2003-02

Solihull SocietyLand Rover Club of Colorado - Volume 2, 2003

Flat Iron MesaWhite Rim Trail

National Rally UpdateChinaman’s Gulch Trip

Basic Wheel MeasurementsAdventrue Team Challenge

Bill Burke Training Weekend

On The Road…Moab - September 9th & 10th

Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling America

970-858-3468

[email protected]

Personalized customer service that only a small business can offer!We hold BLM & USFS permits to operate on public lands.

“After having worked with many of the LRNA corp. guys and other instructors, Bill... youare a refreshing and much more knowledgeable break from the normal instructor. Yourtype of real world instruction and hands-on approach really works and is by far the best

I have seen to date.“ (Mike Smith, East Coast Rover, On the Road...Maine, 9/02)

Denver-Area Class 4WD ClassMay 17

Trail Leader TrainingLearn responsible trail leading skills.

Industrial, Government & Military Training Programs“...one of the most popular classes we present.” (Dee Lucas, USGS, ’02)

Private InstructionOne-on-one driver training with Bill Burke.

Guided Back Country TripsThe “Bill Burke Experience” — safety, assistance on the trail and a great time!

Club GuidingSpecial discounts for basic guiding in Colorado and Moab.

“I am so pleased I chose Bill as the trainer. There are severalothers (including somethat work for LR), but I think Bill is headand shoulders above the rest, the real “RoverGuru. ...Bill really went the extra mile for us...” (Michael Sewell, On the Road…NorCal

Rovers, 6/02)

ModificationsWe can customize your Rover with trail-ready accessories!

D-90 Rock Sliders – Custom-made by Bill. None stronger!

PO Box 480864Denver, CO80248–0864

The Solihull Society is a Land Rover club(Land Rover, Range Rover, Defender, Discov-ery) serving Colorado and the USA. Member-ship is open to all Rover enthusiasts.Annual Dues are $60 and include 4 issues ofthe newsletter

Solihull Society MagazineCopyright 2003 by Solihull Society

President – Pat Bickfordpbickford@ai–colorado.comVice President – Mark [email protected] President – Larry [email protected] Coordinator I – Ali [email protected] Coordinator II – Jim [email protected] Coordinator III – Ralph [email protected]

Treasurer – Pam [email protected] – John [email protected] – Tim & Colleen [email protected] Editor – Norman [email protected] – David Nowakowski

Solihull Society News

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT FROM THE FRONT SEAT OF A ’97DEFENDER

We have had several club meetings and officers meeting since the first of theyear. We have made some changes and I will explain the logic for thosechanges

1. DUES - The dues have been raised from $30.00 to $40.00 and wehave added a $20.00 membership fee to the Colorado FourWheel Drive Association, for a total of $60.00. The Co FourWheel Drive Association is recognized as the preeminent FourWheel Drive Association in the U.S. I believe because we are inColorado, which has so many trails everyone looks to ColoradoFour Wheel Drive Association for leadership. The vast majorityof the membership fee goes to fight Federal Rules andRegulations that are being used to try and close trails. I believewe need to do everything we can to keep the trails open. Oncethey are able to succeed and close the trails it will be just amatter of time until they close trails in all National Forests andBLM Lands.

2. DIFFICULTY OF TRAILS - We have had complaints in thepast that we only run difficult trails. We are going to start havingtwo trails in the same area so people can do hard trails ormedium to easy trails if they want. By being in the same area ifthere is no interest in one of the trails the trail leader can join theother group. We have more and different trail leaders than wehad last year. We are also encouraging them to email or set updialog on the forum section of our web site so as to gaugeinterest and confirm the running of the trails. That way prior tothe running of the trails they will have an idea of the interest.

3. ADOPT A TRAIL – Once we become a member of the FourWheel Drive Club we will be required to Adopt a Trail. They aresending me the requirements. Once we understand the amount ofthe work and the time requirements we are then going to pick atrail. We may pick two trails. In the preliminary discussions, wehave talked about doing an intermediate trail such as MosquitoPass Trail. We have made no decisions and we are welcominginput from all club members.

4. NATIONAL RALLY – The National Rally will be held inMoab this year. It will be run similar to what was done last year.We will not have a wine tasting night but we will have anopening night social hour, a vendor night and a map orientationnight. Last year we spent $2,500.00 more than we took in. Wehave therefore had to raise our registration fees to cover costs.Fees for Non-Member driver and vehicle is $150.00; fees forMember driver and vehicle is $125.00, passengers will pay$75.00 each. The club website now holds a preliminary scheduleof events for the Rally, a copy of whick appears on the next page.Please check it out and committ early to the event.

