Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Airdog · Mar 24, 2022

MonkeyProof said: ↑

4wd will get a p0500 code, essentially the same thing. One missing signal will set a ABS DTC for whatever side its one and disables the ABS sytem, no signal from both sides will set the p0500
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Oops...that was a typo on my part it is a P0500 on mine also. Heres a quick down and dirty video on how i'm getting rid of the p0500 code. Obviously my ABS will be completly inop with this rearend but i'm ok with that considering i inop it offroad anyways. The video is the first test run I did to see if it actually worked. I have since figured out how to jumper the wires right at the ABS ECU to get the same effect and not have to run long lengths of wire.
https://youtu.be/N58Pi7smljM

MonkeyProof · Mar 24, 2022

Airdog said: ↑

Oops...that was a typo on my part it is a P0500 on mine also. Heres a quick down and dirty video on how i'm getting rid of the p0500 code. Obviously my ABS will be completly inop with this rearend but i'm ok with that considering i inop it offroad anyways. The video is the first test run I did to see if it actually worked. I have since figured out how to jumper the wires right at the ABS ECU to get the same effect and not have to run long lengths of wire.
https://youtu.be/N58Pi7smljM
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good work!

somewhere here at TW I posted the Toyota connector ID chart and part numbers..or maybe I posted it at the other place. anyways, shouldn't be too hard to find matching OEM connectors if you're going to build a harness.

Crom · Mar 24, 2022

ETAV8R said: ↑

Here you go...written in with theme of amazing achievements...gotta love the LA Times BS.

Blisters, nausea, hallucinations: A hiker’s grueling attempt to cross Death Valley in four days

Astrophysicist Cameron Hummels rests at the Harry Wade Exit Route marker on Feb. 18 in Death Valley.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
March 10, 2022 5 AM PT
Death Valley National Park —
It was only a matter of hours before the hallucinations took hold.

“I am starting to crack,” Cameron Hummels texted on a February morning after hiking more than 113 miles on foot in one of the most desolate, extreme environments on the face of the planet: Death Valley.

After five hours of restless sleep, Hummels, 43, awoke that day to lashing winds and harsh sun on his face. A feeling of complete isolation seized him as he gazed out across Badwater Basin, a barren salt flat that holds the title of lowest point in the Western Hemisphere — in the hottest region on Earth.

His goal was to traverse the entirety of Death Valley National Park on foot in four days — cutting the previous record nearly in half. To do that, he would need to cover the next 56 miles and change without sleeping. Already he’d endured a furious sand storm, dodged vents spewing toxic gas, chugged water laced with arsenic. It was the final push — 24 hours awake and in motion. Soon after he set out that Monday, nausea set in. Then nosebleeds and diarrhea.

The wiry, sandy-haired astrophysicist is part of a growing subculture of endurance obsessives — men and women who have set their sights on completing outdoor running and hiking feats and breaking arcane records in the process. They compete in the insular world of fastest known times, or FKTs, jockeying to capture records that come with minimal glory but often plenty of pain. With so many traditional races canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FKT movement surged in popularity.

Hummels keyed in to one of the movement’s more obscure routes, in which the “hiker has to feel/act as he/she is the only one on the planet,” according to the creator’s rules. It’s perhaps not the tallest order in the lonely expanse that is Death Valley, but Hummels took the extreme measure one step further: He brought only 2 liters of water for the roughly 170-mile trek.

“Not going to give up,” continued the message he texted from a satellite device.
Actually, though, he wasn’t sure. “Am going crazy with sleep dep and fatigue,” he wrote. It wasn’t even 8 a.m. There were still more than 24 hours to go.

Hummels is an ultrarunner and through-hiker, an athlete who walks long-distance trails such as the Pacific Crest (2,653 miles) from beginning to end. He started thinking about crossing Death Valley before he knew he could earn a record for it.

Cameron Hummels set out to traverse Death Valley on foot and off-trail in four days.
He was fascinated by the valley’s extremes, its promise of rare solitude in a world where humans have reached every far-flung corner. The park’s inky night skies are famous for stargazing — a particular draw for someone whose livelihood is intertwined with space. On Strava, a social platform for tracking exercise, Hummels’ profile name is Luke Skywalker. He applied to be an astronaut. Though Death Valley isn’t the final frontier, it’s nearly as lonely.

And like many drawn to extreme sports, Hummels courts suffering. “It makes the highs higher to have the lows lower,” he said cheerfully in a recent interview. About three years ago, while reading “Hiking Death Valley” by Michel Digonnet, a comprehensive guide to the barren landscape, Hummels came across a description of a route that stretched from the north end of the park to its southern tip. It was laid out as something that could be tackled over weeks, not days.

The forbidding landscape of Death Valley as seen from the Ashford Mill Ruins along Bad Water Road near the Ashford Junction in Death Valley.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
When Hummels began to look into hiking the route, he discovered that two intrepid Europeans had already made the crossing and recorded their times at fastestknowntime.com. The websiteis the closest thing to a record book for endurance junkies.

Louis-Philippe Loncke, a self-described Belgian explorer, logged the first crossing in 2015 at just under eight days. In 2019, Frenchman Roland Banas broke the record when he clocked in at a littleunder seven days. Both men completed the traverse alone, off-trail and unsupported.

Hummels longed to join the leaderboard. Though he frequently described the project as “silly,” it jibes with the ethos of FKT culture. Peter Bakwin, who co-founded the Fastest Known Time site, told the New York Times, “The only authority I have is that I started this stupid little website.”

As route pioneer, Loncke wrote the rules. To qualify for the unsupported FKT, no one can help you. Civilization is to be avoided. National park rules must be observed. All food and water have to be carried from the get-go. Nothing can be stashed along the way. But natural resources are fair game.

In Death Valley, the driest place in North America, there’s not much water for the lapping. Loncke and Banas lugged their entire supply on their backs. Between food, water and gear, Banas set out with 90 pounds, he said in his trip report. Loncke, in his own report, said he fell several times under the weight of his heavy pack during his first day.

Hummels felt he could easily shave days off the journey if he traveled lighter. All he had to do was find water along the way that wouldn’t kill him.

The park is nominally bone-dry, with just tiny seeps and springsfed by snowmelt or underground aquifers. But they’re few and far between. Many are seasonal. Others are dangerous to drink from because of high levels of arsenic, uranium or salt.

To track down the water sources, the Caltech computational astrophysicist launched into a research rabbit hole. First he scoured the internet for clues, buthe found limited resources. Why would people identify potentially hazardous water, when they could just buy it at the gas station or fill up at a spigot? Even the park hydrologist didn’t have the information Hummels needed for his quest.

Hummels’ feet are covered with caked-on dirt as he rests in Death Valley.
So Hummelslooked further back in time — to more than 100 years ago, when a mining boom drew visitors to the region. Heturned up a U.S. Geological Survey report from 1909 called “Some Desert Watering Places in Southeastern California and Southwestern Nevada.” Then he pulled up satellite images and identified patches of vegetation, potential signs of H2O.

Whenever Hummels visitedthe park, he’d hike to one of the spots. There might be a centimeter-deep puddle. Often, there was nothing at all. He collected water samples and sent them to be tested for chemicals, bacteria and other unseen menaces. None of the water was pristine, to say the least. Some had high levels of salt or uranium. One had five times the federal limit of arsenic, “which is not great,” he said. Still, he reasoned, filtering and drinking a limited amount over a short period of time would be OK. Just to make sure, he decided to guzzle some in the safety of his Pasadena home.

Hummels runs in Death Valley.
“I’d rather vomit or faint within my home instead of being in, like, 100-degree weather on the valley floor, where if I faint, I’m dead,” Hummels said in late February 2021.

About a week later, on March 5, Hummels announced online his intention to traverse the park two days later. (It’s necessary to give notice and document the trip to capture the FKT.)

But when March 7 rolled around, Hummels “felt like complete garbage,” he wrote in the comments section for the route on the Fastest Known Time site. First he postponed the trip by a day, then a week. But he still didn’t feel well. He was at the start of a long, mysterious illness. Months passed, marked by bouts of nausea, headaches and fatigue. A clear answer never came. Tests, including several for COVID-19, came back negative. Visits to specialists were inconclusive. The culprit, Hummels believes, was a virus in the water he had collected. But instead of giving up, he decided to double down on treating the water. In addition to filtering it, he’d add chlorine dioxide drops to knock out all the baddies. Ultimately, it took a year for Hummels to find the nexus of decent weather and good health to attempt the journey. Last month, on Valentine’s Day, he finally set out.

