Big Bear Trail ride Nov. 6th

[Bob4x4]

Greg,do you think I ought to throw in a couple extra valves for the grades? :-laf or maybe just bring a complete head,that would give me the proper number



Bob

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

I don't think that a couple,14 total, will help ya buddy... .

 

[EarlKann]

Any of you guys use a CB on the trail?? I have one in the garage that I never installed. I could rig it up for the run if others are going to use them, but I won't bother if I'd be the only one.

 

[JDerbedrossian]

Oo. Carnivalworker,I am sure glad you got that strap... ... ... ... ... you can pull my underpowered 6 cylinder up the grades



If anybody wants to caravan up from my direction we will be leaving 6:30 from my place.

you guys are making me jealous :{

 

[Tcolesanti]

I just saw this thread but I'm in as long as I finish my traction bars tomorrow.



-Tom

 

[cArNiVaLwOrKeR]

I just saw this thread but I'm in as long as I finish my traction bars tomorrow.



-Tom

Greg, go and help this guy so he could go w/us

 

[cArNiVaLwOrKeR]

Greg...

Chad's is 21 and over, however there are dozen's of locations that are family friendly that we could locate for our guest's I'll have more info later Friday evening...

Joe...





BIT N SPUR RESTAURANT

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-7242



BLUE WHALE LAKESIDE RESTAURANT TAIL OF THE WHALE

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-5771



BOO BEARS DEN RESTAURANT

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-2162



CAPTAINS ANCHORAGE RESTAURANT

PO BOX 1340, BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-3997



CARLS JUNIOR RESTAURANT

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-9672



DENNYS

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-8915



EVERGREEN INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANT

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 878-5588



INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKE

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 878-4467





RESTAURANT ORPHEUS

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-6666



MAGGIOS PIZZA

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-8815



NO NAME TAKE N BAKE PIZZA COMPANY

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-5162



RED BARON PIZZA

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-4744



RICKS PIZZA PARLOR

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-4688



VILLAGE PIZZA

BIG BEAR LAKE, CA 92315

Phone: (909) 866-8505

 

[EarlKann]

I've been to a couple of those places.



Village Pizza is ok, kinda small but not usually very busy the times I've been there.



Boo Bear's has a nice outdoor seating area, but it's kinda cold right now. They often have a wait on weekends.



Both of those are in/near the village where it can be hard to find parking sometimes, but it is nice if anyone wants to walk around the shops.



Been to IHOP once and wasn't happy with the service so I haven't been back.



Denny's is pretty easy to find, parking is ok, but not in the village. Havent been to that one in a long time so I can't say about the quality. We're meeting at Denny's for breakfast already so maybe consider some of the others.



Currently about 50 deg on the mountain, but windy. The wind makes for mostly clear skies and great views into the valley, but is very chilly, bring a jacket. The forecast I usually use is calling for only 20% chance of showers/thunder storms.



See you tomorrow,



Donald

 

[Ram4Sam]

Okay...

So, where is lunch going to be?



Sam

 

[Bob4x4]

Thanks Greg, Oo.

Nice trip,no damage to any of the Dodges. 2 Fords joined us along with Gregs Dad in his Grand Cherokee. A little short on the snow but it was a good ride and a chance to get a little sideways through the mountain trails. Another testimonial for the KORE suspension... ..... I won't be able to hold off much longer. Kent I think you'll be hearing from me soon.



Bob

 

[EarlKann]

Couple of pics from today. http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/709032/2



I enjoyed the trip and meeting you all. Hopefully I'll have my Cummins in the CrewCab for the next event.



Donald

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

Thanks for putting up the pics Donald,



We had a great time, Lots of trucks showed up and we traveled about 40 miles in 2 hours. From the desert to the mountains. No breakage, until the ride home. All the Rattlin' Rammers did great. I will be planning a ride every other month. Anyone who wants to come is invited. We were talking about doing the Old Mojave Trail. It goes from Barstow to Laughlin. All Day.



