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| Explore Your World! | Short Cuts | ||||
This year the 4Runner Jamboree took place in the Stoddard Valley OHVA. Jon and Tracy Bundrant of All Pro Off Road organized the event. Some participants arrived at camp Friday night, while most opted to take advantage of the hotels located nearby in Barstow.
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| Driver's meeting |
Saturday morning participants rolled into camp and quickly pitched their tents so they wouldn't have to after four wheeling all day. After waiting for the stragglers to arrive, Jon started the drivers meeting to let everyone know who the trail-staff was, what trails we would be running, and what they could expect from the trails. All of the toughest sections of trail offered bypasses, so that even the stock vehicles would get through with proper spotting.
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| Long line of 4Runners |
Once the meeting was over the vehicles roared to life, and began to line up on the road. Seeing all those 4Runners lined up was a sight to see! The 4Runners ranged from bone-stock showroom models, to highly modified rock eating monsters. Participants came from all over the west coast. While most people were from Southern California, many came from Arizona, Northern California, and even one vehicle drove down from Washington.
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| Ruxton's 1st gen 4Runner |
The trail chosen for Saturday was the Achy Breaky trail. The morning started with a small loop that had an optional rock section to climb for those that came to be challenged. Those that were locked front and rear made this section look like a drive down to the corner store. Watching the vehicles with limited slips, or open differentials was much more interesting. Except for the occasional dent in the drivers side for those that were going through it a little too fast, everyone made it through without damage.
At one point in time one driver thought they had a broken hub, but when they went to replace it, found that they hadn't replaced the c-clip, and the axle had just slipped out of the hub. The only significant breakage during the event was Steve Sasaki's J-shaped steering arm. He had a spare with him, so it was quickly replaced and he was rolling again.
The next obstacle was a tall hill climb covered in loose rock. At least one locker was required to climb this hill. Most vehicles made it through this section without incident. Next were a canyon and hills that offered some larger rocks to climb, and a very off camber turn followed by a steep decent.
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| Phil driving 'ROCKRNR' |
Phil Johnson was at this event, his first run with the Marlin Ultimate transfer cases behind an automatic transmission (CLICK HERE for details on Phil's Automatic Crawler). I was behind Phil on several of the steep descents. It was fantastic to see his automatic 4Runner descending steep hills without having to ride the brakes. The gearing from his two transfer cases is so low he can use compression braking from the engine to keep him moving slow.
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| Our trail leader Jon Bundrant |
In the afternoon, Jon led us through Costly Canyon. Costly Canyon is a trail leading up the bottom of a small canyon. There are rock outcroppings on either side of the trail, and several ledges to climb up. This was the hardest section of trail for Saturday, and even this was not enough to satisfy many of the rock-hounds in attendance. Damage in this canyon was minimal, but I did see one well-crushed rocker panel.
After Costly Canyon we returned to camp and got ready for the steak dinner, included with our registration fee this year. Dave Ryngiewicz did a great job working the grill, not a stomach went hungry.
After everyone had recovered from dinner the raffle began. The 4Runner Jamboree always has great raffle... there's never any doubt if what you're going to win will even fit your truck! Lots of good products were given out: Lift kits, shock hoops, off-road lights, two GPSs, a Powertank, just to name a few.
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| The night run! |
For those that were still eager to tackle some more trail a night run fell together. Drew led the way for us, his GPS was invaluable. Five vehicles went back to Costly Canyon, and three ran the trail. Drew Persson led the way, followed by Steve Sasaki, and I brought up the rear. The canyon was much more interesting in the dark. We all had a fantastic time running it at night.
At one point Drew was moving so fast up the canyon he left Steve and I in the dust. It was then that the rocks reached out and bit him. His front tire slipped off the line that he wanted, which left his front suspension high-centered, each front wheel hanging above the ground. This gave us time to catch up, and snap pictures! After a little work with a Hi-Lift jack, Drew was back in motion.
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