Hummels felt exuberant as he began his journey at 7,000 feet, in the snowy Sylvania Mountains. It was fun — and fast — to descend Last Chance Wash into Death Valley proper. It didn’t matter that he’d barely slept the night before or that the bushy Joshua trees and pinyon pines were shredding his skin. His pack was a relatively light 25.4 pounds, and he carried just 2 liters of water to tide him over until he reached a small seep at Mile 17.

An epic sunset enveloped him as he strode past the wide maw of the Ubehebe Crater. He’d managed nearly 37 miles. It was a good day and would prove the easiest of Hummels’ expedition. But the water he collected along the first leg of the journey was high in arsenic. Nausea was already kicking in. By the morning of Feb. 15, his good spirits had flattened to just “OK.” At sunrise, Hummels rose and packed up camp — a humble bivy and a sleeping quilt. It was brisk, below 40 degrees. He drained blisters, taped trouble spots and gulped down 1,200 calories of oatmeal and olive oil. Before heading out, he filtered 7 liters of water. Two he chugged on the spot; the rest would accompany him for the next 40 miles.

Hummels passed by the Ashford Mill Ruins on his trek through Death Valley.

As a forecast windstorm arrived in late morning, fierce gusts of up to 50 mph pushed him around and kicked up sand and dust. The debris was vaulted into the air and formed a haboob — a towering wall of sand. To keep the particulate matter out of his lungs, he strapped on an N95 mask. After crossing drainages and salt-sand features, Hummels dropped into a canyon in the Kit Fox Hills, which shielded him from the brunt of the wind. Eventually he landed at Keane Wonder Springs, his destination for the night. He had completed just over 40miles. A nearby hydrogen sulfide vent was spewing toxic gas. So he filled up on water as quickly as he could and scampered up the hillside — beyond an old miner’s cabin. The gas is heavier than air, and Hummels reasoned that it would be safer to camp above its source. Still, he had inhaled enough of it to make his sinuses burn. The following day, his nose would bleed and bleed. He made camp at about 12:30 a.m., and he still needed to eat, drink and lance blisters. At 2 a.m. he bedded down, the wind still howling.

Cameron Hummels
Hummels awoke on Feb. 16 after just four hours of uneasy sleep. This was the leg of the journey he’d been dreading the most because of the rough terrain of the salt flats ahead.

Both men who had completed the route before him similarly wrestled with physical and psychological distress on the third day.

That day, Banas wrote, “was the beginning of a crescendo in pain and difficulties.” Loncke summed it up: “Whatever the expedition, the third day is always difficult.”

After hiking for about six miles, Hummels reached Highway 190, a main thoroughfare in the park. It marked the halfway point of his journey. Cars whizzed by. It might have been a welcome sight to another weary traveler, but he was on a different planet now. He scurried past, eager to get away from civilization.

The terrain on the flats alternated between salt marsh, where his feet sank with each step, and salt stalagmites, which rose between 6 inches and 2 feet. He dubbed the stalagmites “fairy castles” as he strode past them.

Under the midday sun, the temperature soared past 100 degrees. He passed by mysterious tilled rows where miners had harvested borax more than 100 years ago. Winds kicked up again in the late afternoon. But there was nowhere to hide on the flats, and he had so many miles to go. As the sun set, Hummels began trekking over salt polygons rising from the earth. The flats are known for these strange terrestrial patterns. But navigating the crystalline ridges in the dark proved treacherous. Around midnight he reached Eagle Borax Spring, where he replenished his water. Utterly exhausted, he drifted off to sleep around 2:30 a.m. at the foot of snowcapped Telescope Peak.

When he awoke five hours later, he felt awful. It was Feb. 17, his final day. The longest stretch by far lay ahead — a more than 24-hour push to the finish. His doubts reached a fever pitch. That’s when he shot off the crestfallen messages. “You don’t have to come,” he wrote to this reporter. “But if you do come, I will give you 100 dollars to drive me back to my car in the park.” Nine miles separated vehicle and trip’s end. His plan had been to walk. Suddenly, it didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore. “I guess this is what happens,” he wrote, “when you press up against the boundaries of what you can accomplish.” Hummels’ girlfriend, Katherine de Kleer, was concerned enough to contemplate traveling to the area. But there was a snag: She had left her car in the park so he could drive it back. She remained at home, worrying. Unsure if he would reach his goal, Hummels pressed on. Through surreal terrain he called “soft marshmallow soil” and “frosted flakes.” Along the banks of the Amargosa River, sometimes sinking into its muddy grasp.

Between sunset and moonrise, he stopped to eat and rest his legs and feet, which were now in near-constant agony. He checked his electronics. Thecharges were perilously low. Panic set in. If the GPS device he was using to track the traverse died before he reached the finish, he’d have no proof of his accomplishment. It appeared to have just enough juice to last through 11 a.m. He’d have to hurry. With 30 miles behind him, but a marathon’s worth of trail still to go, he beganto hallucinate. To hear, see and even smell things that weren’t there.

A woman called his name. An irritating leaf blower whirred in the empty expanse. Animated shadows tickled his peripheral vision. A ghostly coyote ran beside him. The imaginary scent of the drops he used to treat his water choked him. Every few miles, he lay on his back and propped up his feet to alleviate the searing pain. Time blurred and contorted. It was only when the sun came up on Feb. 18 that he felt he might actually make it. By 7:15 a.m., he reached what looks like a mirage in the arid expanse. It was Saratoga Springs — large, glittering pools teeming with pupfish.

Hummels traversed Death Valley in just under four days, trekking more than 50 miles during the final 24 hours.

The finish line was nine miles away. He could hobble there by 11 a.m. After about a mile, he tried jogging a few steps. To his surprise, his feet obeyed. Hummels sprinted to the finish, emerging like a dark-blue bolt from the brown dust. It was 9:25 a.m. His goal had been to complete the trek in 96 hours. He finished with six minutes to spare. Sitting on a thin pad, he whipped a Luke Skywalker Lego figurine — his alter ego — from his pocket. He grinned.

Trucks hurtled by on nearby Death Valley Road. A man pulled over and set up a camping stove for no apparent reason. Dune buggies rolled past, kicking up dust as they disappeared on the dirt roads. “It’s silly,” he said. “It’s totally silly.”

But he’d made it.
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This is balls to the wall, especially at 43; it only gets harder each year, so good for him.

Just_A_Guy · Mar 25, 2022

Hobbs said: ↑

I heard Pearson’s closed.
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Google seems to support this. Can check it out and confirm if that helps anyone.

But across the street is Speedway. They have a lot of stuff, and also will get items delivered from LA if need be. But at least for the item I was looking for, it wasn’t all that cheap.

Hobbs · Mar 26, 2022

Just_A_Guy said: ↑

Google seems to support this. Can check it out and confirm if that helps anyone.

But across the street is Speedway. They have a lot of stuff, and also will get items delivered from LA if need be. But at least for the item I was looking for, it wasn’t all that cheap.
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Years ago I went in to get a price on a LandCruiser frame that had been sitting in there for years and years. The price I was given was astronomical. I could have bought a running Cruiser in fair condition for the money they wanted for that frame.
First and last time I visited...

Just_A_Guy · Mar 26, 2022

Hobbs said: ↑

Years ago I went in to get a price on a LandCruiser frame that had been sitting in there for years and years. The price I was given was astronomical. I could have bought a running Cruiser in fair condition for the money they wanted for that frame.
First and last time I visited...
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The one thing they have going is the location. Not much competition in the area.

kylehorvath · Mar 27, 2022

"Trucks hurtled by on nearby Death Valley Road. A man pulled over and set up a camping stove for no apparent reason. Dune buggies rolled past, kicking up dust as they disappeared on the dirt roads. “It’s silly,” he said. “It’s totally silly.” "

That guy is a beast and you gotta have mad respect with route planning and research beforehand... But I'll take my camp stove, dune buggy suspension, and 15 gallons of fresh water with me, please!

Just got back from the park (19th-26, longest trip yet there), absolutely the least amount of traffic and people on our route I've ever seen (or not seen?), and the weather was perfect!

