[Bicepus Maximus]

Hey Intruder, what do you think of the Baja Rack?

I ordered a 2014 TE and looking at the same rack to put a Maggiolina on.

Thanks.

[Intruder]

Originally Posted by Bicepus Maximus

Hey Intruder, what do you think of the Baja Rack?

I ordered a 2014 TE and looking at the same rack to put a Maggiolina on.

Thanks.

Love it. If I were doing it all over again I wouldn't hesitate to buy the exact same rack. I probably get as many comments on the rack as I do on the other mods and it's perfect for mounting a RTT. I did notice that there's a spot where the mounting hardware from my ARB tent has rubbed off the powdercoating and has rusted a bit, but that's to be expected. I'll probably just hit it with some rust converter this spring before I put the tent back on.

[Bicepus Maximus]

That's really good to hear. If I end up getting it, I'll look at doing something with the powder coating where the mounting clamps line up.

How is the roof underneath the two front legs that don't bolt down? Baja Rack told me that it wouldn't dent the sheet metal but you never know.

[Intruder]

Originally Posted by Bicepus Maximus

That's really good to hear. If I end up getting it, I'll look at doing something with the powder coating where the mounting clamps line up.

How is the roof underneath the two front legs that don't bolt down? Baja Rack told me that it wouldn't dent the sheet metal but you never know.

I don't know if anything will really help where the mounting brackets are. It'll eventually wear away over time so I guess it comes down to having to do maintenance every two years or every three years sort of thing.

I haven't noticed any dents in the sheet metal from the front legs. I don't really have too much weight up there - occasionally 20L of gas but that's it. Having a RTT does make it more difficult to clean the part of the roof directly underneath the tent, but I just angle the pressure washer in there and that seems to do the trick.

[Okki]

Originally Posted by Intruder

Having a RTT does make it more difficult to clean the part of the roof directly underneath the tent, but I just angle the pressure washer in there and that seems to do the trick.

The swiffer-mod works pretty well for under rack cleaning as well.
Okki's Build Thread


Okki

[Intruder]

Holy hell was it ever windy out today. Just a few pics but headed down to Crowsnest in the morning for some fun.

Tried playing around with the sun in a couple shots for something different.


DSC_2871.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC_2872.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC_2877.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC_2887.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC_2898.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC_2906.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC_2909.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC_2916.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

[Ol'Baditude]

Yeah, kind of the opposite of the other day out out there. -30deg with sunshine and no wind was a gorgeous day. +1 with a killer wind, not so much. Kat and I were out at Lake Minnewanka yesterday trying to do some hiking. Good think I fueled up before hitting the road, that headwind was killer!

[Intruder]

So a year ago a group of us went down to Crowsnest Pass for an epic snow day. See this post: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-ge...ml#post1305529

Well it looks like it's becoming an annual tradition. We decided to try the same trail, only this time we would start from the other end. We left Calgary at around 6:30am for the 2.5 hour drive and got back around 11:30pm. The really funny part is that we were within view of the trailhead for the entire day...

Beginning of the day. Airing down on the side of the forestry trunk road.


DSC00531.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC00529.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Hmm, the wheels look a little chewed up for some reason.


DSC00530.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Ok, still on the highway and we encounter the first obstacle of the day. We have to get over the massive winrow (it's a word, look it up) to get on the trail. The other side of the winrow is a steep drop in. Naturally we send the tractor in to clear the way.


DSC_2930.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Uh oh, this doesn't look good. Seems the tractor is stuck even with front and rear lockers on.


DSC_2937.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Oddly enough, this did not help. Note @rickashay laughing at them.


DSC_2938.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Yup, that's a good stuck.


DSC_2941.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Ok, so we get him back out (I think @rickashay had to winch him back, but honestly all the recoveries have blurred together now) and he takes another run at it.


DSC_2945.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

And down he goes.


DSC_2950.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Only to get stuck again. Got sucked into deep snow right next to a tree and every time he tried to move he got closer to it. Pulley winch is in order. In retrospect, this was an omen of how the rest of the day would go.


DSC00543.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

[Intruder]

As we were waiting for the recovery I snapped off another poser shot. One of the few pictures I'd take throughout the day...


DSC_2956.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Ok, so now the first Land Cruiser is free and it's time for @rickashay to go.


DSC_2966.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

I was next to go down, but I don't have any pictures since I was driving and all. Next to go was the 3rd gen 4Runner.


DSC00544.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

Followed by the 4th gen. I didn't see him coming down the hill, but he slid a little close to a tree.


DSC00551.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC00554.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

So the winches and pulleys come out again and we get him off the tree and down the rest of the hill.


