theesotericone's Trails and BS Thread

[theesotericone]

You mentioned before you are more active on another site. If it is not a private site then care to share, which one? Really enjoy reading your trip reports and pics.

I don't have a build thread on the other site. There's some content of what I wheeled this summer spread out over a few trip threads. It's pretty much a site where some other guys that wheel hard hang out so it works for me to plan trips there. And the BS on the site are second to none. lol

If you have a thick skin you'll fit in just fine.

Home | IFS OFFROAD

beautiful!

Yep and thanks. I wouldn't trade where I live for anywhere else in the US.

Those are great pictures man! Looks awesome. Is it the snow covered off camber bits that are nerve wracking? It sure looks a lot different with snow.

There's a few nerve wracking sections and the fact I was solo and left all my tools in the garage didn't help. I was only planning on a recon run and ended up just going for it because the snow conditions where really good.

It's a 13 mile point to point trail and for about 11 miles of that I was breaking fresh track. Right after the shot of my rig in the stream there's a steep off camber uphill. It's a big way to go if you slide out near the top. That's usually the worst of this loop in winter. This trip though an easy section was pretty sketch.

The last 2 storms we got dumped about 4 feet. About 10 miles in, at 8500', is a long meadow. That meadow had wind drifts that where higher then my hood. It's about 1/2 mile long. So, for 1/2 a mile, I was in 2nd gear lo, rear locked, holding 3500 RPM's with the occasional bump off the rev limiter to plow through those drifts. It was a situation that if I lost momentum it would be game over. There's no winch points and no way to self recover if I got buried. lol

 

[TonyB66]

Matt, found myself looking at these photos again this morning. So scenic, beautiful. I am reminded of my Whitney trips.

While doing some reading on Buttermilk Loop (7S01) a page on off-road.com has an excerpt:

"We frequent these parts often and think Bishop is the ideal place to set a base camp for exploring the northern Owens Valley region."

I'm sure you feel that you are in a sweet spot down there. Thanks for sharing, and the link to the IFS Offroad forum. Looks like zero moderation, lol. See plenty of familiar names...

Hey, you noted that you forgot your tools on this trek. As far as "parts" go, what did or do you bring? With the RCV IFS, I imagine you don't carry a spare. Maybe some fluids like distilled water, oil (engine & gear), extra pair of headlight bulbs?

 

[theesotericone]

Matt, found myself looking at these photos again this morning. So scenic, beautiful. I am reminded of my Whitney trips.

While doing some reading on Buttermilk Loop (7S01) a page on off-road.com has an excerpt:

"We frequent these parts often and think Bishop is the ideal place to set a base camp for exploring the northern Owens Valley region."

I'm sure you feel that you are in a sweet spot down there. Thanks for sharing, and the link to the IFS Offroad forum. Looks like zero moderation, lol. See plenty of familiar names...

Hey, you noted that you forgot your tools on this trek. As far as "parts" go, what did or do you bring? With the RCV IFS, I imagine you don't carry a spare. Maybe some fluids like distilled water, oil (engine & gear), extra pair of headlight bulbs?

Anytime you want to make it over this way just let me know. There's more then a few amazing camping spots that you can drove to at over 10000'.

IFSoffroad is not for the faint of heart. It's a place where a lot of folks that got banned from other sites are now hanging out. The core group of guys a wheel with are all there so I spend a lot of time there now. Plus, it's just fun to not pull any punches because you're worried about moderators.

For fluids I carry 2 gallons gear oil, brake fluid, oil, and power steering fluid. I always have 5 gallons of tap water with me. If I ever have a rad blowout I'll just use that. The whole system would get flushed when I get it back in the garage so I don't bother with distilled.

Parts that are always on my rig. Starter rebuild kit, alt rebuild kit, 8 grade 10.9 lbj bolts, driver and passenger spare spindles with lbj's, 2 outer CV stubs(just in case those RCV's do ever break), 2 SPC UBJ's, 2 each outer and inner tie rods, and a field weld kit.

Anyone who wheels hard should really invest in a field weld kit. I made mine for about 75 bucks. It allows me to hook up two or three batteries in series. That amperage gives you plenty of juice to be able to produce strong welds to repair damn near anything.

