The Rooster
December 2019
THE ROOSTER A monthly update from the Inland Empire Offroad Association
What’s New The sand season is underway! Members begin heading to Glamis today for the big Thanksgiving trip.
Thanksgiving Dinner We will once again be having our traditional pot luck dinner for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 28 in camp at Wash 6.
Real Retirement An increasing number of members are looking at retiring from the sport of duning. While we understand the high cost and effort required for this sport, we miss our friends who decide to call it quits. Hopefully they will still come visit us in the future.
It Is Thanksgiving Time While many of us are fortunate enough to start the dune season a little earlier, Thanksgiving is the first major trip of the year. We are all excitedly looking forward to it, and some lucky (and retired) members will be arriving at the dunes as early as today, November 20th to make it a 10 plus day outing. There should be lots to see with new toys and improvements made over the off season. Jeremy Hagen has to be itching to get out there an enjoy his new sandrail that he bought last season, and many of us have made some improvements to our toys since we last visited Glamis. We will also be having the traditional Thanksgiving pot luck dinner in camp on Thursday, and so far we know we will have Ham, Turkey, sides, and desserts with a bunch of great friends. We hope to see you there for dinner, but if you have other obligations for Turkey day we hope you can make it out soon after. (Your family will understand if you leave the dune rig idling in the street while you eat‌)
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December 2019
Rick Alonso and Steve Sturm Call it Quits
Upcoming Events • November 20-December 2: Thanksgiving at Glamis, Wash 6. We’ll have our pot luck Thanksgiving dinner on 11/28.
by Jim Kastle It has come to my attention that Rick and Steve are selling their sand rails and getting out of the hobby. They’ll both be missed greatly.
• December 26 (or earlier) January 2nd: Christmas / New Years at Glamis, Wash 6
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When I contacted Steve regarding this year’s fall Dumont trip he told me he was going to get out of the hobby, and concentrate more on forms of recreation he can enjoy with his wife. They plan to travel, both in the motor home and internationally. I will miss following Steve and working hard to try to keep up. His sand rail is up for sale and has just been completely gone through, including a newly rebuilt turbo Subaru. I recently got an email from Rick saying after 5 decades of off roading; it was time to give it up. He said he has only found time for one trip each of the last several seasons, and finds it hard to justify keeping the sand rail for one trip a year. Rick and Melanie have always been so positive, and his cars have always been very clean. Rick replaced the three seat mid engine VW car a few years ago with a mid travel rear engine car that he installed an eco-tech engine in. The package has only a few trips on it. I really hate to lose members, especially ones like the Alonsos and the Sturms. It reminds me to value everyone that makes the effort to join us, as we never know whether it will be the last time we ride together. At least in these cases the blow is softened by knowing they are going to be able to devote more time to other pleasures. Both have promised to keep in touch.
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December 2019
Jim’s Early Trip to Glamis After Steve decided to leave the hobby, he had a garage sale to get rid of the excess buggy parts we all seem to collect. He sold a lot of stuff, but still had some leftovers. He didn’t want to throw them away, so he offered to donate the leftovers to the yellow trailer. He was going to the Phoenix NASCAR race on Veterans Day Sunday, and was taking his sand rail (on the open trailer) to hopefully get some interest. On the way home he was going to detour though Glamis in order to give his friends, who arranged for the Phoenix race tickets, a brief introduction to Glamis. He called me and asked who would be at Glamis and figured he could meet with them and deliver the items. I wasn’t planning to go as we weren’t planning to leave Vegas after the SEMA Show until Saturday. I knew Mike and Pat, and Ray and Janice had late changes of plans, and wouldn’t be going, so I called Dave Huggard, who I thought was going. He said he had changed his mind. I gave it some thought and decided to take a car to meet Steve in Blythe. I called him and he said that would work. I thought more about it and since I had planned to come back home during the Thanksgiving to pick up the buggy, I could just take the buggy with me to Glamis and put it in storage early, and not have to interrupt the Thanksgiving trip with a quick round trip home. I let Steve know my