I look forward to seeing everyone on the trails both easy and hard.Good Wheeling Pat Bickford

3

2003 National Land Rover Rally

Preliminary Schedule:-

Wednesday, September 10th - Drivers Registration and Welcoming PartyThursday, September 11th - Day: Trails; Evening: Navigation Trials EventFriday, September 12th - Day: Trails; Evening: Vendor Display NightSaturday, September 13th - Day: Trails; Evening: Awards Banquet

For those planning to attend:4-Wheeling America will hold a 2-day driver training event, On the Road...Moab,September 9 and 10 for those who will be attending the Rally and want to takedriver training with Bill Burke before the Rally. For details, go to http://www.bb4wa.com/training/group.htm

Colorado’s Premier Land Rover ClubPO Box 480864, Denver Co 80248-0864

Application For MembershipNames: _______________________________________________________Address: ______________________________________________________City,, State, Zip Code: ___________________________________________Phone Number: _________________________________________________Email Address: _________________________________________________Land Rovers owned: _____________________________________________Occupation: ____________________________________________________What can you do for the club?: _____________________________________

________________________________ __________________________Signature Date

Please photocopy and then completely fill out the above information and mail the form along withmembership dues [$60 per year] to the above mentioned address.

Accepted by:

White Rim TrailMarch 14th – 17th, 2003By Mark Stolte

During the past 15 or sop years I have been escaping toMoab Utah for various outdoor recreational activities.Initially I was attracted to the desert area for mountainbiking, hiking and camping. However more recently 4Wheeling and exploring trails around Moab with friends inthe Solihull Society has been the draw, almost exclusivelyuntil this Spring.

One of my ambitions has been to mountain bike the isolatedWhite Rim Trail, the quintessential wilderness bike trip.

John Wesley Powell describes the area as “a wilderness ofrocks, deep gorges where rivers are lost below cliffs andpinnacles and 10,000 strangely carved forms in everydirection and beyond them mountains blending in withclouds”.

White Rim Trail requires a back country permit. Thanks toSean Gorman and Jeff Nelson’s preplanning and earlyrequest for campsites form Canyon lands National ParkRecreation Office, the trip to White Rim Trail wasarranged. The desert loop covers close to 100 miles, so theplan was to break up the mountain bike ride over 4 days,camp at permitted sites and rely on the venerable RangeRover as support vehicle transporting water, food, suppliesand camping equipment.

Trip Participants:-Sean Gorman Age 26 – Designated Support DriverJeff Nelson – Age 31Dan Karlwen – Age 46Mark Stolte – Age 44

Mark Stolte Ready to Ride

Day 1

Having completed the required paperwork and securing ourpermit at the Island in the Sky Visitor Center, weenthusiastically embarked on our adventure. We rapidlydescended from the mesa’s 5,920 foot elevation trough theswitchbacks on Shafer Trail, following the route partiallyused by outlaws and cattle rustlers. As we approached thebeginning of White Rim Trail, we have already covered 6.5miles and approximately 1,440 feet of vertical downhill.For the next 12 miles we passed scenic overlooks to theColorado River, La Sale Mountains, spectacular arches androck formations before reaching our campsite at AirportTower [mile 18.3]. Gusty winds prevented one tent frombeing used that night, but we anxiously settled in for thenight after a hot meal and a few beverages to ease anysoreness form the saddle.

Day 2

After a good night’s sleep, and well rested body parts, thethree of us biking were ready to take on the new day, arelatively flat route meandering approximately 26 milesalong the White Rim Sandstone Layer. During the daysjourney we passed several scenic overlook detours butdecided to only take a look at the White Crack Camp whichoffered a modest climb to an elevation of 5,200 feet. Theoverlook form the White Crack Camp area providedpanoramic views of the Maze district and several Buttes tothe West as well as the views toward the Green RiverCanyons. Tempting as it may be, visitors are discouragedform sending pot shards and rock clippings form theprojectile points as archeologists need as much undisturbedevidence as possible to fully analyze the area.

With little or no mechanical failures we completed crossingthe Murphy Wash and reached Murphy Camp [mile 44.1 at5,200 feet elevation] situated high above the canyonsbelow. As luck would have it the weather turned nasty withgusty winds and rain. We found limited shelter amongst acouple of lonesome bushes and the ledges of the MurphyHogback. Shortly after dark the winds subsided providing awindow of opportunity to boil up a pot of Torrillinni, sautésome tofu, heat up some bread, toss a green salad andenjoy our beverages or two with the group around a lanternas open wood fires were not permitted at the campsites.

