haul to Carbondale, which ended up being much longer than 3 hours because Carbondale is at about 6,000 ft elevation, vs Moab’s modest 4,000 feet, and it was a steady climb the whole way. Turns out, my non-turbo’d 6.5 haaaaaattesss climbing long grades, especially with the air being so thin, and we had overheating issues the entire ride. We found our groove though, and at about 45mph I was able to keep the engine temps low enough to keep the coolant from overwhelming my inadequately-small expansion tank, and any time temps got too high, I simply pulled over, let it cool off, and kept on going. Thanks @KirsL for putting up with the one or two panicked phone calls
.Sometime that evening, we finally pulled into our hotel in Carbondale, just a few miles from the ORD shop.
The next morning, I was at the ORD shop promptly and ready to go. Riley and James got the suburban up on their lift and the inspection began.
It didn’t take long for James to spot the cracks in the adapter housing. The only way forward was to pull the Magnum 205 out. Sure enough, the housing was split into 3 different pieces. Not bad for my first time off road!
Fortunately, they had an extra 700R4 extension housing and were able to get me set back up and on the road.
James and I spent a lot of time discussing what happened and why it happened. The primary failure was relying on helicoils to do a job they weren’t meant to do. Aside from that, improvements to my crossmember design are needed and he highly suggested a skid plate. I have not needed to do this yet since I’ve gotten home, but I have a really decent hand drawn sketch worked up and approved by James, ready for when time allows.
Believe it or not, even with the help of most of the ORD crew, this took all day on Tuesday. To be honest, it was awesome working on my own truck under James’ direction. Felt like I was an official member of the crew!
While we were there, we got a full tour of the ORD shop and got to see first hand how they go about building all these fancy parts on our trucks!
With the truck back together, James and I agreed to leave the truck locked up in their shop overnight so that the gasket maker could cure. James hauled me back to the hotel in the crewcab, and picked me up early the next morning.
This, quite frankly, was all a first class experience for me. The entire Watson family and the entire ORD crew treated me and my family like we were a part of their family, and it was great to get to know James so well over those few days.
We will be forever grateful for their extraordinary hospitality and kindness they showed us.
And just like that, we were back on the road, 100% repaired, ready to cross the Rocky Mountains.
The long road ahead begins.
Andy
It didn’t take long for James to spot the cracks in the adapter housing. The only way forward was to pull the Magnum 205 out. Sure enough, the housing was split into 3 different pieces. Not bad for my first time off road!
Fortunately, they had an extra 700R4 extension housing and were able to get me set back up and on the road.
James and I spent a lot of time discussing what happened and why it happened. The primary failure was relying on helicoils to do a job they weren’t meant to do. Aside from that, improvements to my crossmember design are needed and he highly suggested a skid plate. I have not needed to do this yet since I’ve gotten home, but I have a really decent hand drawn sketch worked up and approved by James, ready for when time allows.
Believe it or not, even with the help of most of the ORD crew, this took all day on Tuesday. To be honest, it was awesome working on my own truck under James’ direction. Felt like I was an official member of the crew!
While we were there, we got a full tour of the ORD shop and got to see first hand how they go about building all these fancy parts on our trucks!
With the truck back together, James and I agreed to leave the truck locked up in their shop overnight so that the gasket maker could cure. James hauled me back to the hotel in the crewcab, and picked me up early the next morning.
This, quite frankly, was all a first class experience for me. The entire Watson family and the entire ORD crew treated me and my family like we were a part of their family, and it was great to get to know James so well over those few days.
We will be forever grateful for their extraordinary hospitality and kindness they showed us.
And just like that, we were back on the road, 100% repaired, ready to cross the Rocky Mountains.
The long road ahead begins.
Andy
Very cool.
Adventure of a lifetime!
More then happy to field a couple phone calls!
It didn't seem like it then but that broken adapter changed your whole trip. From a good one to a great one. Your boys will always remember that trip.
It didn't seem like it then but that broken adapter changed your whole trip. From a good one to a great one. Your boys will always remember that trip.
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Adversity makes great memories when you overcome them. Thanks for sharing!
Ya know, I wasn’t even mad when the adapter broke. Focused, resolved, intent on getting off the trail and getting my family back to camp safely, yes, but never mad or disappointed. I knew the entire time that I was in good hands and that the outcome was going to be just fine. Besides, who can complain about getting to hang out with the Watsons and the rest of ORD crew for a solid 3 days?
The only guy I didn’t get a chance to meet was Stephen himself and that’s because he was over at Ultimate Adventure with his other son. But I’ve talked to Stephen several times over the phone, seen his input here on the board, and listened to him discuss on a podcast his philosophy on taking time to help people with their junk, and I can tell you - and this is something we all know - he’s a stand up dude and carries the same quality that I experienced from everyone else at Offroad Design.
