AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

100% agree with you.. then it gets shut down but then the same people that do it wonder way the had to cut the lock on the gated off road to get there in the first place lol wish people would respect to little amount of beauty we have left in the world.

 

Rig Review - What worked and what didn't Winter 2022?
Part of the Lipstick on the Pig (Jan 2022), Hiking Saline Valley (Jan 2022), Almost Stranded (Mar 2022) trips.

March 15, 2022.

Time flies when you're having fun, and the last several trips have been exactly that. A regular reader may recall that my last rig review was just as the transfer case blew up on my Back for More trip to Death Valley. Since then, the truck has been out four more times (which obviously indicates that at least something has gone right! .

• Lipstick on the Pig (Jan 2022)
• Hiking Saline Valley (Jan 2022)
• Almost Stranded (Mar 2022)

The New (to me) Transfer Case (resolved)
TL;DR - the new transfer case seems to be working great so far.

After the input shaft bearing in my transfer case gave out on a trip to Death Valley, I quickly picked up a new (to me) transfer case from a local junkyard and swapped it into the Tacoma. My priority - of course - was to get back out on the trail as quickly as possible.

So far - some 5500 miles later, seems thing to be really great. As in, the replacement transfer case seems to be in much better shape than mine had been for the last several years. Ever since I initially had trouble with it, mine was a bit noisier than it'd been from the factory, so it's nice to know that I wasn't just hearing things when I thought something was awry.

From here on out, my plan is to rebuild the original case, but I'll be doing that when the days are longer and the weather warms up a bit, assuming I don't have some other trip planned into the wilderness!

In goes the new (to me) transfer case, which seems to be working splendidly.​

My Alternator Failed (new, resolved)
TL;DR - the alternator failed as I was about 90 minutes from home, and it was because the brushes had worn out. Luckily, I was carrying a spare set and swapped them in about an hour, completely fixing the issue.

Unlike many of the topics in a rig review, where I go into a little detail in the original post, but most of it in the review, I covered the alternator failure pretty well when I told the story. In the end, I'm not really all that surprised that the brushes wore out - they'd been rubbing in there for more than 200K miles - but it's a good reminder that wear parts need to be replaced on a regular basis so you aren't left stranded by something that would have been easy to fix back home.

Worn out brushes in an alternator. A $15 part, and a 45 minute service - in the comfort of your garage - can mean the difference between completing a trip and being completely stranded.​

The Core Support is Cracking Where the Battery is Secured (new, resolved)
TL;DR - The battery tie down that bolts to the core support has cracked core support as a result of all the rattling around. I've reinforced it, and will monitor it going forward.

As I was pulling my battery to make a bit more room to remove the alternator and service the worn alternator brushes, I was greeted with a rude surprise. Upon loosening the 12mm bolt that secures the battery tie-down, the nut underneath just started spinning. At first, I thought the tack welds that secured the nut to the core support had broken. If only I'd been right!

A cracked core support. Not good.​

Unfortunately, the entire core support had cracked around the nut. For the remainder of my paved trip home, I simply snugged everything back together as best I could, but I knew that I needed to do something better before hitting dirt again. My solution - since it's hard to weld something to the underside of the core support in that area - was to fabricate a reinforcement plate - with nuts welded to the bottom - that is secured in three locations on the core support. Hopefully this spreads the load and solves my problem.

My reinforcement plate, fabricated with a cardboard template, an angle grinder, and the metal glue gun.​

Hopefully this spreads out the stress points a bit and lasts me for many years to come.​

I Need New Seats (resolved)
TL;DR - the new scheel-mann Vario R seats are good, but they aren't for everyone due to cost.

I'm adding this entry just to be able to remove the item from my list of "unchanged / still an issue" below. For all the details on my new seats, you can read my post here: Replacing My Seats with scheel-mann Vario R. At the bottom of the post are my first, second, and third impressions after several thousand miles of use. I plan to do a "one year later" review as well... in about a year.

