PHX13's 2015 DCSB and trailer build thread (and BS)

Mounted my rear @Pelfreybilt bumper today. Was kinda bummed because when I opened it up, the side had some significant scratches in the powder coat. Any way to touch those up @Pelfreybilt @mh.meier, def don't want to powdercot the whole thing again. If nothing else, will just spray that section with some paint, unless y'all have other ideas. Let me know if y'all need a pic of it to see how it is.


Anyways, bumper is stout!! Pretty stoked with how it looks and feels. Y'all make a great product!

 

Hey Rob, sorry for the inconvenience there. We tried our hardest to get everything there scratch free! We use Cardinal Paints BK120 for Powdercoat touch up if you can get it from a paint supplier like pittsburg paints etc. The should match the best since we use a semi gloss 120. Let me know man, I will do what I can to help you out. Also, I am pretty sure I have that same exact shovel haha, bought it at big lots a few years ago to match my red stuff and now it is pink.

 

Thanks for the info, def isn't a huge inconvenience, just didn't really k ow the best way to go about fixing it.

Funny stuff about the shovel!

 

Thats the best way we have found honestly. It matches up pretty well. Yeah it looks the same anyway. Get the CO2 mounted up yet? I still am trying to figure out how I want to mount it.

 

Dont listen to him, he likes everything.

 

Not yet @mh.meier . Not sure if I want to mount it horizontally and pull it out to use it, or mount it upright, just so tall though....

 

Had taken a road trip to Arkansas this past month. The reason for the trip was that it was the 12th anniversary weekend of our friend and brother Jason Scot Clairday (CPL/USMC) being killed in Fallujah on Dec 12, 2004 as part of Operation Phantom Fury. Jason was a newly married young man, and all the guys who had come along had known Jason for years, as we all came up together in our first unit, 1st FAST Co (Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company). Half of us who were there were all stationed with Jason with 3/5, which is the unit he was with when he was killed. Anyways, Jason is a true hero, and was awarded the Navy Cross, so here is his Navy Cross Citation:

So, anyways, the trip was a chance for the 6 us to not only get together in real life, but to pay homage to and visit our brother. Gist of the trip: I live in Arizona, so my friend Ian from Florida flew out to Phx and I picked him up at the airport at about 11:30 pm on a Thursday. Grabbed some In N Out and had a drink at my house then grabbed a few hours of sleep. 4:30 AM on Friday, we were on the road. We were meeting some other guys in Camp, Arkansas where Jason was born at around dinner time on Saturday, so we had almost 1400 miles to get done in 36 hours. On the way, my friend and I were picking up another Marine that was in our unit outside Oklahoma City. So plan was to get there the first day and sleep at his place then the three of us would hit the road in the morning.

So, I had packed up the truck with everything besides the propane tank, and our clothing bags on Thursday. Must have went through my kit 5 times to try to make sure that I had everything that I could think I would need.






Shout out to @L3Goullon for the great cases that I used to house most of the gear, and to @FrontRoyalBob for the great military sleeping systems that I had purchased off him earlier this year.

Anyways, hit the road pre dawn after grabbing fuel and coffee.

Sun rising in NE Arizona on the first day:





Made it to New Mexico:





Then Texas:





Then took this pic while grabbing fuel somewhere in Texas:





Eventually hit Oklahoma after sundown:





Eventually made it to Norman to reunite with our boy Mike. Met him at a place called Salt Grass. Was delicious.





Went back to his place and crashed for the night, Ian and I had just traveled damn near 1000 miles that day. Next day, kicked it off by stopping in Oklahoma City to see the grave of another Marine that we had all served with, who had passed in 2006 due to some unfortunate circumstances. This is also when we found out that his middle name was Lynn..... dude sure did hide that for years, and it's probably a good things because we would have talked crap everyday to him about it.





Had a morning beer with him and then we were off to Arkansas.





Anyways, made it to Camp, AR & meet up with the other 3 Marines. Plan was to visit the gravesite for a few hours, and then grab a hotel at the Cottonwood Inn in Salem, AR. Most gravesite pics I won't share, but here's two. Spent hours out in the cold, smoking cigars, drinking scotch and whiskey, and telling stories from the military and afterwards:







Made it back to the Cottonwood Inn. Small place, but clean and warm & they didn't mind three rooms of Marines getting rowdy in the parking lot all night. Made some pork green chili burritos outside on the skottle:





Next morning, made it to a local cafe and had some breakfast as a group. We were the only ones in there, but I still apologized to the waitress for being loud in there and her response was pretty much "the whole county knows who you boys are and why you're here, be as loud as you want". Grabbed a group picture since we haven't all been together since 2003.





