The Rooster
January 2017
THE ROOSTER A monthly update from the Inland Empire Offroad Association
What’s New We had a good sized camp at Thanksgiving despite some of the usual members not being able to make it out. We look forward to seeing everyone at New Years.
Thanksgiving at Glamis November 17-28, 2016 By Jim Kastle I arrived at Wash 6 around 2:00 PM on Thursday the 17th and was surprised to see Steve Sturm's, Steve Porter's, Bob Amador's, and Kevin Fegan's rigs. It turns out they had arrived Wednesday planning to camp on Gecko Road. Even on the Wednesday 8 days
New Years Events With New Year’s Eve falling on a Saturday, it will be the perfect time to do our pot luck spaghetti dinner again. Plan on getting together for a nice meal. Then on Sunday morning join a “rose parade” of vehicles in camp.
New Toys Over the Thanksgiving trip Kris Schellinger did a little black Friday shopping and picked up Jeff Oliver’s RZR 1000. This means the Schellingers are now a two RZR (plus one buggy) family, and Jeff is looking for something new.
before Thanksgiving there was no room. They were on a ride. I parked and leveled the fifth wheel and got the yellow trailer from storage. I spent a lot of time setting up the yellow trailer after 6 months of storage. I was wondering where the others were, and imagined they were on a great buggy ride. When they returned, Kevin was riding in Bob's car. Kevin's trans broke with the car in a very silty small bowl. Despite a lot of effort, they couldn't get it out, and had contacted the towing company with the snow cat. Steve
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January 2017 Sturm took Kevin to the flats and led the snow cat to the buggy, which was about a quarter mile south of Osborne. Kevin says the snow cat was amazing, and seemingly effortlessly towed the car from the steep bowl. The total time was just over an hour, but they charge for full hours, charging for two hours. Kevin had a great attitude about it, and was really impressed with the snow cat. Bob left to go to work for a few days. Walt, then Jerry and Linda arrived. Frank and Denise, their daughter and her husband arrived. We had a campfire and went to bed. It got really cold overnight.
Upcoming Events • December 23 (or so) - January 3rd, 2017: Christmas / New Years at Glamis, Wash 6 • January 13-16, 2017: MLK Dune clean up weekend at Glamis, Wash 6. • February 10-20, 2017: Presidents week at Glamis, Wash 6.
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Friday the buggies went on a ride, while the RZRs stayed in camp. I don't have any details of the ride. Kevin took his quad, but opted not to follow the buggies. I made a trip to Yuma for fuel and a stocking cap, as I didn't have one in the fifth wheel. Of course Texas Roadhouse was irresistible. Back in camp we had another campfire, and Ray and Janice arrived. Saturday morning Frank and Kevin did a great job of using Frank's Ford Raptor to tow the broken buggy into the trailer. It was the easiest job of loading a broken car into an enclosed trailer I've ever seen. They had it well-planned in advance. The Steves went for a buggy ride, and Ray, Janice, Jerry and I went for my first ride of the trip. We went to hill 3 and the bowls near Osborne. Back in camp I watched the NASCAR Xfinity final race, and Mike Bacon and girlfriend Debby arrived. So did Darrell Harju, all the way from El Paso. We sat around visiting, then I watched the rest of the race, and we had a campfire. Most of us retired by 9:00 PM. Sunday Mike led the RZR's on a good ride to hill 3 and then towards Osborne. Walt, Janice, Jerry, Ray, and I followed him. Debby seemed to enjoy the ride, and fits in very well with the group. Today was the final Sprint Cup race. I watched parts of it between naps. During one of my naps, Dave McGann, a member from 10-15 years ago stopped by camp and spoke with Walt. He was surprised IEOR still existed. He was camped in wash 6 with Ron and Shirley Mammath, also former members. I was awake for the last 100 or so laps of the race and saw history made as Jimmie Johnson joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhart Senior as NASCAR's only 7 time champions. The day ended with another campfire. Monday morning we awoke to rain. It didn't rain very long, but it was pretty heavy for a while. After things dried out Mike led Janice, Ray, Walt, one of Ray and Janice's friends, and me on another ride among the numbered hills. At one point we were
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January 2017
on a break and saw Dave McGann following a group of buggies. We opted not to try and catch them. Later Monday I stopped by Dave's camp and visited with him for well over an hour. He was very interested in the changes in IEOR. He plans to camp with us in the future. Kris and Doug arrived. We again had a campfire. I got a call from Barry's neighbor, Shawn, who camped with us last year. Walt and I led him and his new motor home pulling an enclosed, truck with a trailer, and a passenger car with his daughter and her boyfriend. By now the sand around camp was getting pretty soft, but we got them to camp with no one getting stuck. The process involved making a wide U-turn alongside camp. Ray said Shawn was going fast enough to get the MOHO on two wheels, but he didn't get stuck. I think Ray may have exaggerated a bit, but we WERE going pretty fast. Tuesday I spent the day driving home to get the Nancy and the buggy. I took advantage of the home time and showered with unlimited hot water. I REALLY enjoyed that! We made it back to camp just in time to see Mike and Janice finish swapping my dirt tires onto the RZR in preparation for tomorrow's RZR ride to the mines by Ogiliby. Thanks! Jeff and Lavonne Oliver arrived while I was gone. They have a beautiful new motor home that is the nicest many of us have ever seen! It couldn't belong to two nicer people. Ray and Janice reported they went on a lengthy RZR