plans, and he agreed. I decided that since I would arrive on Sunday night, there was no reason to go all the way to Wash 6. I left home after the Phoenix race ended, around 4:00 P.M. and had a great drive to Glamis I got to the wash road around 7:00 P.M., thanks to gaining an hour due to the time change, and set up camp just beyond the dumpsters. The white trailer was quite livable as I had recently taken it to Dumont. Monday morning I went to Glamis Dunes Storage to arrange for a space for my buggy box, and to prepare the yellow trailer for the season. For the last several years a series of employee-managers have run GDS, and it must be hard to find good help, as there have always been minor problems, especially with bookkeeping. I was not surprised to find a new manager, but was elated when I found “Mike Junior”, the son of the owner (who is now out of jail), and his wife Nikki were managing the business. My first impressions are very positive. The one problem with my early trip was the cost of storing the trailer for an extra month. But I found they offer a November-April plan for just ten dollars more than four months would cost. In addition, that means I don’t have to impose on them to store the trailer after Easter as I often do. I can pick up the trailer anytime in April at no extra cost. The yellow trailer was just as I left it, except for A LOT of extra dust, the big generator wouldn’t start, and as is par for the course, the tongue jack isn’t working. Steve arrived about noon, and he introduced me to his friends, and as is becoming all too common, I can’t remember their names. Steve took the husband, and I the wife, and we took a calm ride to Osborne, then Olds, then back to camp. Tatyana had prepared a great lunch which was enjoyed by all. Steve then took Tatyana for a ride. We then packed up, I stored both trailers, and we headed for home. 3
The Rooster
December 2019
SEMA 2019 I was once again fortunate enough to attend the 2019 SEMA show in Las Vegas, and was once again blown away by the size of the event and the number and quality of vehicles on display. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the Specialty Equipment Aftermarket Association (SEMA) show has become a huge event in the automotive world. It has booths from thousands of parts and equipment companies, and also from the large automotive manufacturers. For years I had thought of it as more of a street car event, but once again this year I was impressed that about half of the displays were geared towards off road. There were countless raised trucks and a bunch of UTVs on display in order to catch peoples attention. It is a destination for car people of all types, and I am so glad that I was ale to see it in person again. One RZR that Ray had mentioned before the show was said to be so tall that the driveshafts weren’t hooked up. I spent two days looking for it, and found it on Friday. This “Monster RZR” uses truck axles that are driven by a center mounted reduction gearbox that is driven off the front driveshaft of the stock RZR drivetrain. This means the rear outputs form the stock transmission are unused, and you can actually see right through it. While it may never propel itself anywhere beyond a car show, it was definitely the biggest of many UTVs on display at the show.
There were plenty of other more normal side by sides on display as well, including the latest from Honda and Kawasaki. Some were more extreme than others, and some might actually see use in the desert while many others likely never will. If they get attention though, they have accomplished a difficult task because in a show where there are so many absolutely perfect paint jobs, it takes something unique to get make people 4
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December 2019
notice. I can’t begin to cover in detail all of the different things that I saw, but I wanted to include some pictures here to give a feel for the size of the show and the true variety of vehicles on display. There was everything from UTVs with narrow tractor / motorcycle style tires to full size Raptor pickups giving drifting demonstration rides in the parking lot out front. Basically, if you are even remotely interested in cars or trucks, there was likely something there to get your interest and leave you talking about it. It is quite a show, as you can see‌
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December 2019
Among the many buildings and tents filled with vehicles and displays you could see some popular trends. One obvious trend for this year was “overlanders” which they define as “Purpose built backcountry and lifestyle vehicles,” but basically are 4x4s equipped for camping, most commonly with a tent on the roof. I got pictures of over 30 different vehicles with tents on the roof! I don’t know who started the trend, but it seemed like it wasn’t an off road vehicle without a tent upstairs.
