Movies, Madness and My Backyard
What to do in this trying economy?

By Del Albright, BlueRibbon Ambassador

Fuel prices are killing us.  Everything is costing more than ever before.  Event attendance is down.  Off-road businesses are going under.  Folks are withdrawing into different (new) ways of recreating.  What does this mean, and how do we cope with this trying economy and still pursue our recreational activities?

I’d like to offer a few ideas and suggestions to help during these tough times.  First of all, we can’t lose sight of the fact that we need to recreate or we’ll go nuts.  Second, we can’t let our favorite off-road businesses go under without trying to help them.  And third, there are things we can do and still consider it recreating – maybe a bit closer to home.

Recreate or Break: 
One definition of “recreate” is to restore, add new life, refresh, and to create anew in body and mind.  If you break the word into syllables, you see that it means to re-create something – us!  It’s easy to see how someone can “break” if they work too much and play too little.  We all have a need to do something fun – recreational – in order to keep our head about us.

So I suggest that even during these trying times, we keep recreation on our list of things to do – daily.  Even just a walk in the park will help.  Something fun should be part of your day and your weekend.

OHV Businesses Need Us:
A thriving OHV business helps us keep our sports alive and our rigs running.  In many cases, businesses are big contributors to our land use and access fights as well.  We need them and they need us.  So if they start to fail because we’re not buying parts, then we jeopardize our future to some extent.  We need to find that middle ground and help folks stay afloat that are helping us keep our recreation alive.

Yes, many Americans are cutting back – on everything.  And that’s a smart thing to do when you have to have a loan officer to buy a tank of diesel.  But I suggest we cutback carefully, and still help those businesses that we can.  We still need parts and we still want to make some mods and repairs to our rigs.  If businesses lose too much business, then they will drop out of organizations – our organizations that help us keep our trails and riding areas open.  We should not let that happen.  If our organizations lose too many members and businesses, then they too will have a hard time staying afloat.  Then what?

So I suggest you pick your battles carefully and you spend your money judiciously, yet still help keep our OHV businesses and organizations alive. 
Keep your memberships to your favorite local, state, regional and national groups.  Buy from those that support us and make sense to you. 

Visit bulletin boards such as www.pirate4x4.com to find out who is having troubles and who might be going under.  Visit the Land Use section of any OHV web site and keep up with the issues.  Chime in where you can and buy from those folks who need our help.

Keep Playing – Even if Closer to Home:
If your favorite event is not in your budget, spend your recreating time and money closer to home.  Crank up your club to do more in your own backyard.  Buy/rent movies that appeal to your OHV side.  Visit and buy from websites like www.outbackusa.com that have a nice selection of videos, maps and guidebooks.  Use these to plan your future recreation.  Sometimes the planning is as much fun as the doing. 

Watch your favorite TV show about motorsports.  Invite friends over of a like mind and enjoy outdoor recreation in the comfort of your own home.  Have them bring their rigs over.  Do a show and shine.  Heck, just wash them as a group. Make a fun day of it.  Just don’t park it and forget it.  Get out there and do something.  Be creative.  Have a parade close to home.  Go park and cruise like we did back in the American Graffiti days –- but include your OHV toys.

In Closing:
Don’t slip into a workaholic (all work and no play) attitude when money is tight.  Rather consider your options and find new things to do; or new ways to do old things.  Get out there.  Do something to help us keep our sport alive, even when the tide is ripping at us.  Tides change; as will this one.  Our future is still good.  Our sports are critical to our sanity.  Keep them alive.  Keep yourself healthy.

This all started as a simple thought that just wouldn't get out of my head.  KreationKrawlers is a Ministry with two primary ideas, one is going on day runs and meeting people to share the Word and to let them see that we as Christians love wheeling too, that it is OK to let God shine in your life and still enjoy what He has given us.  The other is to campout at the trail head with water, snacks and air for airing up tires, looking for a chance to meet people and also spread His Word. 

Both of those missions are about one of our primary tasks as Christians, fellowship with non-believers to spread His Word.  But, we as individuals need time to seek Him in what we do also without or main focus being on everyone else.  We don't want to miss the chance to share the Word and we always want people to see Him in us, we need time to delve into ourselves, we need time to get closer to our brothers and sisters, we need rest time and primarily, we need time in the Word.