Actually, as I’m typing, I’m recalling how I originally got connected with the ORD crew on this trip. It was Friday night at the cookout. We had just finished Hell’s Revenge, and my family and I were there just hanging out, I was chit chatting with @mrk5 about who’s knows what, when Miranda - Stephen’s wife - came and tapped me on the shoulder and introduced herself. She started telling about how some of the other ORD folks mentioned that some guy from Florida bought a bunch of parts from them, built a truck, and drove it out here, so she searched me out, simply to thank me for my business. Then she brought me over to meet her son, Riley, and the rest of the ORD crew, Jesse and Chris especially. I thanked Jesse for putting up with the two dozen phone calls from me over the last year, and that’s when I told them that the fact that I was out here had nothing to do with any knowledge or skill of my own. I know how to turn a wrench, that’s it. I was out there because of their knowledge, their expertise, their product quality, and their care for their customers. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to build the truck that I did and it wouldn’t have been as reliable as it was. They have something that is exceptionally rare and they can be extremely proud of.
I’m not sure how many of the ORD crew are here on CK5 or what their usernames are, so I’ll extend my official thanks and gratitude to James, @miniwally and @Stephen. My family and I have been deeply impacted by the hospitality you all showed us on this trip. My boys all the time talk about how they want to go back to “the desert” and ride with more “monster trucks”, and my wife found a friend in Miranda. You have done a fine job at instilling the spirit of care into everyone at ORD - which was evident from the moment my adapter split, to the moment we pulled into my driveway. Thank you for all you all do to support all of us who share this passion of being in the dirt in crusty old trucks.
Thank you also to all of you here at CK5 for the support, encouragement, and shared knowledge over these last few years. Specifically @KirsL @stan1688 and @AgDieseler for the countless support via phone calls and texts, but especially to everyone here at CK5. The spirit and care that ORD demonstrated is evident in everyone here. Ck5 is more than a brotherhood, it’s a family, and the success of my trip is a victory to be shared by us all, because I didn’t do this, we did this.
The trip report is not over, and there’s more to share.
Andy
This has been a great thread to follow, and is a good example of what can be accomplished with a smash load of diligent work and the support of a community.
I’ll see you and the family in the desert.
David
I’ll see you and the family in the desert.
David
Always happy to help! Gives me an extra outlet for my crazy ideas!
The ride home was a long one. Going up to ORD’s shop meant we either had to cross the Rockies or backtrack through Moab - Albuquerque - Texas, etc. James Watson provided me with a strong recommendation for a route through the mountains. Naturally, when someone of his stature says go, your only response is, “How fast?” Needless to say, the trek was worth the effort, and the effort was monumental. As mentioned previously, this naturally aspirated 6.5 doesn’t care for high altitudes, and like it’s driver, gets winded easily up in these high parts. But per James’ recommendation, we trekked up to Independence Pass and were rewarded with an incredible view.
As you can see from the gps screenshot, peak altitude was 12,015 feet, which is quite the hike for this rig which currently sits at 8 feet. Also demonstrated by the gps screenshot, is the average speed as we crossed the Rockies. We made friends, sarcastically speaking, and made frequent pullovers to both let said friends pass and to let the struggling-for-air-and-overheating 6.5 cool off. Having the Magnum 205 was pretty neat for this, and I played with it frequently on the drive both up - to control rpms and engine temps - and down - to control our descending speed and protect the brakes.
It took us all day to get from Carbondale to Walsenburg CO, and my favorite part of the journey, my absolute favorite leg of the trip, since we left our driveway nearly two weeks prior - was this last leg in Colorado - finally out of the Rockies, with the sun setting over a backdrop of mountains, plateaus, rolling hills, and grassy plains, all in one view, and the 6.5 purring like a kitten now that it’s back to about 3-4,000 feet. Absolutely the best moment.
As the sun tucked into bed behind us, we needed to find a place to rest ourselves, and settled into a quaint historic hotel in downtown Walsenburg. Quite the fancy place, but my oldest son had apparently had tomuch altitude change for the day and upchucked everything that he had consumed in the last 24 hours ... right there in the hotel’s fancy restaurant, the moment our food was served. The hotel staff was very gracious, cleaned up the mess for us, and let us take our food up to our room, where my son went to sleep.
Andy
As you can see from the gps screenshot, peak altitude was 12,015 feet, which is quite the hike for this rig which currently sits at 8 feet. Also demonstrated by the gps screenshot, is the average speed as we crossed the Rockies. We made friends, sarcastically speaking, and made frequent pullovers to both let said friends pass and to let the struggling-for-air-and-overheating 6.5 cool off. Having the Magnum 205 was pretty neat for this, and I played with it frequently on the drive both up - to control rpms and engine temps - and down - to control our descending speed and protect the brakes.
It took us all day to get from Carbondale to Walsenburg CO, and my favorite part of the journey, my absolute favorite leg of the trip, since we left our driveway nearly two weeks prior - was this last leg in Colorado - finally out of the Rockies, with the sun setting over a backdrop of mountains, plateaus, rolling hills, and grassy plains, all in one view, and the 6.5 purring like a kitten now that it’s back to about 3-4,000 feet. Absolutely the best moment.
As the sun tucked into bed behind us, we needed to find a place to rest ourselves, and settled into a quaint historic hotel in downtown Walsenburg. Quite the fancy place, but my oldest son had apparently had tomuch altitude change for the day and upchucked everything that he had consumed in the last 24 hours ... right there in the hotel’s fancy restaurant, the moment our food was served. The hotel staff was very gracious, cleaned up the mess for us, and let us take our food up to our room, where my son went to sleep.
Andy
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Altitude sickness sucks. That is a beautiful drive. Loved doing it on a motorcycle.