Now for the story of the ride home:



Kent Kroeker of KORE Performance fame came out to stay the night Friday. We built some custom bump stops for the race truck at the DRC fab shop. We finised the custom build up at 11:30 PM. The the testing began. 80 MPH, in the dark, through the desert that I know well. Over some of the harsest terrain, at an awsomely agressive pace. The truck is racing on November 17Th in the Baja 1000. We are starting the pre race testing to see what we can break. Well we Jumped it, Tried to bottem it out, jumped it again. Railed through 3 foot whoops at an amazing speed. All in all the bumpstops Kent and I fabbed up are perfect. On the way home we went through the roughest section of desert I know. That is when the fron diff broke. Klunk, Klunk, Klunk was the noise. Ring gear was wasted. Limped it home, parked it and went to bed. That was at 12:30 am. 6 am, we rise have a cup of really strong coffee. Off to the DRC compound to rip the truck apart for the Big Bear run. Kent was not going to miss this day, I promissed. In 56 minutes we had the truck on the lift axles out, diff removed, and put back together. Off th Yucca to meet at Dennys. The trail ride was great, lots of trucks, snow, mud, and fun for all. After the ride I took the club to my secret lunch spot, "Carnival Workers". Great lunch! For the ride home it was the KORE truck, My truck, Kents buddy, and My Partner in DRC. Well lets say me and Kroeker were racing down the hill. Only slowing for the blind curves. We were hitting speeds of 80 mph... . ! Yes 80!!!!! I was lucky enough to know the way home so he was right behind me for the 30 miles. He says he could of passed me but I seriously doubt it. The Custom KORE suspension on my truck is the best he has ever felt. He even said my truck was within 20 % of the Race Truck!!! Yes!!!!. . Who's yer Daddy? Well on the way home the front end came apart on the race truck. Stranded half way up the mountain. We took my truck to the desert and ripped it apart for parts. It is now 4:30 on Saturday so the parts club are closed. Parts are sent up the mountain, put on the truck in the dark and back to Pappy and Harriets for dinner and a well deserved beer! A great time even with the problems. Post some pics tomorrow.



Wish us luck in the Baja 1000. The KORE race team is prepping full speed, and getting ready for the race. The truck will be 100% by Friday afternoon. Keep us in your thoughts and wish Kent luck in the grulling 1000!!!!



Thanks again,

Greg

 

[1dslram]

It sure sounds like it was a great time. Iam glad I don't have 4WD, I don't need any extra excuses to break parts. Nice pictures.

Bruce

 

[JohnCooper]

Greg,



We used to make the run from the highway that goes up to Big Bear from Lucerne Valley (Hwy 18 I think) to Pioneer Town and enjoy some cold beverages and Pappy's chile along with live music. Unfortunately, things changed in life (kids) and I haven't made it back there in about 20 years. I'm glad to hear the saloon is still going. I heard that Pappy is no longer with us, Is this true? How is Harriet doing? I was hoping to make this run with you because it sounded like you were going to follow the same trail we used to run (Pioneer town through Joshua Tree). I'm sorry I missed this one, sounds like everyone had fun.



I like the idea of having some kind of a trail run every other month, eventually one may come up when I don't have three other things going on. Look forward to meeting you someday.



John Cooper

 

[Lorenz]

what broke the second time? ring and pinion again?



Ill catch you on the next run, I have plenty of excuses why i missed nov 6, but we have heard them all already right?

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

John,

Pappy is passed on. Harriet sold the Saloon a few years ago. Still the same atmosphere. We took Burns canyon out of Pie town to Cactus flats on hwy 18. Seems like you know right where we were.



SLorenzen,

we failed to know enough to leave the stub axles in to keep the hub in one piece. It failed. I ran down the hill, removed mine, sent it back with some others and they brought the stub axles to be installed. The diff failed due to excessive lash in the gears. The KORE Truck runs in 4x4 90 percent of its life. It was a good thing that we broke it so many times. Now everything will be fixed for Baja... .

Greg

 

[kentkroeker]

Gents,



I would like to take a moment to say thanks to Greg Boardman of Desert Racing Concepts, not just for putting on a great trail ride, but for all his personal attention to some serious KORE Baja 1000 R and D.



This post could be huge if I were to list everything that DRC has done to aid KORE's 2004 Baja 1000 race effort, but I'll limit it to just a few things.