Zebinator · Mar 28, 2022

Here's the full story... Well, first, TL;DR:

@DVexile @uncle ed @HB Taco @MonkeyProof @Hobbs @theesotericone - Thank you so much for the offers to help rebuild.... We ended up renting a Jeep, borrowing some gear from friends in Bishop, and leaving the Tacoma in the hands of Nate at Bishop Automotive while we camped for a couple nights. Nate was... amazing. Through some miracle he was able to get it repaired by Friday and we were able to have a couple nights back in our truck and then made our way back to the Bay Area.

Some lessons learned:

do not use splined lug nuts on any vehicle going in to the backcountry

each tire/wheel combo/use has it's own 'safe' pressure for a given terrain. Just 'cause someone else is running 15psi with no problems on non-beadlocks doesn't mean you can

trust your spotter, no matter what

if you have a sat-phone... consider not using it in the first hour of a mishap, as long as you're safe and well supplied. Give your brain time to do what it can do - have you tried everything?

try not to hurry

And now all the details.

We were heading in to Saline Valley via Eureka dunes/Dedeckera Canyon/Steele Pass. Our plan was to spend the night just north of Bishop in the land of (very busy) hot springs and then were going to camp somewhere outside of Saline Warm Springs. Then... not sure. So we’d gotten to the dunes. I aired down to 16 psi. Mistake #1. We drove through the flour bowl that @turbodb shared (no problem) and then started to climb up to the ledges. They seemed to be still well remodeled with boulders and rocks as it was the last time we came through, so my sweetie got out to spot/cringe (she doesn't like this part, in general) and I easily (and a little cavalierly) made it up the first two obstacles. Then came the third really narrow slot/ledge. Having been down this with no problem, I assumed it would be no problem going up. Mistake #2. I also assumed that it was in the same condition as last time I came through here... Mistake #3. Those of you familiar with this spot will know the left side is a slanted smooth bit of rock and the right side is more vertical with a good bump sticking out at the bottom.

I tried to get up and got the fronts up but my spotter didn't like my angle and when I got out to look, yeah - looked like I need to back out and try to come at it again a little more left-to-right. I was trying to get my left side on the angled rock and sneak the right side past the bump that looked like a bead-eater. I got the angle better and got the fronts through easily, and my spotter started shaking her head. But I thought I was close and she was being too cautious so I decided to give it a little gas and see if I would crawl up. Mistake #4. And that's when I heard the "pooosh" of all the air coming out of a tire. I got out and yep - that low right-side bump had de-beaded my right rear tire. Fu2093#)@&!

No problem. I took a deep breath. Nothing is broken. Tire looks fine, just off. Wheel looks fine. I have a full size spare. So we take a minute to drink some water, apply sunscreen (it's about 11am) and get to work changing that out. I gingerly back the truck up off the obstacle to the flat spot and get the tools out and start to loosen the lugs. They're tight. I've got a lot of tools but no breaker bar, Mistake #5, and in trying to get the first lug cracked off, I apply some pressure with my foot to the lug wrench and... the socket falls off the nut. It feels funny when it happens. I pick up the socket and OMFG, it's cracked open. This is one of those damn splined security lug setups that came with my Mickey Thompson wheels. The socket is cast, not forged. And now that wheel might as well be welded to the axle. My wife may have stepped around the corner to have a little... moment. I fiddled with the socket to see if I could hold it together with vice grips while turning it - looked if I had anything else that might go on those lugs - nope. This is when we started thinking about the rented satellite phone.

The truck is perched in a section of the trail that is about 1-1/2 truck lengths long between obstacles and pretty narrow. Just below the previous obstacle is a larger flat-ish area big enough to park a couple vehicles. We've got tons of water and food. Shelter. And the dunes are only a short walk away and there's quite a few folks down there. But I doubt anyone will have this stupid socket, so we decide to bite the bullet and call for some help (Mistake #6) - hopefully a towing service can come out with the socket and get us rolling so we can go back to Bishop and regroup. It takes some work to find a towing service. The sat phone works, but intermittently, at best, and some times nothing anyone is saying is intelligible. But we finally reach Bill's and after getting a friend to send them a picture of a credit card (yep) they say the'll come out. $250 an hour. We get some food out and move in to the shade to wait. I decide to leave the truck where it is and hope we can fix it before I have to move it, but I also decide that, of course if someone comes through, I'll move it. I'd just rather not risk roaching the rim.

At this point, I have to mention my wife is a trooper. She loves being out here and camping - and we do it to the 9's. But she's not into the off-roady parts like this and the fact that she's taking it in stride, is huge. At this point, I'm feeling like a total idiot, but she's rolling with it all and very supportive. I'm lucky.

About an hour later a group on motos come through. The lead guy offers to help but I explain we've got someone coming and whatnot. We look at the trail and he thinks they can squeeze through if I pull forward and left just a couple feet, understating I am not eager to roll back 20 feet and down a ledge if I don't have to. But they're kind of in a rush for some reason and one of them is a little put out that I am where I am (or maybe he's just having a day, too) Anyway, in the anxiety of the moment, I hop in the truck and a little to quickly (Mistake #7), put it in gear and try to pull forward. Forgetting the locker and parking break. The truck is not moving (DUH) and so I give it little more gas and then: BANG! BAP BAP BAP.... It lurches forward a couple feet. I see the parking brake and locker lights. FUCK. My wife pokes her head around the corner and asks "what was that!?" The guy on the Moto says, "your diff.” He hops on his bike and they take off. I decide to go in to denial mode and hope against hopes it's just the parking brake that did something funny. Or maybe the locker is meant to pop off before it brakes. We'll see soon enough.

And... about 30 min later another group of motos ride up. This time they say they've also got a jeep in their group (towing a moto...) and yes, I'll need to move. I start stacking rocks to make the ledge a little less steep for the sad corner of my truck and he helps by watching my line and the tire as I back down. Seems to go ok. No obvious noises from the rear end... tire stays under the rim. When the jeep rolls up (a pretty nicely modded Cherokee) the driver hops out and offers to help look at my tire. Now, many of you may have been thinking for a while now, "why doesn't he just try to re-seat the bead???" and that's exactly what this guy says, plus, "got a cam strap and a compressor? Here's what ya do..." I thank him, tell him we have help coming, but yeah, maybe I'll try that! They get going (front-wheel-less moto tied to the hitch and then with straps from the bars to the roof rack!) and I climb up to carefully watch his line. He puts the driver side against the angled rock and lets the passenger side roll up and over that damn bump and then cam up over the ledge. Noted.

I go back to the truck and get the rear corner jacked up and see the inner bead is still seated. Hmmm! I start reefing on the wheel and holy shit, it looks like I can actually get the bead against the hoop. I get the compressor going and am a little dismayed to see the ARB hose I have needs the core in place to inflate, so that seems like it might make this more difficult, cutting the volume the compressor can push though the valve stem. I've fixed many a tubeless mtb tire on the trail and without CO2 cartridges or an AMAZING pump, you are not going to seat that bead. But here goes, and I'll be damned it catches and starts slowly creeping against the rim. Amazing. I got it! My wife is stoked. The only bummer in all this if I'd known to try this earlier I might have avoided (potentially??!!??) destroying my diff. I get everything put away and start the truck. I put it in 2wd and gently give it gas. We roll forward 2 feet then FRRP-BANG! Well, there's no mystery now. But we're rolling. We call Bill's Towing (it's now been 4 hours) and check on their ETA and also, if they'll be able to tow. "No, you just said you needed a tool!" Oh, man.

We slowly roll down back to the dunes with sort of sickening clunks happening about... every wheel rotation. Bill's gator appears in the distance and we meet about 1/4 mile from the Eureka camp site. He is super friendly, and very talkative. "OK - with all due respect, at $250/hour, let's get moving." He (wisely) suggests we drop the prop shaft. He doesn't really want to make a round trip to get the rig to tow us and I'm not sure I want to wait (maybe an expensive choice) but we want to get back to Bishop at this point so we start out while he puts away tools and trailers the gator. Eureka Dunes to Bishop is a LONG drive at 15-20 mph. He catches up to us about 10 min once back on the pavement. The rear end is making a really sickening whacking sound but it's best at about 17mph. Slower is worse and causes truck-shuddering impacts and faster than 30 and the noises get really loud and occasionally quite jarring. I keep wondering if it's eventually going to implode and seize, or grind it self in to oblivion and just start spinning quietly. Neither happens. We get in to Bishop at about midnight. I fire off that post to you all. (Again, THANK YOU!)