 Along comes Dave one day and suggests a weekend trip for an “Expedition” into the Cherry Creek area.  Great idea, we all like it and agree to do it but………always seems to be a but……time and other things take us in other directions…..we had not forgotten about the idea, just set it in the background.  Well, time for Moab is coming soon and we find that we will not be able to take time off to go so Dave suggests we make a weekend run with camping, bring back the Cherry Creek idea and run with it……and he did, he set up the run and we were all looking forward to it.  That’s when it all started needling me, these “Expedition” runs could be the perfect chance for us to have the time with each other and the time with Him.  The time for the rest in His comfort….The me time
that a body requires.

 Well, I had a lot of ideas and I laid them out to Barb, Dave and the kids during the weekend, we talked about it, prayed about it and I believe we generally agreed this was good and necessary.  So, the Expedition Project is born, but what do we call it.  There were several ideas thrown in, some good…..some not so good but nothing that really jumped out and grabbed ya till after the run and we had all gone home.  Dave called me and said he and Eric had talked about it on the way home and had a couple ideas that he laid out, but when he said K2 Expeditions (K2 for KreationKrawlers), I knew it was right, one of those cold chill kinda “know its right” moments!!

 So K2 Expeditions was born from the Cherry Creek run in March of 2008.  But now what do we do with it…..well, that is still a question in the air.  Yesterday, 9 April 08, we formally bought the web name for www.K2Expeditions.com and currently we have a redirect page there that shows the Logo but invites people to KreationKrawlers.  Dave had mentioned before that he would like to dabble in web building so I asked if he would be the one to create a basic site for K2E.  This will take time as he has not done this type of thing for a long time and needs to get in practice again but also, he has a busy life with the family and work!  We will get something posted but at this point we are making no timeline, we will leave that in His hands.  

So, K2E is alive and has Web space, where do we go next?…….Keep watch and we will see together where He leads us.

 

This is intended to document the Build of the Jeep we use for this Ministry.  I will start from the beginning that was over 2 years ago and will try to catch up to the current Jeep in small, manageable chunks.  I must say at this point tho, that I am not a fabricator/builder by any means.  I do have a lot of mechanical experience and love to work on it tho.


In the Beginning, the Genesis of our Jeep.......

It all started out in December of 2005.  My wife and I had ridden quads and had 4x4 quads, but never a full size 4 wheel drive vehicle.  She had been at me to get a Jeep for years and I always had a good reason not to get one......Well, I was out of reasons, she was tired of waiting and in December of 05 we bought our first Jeep.  It is a 2006 Unlimited (LJ) which is 15" longer than a base model Jeep and has 12" more wheelbase at 103.4", big thing for us was it has 12" more cargo area in the back.  The other advantage of the unlimited versus the standard length Jeep is that the Unlimited is rated to tow a maximum of 3500lbs where a standard Jeep is not trailer rated at all, with this we can still tow our small camp rig with two quads.  In stock form it has a 4.0L (242cu.in.) in line 6cyl with sequential multi-port electronic fuel injection.  This engine runs 8.8:1 compression and 190bhp@4600 and 235lb./ft@3200.  We opted for the 42RLE 5sp automatic with a low gear at 2.84:1 and it has the standard NV231 Command-Trac transfer case with a low range at 2.72:1.  The front has a live axle Dana 30 with 3.73 gears that match the rear gears in a Dana 44 with a limited slip and all this rides on 30x9.50 Wrangler GSA's on cast aluminum 15x8 rims.  Of course we bought the red!!  Several people asked why we did not get the Rubicon and the answer is simple, they did not have one with an automatic, it was about $4 grand more and we did not fully understand the advantages it would have given us, hind sight, no matter, we love our Jeep and the wife constantly laughs at how hooked on it I am after so many years of fighting her getting one....All in the past now, the future is in a Jeep. We opted for the Jeep brand trailer hitch and wiring as it was a 7pin setup to fit our trailer and also added the Jeep brand dash mounted GPS.  The first add on other than that was an electric brake controller to handle the trailer brakes.

We do not normally tow a load like this but it was new and I wanted to see how well it would tow and I was not disappointed.