Range Rover Support Vehicle on White Rim

Day 3

The morning was damp, breezy with a bit of a chill in theair. The weather appeared it may play a role in the day’s 20mile journey to Potato Button Camp. Intermittent showers,sunshine and tail winds allowed us to make good time witthe rain evaporating almost immediately. It was apparentwe were also loosing altitude as the trail drops eventuallydown to the Green River, which is where our group waspermitted to camp. With plenty of daylight remaining, evenafter setting up an elaborate campsite [3 tents] andunloading most of the camping gear [coolers, tarps, foldingchairs and table etc] from the Range Rover LWB, wedecided to explore the Fort Bottom Trail. Sean elected totackle the trail on foot with hiking poles in hand. The restof us who had just completed 70 miles of biking elected toenjoy the comforts of Jeff’s LWB to propel us up thebeginning of Hardscrabble Hill to the start of the footpathleading to the Fort Bottom Ruin, believed to be ofAncestral Puebloan origin. After a brief hike weapproached the two storey tower [or whatever it was]which is the most interesting of the remaining stonestructures situated on top of a knoll overlooking the GreenRiver. Once back at camp, we prepared a hearty mealconsisting of Cajun rice, tortillas, grilled elk sausage andwhatever other food we had remaining to eat as this wasthe last night planned on the White Rim Trail. Once againthe barometer was dropping, the air was cooling and therain began to saturate the silty and clay soils at our camp.

A view of the Rim

Day 4

We awoke to the heavy rain and thick clouds layeredthrough the valley. Puddles had formed around our tentsand mud was collecting on any surface that came in contactwith it. Today would prove the most challenging since wehad to ascend Hardscrabble Hill through the sediments ofchocolate brown silts, clays and volcanic ash which formedthe base of the road we used to traverse the canyon wallsabove upheaval Canyon. We had been warned to approachthis section of the trail with caution especially after arainstorm. After breaking down camp and packing our gearinto the Rangie LWB, we realized the rain was not lettingup and we were going nowhere given the saturated trailconditions. Consequently we took shelter under a nylontarp waiting for a break in the clouds.

What these poor guys faced.

We discussed several options but decided we would waituntil 11.00 am before doing anything, hoping the cloudswould lift and the rain would subside allowing the trailsurface to firm up a bit before attempting the steep ascent.It was becoming apparent to some of us that we would beabandoning the last 30 mile leg of our Mountain Bike trip.Our choices were either to hike out the trail or rely on theLand Rover to complete the trip. Shortly after 11.30 am the

weather broke and we decided to attempt the ascent inHardscrabble Hill in the stock Range Rover LWB equippedonly with traction control. The Rangie was packed to thegills with equipment and passengers along with mountainBikes mounted to the roof rack. Sean remained in thedriver’s seat and proceeded cautiously up the steep canyontrail. What appeared the afternoon before as slippery trailconditions had now changed into a nasty greasy trail.

Until now the Rangie’s stock tires with marginal treaddepth were more than adequate, understanding momentumis your friend when driving in mud. But given the trailsnarrow width and numerous switchbacks along withexposure to the canyon below, there was a fine linebetween successfully clawing up the treacherous trail andgetting stuck, or even worse, loosing traction completelyand sliding either into the canyon wall or over the exposedside. Understanding the consequences, only Sean and Iremained in the vehicle as the trail became increasinglymore interesting. As this point, it is clearly evident that theelectronic traction control was engaging and disengaging.There were a couple of tense moments when the vehiclecould have altered it’s own path and followed the rutsalready laid in the trail and slid against the side of thecanyon wall, but thankfully today was not going to take us

in that direction. To Sean’s credit and deliberate drivingskills, we reached the top of the mesa without incises=dentor damage to the Classic Range Rover. To our satisfactionWhite Rim Trail proved to be an exceptional early springmountain bike trial expedition. Members of this group arealready preparing for another adventure this fall.

The End of the Trail

TRIP REPORT FOR BILL BURKETRAINING – PRESIDENT’S DAYWEEKENDBy Pat Bickford

The training was to take place on Friday, Saturday, Sunday,and half day Monday. Mark Stolte, Larry Grubbs and PatBickford met in Denver and drove to Moab together. Westopped at Bill Burke’s home to pick up Pat’s Defender.Upon our arrival, Bill suggested that we take a shortcut togo in from Frisco to the Dewey Bridge and he would leadus through that. He did not think to tell us that we wouldbe driving in wet Bentonite soil. This is some of theslipperiest stuff you will find. The shortcut was the oldwagon trail. It took approximately 100 feet off the trip. Itwas very interesting sliding on the edges of the ravines andwashes not sure if you would be on the top or the bottomof these washes. The most upset person in this wholeadventure was Mark Stolte; he kept trying to figure outhow to keep the mud off his vehicle. I don’t think Mark’svehicle has seen that much mud in its entire lifetime. Oncewe got over the shortcut and back on the pavement, wehad to watch out for Larry Grubbs car, his car looked likean elephant making dumps along the way; he had so muchmud on it. We had to go around him so as not to losewindshields. We all made it to Moab.