Then, on Sunday morning we were back on the road again. The other 3 split back to their parts of the country, while Ian, Mike, and I started back towards Oklahoma to get Mike back home in time for work on Monday. Got him home, spent the night again, then the next morning Ian and I were on our way to the Dallas area to go see his cousin, who he hadn't seen in about 5 or 6 years IIRC.

Grabbed these pics of my truck on the way between OKC & Dallas, pretty sure on the OK side:







When we got to Dallas, we hit the George W. Bush Presidential Library. GWB was our Commander in Chief while we were in the Marines still, so it was only fitting. Side note though: if you show up in jeans and a t shirt, you will be woefully under dressed. Still went in and checked it all out, I'm sure GWB wouldn't mind some dumb grunts not getting the memo on what everyone else was wearing LOL.





I took a TON of pics there, so here are some of my favorites:

Some WTC steel



The Glock 18C that Saddam had when he was captured



and this pic of us at the replica oval office





Took off from the GWBPL and made our way to Ian's cousin's house, where we ate big and got a proper night's rest after a long time around teh campfire drinking and shooting bb guns in the backyard and whatnot:







Thanks to our hosts Joy & John, even though they will probably never see this LOL. Also, Jambo's BBQ was good, but Lil Miss BBQ in Phx is better.

With that trip done, the focus was pushing up to Amarillo, then out towards Albuquerque. Another long day of driving, but made it about 40 miles west of ABQ and then set up camp for the night on some dirt forest road about a mile back from the highway. Ian's first time in the RTT, he liked it.







Made it through the night, and was relatively warm even though the windchill was down in the low-mid 30s.





Some horses came to check us out:



Then fired up the skottle. Pork green chili, hash browns, and eggs:







Back on the road, bought fireworks and then finally made it back to AZ.



Stopped in Winslow. Had no idea that they had a 9/11 memorial too:



Then went and stood on the corner, in Winslow Arizona.... like a damn tourist.



Decided to go to the Grand Canyon, since Ian had never been. Went through the East entrance for simplicity sake. Got this pic of my truck at a little pullout for the Little Colorado (outside the park).



same pullout:





Then made it to the park. Didn't go crazy with pics since I've been here a ton. Here is from the Historic Watchtower:



Then some of the canyon:








Anyways, took the FR that I talked about in my Grand Canyon Camping post out of the park. Saw some elk:





That was the end of the pics for that day. Slept in a yurt at Fort Tuthill in Flagstaff that night after hitting Beaver Street Brewery in Flag as well. Next morning, meet up with @mh.meier to get a CO2 tank and then hit breakfast @ Mike & Rhonda's in Flag. Thanks for the great deal man!

Took the 89A down towards Sedona so Ian can check that all out. Had a bunch of pics on my Go Pro, but too lazy to upload them, so here are a few from Starbuck's balcony and from Chapel of the Holy Cross.

Balcony:





Chapel of the Holy Cross pics:










And then, made our way back towards my house. Pretty much 3300 miles in less than 7 days going from AZ > NM > TX > OK > AR > OK > TX > NM > AZ. From my SPOT Gen3:



Good trip w/ great friends.​

 

Dial up internet and mobile users hate the amount of pics I just loaded lol.

 

Nice setup and pics!

 

Thanks man

 

Long trip but a good one

 

Rob

Very nice tribute and great build...Thank you and your friends for all you sacrificed during your time in the Corps...Semper Fi, Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

we honor your brave and will NEVER forget your fallen...

 

If memory serves correct, you just drilled thru a crossbar right? Guessing you then needed a longer carriage bolt? Happen to remember what size, if this is all the case?

 

Pretty sure I got new ones that were 1.5", possibly 1.75"

 

Sweet, thanks! I have 1.5" ones in my garage, but wasn't sure if that was the fit. Mine will be mounted most likely this weekend.

 

yeah don't miss that turn, lol

 

I assume you missed it

 

Just looked up where exactly you're at in relation to the camp spot.

Holy shit, you're out there!!

 

By a long shot. We had to stop and make camp on the side of the trail because it got too dark. We found the small "Bass Trail" sign on the way back.

 

On the upside, you will NEVER miss the turn again, trust me!!!