 

[TonyB66]

Anytime you want to make it over this way just let me know. There's more then a few amazing camping spots that you can drove to at over 10000'.

IFSoffroad is not for the faint of heart. It's a place where a lot of folks that got banned from other sites are now hanging out. The core group of guys a wheel with are all there so I spend a lot of time there now. Plus, it's just fun to not pull any punches because you're worried about moderators.

For fluids I carry 2 gallons gear oil, brake fluid, oil, and power steering fluid. I always have 5 gallons of tap water with me. If I ever have a rad blowout I'll just use that. The whole system would get flushed when I get it back in the garage so I don't bother with distilled.

Parts that are always on my rig. Starter rebuild kit, alt rebuild kit, 8 grade 10.9 lbj bolts, driver and passenger spare spindles with lbj's, 2 outer CV stubs(just in case those RCV's do ever break), 2 SPC UBJ's, 2 each outer and inner tie rods, and a field weld kit.

Anyone who wheels hard should really invest in a field weld kit. I made mine for about 75 bucks. It allows me to hook up two or three batteries in series. That amperage gives you plenty of juice to be able to produce strong welds to repair damn near anything.

Thanks Matt! Would be nice to formally meet you someday and check-out the beautiful scenery...

I read the thread over there on ADD deletion, and it was quite tame and informative. A couple other threads, I see what you mean about thick skin. I found it quite funny and liberating, IMO, so I'll try to check it out periodically.

Appreciate you sharing the parts and fluids you carry. Very helpful. I can see how a field welding kit would be really nice to have too. Would be neat to see how or where you keep all of this stuff. I read somewhere, I think that other forum, that you are using a rifle case or two on the rack. I hear ya on the tap water as you'd be flushing it once back to civilization. We actually have distilled on tap here, as odd as that might sound. You know, piss in the radiator will do the trick too. Several guys, plenty of beer...

 

[theesotericone]

Thanks Matt! Would be nice to formally meet you someday and check-out the beautiful scenery...

I read the thread over there on ADD deletion, and it was quite tame and informative. A couple other threads, I see what you mean about thick skin. I found it quite funny and liberating, IMO, so I'll try to check it out periodically.

Appreciate you sharing the parts and fluids you carry. Very helpful. I can see how a field welding kit would be really nice to have too. Would be neat to see how or where you keep all of this stuff. I read somewhere, I think that other forum, that you are using a rifle case or two on the rack. I hear ya on the tap water as you'd be flushing it once back to civilization. We actually have distilled on tap here, as odd as that might sound. You know, piss in the radiator will do the trick too. Several guys, plenty of beer...

The field weld kit stuffs nicely into a 18" Stanley toolbox. I also carry the spare tie rod ends in there. I have two 42" Plano All Weather cases that I keep tools in. Those fit perfectly in my Rola rack and I secure them with two ratchet straps. I thought about mounting them solid to the rack but I like having the option to easily remove them and it only takes a few seconds to remove the ratchet straps when I need them.

 

[theesotericone]

Got a chance to throw the alignment cam eliminator kit on today. That should take care of needing an alignment every time I wheel. Also found a LBJ that's gotta get replaced soon. I'll deal with that next week. Maybe. lol

These are grade 8 3/4" bolts and nuts. Beef. The cam plates are 1/4" thick. These give you three positions. Neutral, inboard and outboard. I set the fronts in board and the rears outboard. I also dialed my SPC's back from F to E to help a bit with caster. I also maxed the arms out for positive camber. They eyeball camber looks like it's positive by at least a degree. I'll get it in for an alignment later this week and post the result.

 

[JZiggy]

Cool mod, I'd never even heard of this type of product before. But it makes a lot of sense.

Naturally, being in CA, you throw that raw steel part on your chassis without any paint at all

 

[octanejunkie]

Hey Matt, I saw those on "somebody's" website and was waiting for someone to pull trigger on them.
Would love to hear your thoughts on those versus the standard cam plates/adjusters.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[theesotericone]

Hey Matt, I saw those on "somebody's" website and was waiting for someone to pull trigger on them.
Would love to hear your thoughts on those versus the standard cam plates/adjusters.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Hey Mike,

Sorry for the late reply. Unless I'm quoted or tagged I hardly ever check this thread. lol

I was able to get my alignment spot on with the SPC arms. The only thing that can be adjusted is camber and I went a little more negative then most would. The reason is to save the outer lugs on my tires. They are much more important then the inner lugs when wheeling in big rocks.