We stayed at the Bowen Motel for $29.00 per night. Markwas happy because he was also able to wash his car.

Day 1 - Golden Spike

Trip Participants:

Mark Stolte 1995 D 90Mark Handlovitch 2000 JeepLarry Grubbs Norman Hall 1990 Range RoverTom CryerSean Gorman

On day one we decided to do an easier trail so as to re-familiarize ourselves with our vehicles since most of us hadnot been off road in four or five months. Tom Crier and hisson were along in a stock Discovery. They were looking forsome fun. Before lunch, we covered the usual obstacles theWedgie, the Waterfall, Launch Pad, and Skyline Drive. Wehad lunch at the canyon rim overlooking xxxxx. Weproceeded through all those obstacles with no damage andlittle effort. In the afternoon, we did Golden Crack, GoldenStair, Body Snatcher and Gold Bar Rim. During theafternoon Tom Crier had a fuel problem with his Disco thatwould starve his car for fuel whenever he tried to go up anyincline. We kept his car running and he was able to go outon his own power. Mark Handlovich and Larry Grubbs hadto take their obligatory attempts at Double Whammy.Neither was successful. We had dinner at Eddie McStiff’s.Tom Cryer’s son drove about half of the obstacles andlooks like a future member of the Solihull Society.

Day 2 - Behind the Rocks

Trip Participants: We had the usual cast of characters,except that Dave Lucas and his wife; Tammy replaced TomCryer and his son.

Dave Lucas and his wife met us for breakfast at the MoabDiner and discussed the possibility of driving with us thatday. We told them we were doing Behind the Rocks andthey were welcome to come. Dave wasn’t so sure but hiswife carried the day and convinced him they should do it.They did very well that day. In the morning, we did theTiptoe Behind the Rocks portion, High Dive, Upchuck andcontinued on toward White-Knuckle Hill. We decided to goup it, rather than down, so we took the trail that leads bythe end of Pritchard Canyon and then goes up HunterCanyon to reach White Knuckle Hill.

We proceeded uneventfully until we were to climb whatlooked like an easy piece of slip rock. Mark’s Jeep did notagree with that assessment. He ended up stripping all thegears in his rear Dana Forty. Bill Burke and Mark starteddisassembling his rear differential so as not to do any moredamage than had already been done. The rest of us wentaround him to clear the last obstacle before White-KnuckleHill. This last obstacle provided several interestingmoments. Our friend Mark Stolte going up the obstaclebanged one of his protection plates into a rock. Notrealizing it was a protection plate and, not part of his car,he became quite agitated and used language I had not heardbefore, or since. Dave Lucas climbing the same obstaclenot wearing a seat belt was almost ejected from the car. Hisright shoulder caught the upper part of the window and hewas prevented from being ejected. By the time the rest ofus made it through this obstacle, Mark‘s jeep was againmoving. However, he was operating with front wheel drive.By the time we had finished this latest episode, it was nowtoo dark to do White- Knuckle Hill. We had dinner atZak’s Pizza that evening.

Day 3 - Pritchard Canyon

Trip Participants: Fewer vehicles, more riders. Mark Stolte,Shaun Gorman, Pat Bickford and Larry Grubbs.

Pritchard Canyon is always a fun trip. Mark Stolte wasselected by Bill Burke to be our leader. The first obstaclewas Commitment Hill. Mark decided to take anunconventional line. After completing this trip down the hillMark was white and it took him about four hours to get hiscolor back. He showed us how to do two wheeled bumps.After that, it was pretty uneventful until we got to somepotholes just before Rocker Knocker. We were alternatelypracticing guiding and, we guided Larry a little off thedesired line. He was at an angle of greater than 50 degrees

but prevented from going over by a rock in his rear quarterpanel. The look on Larry’s face showed that he did notappreciate this or, the pictures being taken.

