Colorado Land Cruisers is a four-wheel drive club based out of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and sanctioned by Toyota Land Cruisers Association. We are organized to bring together Toyota owning families and individuals interested in exploring Colorado four-wheel drive trails.
This last month on a hunting trip I learned that stuck is
sometimes STUCK! There were 4 trucks in
our group, all full size 4x4s’. I went
up on Tuesday, Oct 26th, to make sure we got our spot and start
setting up camp. Thursday 1 truck joined me with the other 2 due in early
(4:30ish) Friday morning. At 7am 1 of
the 2 came in with a story of the other is stuck up on Cottonwood Pass. Buried in the ditch with snow and blowing
snow causing whiteout conditions. Well,
we all got dressed for the occasion and all but 1 of us piled in to my Chevy
and we took off to rescue our 4th rig.
With in a short time I began to fully realize what they had been telling
me. The wind would blow the snow so bad
you couldn’t see the windshield, let alone the end of the hood. As we climbed
above timberline everything was intensified.
No green and brown objects on the side of the road to help with
navigation. Just pure white! We made it
to with in a mile and a half from the top, which is where the truck was. We were pushing through drifts that were as
tall as the hood of my truck when we lost track of the road and ended up in the
ditch. We managed to get my truck out,
turned around and headed back down the mountain. We were almost all the way down and we were in the process of
explaining that his truck may be there until spring when we almost ran into a
Caterpillar Blade coming up the road.
We asked how far he was going and if we could follow and explained
why. He told us he got a call about a
woman with 2 kids in the car stuck near the top and so he was going at least
that far and he didn’t mind having company. Jumping ahead about 4 hours, we
finally had 3 other vehicles unstuck and then it was our turn, The Cat hooked
up to our truck and dragged it out of the ditch and the snow that had drifted
around it. After the Cat driver said he actually had to give it gas to pull it
out, “I’ve never had to do that before, you were really STUCK!” Anyway, we
headed back to camp for a great week with an unsuccessful hunt. Enough of my babbling.
See you at the
November 16th meeting.
“Remember we’re all
in this together, I’m pullin’ for ya!”
Andy “Minisrule”
Johnson
President – CLC
View
of a White out
From
Andy’s Chevy!
The Annual
Christmas tree run(s)…
Get out your
calendar, and mark off Dec 4/5 and
11/12 and plan on attending at least one of these days. Pete VanVuren is heading this up, once
again. The area is on Rampart Range, NW
of Woodland Park. We have been plagued
by poor turnout the past several years, and though it hasn’t hurt the
assistance we provide, the NFS likes to have raw numbers to count on. For folks new to CLC, our club provides towing
assistance to Christmas tree cutters not used to the rigors of snow covered
back roads found in our beautiful Colorado.
In past years, and when we have had abundant snow, we have had good
turnouts of CLC members. The past few
years with low to no snow, our turn out hasn’t been as good as we have hoped –
and more importantly, what the NFS would like to see. Because of this, other clubs want to get in on this activity to
help the tree cutting public. A local
club has asked Pete if they can join us. In view of our last few years showing, we do not have a strong
position to argue against this. Nor
should we. In CLC’s early years, and
when we had 12” to 15” of snow in the areas, member turn out was not a
problem. And fun? You talk about fun in the snow, we had it! –
And we helped a lot of folks out of stuck situations. Bottom line: Plan on
attending at least one of the 4 cutting days.
You will meet a lot of good people, and you’ll have a good time. In past years, the local 4H clubs have
provided chili, and we have gotten a freebie bowl of it! (The food Lure)
CLC Christmas
Party ~ December 21, 2004
Right? You did get that job done this past summer while it was nice and warm? Guess who didn’t, yup, I didn’t get that task done on my trusty FJ40. But I did get it done on the Dana 60 in my trusty F250. I did all 3 bearings on both sides, and it needed it too. I have used it a lot these past few years going from here to Grand Junction. I say 3 bearings because there are 3 on a 4WD front axle. I know you all know about the inner and outer bearings. They fall out when you remove the hub. And on a Dana 60 axle, they are nice and big – but wait! They are about the same size as the bearings on a FJ40 front axle, so much so that I have to mark the seals when I buy them with “Dana 60” and “FJ40” so I know which goes in what type axle. I learned about the 3rd bearing a few years back when I kept hearing a funny noise coming from the left front wheel on the F250. I took everything apart, and then looked in the book, and noticed that the inner axle is supported by a bearing inside the spindle. I removed the spindle and there was a very worn – un-lubed for 25 years – inner spindle bearing. This bearing is “used” only when the hubs are locked, and the axle is turning at wheel speed. On the Dana 60, it is a nice large needle bearing, while on the FJ40 it is a sleeve bearing. This surprises me that Toyota wouldn’t put a better bearing in this location. If a vehicle had the hub locked 100% of the time, this would be used 100% of the time. I can see how this could wear quickly if proper maintenance isn’t done. So, guess who is going to do the front axle bearings on the 1st warm day coming up? You are right! Me.
See you on the Christmas tree run.
~ Darryl ~
Next CLC Meeting ~
November 16, 2004 7:00PM
Mark your calendar for CLC’s next meeting, Liberty Toyota, North. Coming items are trip planning for 2005. Where do you want to go? See you there!
Next Run ~ Chinaman
Gulch ~ Nov 20, 2004
Meet 7:30am; leave 8am from the West location, the Western station 3 miles east of Woodland Park on highway 24. Super Charlie will be leading.
Christmas Tree Runs ~
December 2004
Mark your calendars, for the 1st 2 weekends in December. Dec 4/5 and 11/12. If you have chains, bring them. Winches are good too – as long as she doesn’t whine. Warm clothes. Meet 8am at the Western station east of Woodland Park. Leave time is 8:30am
FOR SALE ~ FOR SALE ~
FOR SALE
1972 FJ40 front axle. Includes housing, both axles, hubs, bearings, and brakes. NO 3rd member. $125/???
Darryl ~ (719) 593-9829
FJ40 parts – maybe. Last I heard Jeff had a ’82 FJ40 carcass he was parsing out.
Call Jeff at (719) 266-9007
What Trail is this sign on?
From the October issue’s photo:
The winners should have been Charlie and
David.