The next morning we start making calls. Brett @ Perry/Toyota is super nice but says he can't even look at the truck for 2-3 weeks. I talk to Nate at Bishop Auto and he says he wants to make some calls to see what parts he can find, but will call back in an hour and let me know what he thinks. We get some breakfast and decide we're going to try to rent a jeep, and try to find a tent and some sleeping pads (our sleep set up is pretty locked to the truck!) and try to salvage the trip and get a few days of solitude in the mountains. Friends have gear for us. Enterprise has a jeep. Yes. I drive over to talk to Nate and he hasn't had much luck - they're really busy too.

But, we have a long talk about the best course of action - given our need to be back in Bay Area Monday... (it's Tuesday) Fix in Bishop, or flat-bed it back home? And if we fix - if we can fix.... how to fix? Ring and pinion? Whole 3rd member? Find a used complete rear axle? He says, “leave it with me today and I’ll see what’s what in there and have some options for you - call me tomorrow. Go camp.” We do.

In the end the option that salvaged as much of our vacation as possible while keeping cost and further logisitical hell to a minimum was to just replace the third member. Ring and pinion were available but would have taken longer to get, a lot more labor to get done, and honestly, after that drive out, I wasn't feeling like I'd ever trust that diff again. I'm still a little worried about the axles/splines. But Nate/Carlos said they were good. Apparently the hardest part was cleaning out all the metal bits. I will be changing the oil back there every 500 miles for a couple changes! Nate and Carlos really worked a miracle and did us a HUGE favor and got it all put together by closing Friday. I can't say enough good stuff about Bishop Auto.

We returned the gear and the rental and spent a night above Bishop near the Bristlecones, then headed north to the hot springs for our last night. Drove home last night.

So, a little post-adventure analysis: I think I made 6 mistakes. Any one of these goes a different way and we might have had a really different outcome.

16 psi is ok for driving on the washboard and sand, and probably helped in the flour patch, but was too low for this tire/wheel combo wheeling where I was. The guy in the Jeep was also running at 15psi with non-beadlocks, but different tire/wheel combo (and different line) Running 44" Hakkapelitas at 4 psi in Iceland warped my baseline. Ha ha.

I assumed that having had no problem going through this in the other direction a year ago, meant I would have no problem going up this time. Up is not down, and applying power changes things.

I assumed that the obstacle was the same. I didn't remember it feeling so tight and sure enough, I went and looked at a video of going through that a year ago and it was more built up with rocks so the base of the constriction was actually wider - the 'offending bump' that de-beaded me was not even exposed.

Even though my spotter is totally inexperienced - reluctant, even - she was waving me off and if I'd stopped and taken another look, maybe we'd have tried a different line (right wheels up instead of left) or maybe we'd have just not tried.

With all the tools I carry, not having a having a breaker bar in retrospect, seems totally dumb. Still, that socket might have failed even if I had been able to apply force more carefully. I am never going in the backcountry with security lug nuts again!

The sat-phone. So this is tricky. I'm a pretty resourceful, prepared, and handy guy and had the 'easy out' of the sat-phone not been there, I might have tried a little harder to fix things before calling in the calvary. Not that I wouldn't take it... but having it made it easy to 'give up' and rely on others. If I'd just tried to re-seat the bead, I might have gotten it. (But, on the other hand, I might have had problems later on either with the diff or with my wheel lugs/socket... who knows) All that said - if you are thinking of sat-phones, renting them is pretty affordable. Ours was $70/week. BUT - it is not like a cell phone in a city. I had to get high for it to work at all - the satellite was pretty low on the horizon, and even then, sometimes it took multiple tries and multiple restarts to get a connection that was intelligible. Be forewarned.

I rushed when the first group of motos came through and in my anxiety left the parking brake and diff lock on. Initially, I thought we did a good job of slowing down and taking a moment to regroup and plan, but I'll be doing a little pre-flight checklist before I move the vehicle whenever off-roading from now on. (A question here - the mechanics I spoke to thought it was odd that this would break the ring/pinion and that it was possibly already weakened and going to go… thoughts???)

Again, thank you all for the offers of help. Be safe out there!

HB Taco · Mar 28, 2022

Zebinator said: ↑

Here's the full story... Well, first, TL;DR:

@DVexile @uncle ed @HB Taco @MonkeyProof @Hobbs @theesotericone - Thank you so much for the offers to help rebuild.... We ended up renting a Jeep, borrowing some gear from friends in Bishop, and leaving the Tacoma in the hands of Nate at Bishop Automotive while we camped for a couple nights. Nate was... amazing. Through some miracle he was able to get it repaired by Friday and we were able to have a couple nights back in our truck and then made our way back to the Bay Area.

Some lessons learned:

do not use splined lug nuts on any vehicle going in to the backcountry

each tire/wheel combo/use has it's own 'safe' pressure for a given terrain. Just 'cause someone else is running 15psi with no problems on non-beadlocks doesn't mean you can

trust your spotter, no matter what

if you have a sat-phone... consider not using it in the first hour of a mishap, as long as you're safe and well supplied. Give your brain time to do what it can do - have you tried everything?

try not to hurry

And now all the details.

We were heading in to Saline Valley via Eureka dunes/Dedeckera Canyon/Steele Pass. Our plan was to spend the night just north of Bishop in the land of (very busy) hot springs and then were going to camp somewhere outside of Saline Warm Springs. Then... not sure. So we’d gotten to the dunes. I aired down to 16 psi. Mistake #1. We drove through the flour bowl that @turbodb shared (no problem) and then started to climb up to the ledges. They seemed to be still well remodeled with boulders and rocks as it was the last time we came through, so my sweetie got out to spot/cringe (she doesn't like this part, in general) and I easily (and a little cavalierly) made it up the first two obstacles. Then came the third really narrow slot/ledge. Having been down this with no problem, I assumed it would be no problem going up. Mistake #2. I also assumed that it was in the same condition as last time I came through here... Mistake #3. Those of you familiar with this spot will know the left side is a slanted smooth bit of rock and the right side is more vertical with a good bump sticking out at the bottom.

I tried to get up and got the fronts up but my spotter didn't like my angle and when I got out to look, yeah - looked like I need to back out and try to come at it again a little more left-to-right. I was trying to get my left side on the angled rock and sneak the right side past the bump that looked like a bead-eater. I got the angle better and got the fronts through easily, and my spotter started shaking her head. But I thought I was close and she was being too cautious so I decided to give it a little gas and see if I would crawl up. Mistake #4. And that's when I heard the "pooosh" of all the air coming out of a tire. I got out and yep - that low right-side bump had de-beaded my right rear tire. Fu2093#)@&!

No problem. I took a deep breath. Nothing is broken. Tire looks fine, just off. Wheel looks fine. I have a full size spare. So we take a minute to drink some water, apply sunscreen (it's about 11am) and get to work changing that out. I gingerly back the truck up off the obstacle to the flat spot and get the tools out and start to loosen the lugs. They're tight. I've got a lot of tools but no breaker bar, Mistake #5, and in trying to get the first lug cracked off, I apply some pressure with my foot to the lug wrench and... the socket falls off the nut. It feels funny when it happens. I pick up the socket and OMFG, it's cracked open. This is one of those damn splined security lug setups that came with my Mickey Thompson wheels. The socket is cast, not forged. And now that wheel might as well be welded to the axle. My wife may have stepped around the corner to have a little... moment. I fiddled with the socket to see if I could hold it together with vice grips while turning it - looked if I had anything else that might go on those lugs - nope. This is when we started thinking about the rented satellite phone.

The truck is perched in a section of the trail that is about 1-1/2 truck lengths long between obstacles and pretty narrow. Just below the previous obstacle is a larger flat-ish area big enough to park a couple vehicles. We've got tons of water and food. Shelter. And the dunes are only a short walk away and there's quite a few folks down there. But I doubt anyone will have this stupid socket, so we decide to bite the bullet and call for some help (Mistake #6) - hopefully a towing service can come out with the socket and get us rolling so we can go back to Bishop and regroup. It takes some work to find a towing service. The sat phone works, but intermittently, at best, and some times nothing anyone is saying is intelligible. But we finally reach Bill's and after getting a friend to send them a picture of a credit card (yep) they say the'll come out. $250 an hour. We get some food out and move in to the shade to wait. I decide to leave the truck where it is and hope we can fix it before I have to move it, but I also decide that, of course if someone comes through, I'll move it. I'd just rather not risk roaching the rim.