The first run on the Jeep was an easy ride through some trails in the Florence Junction AZ area, but nothing too hard, we still did not know "how to wheel" and what it could do.






Our first real adventure was a run with the Church club that took us thru Box Canyon, up to the Coke Ovens.  OK, now I am completely hooked but we spent a lot of time scraping skid plates so we are going to need to get it in the air a little!  Well, we picked up 5 Pro-Comp X-Terrain 33x12.50x15 tires and had them mounted on 15x8 black Rock Krawler wheels, got a 2" spacer lift (it was cheap) and got busy.  We also picked up an implement jack from Harbor Freight cheap, I suggest you pay the extra and get a Hi-Lift jack.  With a set of bumper mounts for the jack from a friend, we put it all together.  I also figured out that the rocks were a real danger to the rocker panels of the Jeep.  I did some research and found Dana's Jeep on www.Higherground4x4.com and a write-up about the Shrockworks sliders she had and I was hooked, they were good looking, had the side rail and most importantly, they had full coverage underneath and bolted to the side and through the floor but were double plated.  I made a call to Jim at Shrockworks and he sent me a set out. I must say, Jim is a real professional and has great products.







And rolled her out for Pictures and playtime.



OK, looks a lot better but I have to say, 33" tires and a spacer lift is not the way to go as there was a lot of tire rubbin going on, had it not been that we knew the lift was on its way, this would not have been acceptable.


Thats enough for now, more later
Thanks for reading
Bill

Well I guess this will be where the slow transformation of Radio Flyer will be documented. As most of you know it started out as a basic 2002 2wd Tacoma Prerunner. It is a very basic model, no power anything with the smaller 2.7L I4 engine and the 4 speed automatic transmission.

This is a file photo from the web, different trim package, but essentially the same.

This is how it looks now . . .

Here are the specs on Radio Flyer as it is today . . .

General
Vehicle Year: 2002
Make/Model: Toyota Tacoma Prerunner
Steering: Stock
Equip Pkg: SR5
Daily Driver: Yes
Color: Impulse Red
Engine: 2.7L I4
Transmission: 4 speed automatic
Tops/Covers: Hard
Doors: Full hard

Lifts & Lift Components
Kit Make: EZ-Lift
Height: 3"
Type: Front: Strut spacer Rear: Add-a-Leaf
Shocks: Stock
Tcase Drop: No Tcase
Disconnects: No
Body Lift: No
Motor Mount: No

Wheels & Tires

Wheels
Make: Toyota
Style/Model: Stock steel
Size: 16x7
Lug Pattern: 6x5.5
Backspacing: 0
Tires
Make: BF Goodrich
Size: LT265/75R-16
Style/Model: All Terrain T/A KO
Street PSI: 35
Trail PSI: 12

Axles & Lockers
Front End
Axle: None
Type:
Locker:
Rear End
Axle: Stock Toyota
Type: 8" 30 spline pinion shaft
Locker: Eaton Detroit Locker
Gears
Gear Ratio: 4.10:1
Gears By: Stock Toyota

Recovery
Tow Points: Stock hook in front, receiver in rear
Winch
Manufacturer: None
Model:
Type

Armor & Protection
Cage
Cage Type: None
Maker:
Bumpers
Front Type/Style: Stock
Maker: Toyota
Rear Type/Style: Stock
Maker: Toyota
Rockers
Type/Style: Rock Sliders - Rocker Protection
Maker: Trail-Gear
Differentials
Front Diff: N/A
Maker:
Rear Diff: None
Maker:
Underbody
Gas Tank: Stock
Steering Box: None
Engine/Oil Pan: Stock
Belly Skid: None

Accessories
ARB Snorkel, Volant Cold Air Intake, Cobra 19 Ultra III radio and Firestick antenna, KC Daylighters, Surco Roof Rack

RTI Ramp Score
Most Recent Attempt
Location/Event: 2007 Florence Junction Jamboree
Date: Nov 07
Fwd Score: 418 (this was before the 3" lift)
Rev Score: N/A
Slope: 23

Went out this past weekend to Martinez Cabins and had a blast.  Spent a few hours updating the website and have all the pictures up now so check them out!..  Here is  the writeup that was on 4x4Him:

Wow, interesting trip!!!  We have had a ton of rain lately so there was a lot more water in the canyons than normal and things were real muddy.  It was real cool seing all the water flowing in the rock garden after the Cabins too, never seen it like that before.

