Safety Clinic

-Trip Report below:

-Photos to follow in a day or two.

-October 16-18th Deer Valley Trip info email to follow in a day or two as well (I have not forgotten, just been working on some details)

Can see trip report here: http://www.cjarnesen.com/ed4/Safety_Clinic_Fall_09.html I added a GPS route of my day at the clinic to the trip report website, it should be downloadable to almost any format. Enjoy!

TRIP REPORT - CJ Arnesen

What a great clinic.

Clinic started on Friday night for me. I spent a few hours getting my Jeep packed and on the trailer, and getting things setup for an early morning departure. My buddy Jono helped me load things up. I woke up Saturday at 5am and was on the road by 545am.

Jono and I pulled into Area 5 about 7:20. and started unloading the jeep and getting ready for the day. Around 7:30 or so I took over my first job, vehicle inspections.

I had a wonderful time checking people in. My most memorable inspection was my first, it was a married couple with an old, '64 CJ5. Long story short, the jeep had been her father's, but he sold it in 2000. He passed away this march, and she tracked down the jeep and bought it back, as a lot of her chilhood memories involved the jeep. This safety clinic was its mainden voyage offroad. I heard it had some trouble with the clutch in the ravine, pretty common problem due to frame flex on those old jeeps.

The rest of the clinic went well. My only trouble was my bumpstops ripping off in the ravine. This problem was temporarily resolved with a spare set I had that somewhat helped (they were only half as long as the ones that were ripped off). With the help of Chris, and Sherry I got my spare bumpstops installed to finish out the day. I've since gone about attempting to resolve this issue. I bought new, stiffer, Bilstein shocks, to help deal with the super soft springs that I have. I bought replacement 4.5" long bumpstops, different material, hopefully will be less prone to tearing, as well as a bit stiffer. I also bought Daystar's EVS foam shock bumpstops that install on to the shock shaft. Lastly I puchased small button bumpstops to install on my shackles to prevent them from completely folding up to hit the frame. They were folding all the way up to the frame bottoming out my springs and jamming things up. So I hope this four fold effort to combat my soft springs will solve my issues, yet still give me a smooth ride, and all my flex. Time will tell, and I'm sure Pismo will quickly show me any leftover issues I may have.

So all in all as trail lead for the yellow group I managed to not get lost despite my many attempts. I think having Jono as my copiot, GPS and Topo software probably helped a bit, oh and Darrel's awesome map.

I had a relaxing evening hanging out telling stories, enjoyed a nice dinner, and a fun slideshow. I want to thank Ira for doing the slideshow, and Jono for taking photos to help out. There was no way I was going to get many good photos while driving.

I decided to pack up camp around 9:15 Saturday night and drive back home. Jono and I had an uneventful drive home. I unloaded the Jeep on Sunday and put everything away. My third timing towing the jeep went very well. I'm very happy to be a part of an awesome group of people that do awesome things. I appreciate as always, all the wonderful knowledge and wisdom that is shared on these outings, and can't wait for the next one.

-CJ

Safety Clinic

September 2009 Ed4 4wd Clinic @ Hollister: I Arrived at the Area five gate Friday around 12:00pm. Overshot the turn off by 20 feet while watching some wild turkeys. I had no idea how far it might be to a turn around and there was no traffic so....Thus begin my first attempt to back up a flat towed jeep. I managed to get-er-done but had a strange feeling that the turkeys that started this were somewhere near laughing like hell.

I was the third outfit in camp so had plenty of spots to pick from. Parked, unhooked the jeep and settled in. The weather was a warm and the pesky little flies were out in out full force.

Ole, who had been there for awhile, had made arrangements, with a park official, to tour the new not-yet-open 4wd area east of area 5. I was invited to tag along between the Park Range Rover and Ole's jeep. This was the first time in the dirt for my newly acquired Jeep but, I figured I should be able to follow a Range Rover with stock tires, most anywhere. As it turns out the new obstacle course is fairly tame even by my standards, at least when dry, but, still fun to drive. They have built a camp spot on top of one of the hills that has a great view of the valley to the east and the Tres Pinos area. It would be a great spot for the Friday nite pot luck/camp fires in the future.

Friday nites campfire and pot luck was fun as usual. A couple of the students, who arrived early joined the fire circle and wine fest.

Saturday started out with the vehicle inspections. Being a part of that crew is a great way to meet new four wheelers and encouage them to join ED4.

After the chalk talk at the schoolhouse we I headed for the obstacle course and the Star Step area. I was stationed at the top of the stair step to help people negotiate the right turn without tearing a fender off. This was a perfect place to observe the various styles of driving up a slippery rock infested hill while feeling the stare from the audience below on the back of your neck. It seems the resulting adrenalin rush can turn even the most timid person into a "make it or break it monster". The amount of air under the front tires, that was achieved in some cases, was amazing. Of course this can only lead to trouble, which it did in the case of one gentleman who littered the hill with driveline parts. On the upside his wife probably hasn't had that good a laugh in some time. She wouldn't leave the poor guy alone. They both had their own jeeps and the frosting on the cake came when she then proceeded to navigate the hill with no trouble at all. Had a great time and learned a lot about using "finesse and consistant acceleration to climb a hill" just by watching others.

A great event and looking forward to the next...but not the pesky flies.

Gary