We then continued on to Rocker Knocker where we had a50% success rate. Shawn Gorman and Pat Bickford made itover the obstacle. After Rocker Knocker we had lunch. Wethen proceeded to go the rest of the way through PritchardCanyon. We got to practice our winching techniques goingover the Rock Pile. When we finished Pritchard Canyon, itwas still early so we decided that today was the day to doWhite-Knuckle Hill. We all proceeded through HunterCanyon to White Knuckle Hill. Pat Bickford was the firstand, literally leapt up the obstacle. He looked like apouncing frog. Shaun Gorman drove up very smoothly andmade it look like a piece of cake. We got to practice ourwinching techniques with the other two. After completingWhite Knuckle Hill we continued on to the sand dunes. Wemet our previous compatriots Tom Crier, his son and DaveLucas and his wife at the dunes. The most awe-inspiringsight was seeing Tom Cryer’s Disco totally airborne abovethe sand dunes. We then went to Buck’s Grill House fordinner. Bill Burke presented awards and we all went homeafter a very satisfying day of learning and practicing.

Day 4 – Lower Helldorado

Trip Participants:

Pat Bickford,Mark Stolte,Shaun Gorman

On our last day we decided to do a short trail so that wecould get out by noon so that Pat could fly to St. Louis onbusiness and, the rest of the guys make it home at a decenthour.

Pat Bickford who had done pretty well during the previousthree days ran into a couple of problems this day. Butthanks to the expert spotting of Norman Hall, the madAussie, he was able to get Pat through this trail. Aftercompleting the trail we all met back at the Bowen Moteland started returning to civilization.

In Summary:

The Best Driver: Shaun Gorman in spite of being in adiesel, he drove most obstacles effortlessly and made itlook simple.

The Cleanest Car: Mark Stolte’s white Defender neverseemed to get dirty; it was cleaned & polished every day.

Instruction: The object of these days was to learn to bebetter trail leaders, learn to be leaders, learn how to handledifficult situations and, to be prepared for almost anything.Bill Burke did this in an excellent manner. He got usthrough all the obstacles, instructed all of us on how to beleaders, taught us all to practice our spotting skills and,helped us all to be better drivers. It was four days wellspent.

CHINAMAN’S GULCHAPRIL 13, 2003by Hanz Schultze

So what should we expect for the first trail ride of theseason in spring? Snow? Rain? Breakage? Timidity?Bravado? Sparse participation? Oil and waterpersonalities?.

First phase was the polite introductions and get-to-know-each-other small talk. The polite participants included:David and Kara [please be the right spelling] Garbs eachtaking turns in the white ’95 D90 hardtop. Kara wouldattempt to impersonate a counter-weight. Scott Launer inthe Rover green ’97 D90 automatic [more about that later]hardtop. Chris Davis in his ’94 naked [no outside roll cage]’94 D90. Charlie told me that Chris bought the D as asalvaged vehicle and with only his small bag of tools,

disassembled and reassembled the entire vehicle. Craig [toomany Davises, Craig?] Davis in his ’96 Disco. His wife hadto work or we would have had another Davis driving adisco. Rich Dekkard in a sputtering ’97 Disco. Blamed thealtitude. Ed Aldrich in a Vermont rusted ’88 Rangie withVermont plates. Ralph Bradt in his African safari Serieswith the appropriate roll up soft top. Dan & Karen in a ’99J**p TJ. Karen got to drive also. Charlie Haigh designatedspotter, sans vehicle. Hans Schulze ’95 white D90 soft top.[And unofficially and only part of the trip, Ray in a ’69titled Bronco.]

Second phase was the up and down look. That’s whereparticipants riding with each other for the first time subtlywalk the line checking out each other’s equipment. [don’tbe tempted to gutterize your mind, now] Polite questionsabout setups are a disguise to answer thequestion…where’s the beef.

Third phase was to determine the trail leader. Most had notdriven the gulch and some that did suffered fromAlzheimer’s. Rich opened his mouth about something thateveryone else interpreted as voluntarism and…we had ourleader. What resulted were directions by committee, which,to the surprise of most, resulted in no track-backs.

Here are some highlights of the trip.

I swear I’m speaking English, he seems to say. Charlieappeared in 61 of the 124 pictures I kept. Veerrryyy busy.He also demonstrated the art of spotting while holding acamera in one hand.

Charliiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Craig and Rich became buddy buddy, talking that Discojive. Rich was trying to talk Craig into selling ancillaryparts off his Disco, like the corner guards, his CD playeretc. to finance offroading parts.

If you look closely at the bumper and undercarriage, you’llsee the Vermont rust Ed is so proud of. In the backgroundyou can see Chris either disassembling or assembling hisvehicle. Kara conquering one of the harder obstacles.

As the D slides into danger Kara’s bailing out of thecounter-balance theory.