At this point, I have to mention my wife is a trooper. She loves being out here and camping - and we do it to the 9's. But she's not into the off-roady parts like this and the fact that she's taking it in stride, is huge. At this point, I'm feeling like a total idiot, but she's rolling with it all and very supportive. I'm lucky.

About an hour later a group on motos come through. The lead guy offers to help but I explain we've got someone coming and whatnot. We look at the trail and he thinks they can squeeze through if I pull forward and left just a couple feet, understating I am not eager to roll back 20 feet and down a ledge if I don't have to. But they're kind of in a rush for some reason and one of them is a little put out that I am where I am (or maybe he's just having a day, too) Anyway, in the anxiety of the moment, I hop in the truck and a little to quickly (Mistake #7), put it in gear and try to pull forward. Forgetting the locker and parking break. The truck is not moving (DUH) and so I give it little more gas and then: BANG! BAP BAP BAP.... It lurches forward a couple feet. I see the parking brake and locker lights. FUCK. My wife pokes her head around the corner and asks "what was that!?" The guy on the Moto says, "your diff.” He hops on his bike and they take off. I decide to go in to denial mode and hope against hopes it's just the parking brake that did something funny. Or maybe the locker is meant to pop off before it brakes. We'll see soon enough.

And... about 30 min later another group of motos ride up. This time they say they've also got a jeep in their group (towing a moto...) and yes, I'll need to move. I start stacking rocks to make the ledge a little less steep for the sad corner of my truck and he helps by watching my line and the tire as I back down. Seems to go ok. No obvious noises from the rear end... tire stays under the rim. When the jeep rolls up (a pretty nicely modded Cherokee) the driver hops out and offers to help look at my tire. Now, many of you may have been thinking for a while now, "why doesn't he just try to re-seat the bead???" and that's exactly what this guy says, plus, "got a cam strap and a compressor? Here's what ya do..." I thank him, tell him we have help coming, but yeah, maybe I'll try that! They get going (front-wheel-less moto tied to the hitch and then with straps from the bars to the roof rack!) and I climb up to carefully watch his line. He puts the driver side against the angled rock and lets the passenger side roll up and over that damn bump and then cam up over the ledge. Noted.

I go back to the truck and get the rear corner jacked up and see the inner bead is still seated. Hmmm! I start reefing on the wheel and holy shit, it looks like I can actually get the bead against the hoop. I get the compressor going and am a little dismayed to see the ARB hose I have needs the core in place to inflate, so that seems like it might make this more difficult, cutting the volume the compressor can push though the valve stem. I've fixed many a tubeless mtb tire on the trail and without CO2 cartridges or an AMAZING pump, you are not going to seat that bead. But here goes, and I'll be damned it catches and starts slowly creeping against the rim. Amazing. I got it! My wife is stoked. The only bummer in all this if I'd known to try this earlier I might have avoided (potentially??!!??) destroying my diff. I get everything put away and start the truck. I put it in 2wd and gently give it gas. We roll forward 2 feet then FRRP-BANG! Well, there's no mystery now. But we're rolling. We call Bill's Towing (it's now been 4 hours) and check on their ETA and also, if they'll be able to tow. "No, you just said you needed a tool!" Oh, man.

We slowly roll down back to the dunes with sort of sickening clunks happening about... every wheel rotation. Bill's gator appears in the distance and we meet about 1/4 mile from the Eureka camp site. He is super friendly, and very talkative. "OK - with all due respect, at $250/hour, let's get moving." He (wisely) suggests we drop the prop shaft. He doesn't really want to make a round trip to get the rig to tow us and I'm not sure I want to wait (maybe an expensive choice) but we want to get back to Bishop at this point so we start out while he puts away tools and trailers the gator. Eureka Dunes to Bishop is a LONG drive at 15-20 mph. He catches up to us about 10 min once back on the pavement. The rear end is making a really sickening whacking sound but it's best at about 17mph. Slower is worse and causes truck-shuddering impacts and faster than 30 and the noises get really loud and occasionally quite jarring. I keep wondering if it's eventually going to implode and seize, or grind it self in to oblivion and just start spinning quietly. Neither happens. We get in to Bishop at about midnight. I fire off that post to you all. (Again, THANK YOU!)

The next morning we start making calls. Brett @ Perry/Toyota is super nice but says he can't even look at the truck for 2-3 weeks. I talk to Nate at Bishop Auto and he says he wants to make some calls to see what parts he can find, but will call back in an hour and let me know what he thinks. We get some breakfast and decide we're going to try to rent a jeep, and try to find a tent and some sleeping pads (our sleep set up is pretty locked to the truck!) and try to salvage the trip and get a few days of solitude in the mountains. Friends have gear for us. Enterprise has a jeep. Yes. I drive over to talk to Nate and he hasn't had much luck - they're really busy too.

But, we have a long talk about the best course of action - given our need to be back in Bay Area Monday... (it's Tuesday) Fix in Bishop, or flat-bed it back home? And if we fix - if we can fix.... how to fix? Ring and pinion? Whole 3rd member? Find a used complete rear axle? He says, “leave it with me today and I’ll see what’s what in there and have some options for you - call me tomorrow. Go camp.” We do.

In the end the option that salvaged as much of our vacation as possible while keeping cost and further logisitical hell to a minimum was to just replace the third member. Ring and pinion were available but would have taken longer to get, a lot more labor to get done, and honestly, after that drive out, I wasn't feeling like I'd ever trust that diff again. I'm still a little worried about the axles/splines. But Nate/Carlos said they were good. Apparently the hardest part was cleaning out all the metal bits. I will be changing the oil back there every 500 miles for a couple changes! Nate and Carlos really worked a miracle and did us a HUGE favor and got it all put together by closing Friday. I can't say enough good stuff about Bishop Auto.

We returned the gear and the rental and spent a night above Bishop near the Bristlecones, then headed north to the hot springs for our last night. Drove home last night.

So, a little post-adventure analysis: I think I made 6 mistakes. Any one of these goes a different way and we might have had a really different outcome.

16 psi is ok for driving on the washboard and sand, and probably helped in the flour patch, but was too low for this tire/wheel combo wheeling where I was. The guy in the Jeep was also running at 15psi with non-beadlocks, but different tire/wheel combo (and different line) Running 44" Hakkapelitas at 4 psi in Iceland warped my baseline. Ha ha.

I assumed that having had no problem going through this in the other direction a year ago, meant I would have no problem going up this time. Up is not down, and applying power changes things.

I assumed that the obstacle was the same. I didn't remember it feeling so tight and sure enough, I went and looked at a video of going through that a year ago and it was more built up with rocks so the base of the constriction was actually wider - the 'offending bump' that de-beaded me was not even exposed.

Even though my spotter is totally inexperienced - reluctant, even - she was waving me off and if I'd stopped and taken another look, maybe we'd have tried a different line (right wheels up instead of left) or maybe we'd have just not tried.

With all the tools I carry, not having a having a breaker bar in retrospect, seems totally dumb. Still, that socket might have failed even if I had been able to apply force more carefully. I am never going in the backcountry with security lug nuts again!

The sat-phone. So this is tricky. I'm a pretty resourceful, prepared, and handy guy and had the 'easy out' of the sat-phone not been there, I might have tried a little harder to fix things before calling in the calvary. Not that I wouldn't take it... but having it made it easy to 'give up' and rely on others. If I'd just tried to re-seat the bead, I might have gotten it. (But, on the other hand, I might have had problems later on either with the diff or with my wheel lugs/socket... who knows) All that said - if you are thinking of sat-phones, renting them is pretty affordable. Ours was $70/week. BUT - it is not like a cell phone in a city. I had to get high for it to work at all - the satellite was pretty low on the horizon, and even then, sometimes it took multiple tries and multiple restarts to get a connection that was intelligible. Be forewarned.

I rushed when the first group of motos came through and in my anxiety left the parking brake and diff lock on. Initially, I thought we did a good job of slowing down and taking a moment to regroup and plan, but I'll be doing a little pre-flight checklist before I move the vehicle whenever off-roading from now on. (A question here - the mechanics I spoke to thought it was odd that this would break the ring/pinion and that it was possibly already weakened and going to go… thoughts???)

