Rollins Pass Take II, AGAIN! 3/5/06

[dmeis]

Eric and I ran Rollins Pass yesterday. Fairly uneventfull until you consider the trip back. One broken shock-almost expected under these harsh conditions. One failed alternator - Eric. Two simultaneous stucks - well one really. We both got stock about 300 feet apart when Eric noticed his battery was dead and he couldnt winch himself out. Then when I winched out and got turned around (edit: this is the part where I am supposed to rescue him) I get cocky and end up sliding to a stop just jumper cable length bumper-to-bumper in front of Eric's Jeep - STUCK AGAIN up to nearly my sliders. :popcorn: It was almost like we were conjoined twins for a moment there. Did I mention Eric cut a side wall?

Anyhow, here are the pics, courtesy of the cell phone. (we forgot the real camera)

DubbaLocks RULE!!!
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture30.jpg
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture15.jpg

Notice all the tires bulging near flat. :flipoff2:
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture16.jpg

Stuck to my door during the ascent on the hill. I should lower my shift (idiot?) light so I know when to let off the gas. :P No, really, I was getting bored with the snow crawling tactic when the child in me just really wanted to hammer it. :beer: Don't worry, I am fully qualified to roll in the snow. :cowboy:
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture26.jpg
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture28.jpg
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture29.jpg

You've heard of quicksand before. Well here was quicksnow. I fell into this out of no where! Thanks to the low air pressure I drove right out of it. Not even spinning the tire.
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture32.jpg
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture40.jpg

The end of the line. The snow was drifted pretty high on one side. The other side was a long way to the bottom. :tisk: We were already side hilling as it was. So we decided to turn around. Notice the rolled over tires. Another shamless plug for the DubbaLocks :hail:
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture43.jpg
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture42.jpg
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture44.jpg

Coming back, aired up to 4psi, full throttle assault, around the corner, bamn!
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture46.jpg
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture48.jpg

Oops! I'll let Eric explain his way out of this one. :lolly:
http://www.colorado4x4.org/trails/rollins_pass/March5_2006/Picture52.jpg

[Eric]

Just had to paste that last picture didn't ya? :flipoff2:

Here's the skinney: Down to 8 volts on the battery, the engine's beginning to miss and about to die due to the low voltage, the trailer was parked with a lean to the right, I rushed to load up and the rear slid to the right. I tried to correct it and only made it worse, so I tried to back off and hung up on the 14 bolt. Dmeis gave my battery a boost, we aired up the tires and I backed off. Repositioned the trailer and all was well. My hood is up in the pic because I'm waiting for Dmeis to roll over and charge my battery :rolleyes: It was a fitting end to the day I think :D

[Mobcore911]

First of all...those are badass pictures from a camera phone H*ly Sh*t :thumbsup: What kind of phone is that?

Secondly, man that trail looks like a blast, I would love to hit a trail like that but it looks like a better get a winch and some lockers first :shrug: Im at CSU and this trail is just west of boulder right? good job guys, Looks like a kick ass place to snow wheel! :beer:

[Eric]

Im at CSU and this trail is just west of boulder right?

It's just west of Rollinsville.

[dmeis]

It's an older Samsung E315. The newer ones are even better. :)

The bad thing about Rollins is that it can get a lot of snow but the good thing is that you can always walk back to your truck for parts. :D Last weekend when we ran it we only got about 1/4 mile from the trucks.

[ArloGuthroJeep]

Nics pics guys...so I assume the West side of Rollins Pass has a lot more snow on it? How far from the peak did you get?

[Gunter]

First of all...those are badass pictures from a camera phone H*ly Sh*t :thumbsup: What kind of phone is that?

Secondly, man that trail looks like a blast, I would love to hit a trail like that but it looks like a better get a winch and some lockers first :shrug: Im at CSU and this trail is just west of boulder right? good job guys, Looks like a kick ass place to snow wheel! :beer:
lockers might be overrated.....good tires and a winch first..........i am off to las vegas tomorrow.............they dont have snow..................*sniff*

[dmeis]

I'm not sure how far we got. I've never been to the end before. :shrug:

I could say we went about 3-4 "DIP" signs maybe. Or you could say that we almost made it to the cut in the hill where you can take the left or the right "lane". Lastly, it could be said that we made it to the last section that where the sun shines on the road... I know beyond where we turned around is at least a mile or so of shady wheelin...

As far as no lockers? You could get away with no lockers if you were running a light rig. I tried that once. I had an old CJ5 with a 304 and 33 inch mud terrains. It was a lot of fun but not nearly as fun as with lockers. You can get unstuck with lockers more times than you can with non-lockers...

It's a tradition on Rollins that we have of pulling vehicles out who are blocking the trail at the trailhead. Not one of them has ever had a winch or a locker. One time I even unhitched my truck from the trailer to drive up and tug one out. My truck at least weighs 7200 pounds and has a LSD. --We also had another tow rig available in case I got stuck. :flipoff2:

[thekiffer]

K scuse for the ignorance but are dubba locks double locking bead locks? If so what kind are you using and how do they ride?

[Eric]

One time I even unhitched my truck from the trailer to drive up and tug one out. My truck at least weighs 7200 pounds and has a LSD. --We also had another tow rig available in case I got stuck. :flipoff2:

Oh really?? I did that once too :flipoff2:

Btw the alternator has been replaced with a 140 amp unit :evil: and a closer inspection of the cut tire indicates it was cut some time ago. I suspect the 1psi flex action just finished the job. That'll have to come off and get patched, then the Heep is ready to clog up the trails again. :bounce:

[Eric]

K scuse for the ignorance but are dubba locks double locking bead locks? If so what kind are you using and how do they ride?
"Dubbaloks" are custom double-beadlocks. They use a rigid insert and a bolt-on outer ring similar to H1 wheels to capture both beads, but they don't need an o-ring like the H1 wheels. They ride great because they don't rely on the lock ring to locate the tires. Pain in the ass to build though, so they'll most likely never be a production item. I might revisit the design if I ever go to 17" wheels (these are 16.5's).

[thekiffer]

Thanks, cool info...