Here she’s gesturing to David about his counter-balancetheory, but uneducated about which finger to use.

Scott taking on one of the harder obstacles and showingsome flex. Someone opined that having an automatic maybe unfair advantage. Well, someone retorted, there are noclasses such as stock or slightly modified, or modified.There is only one class…the open class. Chris getting moreideas on either disassembling or assembling his vehicle.Ralph, attempting to pull Ed into danger.

Ralph demonstrating new gesture he learned in the weehours of LoDo.Chris, caught between a rock and a disinterested spectator.

Chris’ natural position.

Oh, let’s cut it out. Here’s the

handsome devil.

Rich showing off his under wares…on his way to the top.

Picking his next obstacle.

But really, we all had a good time.

WHY?Because we all have a good sense of humor. Right? Itdoesn’t get any better than this. Thanks for the ride.

Each year Land Rover Clubs in the UnitedStates and Canada are invited to send a teamto compete in the Adventure TeamChallenge. The winners of the event becomethe North American Land Rover Club RallyChampions. In 2001 Sean Gorman, formerClub President and friend, Dan Cooper,competed and managed to bring home the1st place trophy for the Solihull Society.Unfortunately in 2002 no club team wasavailable to defend the event.

This year a team is being entered from theSolihull Society in an attempt to “win back”our club the title. The team will consist ofmyself Larry Grubbs, current club VicePresident, and Norman Hall, club Editor. Wewill try to ignore the fact that we will havean Australian attempting to win a NorthAmerican Title and will temporarily considerhim a token American for the duration of theevent. So far our team has been very activein securing sponsors to help us get myRange Rover ready for the event. Thosecompanies who are assisting us at listed atthe end of this article.

The week-long competition rally is designedto give Land Rover clubs (big or small) theopportunity to have a representative teamtest their driving, navigation, and enduranceskills against other Land Rover Clubs in theUnited States and Canada. The winningteam earns the title as the North AmericanLand Rover Club Rally Champions.

The teams will be scored in Special Taskevents that fall into a number of differentcategories. Individual tasks may includesome or all of the following disciplines:

· Driving skills

· Driving Maneuverability (gymkhanacourses, trials courses,maneuverability exercises, etc.)

· Navigation/route finding (locating orfollowing Waypoint locations usingGPS coordinates, or using tulipcharts to reach the task finish line)

· Orienteering (map and compass work)

· Use of vehicle equipment (winches,snatch blocks, tools, etc.)

· Physical Challenges (this is where fast,sometimes creative thinking comesin to use setting up and executingcommand task assignment usingvehicle carried or providedequipment). Do not laugh, Normanand myself have been trying to get fitto survive this part of thecompetition.

Each clubs’ representative team mustcomprise of one Land Rover vehicle [oursbeing a 1990 Range Rover], each vehiclehaving a driver [Larry Grubbs] andnavigator [Norman Hall] competing. Eachteam will be responsible for their owncamping equipment and provisions.

At the end of each day after all the teamshave completed the Special Tasks they willbe given instructions (via GPS coordinatewaypoints) as to the next event location.They must make their way to the new sitethat night set up camp and be ready to gofirst thing the next morning at the newlocation. The event locations between thestart and the finish will be kept under wrapsbecause navigating to those locations eachnight (via the GPS waypoints) will be partof the event (sealed Emergency Maps willbe furnished to the teams if they becomelost, but points will be subtracted if they areopened).

Performance in most, if not all, of theSpecial Tasks will be judged relative totimes taken. This does not imply that high

speed driving ability is required. Points willbe awarded relative to performance in eachTask and the Team with the most pointsafter all the Tasks have been run will bedesignated the Adventure Team Challengewinners and the North American LandRover Club Rally Champions.

Teams entering the competition will besubjected to 5 days of grueling challenges asthey strive for the honor of victor on theAdventure Team Challenge. The event isapparently suited for all levels of skill butwill challenge even the most experiencedteams with the diverse terrain; steep rockytrails through wooded areas, tight trialscourses, classic prairie conditions (flat openexpanses with deep mud sections), heavilyovergrown section roads, water crossings,forests, etc.

We will put a post event article in the clubmagazine to let you know how we all went,or if we actually survived.

