Red Cone Recovery 9/21

[glenyoshida]

I think we should call this the busted balls recovery lol.

When i got back into cell range on Saturday evening from the Yankee Hill/Kingston Peak trails I had 5 VMs. I thought I had missed all the fun but to my delight the recovery was still on. I headed over from Idaho Springs to Red Cone and met up with Jeff to take a took at the damage. Here's a few pics.

Unhappy days for the 4runner and Jeff's wallet. Shawn in his 3rd gen with an ARB and winch from Texas and a Jeeper with his winch (that's a cop) helped Jeff drag the 4runner out of the trail into the campsite. It was a good place to break down if there is such a thing. Jeff and I used the Hi-lift to get the vehicle lifted enough to stack some rocks under it.

I camped that night to and when I woke up Sunday at the crack of 10AM we had help. When you're Co4Lo you have brothers that want to help. I love it!

CV ripped apart, brake line broken, upper and lower ball joints separated but the tie rod survived.

We didn't know if we were going to have to try and reuse the broken parts to get him down the mtn so we used compressed CO2 to clear out the dirt. It worked like a charm.

Ric arrives and right off he has to eat lol. I don't blame him. He drove all over town to pick up the parts and got up at 7AM to get to the trail at a decent hour.
Drew ate a couple of hot dogs too he was just smart enough to keep out of the pics.

This time the Hi-Lift was used as a back up. There are jack stands under the rig as well.
Check out Jeff's shiney CO2 tank being used for Ric's Impact driver. Worked like a charm. Fast and powerful.

Jeff getting in there to doctor his baby. Here he is putting the CV back in and lining up the ball joints.

We set up a rig in front to pull and one in the back to brake since his brake line was broken.

Cruisin' down the dirt road after getting off the trail. Check out those aspens.

I think there are other better photos so hopefully those get posted soon.
I just want to thank everyone in the Co4lo crew for helping out when it counts. Also special thanks to CSL for driving back to check in on Jeff, for the generous offers of food, drink, and helping hand.

 

[Rock Slide]

Glad you guys were able to get him back going again! What did the total price of damage come too?

 

[K.C.]

Noooooooooooo...Jeff's ride!!

Hope the patient has a speedy recovery.

 

[97-4xFunner]

Wow! Wow! Wow! I don't know the whole situation with those peeps. But to have people show up to help out like that with the tools, air, food, and drag him and his rig out of there is unfreaking believable. I am amazed. That is soooo great. I am hoping to meet even just one person this coming weekend at the Toyota Jamboree who has that sort of ambition and integrity or whatever it is.

 

[ric]

It was a good recovery, decent weather, GREAT people, and damn, them hot dogs where soooo good, lol, my compliments to the chef..

Heres a couple of my pix

CO2 is the way to go..

So after we got it back together to get him off the trail, we had time to play, lol

as far WHAT broke, it was the upper and lower ball joints, the brakeline, and the ABS line.
* This a perfect example, if you have close to 200K mile on your rig, PLEASE replace your balljoints.... Its alot cheaper to replace them now. remember my 99 lost the balljoints at 225K, both Jeff and I were SOOOOO lucky, that these didnt go out driving down the highway at 70MPH..

 

[RonMAIDEN]

nice job guys and it's nice to know Colorado has some awesome peeps out there to help like that.:guitar3:

 

[sn0wrunner]

First off I have a huge list of people i need to thank. I also cant stress enough how much it means that all these guys were there and willing to help me.

shawnstcyr
CSL
Ron Helmuth
Glenyoshida
ric
00Spork

Thank you so much you guys. I dont know what would have happened without you guys.

I owe each and everyone of you. Next time you need something, please ask me! I'd be more than willing to help.


Here are the only pics i took.


Right when it happened:

Resting on the tire:

So after I got a ride back into cell phone range and made some phone calls. There was no way i was leaving my baby up on the trail alone all night. So i had to walk back up the trail about a mile in the dark all by myself. Man did that freak me out! And the bones in the middle of the trail didn't help! lol.

What did the total price of damage come too?

Not sure yet. The upper and lower ball joints were about $130. And I already have a spare CV. The shop i took it to didn't get a chance to look at it today. But all im having them do is replace the cv, press the upper ball joint, and the brake lines.