ride, with I'm not sure who else, that included repeated visits to hill 3 and the flagpole, Janice said she used a full tank of fuel for the first time ever. We had another campfire. Back in the fifth wheel, I got a call from PJ reporting he just sold their old Weekend Warrior. It served them well, enough so that Allie said she didn't want them to sell it because they had so much fun in it, but they all are excited about using the new one tomorrow, and relieved to not have an extra trailer to register and insure. Wednesday we left on the RZR ride with Mike and Debbie leading Kris and Doug, Jerry and Linda, Janice and Ray, LuAnn, Walt, and me with Darrell as passenger, promptly at 9:00 and headed south to Ogilby road. We explored the area southeast of the intersection of the railroad tracks and Ogiliby Road. This area has lots of remains of former, and some current, mining activity. Mike does a great job of leading us to various points of interest. He has an amazing ability to remember how to get to a variety of sites he hasn't been to for at least two years, and that makes for a great ride. I love using the RZR on trail rides, much preferring them to dune rides where I'm LOTS more comfortable in the sandrail. We got back to camp around 1:30. P.J. and Melissa, along with Allie and Marshall arrived with the new trailer well before dark. They are all very excited about the trailer. It's 38 feet overall yet P.J. reports it tows great with the third axle and 16 inch tires. They love the extra room, and find it much earlier to use, with places to store things that they used to have to load and unload every trip. Jason and Crystal arrived with their fifth wheel towing a flatbed trailer with the RZR. I found later Crystal, not Jason, got the license that California requires to tow the doubles. I am old-fashioned enough I think that's unusual, and contemporary enough to think it's really neat! Jerry and Linda's son Dave 3
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and daughter-in-law, Roni, arrived. Many of us met them on one of our summer Havasu outings a few years ago, and remember him as a detail nut as evidenced by the two spotless boats he keeps at Jerry and Linda's. The campfire was topped off by Ray and Janice's apple-cherry Dutch oven cobbler. Thanksgiving began with my first Glamis buggy ride of the season, accompanied by P.J. and Dale and Rebecca. We had a good ride and heard the RZR's on the radio, and met up with them south of hill 4. Here I saw Steve and Kim, whose arrival in camp was missed by me. As we pulled up to the group, I buried the sandrail, the failed rescue attempt of which was well documented and posted on the Internet by Janice. I was more stuck than either P.J. or I thought. The successful rescue was not documented, but was greatly appreciated! Back in camp we had our traditional Thanksgiving feast. Doug emptied and cleaned their trailer to provide the place to set up the food. About 35 of us enjoyed a great variety of side dishes to accompany turkey provided by Bob Amador, who expertly cooked his in a sand pit; Mike, Kris, and Doug, who bought theirs from a BBQ expert on the flats; and Shirley Ford, who
despite not being able to make the trip due to her recovery from back surgery, sent hers with Jerry and Linda. We all missed Don and Shirley this trip. Speaking of those who were missed, the Hagens who spent the holiday with Pete's parents; the Coles because John was on call to keep the world going up and down; and Sharon Porter, who is still recovering; were all missed. We had an early campfire. Shortly after the campfire broke up. Barry and Terry arrived, having been led in by Ray and Janice, whom he called, getting Ray out of bed! Ray and Janice continue to surprise me with their selflessness. Friday morning P.J. and I began the day by going to the flats where Rugged Radios was set up and were honoring Rugged's Black Friday Internet deals. John and P.J. Stop by the Rugged booth at every swap
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meet and sand show, and regularly deal with one particular salesman, Randy. Fortunately for me, he recognized P.J. and at one point asked P.J. where his dad was. It was clear he sees P.J. with John more than he sees P.J. with me. This makes me thankful P.J. has a father-in-law he is so close to. We had a good laugh as P.J. explained I am his dad, and John is his father-in-law. In any case, John has developed a great relationship with Randy, and I benefitted from it as he gave me a killer deal on a new mobile radio set up for my RZR. Back in camp there were again separate buggy and RZR rides. Dave and Roni arranged in advance to rent a RZR 1000, as they are going to buy a side-by-side in the very near future. We heard each other on the radios, but never met in the dunes. Later there were two more rides. Jerry reported that Dave and Roni enjoyed the RZR and will have one by New Years. The day ended with another campfire. Saturday began with a well attended omelet boil. It seemed everyone in camp participated and contributed a great variety of ingredients. It is a great way to bring everyone together. I especially enjoyed my omelet, one of the best freezer bag omelets I've had. The separate RZR and buggy rides could hear each other on the radios, and arranged to rendezvous at the flagpole. There were nine RZR's and four buggies. Things have certainly changed! We separated and the buggies duned in the former closed area between the flag pole and Gecko Road. We ended up at Hill 4. I'm not sure where the RZR's went. Thinking of duning in this area reminds me that during the week, both the RZR's and buggies separately found a new landmark in the dunes about a mile west of the flagpole, a very solidly constructed swing set. Janice found information on the Internet. It was built as a monument to a recently deceased employee of a local off road related business. The groups visited it at least 3 different times during the trip and it was always busy, with lines of people waiting their turn. Jerry and Dave, led by Steve, went on an afternoon RZR ride. Crossing a ridge, the rented RZR rolled. Roni was amazed at the number of people who came seemingly from out of nowhere to help after the roll. No one was hurt, and the RZR suffered only minor damage. We had a campfire that helped fight off some new colder, windy weather, but only for a short 5