Our Sponsors [Please support them asthey support us]:-

SuperwinchMotorcars LtdLand Rover Flat IronsSimex Tires4 - Wheeling AmericaHigh Coutnry Performance 4x4Star Accounting Solutions

Solihull Society Moab Flat Iron Mesa TrailMoab Thursday 4/24/2003by Nick Weede

Our group assembled at City Market Saturday 9 AM. Westarted with seven trucks. They were: Jim Molter in his“Chief” D-90 who was trail Leader, me in my 2000Discovery as tail gunner, Hans Schulz in his tricked up D-90, Alvi Vali in a 1993 Range Rover, Scott Laner & hisfather Chris in their D-90, Jerry Stuart in his new JeepRubicon & Larry Grubbs and Norman Hall in Larry’s 1990Range Rover. Jim led us up to the trail head, through thegate onto Flat Iron Mesa.

Everything was going fine until about a half mile into thetrail when I radioed Jim that there could be a serious

problem due to a large amount on fresh oil on the track.Jim stopped the group to check all vehicles. Larry Grubbsfound that he had lost a seal on his left front shock, it hadliterally exploded. Larry and Norman then turned aroundand headed back to Moab to get repairs. Later Larry toldus that he had a new part being shipped in from Denver, noparts beign available in Moab despite considerablesearching on their part. Now we were six.

The first section of the trail is moderate with a couple ofledges that have to be navigated along with a hill climb.When we reached the small slick rock hill and descended tothe dirt track below we found the trail had been blocked bya dead tree. We were rerouted back up over a rock shelfand onto a dirt road. We followed this road over aconsiderable distance to the main dirt road. Going the newroute bypasses the waterfall and a very nice viewoverlooking the canyon.

From here we climbed the first obstacle and started thesecond leg of the trail. Soon we arrived at an obstaclecalled the Tilt-A-Whirl”. Everyone had a good time here.Each truck had a rear wheel well of the ground while

descending. We stopped here for lunch and headed off toEaster Egg Hill. This obstacle is usually in good condition.However, this was the week following the Jeep Safari andthe obstacle was made very difficult by the Jeeps chewingup the trail. All trucks needed a spotter down the hill. Thegroup made it with no major damage. Continuing on wesqueezed past the rock near the cliff and canyon drop off.

After this the trail has a few stair steps to climb and a dirtroad out. We were again diverted off the trail by a newbarbed wire fence. We took the diverted trail to thehighway. It was a nice cool day with plenty of sunshine.Some thoughts stand out in my mind from the trail. Jim’sexpert leadership was much appreciated by all, Hans whosetruck will go anywhere, and Ali who is always looking outfor the wellbeing of all in the group. All in all it wasanother wonderful day on the trail.

Mary Moulter

Nick Weede on Seven Mile Rim. Yes the angle is real

The Solihul Group Relax after Wipe Out Hill

Solihull Society 2003 EventsPlease visit www.4x4trails.net or Charles Wells Trail Books for info on trails and ratings.Please contact the trail leader before the trail ride dates to let them know you are going.If you are interested in leading trails that are TBD, contact Ali Vali at [email protected]

Date Description Contact Info. / Trail Leader05-18-03 Carnage Canyon near Boulder Hans Schulze

Trail is rated difficult. [email protected] TBD Pending trail openings (snow) TBD06-08-03 Spring Creek Trail near Downieville

Trail is rated difficult and very rocky. TBD06-10-03 Club Meeting - 7:30 PM

Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave.06-14-03 Twin Cone Peak Trail - Summit of Kenosha Pass Ali Vali

Trail is rated moderate to difficult. [email protected] Bill Moore Lake Trail near Empire

Trail is rated moderate and short. TBD06-28-03 to 06-29-03 Battlement Mesa near Parachute Larry Grubbs

Difficult Trail. Overnight camping [email protected] Wheeler lake Trail near Alma Ali Vali

Trail is rated moderate to difficult. [email protected] to 07-11-03 Rubicon Trail near Truckee California Norman Hall

Very Difficult trail. [email protected] McCallister Gulch Trail near Camp Hale Tim Clair

Trail is rated moderate and very scenic. [email protected] - 07-20-03 Holy Cross Camping Trip near Leadville Larry Grubbs

Difficult trail, damage possible, lockers [email protected] to 07-27-03 Blanca Peak near the sand dunes Hans Schulze

Trail is rated most difficult, lockers [email protected] Club BBQ and Swap Meet Tim Clair

More information TBA [email protected] Trail Run, Jenny Creek near Rollinsville Doug Davis

Trail is rated Moderate and short. [email protected] to 08-10-03 Crested Butte to Aspen via Taylor Pass Ali Vali

Camping Friday and Saturday night nearReno Divide. Moderate 4-wheeling, scenic [email protected]

08-12-03 Club Meeting - 7:30 PMZangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave.