 

[sn0wrunner]

A sad sight:

photo taken by glen

 

[ric]

A sad sight:

photo taken by glen

we have all been there, and if you havent, you WILL..

 

[Fo_SheeZy]

Damn dude that sucks...

 

[proudrunner]

That is a sad sight to see ur baby on a flat bed:crybaby: Good thing like you said at least it happen when you where not driving at high speed. In no time things would be back to normal for you and we will see you hitting the trails.

 

[smallfry]

Wow. Good to see your okay. Big props to the guys that helped. :thumb3:

That's a weird location where it broke at. Was there any indication prior to it happening that something was wrong?

 

[MillerPKA]

nice! glad to see you guys are handy when the shops not in sight. this is another reason i'm redoing my whole suspension at the beginning of the October.

 

[sn0wrunner]

Was there any indication prior to it happening that something was wrong?

nope. The front end just dropped. lol

this is another reason i'm redoing my whole suspension at the beginning of the October.

yeah I'm going to do the other side ASAP!

 

[shawnstcyr]

Glad you got her up and running. Good thing I passed you on the trail, otherwise we couldn't have gotten you off the trail. This will definitely change my narrow trail offroading strategy. Always send someone with a winch first. Good job guys! I am gonna post my pics, too.

 

[shawnstcyr]

Hey Ric and Glennyoshida, I told you guys last week that I was gonna buy a tow truck and follow you guys around! LOL! I think we put my SmittyBuilt through the wringer the last 2 weekends, for sure. I hope you guys don't start thinking I'm bad luck! Everytime we go out someone breaks something. I ruined a tire this weekend on Twin Cone.

 

[ric]

Hey Ric and Glennyoshida, I told you guys last week that I was gonna buy a tow truck and follow you guys around! LOL! I think we put my SmittyBuilt through the wringer the last 2 weekends, for sure. I hope you guys don't start thinking I'm bad luck! Everytime we go out someone breaks something. I ruined a tire this weekend on Twin Cone.

lol,, no we dont thing your bad luck, not at all, stuff happens when ya wheel, sometimes it just seems to happen all at once, or you can go for years, without as much much as a flat.
Its all good, and when ya get back, we will do some SNOWBASHIN it snowed here today

 

[shawnstcyr]

How did you guys get the upper ball joint back together? It's pressed. I was thinking your CO2 would run an impact gun. I may try to heat my upper conrol arm and knock it out with a hammer. Then I can heat the arm with a propane torch and freeze the ball joint, they should go back together.

 

[glenyoshida]

Hey Ric and Glenyoshida, I told you guys last week that I was gonna buy a tow truck and follow you guys around! LOL! I think we put my SmittyBuilt through the wringer the last 2 weekends, for sure. I hope you guys don't start thinking I'm bad luck! Everytime we go out someone breaks something. I ruined a tire this weekend on Twin Cone.

Nah, you kiddin' me? We don't try and get stupid, things just happen when you wheel. That's why we rarely if ever wheel alone. Glad you've been making the most of your Colorado time. I can't wait for the first snow bashing run! I think everyone is pretty good about being mindful of the risks we take with our gear because breaking stuff means down time for everyone. At the same time it's nice to be able to push the envelope a bit more. The idea of a HAM radio keeps naggin' at me. I think it might actually happen in a couple of years. Bummer about the flat! You must be driving like Ric

 

[shawnstcyr]

Nah, you kiddin' me? We don't try and get stupid, things just happen when you wheel. That's why we rarely if ever wheel alone. Glad you've been making the most of your Colorado time. I can't wait for the first snow bashing run! I think everyone is pretty good about being mindful of the risks we take with our gear because breaking stuff means down time for everyone. At the same time it's nice to be able to push the envelope a bit more. The idea of a HAM radio keeps naggin' at me. I think it might actually happen in a couple of years. Bummer about the flat! You must be driving like Ric

I actually have my HAM radio operator's license. It only takes about 4 weekends and $25 to get. I have been looking at a setup for around $180.

If you are interested in obtaining the license, look up ARRL online. They should be able to tell you when and where. I have heard of people breaking down in Wyoming and reaching people in Mn. Then the Mn. person contacted the state police and initiated a search and rescue operation.