Again, thank you all for the offers of help. Be safe out there!
Click to expand...

Wow what an ordeal. Glad your back on the road / back home safe. Thank you for posting this. I have splined lugs - were recommended for the TRD beadlock style wheels. I will carry and extra socket now. Were they over torqued? I always check the torque as soon as I get home. Been there done that with way over torqued lug nuts by some monkey at a tire store. I dont go below 20psi when airing down. Maybe its just me? Good idea to always keep your wits about you in the backcountry or otherwise. Dont rush anything. Easier said then done in the moment. We've all made plenty of mistakes and what happened to you could've happened to anyone. Dont be too hard on yourself. Glad you got out there in the jeep while it was getting worked on.

EricOutside · Mar 28, 2022

Zebinator said: ↑

Here's the full story... Well, first, TL;DR:

@DVexile @uncle ed @HB Taco @MonkeyProof @Hobbs @theesotericone - Thank you so much for the offers to help rebuild.... We ended up renting a Jeep, borrowing some gear from friends in Bishop, and leaving the Tacoma in the hands of Nate at Bishop Automotive while we camped for a couple nights. Nate was... amazing. Through some miracle he was able to get it repaired by Friday and we were able to have a couple nights back in our truck and then made our way back to the Bay Area.

Some lessons learned:

do not use splined lug nuts on any vehicle going in to the backcountry

each tire/wheel combo/use has it's own 'safe' pressure for a given terrain. Just 'cause someone else is running 15psi with no problems on non-beadlocks doesn't mean you can

trust your spotter, no matter what

if you have a sat-phone... consider not using it in the first hour of a mishap, as long as you're safe and well supplied. Give your brain time to do what it can do - have you tried everything?

try not to hurry

And now all the details.

We were heading in to Saline Valley via Eureka dunes/Dedeckera Canyon/Steele Pass. Our plan was to spend the night just north of Bishop in the land of (very busy) hot springs and then were going to camp somewhere outside of Saline Warm Springs. Then... not sure. So we’d gotten to the dunes. I aired down to 16 psi. Mistake #1. We drove through the flour bowl that @turbodb shared (no problem) and then started to climb up to the ledges. They seemed to be still well remodeled with boulders and rocks as it was the last time we came through, so my sweetie got out to spot/cringe (she doesn't like this part, in general) and I easily (and a little cavalierly) made it up the first two obstacles. Then came the third really narrow slot/ledge. Having been down this with no problem, I assumed it would be no problem going up. Mistake #2. I also assumed that it was in the same condition as last time I came through here... Mistake #3. Those of you familiar with this spot will know the left side is a slanted smooth bit of rock and the right side is more vertical with a good bump sticking out at the bottom.

I tried to get up and got the fronts up but my spotter didn't like my angle and when I got out to look, yeah - looked like I need to back out and try to come at it again a little more left-to-right. I was trying to get my left side on the angled rock and sneak the right side past the bump that looked like a bead-eater. I got the angle better and got the fronts through easily, and my spotter started shaking her head. But I thought I was close and she was being too cautious so I decided to give it a little gas and see if I would crawl up. Mistake #4. And that's when I heard the "pooosh" of all the air coming out of a tire. I got out and yep - that low right-side bump had de-beaded my right rear tire. Fu2093#)@&!

No problem. I took a deep breath. Nothing is broken. Tire looks fine, just off. Wheel looks fine. I have a full size spare. So we take a minute to drink some water, apply sunscreen (it's about 11am) and get to work changing that out. I gingerly back the truck up off the obstacle to the flat spot and get the tools out and start to loosen the lugs. They're tight. I've got a lot of tools but no breaker bar, Mistake #5, and in trying to get the first lug cracked off, I apply some pressure with my foot to the lug wrench and... the socket falls off the nut. It feels funny when it happens. I pick up the socket and OMFG, it's cracked open. This is one of those damn splined security lug setups that came with my Mickey Thompson wheels. The socket is cast, not forged. And now that wheel might as well be welded to the axle. My wife may have stepped around the corner to have a little... moment. I fiddled with the socket to see if I could hold it together with vice grips while turning it - looked if I had anything else that might go on those lugs - nope. This is when we started thinking about the rented satellite phone.

The truck is perched in a section of the trail that is about 1-1/2 truck lengths long between obstacles and pretty narrow. Just below the previous obstacle is a larger flat-ish area big enough to park a couple vehicles. We've got tons of water and food. Shelter. And the dunes are only a short walk away and there's quite a few folks down there. But I doubt anyone will have this stupid socket, so we decide to bite the bullet and call for some help (Mistake #6) - hopefully a towing service can come out with the socket and get us rolling so we can go back to Bishop and regroup. It takes some work to find a towing service. The sat phone works, but intermittently, at best, and some times nothing anyone is saying is intelligible. But we finally reach Bill's and after getting a friend to send them a picture of a credit card (yep) they say the'll come out. $250 an hour. We get some food out and move in to the shade to wait. I decide to leave the truck where it is and hope we can fix it before I have to move it, but I also decide that, of course if someone comes through, I'll move it. I'd just rather not risk roaching the rim.

At this point, I have to mention my wife is a trooper. She loves being out here and camping - and we do it to the 9's. But she's not into the off-roady parts like this and the fact that she's taking it in stride, is huge. At this point, I'm feeling like a total idiot, but she's rolling with it all and very supportive. I'm lucky.

About an hour later a group on motos come through. The lead guy offers to help but I explain we've got someone coming and whatnot. We look at the trail and he thinks they can squeeze through if I pull forward and left just a couple feet, understating I am not eager to roll back 20 feet and down a ledge if I don't have to. But they're kind of in a rush for some reason and one of them is a little put out that I am where I am (or maybe he's just having a day, too) Anyway, in the anxiety of the moment, I hop in the truck and a little to quickly (Mistake #7), put it in gear and try to pull forward. Forgetting the locker and parking break. The truck is not moving (DUH) and so I give it little more gas and then: BANG! BAP BAP BAP.... It lurches forward a couple feet. I see the parking brake and locker lights. FUCK. My wife pokes her head around the corner and asks "what was that!?" The guy on the Moto says, "your diff.” He hops on his bike and they take off. I decide to go in to denial mode and hope against hopes it's just the parking brake that did something funny. Or maybe the locker is meant to pop off before it brakes. We'll see soon enough.

And... about 30 min later another group of motos ride up. This time they say they've also got a jeep in their group (towing a moto...) and yes, I'll need to move. I start stacking rocks to make the ledge a little less steep for the sad corner of my truck and he helps by watching my line and the tire as I back down. Seems to go ok. No obvious noises from the rear end... tire stays under the rim. When the jeep rolls up (a pretty nicely modded Cherokee) the driver hops out and offers to help look at my tire. Now, many of you may have been thinking for a while now, "why doesn't he just try to re-seat the bead???" and that's exactly what this guy says, plus, "got a cam strap and a compressor? Here's what ya do..." I thank him, tell him we have help coming, but yeah, maybe I'll try that! They get going (front-wheel-less moto tied to the hitch and then with straps from the bars to the roof rack!) and I climb up to carefully watch his line. He puts the driver side against the angled rock and lets the passenger side roll up and over that damn bump and then cam up over the ledge. Noted.

I go back to the truck and get the rear corner jacked up and see the inner bead is still seated. Hmmm! I start reefing on the wheel and holy shit, it looks like I can actually get the bead against the hoop. I get the compressor going and am a little dismayed to see the ARB hose I have needs the core in place to inflate, so that seems like it might make this more difficult, cutting the volume the compressor can push though the valve stem. I've fixed many a tubeless mtb tire on the trail and without CO2 cartridges or an AMAZING pump, you are not going to seat that bead. But here goes, and I'll be damned it catches and starts slowly creeping against the rim. Amazing. I got it! My wife is stoked. The only bummer in all this if I'd known to try this earlier I might have avoided (potentially??!!??) destroying my diff. I get everything put away and start the truck. I put it in 2wd and gently give it gas. We roll forward 2 feet then FRRP-BANG! Well, there's no mystery now. But we're rolling. We call Bill's Towing (it's now been 4 hours) and check on their ETA and also, if they'll be able to tow. "No, you just said you needed a tool!" Oh, man.

