I was surprised on the engineering score but I was also surprised we came in 3rd at the mini rubicon with 22 psi. No one was told where or how they placed. Mayve the DVD will tell us more.
Here's a recap post I've done
TTC was a fantastic experience. Robin (my husband) and I co-own the truck. We both wanted to drive so we drew to see who would - he won. (Lucky guy  ) Rob (a friend) practically lived in our garage the 3 months before TTC helping us. I decided that he should be co driver. It was hard but so exciting to watch. The trip down was the trip from hell. We weren’t sure we would make it in time. We drove for 3 days-16 hour days-the tow truck overheating. We slept in rest areas on the trailer because by the time we would stop the campgrounds were closed. It was freaky to wake up (under the Knight) and have people staring you at the truck. The final time we overheated was at the sign that said 3 miles to Hollister Hills, we couldn’t believe it. That’s when we saw Jeepzilla drive by with his motor home. He stopped, we said our hellos and told him that we were okay; we just had to let the tow truck cool down. Got to the camp at about 8; 00pm Sunday. We were toast.
One thing I must say, the atmosphere between competitors though out the whole event was excellent. Everyone was friendly, everyone helped each other out, and everyone wanted each other to do the best they could. It was great.
We decided to see how the truck was running at this new altitude. Carb was way off, so we proceeded to try and tune it. It was getting there but we never did get it where it should be. The four wheeler staff said their hellos, met Robin and some of the judges. Everyone was really nice. First events were the measurements, rti, engineering and photo shoots. On the slow side which was good.
Acceleration and braking test at the airport. We ran around the day before trying to get the tow rig fixed up so we could pull the truck to the airport. Didn’t get it done. Made it to the airport. Did the acceleration test. The truck run like a cow- Robin came back- only to find that the throttle cable was seized. He did the acceleration at half throttle with no nitrous. We thought we’d fair well at this event- there went this one we thought to ourselves. Did the braking test and headed back to camp to fix the cable. The tow rig overheated on the way back. F**k! Farted around with the tow rig again. The gas pedal ripped off at the acceleration test so put some duct tape to use as a pedal. Every one seemed to have issues at the acceleration test except for Brad. He did great.
The hill climb. All competitors drove up to see this steep hill climb with a turn and huge berms as obstacles all the way up. Robin heads up to the starting line and the truck stalls. Great first impression……….duh!. Carbs suck!!!! Yes, carbs really suck!!!!!The only way he was making it up this hill was full throttle- no way out of that. Robin hammers it- over the first berm up to the turn –slows down and almost stalls her, hammers her again-the truck screams all the way up the rest of the hill. Robin said all he saw was sky and trees- going from side to side. That looked like a trip and a half. The unimog made it look like nothing. The 6x6 had a good run.. The burb worked half way up spewing huge stacks of smoke. I believe 5 people made it up the hill.
The frame twister- it looked short but nasty. It’s a hard strip. The thought was to just go as far as they could and winch the rest of the way through. I think this was pretty much everyone’s plan. The guys were checking the truck just before they started for the frame twister. I drew number one and they weren’t back. Stan (owner of the 6x6) approached me and asked me if I wanted to trade- he was number 6. I thanked him and took him up on his offer. That 6x6 is a sweet rig and the owners are two of the nicest and funniest people we have met. They work so great together as a team. We took out a bump stop in the frame twister; The 6x6 blew a bead.
The mud pit- this thing was nasty. There wasn’t a running start and it was really deep right at the beginning. Everyone just hammered it as far as they could go.Ther was just a huge wall that no one overcame.
The mini Rubicon- Surprised we came in third there. Second time ever on rocks- not knowing anything about them. Rob (the spotter) first time ever. No bead locks and still at 22 lbs of pressure from the rti ramp. They did the best could could with what they knew. The 6x6 had an awesome run. The yellow jeep, Jeepzilla, had an unreal run. Those 49” iroks just walked right through. He was so sure of himself; his co-pilot was reading an issue of Four Wheeler as they drove through. It was hilarious. Too bad he hit a cone at the very end that cost him a 5 minute penalty.