08-16-03 Summit County-Georgia Pass, Middle Fork Ali Valiof Swan, St. JohnsTrails are rated as easy to moderate [email protected]

08-30-03 Iron Chest Trail near Buena Vista Larry GrubbsTrail is rated difficult. Rock sliders andclearance is recommended. [email protected]

09-10-03- 09-14-03 National Rally Moab, UT Pat BickfordMore information will be posted. [email protected]

10-14-03 Club Meeting - 7:30 PMZangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave.

12-07-03 Holiday Party Mt. Vernon Country club

Basic Wheel Measurements

There are several critical measurements to take into account when selecting a wheel or when replacing your stockwheels with aftermarket wheels (wheels and rims being used interchangeably in this article). Among theseimportant measurements are:

· Wheel Diameter

o This is the total wheel diameter when measured from bead seat to bead seat. When replacing tires you ofcourse must know the wheel diameter, but this will be stamped on the old tires. If you are browsingthrough a stack of wheels that are not stamped an easy way to determine the diameter is to measure themaximum diameter from rim to rim and then with a ruler measure the distance from the rim down to the

bead seat. Subtract twice the distance which you measured down to the bead seat from the rim to rimdiameter and you will have the correct wheel diameter. Wheel diameter is a critical consideration whenchanging or altering brake components. It is also believed by many that 15" wheels have a superior beaddesign and better bead retention than 16", 16.5" or 17" wheels.

· Wheel Width

o The wheel width or rim width is the distance between the outside edges of the bead seat. Most popularrim width for 4x4s would be 6", 7", 7.5", 8" and 10". Rims wider than this are usually only used on truckswith extreme overwidth tires. The tire manufacturer will publish guidelines for what rim width should beused with which tire. In general 7" rims will comfortably work with tires up to 10.5" wide, 8" wide rimswork for 9.5" up to 12.5" wide tires and 10" wide rims are used for 12.5" and wider. Many rims will notbe available in width wider than 8" and rims wider than 10" are much more difficult to find.

o Rim width relative to tread width has an effect on bead retention when aired down and on the overall tireprofile. In general a narrower wheel (from within the manufacturers guidelines) will result in a morerounded profile with a slightly smaller footprint but with slightly greater protection of the wheel.Narrower wheels also may retain the bead marginally better when aired down than will the wider wheels.Wider wheel provide a flatter tire profile and greater footprint. Since the rim is wider it will not be asprotected from the rocks as would a narrower wheel with the same tire. The tire carcass will exert lesspressure on the wider width bead when aired down and a wider wheel may thus be marginally more likelyto lose a bead when pressures are low. Wider wheels, with less sidewall bulge, may reduce the rubbing oflarge tires on the springs at full turn.

· Backspacing

o Backspacing is the distance from the inside rim surface to the backside of the wheel mounting surface. Itdetermines how far a wheel (& tire) sticks into or out of the wheel well of the vehicle. Wheels with a lotof backspacing will stick further in. Wheels with little back spacing will stick further out. Sometimeswhen swapping in wider axles 4x4 owners will switch to a wheel with much more backspacing tocompensate. You should note that the backspacing measurement is critical when considering the wheelsclearance of the suspension, braking and steering components as well as the body. All of these must beconsidered in both normal conditions and when at full suspension travel or articulation.

· Offset

o Offset is the distance from the exact wheel centerline to the inside wheel mounting surface. Offset andBackspacing are related. A large amount of offset can change the leverage and the loads on axle or wheelbearings and so if possible you should stay (within reason) close to the stock wheel offset. In addition tochanging the load on the bearings changing the offset significantly will change the turning radius (of thetire) and may effect both steering response and steering stability.

· Bolt Pattern [see diagram on opposite page]

o The bolt pattern has two essential parts. The first is simple it is the number of bolts. The second is thediameter of the “bolt circle”. The bolt circle is an imaginary circle which passes through the centerline ofeach of the hubs wheel fasteners. On a wheel with 4, 6 or 8 bolt holes the measurement is simple: Justmeasure from the center of one hole to the center of the hole directly across from it. On a wheel with 5bolt holes this is not possible. The next best thing, which will provide a “close enough” approximation isto measure from the center of one bolt hole to a line (or ruler) that is drawn between the opposite edge ofthe two opposing bolt holes. The bolt pattern is then indicated by the number of bolts X the bolt circlediameter - for example a 5x5.5" bolt pattern is 5 bolt hole arranged around a circle which is 5.5" indiameter. This may also be referred to as 5 on 5.5"

Article courtesy of some website I was browsing

The Solihull SocietyPO Box 480864Denver, CO 80248–0864www.SolihullSociety.org

2003-02

Documents

Transcript of 2003-02