We started the run with my Jeep folled by Digger Dave in his 2x4Taco and the fresh, as of yet untested, 3" lift folled by Obsidian and then my son in the sami and the Wife in her big LONG Ford.  Everything went very well, lots of mud but beautiful scenery and definatly a lot of playing in the water!!

When we reached the staircase to Box Canyon, someone had dumped a bunch of wood.  At first we were pissed because we assumed it was wheelers using it to go up the steps but after looking closer, there were no tire tracks or signs of it vehicles climbinging it, more likely just wood in a truck that fell out and they didn't want to pick it up.  Well, lucily we had the big truck and had firewood in it for later anyway so we broke up the wood and put it in the truck to leave the site clean for others.

Smooth sailing all the way till just before the Cabins.  Digger Dave and his 2x4 have made it thru the rock garden before the Cabins numerous but the wet caugt him (and the Ford) this time, half way thru he spun on a rock and slid sideways into THe Boulder, you know, the big door catcher that sticks out at the mid point!!!!  Took some damage to the back edge of the cab and front of the bed but it missed the door!!!  The Ford had a lot of trouble thru here also due to its size but there was no damage except running boards that were coming off anyway.

After we got to the Cabins, Obsidian, Ben and I went on a little farther to play.  We made it a ways in but had to turn around as others needed to get going and in turning around, Obsidian got hung on his hitch!!!  A quick tug and he was out and rolling  again.

Pretty much uneventfull all the way back, got Caleb and Mom back to the air up poit and their car, Digger was running behind so he aired and left and we talked to Obsidian a bit while her aired and then left for a friends going away party,  Barb, Ben and Ashley, and I crawled back in our rigs and headed back in a little ways to look for a place to play and to have a campfire.  Ashley got to spend some time learning to handle the clutch and manual tranny in the Sami while we watched and laughed and we used some of the discarded wood to help in our campfire.  Later in the evening we packed it in, aired up and rehooked the Sami for the trip home.  Thanks everyone for an enjoyable run!

All the pics can be seen at KreationKrawlers Photos

I have been working on a page for the website for a while now, one that will document the build up of the Jeep from purchase on.  Obviously I will have to go back in time a bit to capture the things that have already been done but most of it is on the page I have been working on.

I was fighting the web page idea as I was having trouble deciding how I wanted to handle the continuing updates.  Multiple pages can work for time ranges but it is a lot more to manage, especially since I am not using style sheets yet so every page has the menu and everything and when I make a change, I have to do it on every page......

So, in comes the Blog, I think this will be an easier way to document the progress of the Jeep.  So, lets see what happens.........

Having played a bit with this Blog to get it working and looking decent, I have found I like this Sage color combination a lot more than the tan colors of the website so I have been working to switch all the pages to more of a Sage color scheme.  I think tis will be easier on the eyes and it actually keeps a more consistent color on my laptop.  The tan seemed to wash to almost a rose color.

I may have to work a little more on the sponsor links for the main page however and they are not looking real good!!  I may have to rebuild all the graphics on a set background color.

Interesting..... I have no idea how this works but I am starting a blog to to see where we can go with it.  I also want to use this to let people know of changes to the site.  Hopefully it will be easy to update and I can pass on information whenever updates to KreationKrawlers.com are made.

Today I finally updated the Who Are We page.  Big thanks to DiggerDave for is input on this area.  I also completed some more of the changes on the Members page.  I have some ideas for the Photos page also but so far they are all labor intensive for updating, I need to make it look better but it needs to be easy to code new runs into....more on that later.

DiggerDave and I have also been working on some Tech pages, more to come o that also.

The changes in the KreationKrawlers becoming the full Arizona Chapter of 4x4Him are still in progress, but due to some situations in the group, the changes are coming slow.  Hopefully soon, we will have a decision on the Chapter Verse, still considering 1 Peter 2:4-5, and whan that and a few other things are ironed out we will order new business cards.

More later!!

Bill