DSC00555.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

And from that point there's a massive gap in my pictures. The rest of the day basically consisted of one recovery after another. The two Land Cruisers were in front of me and at one point they were both stuck. We had a winch daisy chain going from my truck to @rickashay 's and from his to the first Land Cruiser. Because I kept sliding forward while winching, we anchored my 4Runner to a tree using a winch extension and a tree saver. Once I got the Land Cruiser free, I realized I couldn't move backwards and the winch extension was taut so we couldn't disconnect it. We ended up having to cut it just so I could move again.

While the three of us were recovering, we had decided to pull the plug so the last three trucks turned around and started the task of getting back up the steep hill and onto the road. Now like I said, it's a forestry trunk road that also services oil rigs and various other things. There were trucks coming down loaded with huge rocks and empty trucks headed up. We ended up having to put our winch lines across the road to connect to a tree to pull ourselves up. We tried anchoring to other trucks, but the road was too slick and the anchor trucks just kept sliding.


DSC00560.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr


DSC00567.jpg by BurningChr0me, on Flickr

So we sent one person down the road in one direction with a radio, and another the other way. Every so often they'd radio that a truck was coming, so we had to let out winch line until the truck passed. My winch burned itself out while it was still connected to the tree on the other side of the road but I was most of the way up. I couldn't let any line out, so we were ready to cut the line if a truck was coming. Finally we hooked up a recovery strap and the 3rd gen was able to pull me the rest of the way up and we unhooked the line before any traffic came through.

[-Trev-]

Originally Posted by Intruder

My winch burned itself out while it was still connected to the tree on the other side of the road but I was most of the way up. I couldn't let any line out, so we were ready to cut the line if a truck was coming. Finally we hooked up a recovery strap and the 3rd gen was able to pull me the rest of the way up and we unhooked the line before any traffic came through.

Always enjoy your pics and accompanying details! Glad to hear you didn't have to cut your winch line, but curious about your winch burning out (having just installed the same winch).

[Intruder]

Originally Posted by -Trev-

Always enjoy your pics and accompanying details! Glad to hear you didn't have to cut your winch line, but curious about your winch burning out (having just installed the same winch).

Burned out is maybe the wrong word as it wasn't hot and I don't think that I pushed it past the duty cycle. I guess failed would be more appropriate. It just plain wouldn't pull any more and I don't think I reached the maximum load rating. At one point if I started winding line in or out it would keep going even after I released the remote. In free spool the line is incredibly difficult to unspool, and right now the winch will not unspool electrically - you can hear the solenoid click but nothing happens. It will wind line in thankfully, so I was able to get it respooled. Oddly enough another friend of mine with a TJM 8000 was out yesterday in a different place and had the same constant spooling/unspooling thing even when releasing the remote. The only way to stop it was to press it in the opposite direction and even then you sometimes had to go back and forth a few times before it stopped. I contacted the shop where I bought it today and they're going to find out what's going on from TJM USA. Right now I'm seriously considering replacing it with a Warn or Superwinch even though it's less than a year old.

[TPatt88]

Awesome looking snow run! Wish we had mountains like that a couple of hours away that actually had snow in them (damn SoCal drought!) and were wheeling friendly.

[EasylyConfused]

Looks like fun. I thought you guys were headed to waiperous, had I known it was crowsnest I wouldn't have stayed home to study!

That sucks about the winch, I was seriously considering buying that one in the near future. The warranty is no good if it can't get you out when it needs too.

[Intruder]

Originally Posted by EasylyConfused

Looks like fun. I thought you guys were headed to waiperous, had I known it was crowsnest I wouldn't have stayed home to study!

Nick and I did Waiparous on Sunday, so maybe that's why you thought we were going back there.

Originally Posted by EasylyConfused

That sucks about the winch, I was seriously considering buying that one in the near future. The warranty is no good if it can't get you out when it needs too.

Yeah exactly. I'm looking into pricing on a Warn 9.5xp-s and XD9000 right now. Apparently TJM has some replacement solenoid that I just heard about yesterday, but this will be the second replacement for something in less than a year. It seems like they still have some kinks to work out in their winches while Warn and Superwinch have years of reliability behind them.

[1engineer]

Originally Posted by Intruder

Nick and I did Waiparous on Sunday, so maybe that's why you thought we were going back there.


Yeah exactly. I'm looking into pricing on a Warn 9.5xp-s and XD9000 right now. Apparently TJM has some replacement solenoid that I just heard about yesterday, but this will be the second replacement for something in less than a year. It seems like they still have some kinks to work out in their winches while Warn and Superwinch have years of reliability behind them.

You know, If I had been coming up that road when you guys started over the winrow into 2+ feet of snow I would have parked and watched at what was going to happen lol.