2013 T.A.Co. Gathering - Official Thread

really cool documentary (i guess) of helldorado

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEKMKs2iPTM&feature=share&list=UUKzIyplv3FIj1EXoFsRG0qg

 

how to make escalator look hard in a built up rig (mainly due to bad spotting imo)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWtbvixBZvU&feature=share&list=UUKzIyplv3FIj1EXoFsRG0qg

 

Gee that vid sure makes me appreciate our long wheelbases

 

Seriously, that was a zig-zag through all the pot holes

 

I thought he was crazy when he had them get the tow strap out but I think it really was a good thing. Haha

 

Now that is how you do it!

 

keep right and keep it here and your gonna go there and here turn there, keep it coming turn left just a pinch and then turn right and left, no your other left and there

 

dog shelter reservations for the beginning of the trip...check

reservation for antelope and rattlesnake canyon...check

rest will be flying by the seat of our pants down there til we get into moab hopefully by monday night...

one step closer

 

spotter making it seem hard so it looks like he's doing something useful

 

Yeah... Not positive here but I think he should have just hugged the wall a little more on the drivers side, like maybe 6" if that, and he wouldn't have needed that strap.

 

pretty much..keep the tires level as much as you can by staying the same distance up the walls

 

yea that looks completely different now...

 

One of the cool things about wheeling and trails in general, like it or not, they are constantly changing from natural or man induced causes. I find this very similar for the courses I race downhill bikes on, every year the trail is harder in some spots and easier in other, but always changing, even from the beginning of summer to the end.

 

A family friend is going to build me some skids. He is going to charge me for material and a wicked discount on the labor. Should be set for Moab season. Now I need to find me a tent. I am between a couple at REI but I cannot figure out which one to get. They have a 20% off sale right now so I need to decide quick.

Link to REI

Options are:
REI Kingdom 4 Tent - 2012
$389.00


Marmot Limestone 4P Tent
$339.00


REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011
$299.00


REI Base Camp 4 Tent
$369.00

 

Great selection, here are my views on these, as I have been through this. It looks like you live in Illinois, and I do not know much about the weather there, but if it gets windy, the Kingdom and Hobitat are going to be sails and have a strong possibility of blowing over/away in high gusts (50+ mph, which is common out here).

I have the Base Camp 4, and it is a great tent, but that said I am on my 4th one in the past 5 years or so, which is no problem given that it is REI. Two of them ripped through lots of use, and one had the poles snap and rip a gaping hole in the winds I referred to above, so even a lower profile one is not immune. I was not expecting high gusts (sustained wind is not a problem) when this happened, so I did not have the guy lines set, which may have prevented this, who knows.

I have no experience with the Marmot, but was considering trying it if my current BC4 fails again.
edit - in looking at the poles for this one, I would be leary of the two at the top that do not connect to the base.

Let me know if you have any more questions on these.

 

how much camping will you be doing ?
I do a far amount over the summer and I have always just went with a decent one from like coleman

 

Good point, I should add that I put over 30 nights a year in my tents, in all sorts of weather.