We slowly roll down back to the dunes with sort of sickening clunks happening about... every wheel rotation. Bill's gator appears in the distance and we meet about 1/4 mile from the Eureka camp site. He is super friendly, and very talkative. "OK - with all due respect, at $250/hour, let's get moving." He (wisely) suggests we drop the prop shaft. He doesn't really want to make a round trip to get the rig to tow us and I'm not sure I want to wait (maybe an expensive choice) but we want to get back to Bishop at this point so we start out while he puts away tools and trailers the gator. Eureka Dunes to Bishop is a LONG drive at 15-20 mph. He catches up to us about 10 min once back on the pavement. The rear end is making a really sickening whacking sound but it's best at about 17mph. Slower is worse and causes truck-shuddering impacts and faster than 30 and the noises get really loud and occasionally quite jarring. I keep wondering if it's eventually going to implode and seize, or grind it self in to oblivion and just start spinning quietly. Neither happens. We get in to Bishop at about midnight. I fire off that post to you all. (Again, THANK YOU!)

The next morning we start making calls. Brett @ Perry/Toyota is super nice but says he can't even look at the truck for 2-3 weeks. I talk to Nate at Bishop Auto and he says he wants to make some calls to see what parts he can find, but will call back in an hour and let me know what he thinks. We get some breakfast and decide we're going to try to rent a jeep, and try to find a tent and some sleeping pads (our sleep set up is pretty locked to the truck!) and try to salvage the trip and get a few days of solitude in the mountains. Friends have gear for us. Enterprise has a jeep. Yes. I drive over to talk to Nate and he hasn't had much luck - they're really busy too.

But, we have a long talk about the best course of action - given our need to be back in Bay Area Monday... (it's Tuesday) Fix in Bishop, or flat-bed it back home? And if we fix - if we can fix.... how to fix? Ring and pinion? Whole 3rd member? Find a used complete rear axle? He says, “leave it with me today and I’ll see what’s what in there and have some options for you - call me tomorrow. Go camp.” We do.

In the end the option that salvaged as much of our vacation as possible while keeping cost and further logisitical hell to a minimum was to just replace the third member. Ring and pinion were available but would have taken longer to get, a lot more labor to get done, and honestly, after that drive out, I wasn't feeling like I'd ever trust that diff again. I'm still a little worried about the axles/splines. But Nate/Carlos said they were good. Apparently the hardest part was cleaning out all the metal bits. I will be changing the oil back there every 500 miles for a couple changes! Nate and Carlos really worked a miracle and did us a HUGE favor and got it all put together by closing Friday. I can't say enough good stuff about Bishop Auto.

We returned the gear and the rental and spent a night above Bishop near the Bristlecones, then headed north to the hot springs for our last night. Drove home last night.

So, a little post-adventure analysis: I think I made 6 mistakes. Any one of these goes a different way and we might have had a really different outcome.

16 psi is ok for driving on the washboard and sand, and probably helped in the flour patch, but was too low for this tire/wheel combo wheeling where I was. The guy in the Jeep was also running at 15psi with non-beadlocks, but different tire/wheel combo (and different line) Running 44" Hakkapelitas at 4 psi in Iceland warped my baseline. Ha ha.

I assumed that having had no problem going through this in the other direction a year ago, meant I would have no problem going up this time. Up is not down, and applying power changes things.

I assumed that the obstacle was the same. I didn't remember it feeling so tight and sure enough, I went and looked at a video of going through that a year ago and it was more built up with rocks so the base of the constriction was actually wider - the 'offending bump' that de-beaded me was not even exposed.

Even though my spotter is totally inexperienced - reluctant, even - she was waving me off and if I'd stopped and taken another look, maybe we'd have tried a different line (right wheels up instead of left) or maybe we'd have just not tried.

With all the tools I carry, not having a having a breaker bar in retrospect, seems totally dumb. Still, that socket might have failed even if I had been able to apply force more carefully. I am never going in the backcountry with security lug nuts again!

The sat-phone. So this is tricky. I'm a pretty resourceful, prepared, and handy guy and had the 'easy out' of the sat-phone not been there, I might have tried a little harder to fix things before calling in the calvary. Not that I wouldn't take it... but having it made it easy to 'give up' and rely on others. If I'd just tried to re-seat the bead, I might have gotten it. (But, on the other hand, I might have had problems later on either with the diff or with my wheel lugs/socket... who knows) All that said - if you are thinking of sat-phones, renting them is pretty affordable. Ours was $70/week. BUT - it is not like a cell phone in a city. I had to get high for it to work at all - the satellite was pretty low on the horizon, and even then, sometimes it took multiple tries and multiple restarts to get a connection that was intelligible. Be forewarned.

I rushed when the first group of motos came through and in my anxiety left the parking brake and diff lock on. Initially, I thought we did a good job of slowing down and taking a moment to regroup and plan, but I'll be doing a little pre-flight checklist before I move the vehicle whenever off-roading from now on. (A question here - the mechanics I spoke to thought it was odd that this would break the ring/pinion and that it was possibly already weakened and going to go… thoughts???)

Again, thank you all for the offers of help. Be safe out there!
Click to expand...

This is a GREAT brain-dump of a trip report. Lots of welcome information you've shared. I'm glad you made a good few days out of a bad situation, and it's neat to hear your admiration for your partner-in-life. Good on ya and keep on keepin on.

Zebinator · Mar 28, 2022

HB Taco said: ↑

Wow what an ordeal. Glad your back on the road / back home safe. Thank you for posting this. I have splined lugs - were recommended for the TRD beadlock style wheels. I will carry and extra socket now. Were they over torqued? I always check the torque as soon as I get home. Been there done that with way over torqued lug nuts by some monkey at a tire store. I dont go below 20psi when airing down. Maybe its just me? Good idea to always keep your wits about you in the backcountry or otherwise. Dont rush anything. Easier said then done in the moment. We've all made plenty of mistakes and what happened to you could've happened to anyone. Dont be too hard on yourself. Glad you got out there in the jeep while it was getting worked on.
Click to expand...

Thx! yeah - there was a little black cloud over my head for a bit but I recovered quick.

Airing down... I just think a little more experience and common sense would have led me to pump the tires back up a little for that pinch-ey section. I think what happened is I had the driver side on that smooth slanted rock and the front went through but the rear slipped and the sideways motion put the right rear in to that knob and it just popped the tire off. Maybe 20 psi would have held. Maybe not!

On those sockets - the one that came with the lugs was cast, and made of I-don't-know-what. It gave up with little force. I went to the Bishop O-Reily and bought two replacements and they seem to be made of steel (edm'd?) that has at least been hardened. Not forged, but they look like they're at least meant to go on an impact wrench. Still... I don't think wheel theft is my primary worry. I live in the boonies! Hex head FTW!

EricOutside said: ↑

This is a GREAT brain-dump of a trip report. Lots of welcome information you've shared. I'm glad you made a good few days out of a bad situation, and it's neat to hear your admiration for your partner-in-life. Good on ya and keep on keepin on.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Happy to share.

ian408 · Mar 28, 2022

The biggest lesson, for me at least, was to reinforce the idea that you always have to make time to asses the situation. Regardless of what the situation is.

DVexile · Mar 29, 2022

@Zebinator that's a great write up with lessons for us all! Sorry you had to experience it yourself first hand though...

Yes, the "slow down" thing is key in any situation that doesn't go the way you expect at first. Whenever something isn't quite right I make sure I do three things before attempting anything:

Drink something

Eat something

Cool down or heat up as appropriate

Trying to think when thirsty, hungry or too hold/cold is a recipe for rushing and thus increasing the chances of disaster. These days the first thing I do when something isn't right is go to the back of the truck and get a treat out of my pantry box and a cold drink (non-alcoholic would naturally be best), then find a cool/warm place to sit and enjoy the spot I'm in for five to ten minutes. Only after that start figuring out what to do.

And if whatever you decide to try to extract yourself doesn't go the way you expect, take another break and just enjoy the scenery for a bit before even trying to figure out what to do next.

That said, I can totally imagine feeling rushed by the motorcycle group. What a bummer!

Glad you were able to still patch together time camping in the park!

turbodb · Mar 29, 2022

Zebinator said: ↑

Here's the full story... Well, first, TL;DR:

@DVexile @uncle ed @HB Taco @MonkeyProof @Hobbs @theesotericone - Thank you so much for the offers to help rebuild.... We ended up renting a Jeep, borrowing some gear from friends in Bishop, and leaving the Tacoma in the hands of Nate at Bishop Automotive while we camped for a couple nights. Nate was... amazing. Through some miracle he was able to get it repaired by Friday and we were able to have a couple nights back in our truck and then made our way back to the Bay Area.
Click to expand...