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January 2017
time. We retired before 9:00 PM, but only after we used Darrell's burn tub to cover the fire to stop the windblown embers from doing damage. Sunday we again had two rides. The buggy ride consisted of P.J., Dale, Barry, and me. We duned to Olds, then climbed it pretty quickly, and headed towards Comp. Barry called on the radio that he needed to stop as there was an ugly noise coming from the back of the car. He immediately thought that the fast run up Olds may have been too much. It turned out a caliper bolt had come loose, allowing the caliper to hit the wheel. While we were stopped Dale said his trans was making a noise. We decided to return to camp. We all made it with no further problems, except for Dale figuring out second gear was making noise, requiring a major repair on the fairly recently rebuilt trans. The RZR ride was apparently uneventful, with Dave and Roni getting fully sold on the joys of RZR's. They hope to join us New Years with their new turbo 1000. Most had to leave, but Barry and Terry, Jerry and Linda, Darrel, Walt, Ray and Janice, and Nancy and I stayed Sunday night. Nancy and I went to her first Texas Roadhouse dinner of the trip. We got back in time to enjoy the trip's last campfire. Monday morning we all packed up and were on the road for home. In just over three weeks our Christmas/ New Years trip will start. I can't wait. Let's go dunin'!
Thanksgiving Aerial Shots I brought my hexacopter to Glamis for Thanksgiving, this time equipped with an electronic Gimbal to get nice stable video. Below are some still shots from the vide that is posted on the club website. -P.J.
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January 2017
Side by Side and Sandrail Convergence While we were on a break at Hill 3 during the Thanksgiving trip, a group of us were discussing the changes in the club and the vehicles of choice. Since there were far more side by sides in the group, we were on a buggy ride with just three cars at the time. What we were discussing though was how the newer side by side are getting more and more like full size sandrails. The new Can Am for example, has 22 inches of front wheel travel and 24 inches in the back, with a track width of 72 inches. Those are big numbers! Just as we were discussing this convergence, a very interesting vehicle pulled up to the hill. At first we thought it was a Rhino or other side by side with a custom cage, but we couldn’t see the motor. Once it parked, we walked over to check it out, and we were impressed with what we saw. It turns out the car was home built in a garage by a father and son from Phoenix. While that alone is cool, the most shocking thing about this little car is that it is powered by a 5.3 liter chevy V8! Yep, this car has the same motor as my sandrail. How they did it is really an impressive packaging job, as even crawling around the car there are very few spots where you can actually see any of the motor, as it is enclosed in aluminum just in front of the passengers. If you peek through just behind the front A-arms you can see the familiar GM alternator. In the rear it uses a solid axle driven by a short driveshaftt from a 4L60E transmission which is tucked in tightly between the seats.
As impressive as the car is, we were most impressed with the kid that built it. He is a senior in High School, and built the car at home with his Dad. While Dad was there driving another mini-car that they built which was powered by a quad motor, he stayed back while his son showed o their work. He answered questions knowledgeably and politely, showing that he clearly was involved in all aspects of 7
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building such a unique vehicle. It truly was impressive, and not just because it seemed somewhat familiar to see a father and son building their own sandcars. Pictures don’t really show how impressive this car is, largely because everything is packaged so well and mostly concealed from view. The exhaust system, for example is routed around and underneath the passenger seat. Another thing that impressed bus was their use of stock parts from wrecking yards. The steering box was a unique power assist unit from a Chevy Astro Van, which they fabricated a custom linkage to steer spindles from a S-10 pickup. Because of the tight packaging, the windshield bars must be removed to get the engine out. These bars are well designed to transfer energy throughout the cage of the vehicle. “Dad” is a Mechanical Engineer who works for Honeywell and definitely put some thought and effort into designing the frame, which is made from .120 wall DOM tubing and rectangular main frame rails. One of my favorite things about duning is the opportunity for people to creatively invent new vehicles for the dunes, and this one is a great modern example of that. It will be fun to see what other vehicles come out in the future, whether they are considered side by sides or sandrails. -P.J.
This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle for writing about the Thanksgiving trip. If you have more to share, or are planning a trip to the dunes which you’d like to invite the group to, please let the group know. There are many ways to contribute, from posting on the website to sending an e-mail or writing an article. We can’t wait to hear from you and to see everybody in the dunes. -Paul, Melissa, Allie, and Marshall.
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