The tow test- Huge heavy truck. The nitrous worked great on there- the heavier trucks did better here.
The obstacle course- excellent laid out course. Nice job by the Four Wheeler crew. There were I believe 3 flops here – The unimog, the cut off K30 , the burb and Jeepzilla put it on it’s side a couple of times Robin had a good run. Broke one inner and one outer . They went back to camp to do the fix. We missed some of the runs. Jason, the owner of the burb, had a lot of hard luck with breakage . He broke a couple of shafts. Rob Ruttledge ( the owner of the land cruiser) lent him the front shaft from his tow rig. Jason worked through the night to modify it to fit his burb. He was working on the burb again when we got back to camp again. He sliced his hand badly with a grinder while trying to do the fix. He was told to go to the hospital as he needed to get stitches. He would not go until the day was done. He insisted on helping us. He was pounding away helping us while blood is dripping down his arm. It was unreal. Everyone there did everything they could to help each other out. Outstanding.
The tank trap- we felt this was going to be our event. It’s similar to our type of trails. One thing you learn from competition is not only the faults in the truck but that you can’t be lazy even if you’re burnt out. One suggestion I would make to future TTC competitors is give yourselfs a couple of extra days for the trip, especially if it’s a long one. You tend to let things go that you know you shouldn’t. The gas tank wasn;t filled went into the tank trap with ¾ of a tank - mistake one. The valve cover gasket was worn, we knew it should have been replaced- too tired, didn’t bother- mistake two. Off they start. I went and waited by hole 6. I was pretty confident they would make it there within 12-15 minutes. Wrong! They winched to hole two, were off camber and had fuel cell pick up issues. They didn’t figure it out for a while. They tried the fuel pump and so on. Finally they sloshed the tank . Bingo. Next, the valve cover gasket blows off, engine oil starts pouring onto the header and a fire starts. Fuel is leaking from the rear and there is a fire all along the headers. Fire extinguisher comes out to put the fire out. Mistake three- no communication. They should have had frs’s or something. Time is ticking. The guys are wearing out. They get the truck going again finally. Throughout all of this , they didn’t realize the winch was still hooked up. Rob is lying on the floor half dead. Robin is frustrated at everything that has happened, time is running out , the judges say – you have 8 minutes left. Robin tells Rob, I’ll meet you at hole three or I’m going to go as far as I can, I hear over the radio- everyone, get out of the way, he is coming through and he is pissed. Rob screams stop- Robin doesn’t hear. Robin hammers the truck through the canyon full throttle, goes about 80 feet and BANG!!!!!. The winch cable stops him. That was a super hard stop. Thought the front diff got ripped off. More oil starts spewing out of the engine. Oil pressure is now zero. Robin calls it. What a trip.!. Sonny extracts the truck with the scorpion. They pass out on the floor at the top of the hill. I watched Brad’s run. It was a beautiful run. Nicely done. We head back to camp , depressed and happy it was over at the same time . We heard everyone’s run, the screams, the hollers, the excitement…… The unimog destroyed one side of the beautiful job he did on that build up. The 6x6 breaking shattering it’s window, Jimmy and his jeep just being so excited to be there. Rob and Darryl, the cruiser, having a good run at the tank trap. The event was amazing. We learned so much. We met fantastic people. We’d hook up with them anytime. Brad deserved to win. He had his act together and his truck worked well for him. We felt we could have done better but that’s the game. Every truck there had a really good chance to take that event. We were impressed . We chased the pigs , the raccoons and partied. . The staff at Four Wheeler was wonderful. We met people we only talked through on the internet. This event has definitely opened our appetite to travel down south more and check out different types of events. We definitely need to learn a lot about rocks. The TTC tape should have great footage of everyone there. Thanks to everyone for the votes, to let us experience this great venue, to the staff, to the competitors. I wish I could post pictures and video but I will not. That’s Four Wheeler’s gig.
We never had the chance to even see the beach , we had to fix the tow rig and had another 3 day drive back home. That only means we have to come back and visit. Bead locks are on . Fuel injection is coming
For anyone thinking of trying to get in, we say DO IT!