Wow. It's a bummer for sure, but it's also a great story. Squirrel it away somewhere - it'll be one that you'll enjoy going back to in the future when details start to fade. At least, it would be for me.

I'll share a couple thoughts from my experiences over the last few years, and some takeaways that I only got when reading your story (thanks!).

First - for the, "I didn't think of that because I was rushing."

There is a saying that I feel like applies in a lot of these situations - "slower is faster." Eric @RelentlessFab was the first person I heard say it, when he was talking to a guy he was training during my bumper install (which, looking back now, seemed like such a daunting task to me since I'd never worked on the truck, but would now be such a simple thing). Anyway, like Ken's habit of having something to eat and drink, when things go wrong for me, I've trained myself to say out loud, "slower is faster" and take a breath. I also say it to people around me when things go wrong for them, even though it usually pisses them off when I say it.

All that said, don't beat yourself up if you don't figure out the solution or things don't go as well as they could have. There's really no telling if you'd have thought of something if you went slower; that just gives you better chance. Still only a chance though.

The lug nut learning is an interesting one. I've missed my splined lug nuts - I went back to hex when I ditched the SCS wheels for my current 4Runner 5-stars. I don't share the your concern about the key breaking - I think you ran into a fluke there, really - but your story has still convinced me that hex is a better way to go. With hex, you stand a much better chance of someone else coming along who will have a tool that will work, and there's a lot of value in that for me.

Tire pressure. I think you really just "unlucked out" on that one. I've run that canyon half a dozen times, both directions, and I consistently do it at 15-17psi. You're right of course that wheel/tire combos make a difference, but more than anything, it comes down to chance of tire placement. My suggestion would be to continue to run at the lower pressures, because they will be more forgiving on that terrain in general. What I mean by that is this - at higher pressures, you're going to run the risk of the sidewall not flexing enough when/if you rub up against something (and there's plenty of sharp stuff to rub up against on that route). If you rub hard enough, you're risk a punctured sidewall. Unlike reseating a bead, there's no coming back from a torn sidewall.

Sat phone - you make a great point, and one that's 100% important for folks to realize with sat comms. I ran into a similar situation on my last trip (not currently posted, but alluded to in the sister thread to this one). Actually two similar situations: one sat phone situation, and one break down situation. Sat comms can be good to have, but they are most definitely fragile. I got into a situation where I'd been able to send a message that said, "I'm doing something sketchy, call SAR if you don't hear from me in an hour." but after getting through the sketchy bit, I was unable to get line of sight for nearly 55 minutes to send the "I'm OK, call SAR if you don't hear from me in 12 hours." I was quite worried as I was approaching the 1-hour point that I'd be perfectly fine and have SAR all spun up. I don't know that there's a solution, but I don't think most people realize how finicky these things are. It's the same thing I tell people about using a Hi-Lift, using them when the shit hasn't hit the fan to better understand how they work (or don't) is the best medicine.

And finally, to your question about the rear diff exploding. I read that part of your story a couple times because it seemed strange to me as well. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that my e-brake is not strong enough to hold the truck when I'm in 4Lo and trying to go forward or reverse in 1st/R. I just can't get enough pressure on the drums. I don't know how you'd possibly determine if your diff was pre-compromised at this point, but it does seem plausible to me.

Thanks again for the story, it was a fantastic read.

rpowell25 · Mar 29, 2022

turbodb said: ↑

There is a saying that I feel like applies in a lot of these situations - "slower is faster."

Click to expand...

The racers mantra: Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Zebinator · Mar 29, 2022

@turbodb Thank you! Yeah - it was the multiple oh shits that broke my ability to slow down. Live and learn!

On the diff: I went and looked at a couple other threads about diff breakage and repair and they almost all seem to break the teeth along the heel (outside) of the ring gear. Imagining the torque of the pinion driving the car forward it would almost surely flex such that if the diff is shimmed perfectly under no load, the toe of the pinion would be contact with the heel of the ring and I'm guessing that's how these things break. That nice flat contact would become much smaller and that's when shit happens. (I read a cool article about building 3rd members here) I've been pondering if that's a weakness I want to address, but as with all mods, I wonder about what would be the next weakest thing in the drive line... I'd like things to break further outboard. Seems like an axle would be much less consequential than the diff... (if you had a spare) Anyway, I'm not even sure how I'd address it.

MonkeyProof · Mar 29, 2022

Zebinator said: ↑

@turbodb Thank you! Yeah - it was the multiple oh shits that broke my ability to slow down. Live and learn!

On the diff: I went and looked at a couple other threads about diff breakage and repair and they almost all seem to break the teeth along the heel (outside) of the ring gear. Imagining the torque of the pinion driving the car forward it would almost surely flex such that if the diff is shimmed perfectly under no load, the toe of the pinion would be contact with the heel of the ring and I'm guessing that's how these things break. That nice flat contact would become much smaller and that's when shit happens. (I read a cool article about building 3rd members here) I've been pondering if that's a weakness I want to address, but as with all mods, I wonder about what would be the next weakest thing in the drive line... I'd like things to break further outboard. Seems like an axle would be much less consequential than the diff... (if you had a spare) Anyway, I'm not even sure how I'd address it.
Click to expand...

There's a lot of deflection from the ring side bearing cap when under load or when being bound up. The E-Locker 3rds are kinda inferior to the Sports 3rd members. A reason why you'll rarely hear of a Sport rear end breaking is because of a bearing truss that goes from one bearing cap to the other bearing cap that prevents deflection.

My last broken gear set is a good example of how the deflection causes the damage, which can be seen here..
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/monkeyproofs-misadventures.697489/page-5#post-26735883

Zebinator · Mar 29, 2022

MonkeyProof said: ↑

There's a lot of deflection from the ring side bearing cap when under load or when being bound up. The E-Locker 3rds are kinda inferior to the Sports 3rd members. A reason why you'll rarely hear of a Sport rear end breaking is because of a bearing truss that goes from one bearing cap to the other bearing cap that prevents deflection.

My last broken gear set is a good example of how the deflection causes the damage, which can be seen here..
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/monkeyproofs-misadventures.697489/page-5#post-26735883
Click to expand...

Awesome post! Thanks! What do you think would be more trail repairable - an axle or the ring/pinion?

Airdog · Mar 29, 2022

Zebinator said: ↑

Awesome post! Thanks! What do you think would be more trail repairable - an axle or the ring/pinion?
Click to expand...

Depends on what you do to the axle. If you break it in half you will have to source an axle and then have access to a press to get the axle bearing installed...which also means you either have to get a new backing plate or press the one off the axle you broke...its not an easy project on the trail and requires a special press tool to remove the axle bearing. Hell a broken axle almost precludes even being towed off beccause the axle can migrate out and depart the vehicle....its flatbed time for a broken axle
R&P would be an easier repair on the trail especially if you have spare 3rd already built and gear oil with you...if you just had spare gears and access to a press you could just change the gears. Either way for you 4wd guys just remove the driveshaft and drive out in front wheel drive is probably the best option.

Here is a link to changing out a axle bearing i did a few years ago. Airdog's 2012 Prerunner Access Cab (slow) Build

Zebinator · Mar 29, 2022

Airdog said: ↑

Depends on what you do to the axle. If you break it in half you will have to source an axle and then have access to a press to get the axle bearing installed...which also means you either have to get a new backing plate or press the one off the axle you broke...its not an easy project on the trail and requires a special press tool to remove the axle bearing. Hell a broken axle almost precludes even being towed off beccause the axle can migrate out and depart the vehicle....its flatbed time for a broken axle
R&P would be an easier repair on the trail especially if you have spare 3rd already built and gear oil with you...if you just had spare gears and access to a press you could just change the gears. Either way for you 4wd guys just remove the driveshaft and drive out in front wheel drive is probably the best option.

Here is a link to changing out a axle bearing i did a few years ago. Airdog's 2012 Prerunner Access Cab (slow) Build
Click to expand...

Interesting! I need to find time to do more of my own wrenching so I understand more of how this stuff goes together. Great post and thank you for sharing!

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