My SPC's are set to E. The front cam plates are set inboard and the rears outboard.

Camber L -.65
Camber R -.72

Castor L 2.10
Castor R 2.27

It drives like a new truck now that I don't have to set my alignment in a parking lot every time I wheel. I've been out a few times and they haven't moved. All in all I'm very happy I went this route.

I've got a Rubicon run coming up on the 26th. If they make it through that I'll give them my official thumbs up. I don't see why they wouldn't though.

 

[wrench.n.wheel]

[MENTION=143526]theesotericone[/MENTION]

What do you think of upgrading the steering rack? From what I see pretty much everything else on your front end is bulletproof(the 7.5" diff seems to be okay with the RCVs).

How often are you changing inner and outer tie rods? The only reason I ask is my OEM steering rack has 10k miles on it now and my inners are toast...

 

[theesotericone]

[MENTION=143526]theesotericone[/MENTION]

What do you think of upgrading the steering rack? From what I see pretty much everything else on your front end is bulletproof(the 7.5" diff seems to be okay with the RCVs).

How often are you changing inner and outer tie rods? The only reason I ask is my OEM steering rack has 10k miles on it now and my inners are toast...

There's been a lot of talk about doing something with the rack over on independentoffroading. If they figure something out I might switch up.

My current rack is fine. The rack itself is never the issue. It's the d-ring mount and bushings that give way before the rack does. Those have been bent back in shape and/or replaced more times then I remember. It's a cheap part and an easy fix.

As far as tie rods goes. I replace my LBJ's, inners and outers every 6 months. Sooner if I banana an inner. I've only had one outer go so far but have killed about 5 inners. I don't mean slightly loose. I mean visibly bent. lol

 

[wrench.n.wheel]

There's been a lot of talk about doing something with the rack over on independentoffroading. If they figure something out I might switch up.

My current rack is fine. The rack itself is never the issue. It's the d-ring mount and bushings that give way before the rack does. Those have been bent back in shape and/or replaced more times then I remember. It's a cheap part and an easy fix.

As far as tie rods goes. I replace my LBJ's, inners and outers every 6 months. Sooner if I banana an inner. I've only had one outer go so far but have killed about 5 inners. I don't mean slightly loose. I mean visibly bent. lol

DAAAAAAUM, every 6 months is quite a lot. Granted you probably wheel harder than any of here.

if we could get beefier inners that would be great.

 

[wrench.n.wheel]

There's been a lot of talk about doing something with the rack over on independentoffroading. If they figure something out I might switch up.

My current rack is fine. The rack itself is never the issue. It's the d-ring mount and bushings that give way before the rack does. Those have been bent back in shape and/or replaced more times then I remember. It's a cheap part and an easy fix.

As far as tie rods goes. I replace my LBJ's, inners and outers every 6 months. Sooner if I banana an inner. I've only had one outer go so far but have killed about 5 inners. I don't mean slightly loose. I mean visibly bent. lol

I had another question, since it seems my inners are wrecked.

Where and what brand do you purchase your inners/outers/lbjs? OEM only?

 

[theesotericone]

I had another question, since it seems my inners are wrecked.

Where and what brand do you purchase your inners/outers/lbjs? OEM only?

I use Proforged for all those. If you wheel hard and often you'll shred all of them quickly. I've destroyed OEM LBJ's and inners in a 3 months. I've destroyed Proforged in that same 3 months. Since I replace them often the extra expense of OEM is simply not worth if for me.

 

[Family_Wagon]

Clean rig man, I’m shopping for a 3rd runner and trying to figure out a build direction that I think gets me pretty close what you’ve built. Hoping to start with something that I can get in and drive wherever I need to go and end up with something I can load the family into drive a couple states away wheel a fairly technical trail for a few days then drive home, do some family over landing trips and of course get me to anywhere I “need” to go during hunting season.