How about fabricating massive bump stop actuators until well after midnight, then testing the trick Timbren rubber springs by launching the the KORE race truck into four foot deep sand whoops while pinned in 5th? Greg calls this "moshing"; I call it "schralping. " Basically there are no legitimate verbs in the dictionary that describe what we actually do with these trucks - that is, pushing the limits of what can be done. It's better simply to experience it than to describe it. We were deep in the desert at 0100, under the light of HID, doing 80 mph, trying everything within reason to break stuff on the truck. This might not sound like it makes sense, but the philosophy is simple: The Baja 1000 is 8 days away. Far better to bend, mash, and explode metal within close proximity to the DRC headquarters instead of 28 hours into the race, 700 miles south of the border...



Anyway, we were successful. We lunched the front ring and pinion - big time. Then we limped home, listening to the hideous grinding and clanking of spider gears eating ring gears resonate through the truck's . 120 wall chromemoly cocoon.



We sleep, wake up before the sun, rip the entire guts out of the font housing in 40 minutes - I'm talking the stub axles, hub assemblies, ring gear, carrier - everything. Then we wash up and head out to meet everyone for the trail ride, the KORE race truck rolling, but in a sad condition - 2wd - just like a freshly-neutered dog, or the Desert Bull's new dually...



So we drive to Big Bear - beautiful scenery, great trail, nice people. As we stop for lunch, I look around the parking lot, I see, for the first time, TDR members standing around trucks that actually have mud, dirt and grime all over them! I could see in Greg's eye that he felt proud like a father who finally sees his son punch out the neighborhood bully!



We were looking at a group of So Cal TDR members who found it more interesting to do some real off-road driving than standing around a bunch of meticulously-detailed trucks, fervently discussing the merits of the temperature, pressure and viscosity gages recently installed in their wiper fluid reservoirs...



This was the first So Cal TDR event I ever attended where people actually did something sort of gnarly and masculine. It kind of warmed my heart. I mean, dynos are cool, but I've always felt they were kind of too antiseptic. There's no risk involved, so how can there be any adventure?



Anyway, after we had an excellent lunch with the group we raged down the mountain - once again, all off-road via a different route, and in the most heinous fashion possible - with Greg in the lead, our wives screaming while we were launching our trucks four feet in the air, pinned in top gear and not letting off - not even for a second...



Then I blew out the left front hub assembly - landed from a jump with the steering wheel a little cocked. With trucks this big, you must always try to land with the wheels perfectly straight or something could bend or give. This time it was the left front hub bearing. It just blew up. This was compounded by the fact that we were trusting the press fit to hold everything in place - i. e. no stub axles, no clamping force on the bearings. What was amazing and confidence-inspiring was the fact that the wheel did not leave the chassis! The caliper held the disc, the disc held the wheel studs - a nice safety feature if you're doing a hundred near cliffs.



Now the KORE race truck is really dead - about 40 miles up in the mountains. Greg goes back to DRC, rips the hub assembly from his personal truck (Big Red) and sends it back with Mike Sedway - our Baja 500 chase truck madman. Mike custom fabricated his 2nd Gen. CTD-equipped Ram to hold 40 gallons of fuel, four spare tires, nitrogen for air tools and tires, survival gear, high-level VHF communication, guns, tools, and any part you can think of - and his truck can also do San Felipe to Gonzaga Bay in 1. 5 hours! He is the man when it comes to race chase.



There was a lot of snow, so my wife, Greg's wife, Jeff, and Patrick - also diehard desert racers - were all huddled around the fire when Mike showed up, turned on his truck's "pit" lights and set up shop. We had the race truck rolling back down the mountain in 15 minutes!



Once again, I'm skipping about a million details, but that's the short version. Greg Boardman and DRC are the best. When Greg Boardman says, "Desert Proving Grounds," he means it.



Desert Racing Concepts in Twentynine Palms is now KORE's #1 testing facility.



Best Regards,



Kent Kroeker

KORE

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

Thank You!!

 

[dsherman]

Hay Kent whats with the new name KORE.

What happen to T-Rex



David

 

[dsherman]

"(Looks good Greg,We'll try to make it. My son went up yesterday and brought a truck load of snow for the neighborhood kids so they could see a snow man on Halloween.

Hey Dave bring your truck out and show everybody it is not just your Best of show truck

Bob)"



Bob,

Best of show would be Jake!!!

Not Me!!!!!

David