Besides all the interesting vehicles, there were many neat products to see, ranging from headlight polish kits to tool boxes, all of which we checked out. One display that we particularly enjoyed was a fully functioning cutaway of an ARB air locker. It was neat to see how such a common off road item that we’ve heard about for years actually works. We got to check it out and play with it. Traxxas RC cars introduced a new model that looks like an old Blazer, and they built a similar full size version to hav in the booth as well. It made for a neat display. Over the two days that I was there we walked over 19 miles and still didn’t see it all. It is hard to convey how big the event is, and how much different stuff there is to see, but I wanted to share a few of the things I found most interesting with you here. I hope you enjoyed it, and likely we will see some of these innovations in the dunes very soon, even if we’re not all camping in rooftop tents. -P.J. 6
The Rooster
December 2019
Jim Thinks Honda Generators Aren’t What They Used to Be! Many of you know I have been a big fan of Honda generators for a long time. I’ve owned several different ones, starting about 1990. My favorites have been eu2000s, of which I had two for a number of years, and often run them 24 hours a day to satisfy my TV addiction. I bought my first one used over 20 years ago, and my second brand new a few years later. I simply wore out the second one, and replaced the engine. Just before our big trip in 2017, I bought a brand new eu2200 as one of the 2000s wouldn’t start. I never could get it to run, and in January of 2019, the second one refused to start. I have no complaints with either of the 2000s, as I honestly believe each one had over 3000 hours of hard use. I bought a second eu2200, expecting another 20 years of trouble-free service. In May of 2019, Honda announced a recall of the eu2200s, due to a leaking fuel valve. There was a range of serial numbers involved, and sure enough, my first one was one of the first ones on the list, and my second one was near the end of the list. They said to stop using them until they had been recalled. I figured, “No problem, it’s a Honda, they’ll take care of the problem.” I immediately called my local dealer and was told Honda had not delivered any of the recall kits. I assumed this one dealer was the exception. NO! I called five different dealers and all said the same thing, and the shortest estimate was about a month wait. Other dealers wouldn’t offer a guess. I called the Honda recall hotline and was told there was nothing they could do! I was shocked and wrote a very positive letter to Honda citing my fondness for Honda generators, and asking what to do. I have yet to receive a reply! I did receive a survey asking my opinion of the help I received on the phone. My survey was not at all positive. In late June, I contacted Parker Power Sports, the old Parker Yamaha, and was told they had the kits in stock. I made an appointment for a week later, and it took less than an hour for them to do the recall for both, at no charge. I was impressed with Parker Power Sports. Fast forward to the Salton City trip. The newer of the 2200s wouldn’t start. I figured, no problem, its 10 months old and has a three year warranty. I took it to Parker Power Sports, and explained the situation, and was told they had a tech out sick, and were running two weeks out. I was in no hurry so I left the generator with them. I signed the work order with what I thought was a $15.00 estimate. Two weeks later I got a call that the generator was ready to pick up. I asked what they found, and said the carburetor was gummed up, and the intake valve stuck. I thought that was odd for a generator with less than 200 hours, which had received regular oil changes, but at least it was under warranty. The next day I picked it up and was presented with a bill for $397.25. I explained that it was under warranty and there should be no charge. I was told that the problems were caused by bad gas, and were not under warranty! I was 7
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December 2019
honestly shocked. The other generator has run on the same gas, for a longer time, with no problems. I was uncharacteristically calm as I argued that it SHOULD be covered under warranty. I then asked why I didn’t receive a call. They said a mistake had been made, probably to their being shorthanded. I VERY reluctantly paid the bill, even though for just a few dollars more I could buy a new Harbor Freight generator, but made it clear I was very disappointed with Parker Power Sports and would never be back and will tell everyone I could about the problem. I DID tell the service manager that I understood he was doing what he had to do, and I had no problem with him personally, but I really should have received a phone call, and shook his hand. I went to lunch and fumed for nearly an hour. I decided I had to do something, and looked up what county I was in, and found the appropriate small claims court was only minutes away. I went to the court and got the necessary paperwork to file a claim. Reading over the paperwork made it clear it would not be a quick process. I decided to go home and talk to Nancy and P.J. about what to do. About 10 minutes after leaving Parker, I got a voice mail. It was the service manager saying he didn’t like the day’s events, and had given it lots of thought, and said he would refund $250.00, and only charge the original estimate of $150.00. I wasn’t about to quibble over my interpretation of the original estimate and quickly agreed, and said I’d like to go back and shake his hand. I did so and in the end, I was charged $144 due to some discount, and my feelings about Parker Power Sports are back to very positive. I AM very disappointed in Honda, and figure that based on the way they mishandled the recall, they would not offer any help. At home I read the original paperwork, and can see the estimate might have been $150. It is interesting that about the time I bought the first 2200, Scott Cole bought a comparable 2000 watt generator from Harbor Freight. He paid for the extended warranty, and after a year went to Harbor Freight to further extend the warranty and was told to bring in the generator, and they would replace it! I find it amazing the difference in the way Honda and Harbor Freight dealt with the two of us. I paid twice as much, expecting outstanding customer service, and was treated this badly, and Scott received Neiman Marcus quality service. Who would have believed that!
This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle for writing three articles and encourage everyone else to submit content as well. We enjoy having content to share, so if you have pictures, text, comments, jokes, or anything that you want to share, please send it to me at pkastle@msn.com. We will publish what content we have and a calendar of upcoming events in every month’s newsletter. -Paul, Melissa, Allie, and Marshall. 8