Thank you and I apologize in advance for what I’m sure will be a lot of questions as I go.

 

[TonyB66]

Clean rig man, I’m shopping for a 3rd runner and trying to figure out a build direction that I think gets me pretty close what you’ve built. Hoping to start with something that I can get in and drive wherever I need to go and end up with something I can load the family into drive a couple states away wheel a fairly technical trail for a few days then drive home, do some family over landing trips and of course get me to anywhere I “need” to go during hunting season.

Thank you and I apologize in advance for what I’m sure will be a lot of questions as I go.

As a heads-up, unless things have changed, "theesotericone" doesn't frequent the forum all that much. I believe he has been more active on Instagram, FB, or something else I don't recall.

Welcome to the forum and best to you in your quest to land a 3rd gen!

 

[Family_Wagon]

As a heads-up, unless things have changed, "theesotericone" doesn't frequent the forum all that much. I believe he has been more active on Instagram, FB, or something else I don't recall.

Welcome to the forum and best to you in your quest to land a 3rd gen!

Thanks for the heads up man, and thanks for the welcome

 

[theesotericone]

Clean rig man, I’m shopping for a 3rd runner and trying to figure out a build direction that I think gets me pretty close what you’ve built. Hoping to start with something that I can get in and drive wherever I need to go and end up with something I can load the family into drive a couple states away wheel a fairly technical trail for a few days then drive home, do some family over landing trips and of course get me to anywhere I “need” to go during hunting season.

Thank you and I apologize in advance for what I’m sure will be a lot of questions as I go.

Thanks for the kind words. Ask anything you want. I don't frequent the site as much as I used to but I do check it once a week or so.

As a heads-up, unless things have changed, "theesotericone" doesn't frequent the forum all that much. I believe he has been more active on Instagram, FB, or something else I don't recall.

Welcome to the forum and best to you in your quest to land a 3rd gen!

I have never, and will never, do social media. Not FB, not Twatter, not IG. I do spend a lot of time on TacomaWorld though. Mostly in the Stocks thread. You still playing QQQQ? I dip in and out of TQQQ for swings. 3X leveraged is always good if your right. Not so much if your wrong. lol


Hope things are well with everyone else on the site and Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[TonyB66]

Thanks for the kind words. Ask anything you want. I don't frequent the site as much as I used to but I do check it once a week or so.

I have never, and will never, do social media. Not FB, not Twatter, not IG. I do spend a lot of time on TacomaWorld though. Mostly in the Stocks thread. You still playing QQQQ? I dip in and out of TQQQ for swings. 3X leveraged is always good if your right. Not so much if your wrong. lol

Hope things are well with everyone else on the site and Happy Thanksgiving.

Hot damn, Happy Thanksgiving!

I suppose I was thinking of someone else here. I don't even have a FB account, so I'm with you there. I created a bogus FB account I had used for my corporate investigations... I do have a Twitter account, to get instant updates on important topics/news to me.

Since I took the early retirement option in Jan, I've been investing a lot more; and it has been good to me. Mostly AAPL, but also QQQ and SPY as well. But I got into something else that I had been wanting to for years, and finally made the time to educate myself. And with that, I'll be engraving and/or stamping steel plates over the next few days. I imagine you know what I ventured into... I took positions in May through July, including a portion of my Roth IRA account, and I'm quite excited about the prospects.

Those leveraged ETFs can be quite good, over the short-term. They are not for long durations of time. I remember you playing NVDA quite a bit. I really hope all is going well for you, finances, everything...

Actually, thought of you recently as I was checking-out homes not from the 395, but not down in your area though.

 

[Family_Wagon]

Thanks for the kind words. Ask anything you want. I don't frequent the site as much as I used to but I do check it once a week or so.





I have never, and will never, do social media. Not FB, not Twatter, not IG. I do spend a lot of time on TacomaWorld though. Mostly in the Stocks thread. You still playing QQQQ? I dip in and out of TQQQ for swings. 3X leveraged is always good if your right. Not so much if your wrong. lol


Hope things are well with everyone else on the site and Happy Thanksgiving.

Much appreciated man