There's no question that scheel-mann seats look good. And so far, the comfort is better as well. Time will tell if they are really worth the hefty price.​

The Drawer in the In-Cab Battery Cabinet Rattles (resolved)
TL;DR - I replaced the only metal component in the cabinet with wood, and the rattling is gone!

The inside of the cab is remarkably quiet(er) ever since I sound deadened everything. However, my dual battery cabinet has been rattling almost since I installed it. The problem is that the ball bearing drawer slide - the only metal bit of the cabinet - isn't stiff enough to resist the constant shaking, and so rattles as I go over bumpy terrain. I've tried a couple things to prevent the rattling, but nothing has worked to my satisfaction.

These metal drawer slides move easily, but have too much play in them for a bumpy environment and make the interior of the Tacoma way too noisy.​

The solution - I realized - was to remove the metal drawer slide completely, and replace it with wooden runners. These runners can be nice and tight, and because they are wooden, any "rattling" will be absorbed and deadened by the wood itself.

Prepping the wooden runners.​

I used the installation of my new scheel-mann Vario R seats - when I ran the seat heater circuits to the electrical control panel in the drawer - to perform this upgrade, and the cabinet has been rattle-free ever since.

Peace and quiet on adjustable wooden runners.​

My Bussmann Melted (new, replaced)
TL;DR - I've replaced my Bussmann fuse/relay box because the old one melted around some of the connectors.

This issue has been ongoing for a while, but initially I didn't understand what was going on. Initially, I thought that I was having a problem with my HID-modified Hellas (see previous rig reviews) and so I contacted the manufacturer to see about replacement ballasts, and verified that all the pins were properly seated in the back of the Bussmann.

After reseating a couple pins, I tried replacing the relay that was powering the Hella's, and that seemed to solve the problem... for a while. However, a trip or two later, two relays stopped working:

1. The one that powers the Hella's - an 10A draw on a 30A relay.
2. The one for my hi-beams - also a 10A draw on a 30A relay. Note: Hi-beams don't usually route through an aftermarket relay, but they do for me as a result of my halogen headlight upgrade, which I love.

After replacing the relays (again), everything worked (again) for a little while longer until I ran the hi-beams for the better part of 8 hours on a trip down to Death Valley - at which point, they just "turned off." A fourth relay had failed, and this clearly wasn't a coincidence.

I decided it was finally time to take a much closer look at the Bussmann, which @Sandman614 had built for me, and at the very least, upgrade all of the wiring from 14ga to 10ga. However, my closer inspection showed me that the wiring seemed to be OK, it was the connections themselves that were causing a problem.

Note how several of the holes seem to have melted. The correspond to circuits where I was having issues.​

At this point, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to fix this Bussmann, so I had a decision to make - direct replacement, or upgrade to something like a SwitchPro? For now - mostly because I didn't want to re-wire the entire truck, as opposed to due to cost - I decided on a replacement, figuring that I could clean up the wiring - primarily by adding longer pigtails - a bit at the same time.

My original Bussmann was functionally sufficient, but hard to work with when the pigtails were only 6" long.​

A few taps on the keyboard and clicks of the mouse later, I had a new Bussmann in hand and set to work wiring it all together.

Bigger wires everywhere.​

A much cleaner package to work with in the engine compartment.​

So what went wrong with the original? I don't know for sure, but my suspicion is that all of the rough roads and bouncing around was just too much for the mechanical connections between the relays and the pins that push into the rear of the Bussmann. Over time, that jostling caused the connections to become loose, resulting in poor contact. Poor contact means heat, and that heat both melted the Bussmann and overheated the relays, causing them to fail.

That means my second Bussmann will - likely - also meet the same fate, but I hope to have secured another couple of years before that happens (the first one lasted 5 years). At that point, I'll likely figure out a different solution.

Broken Leaf Spring (new, ongoing, and resolved)
TL;DR - I had to cut my trip short when another leaf - this time the main leaf - broke on the first day of a 4 day adventure. I've now replaced the leaf springs, solving the problem.

For the second time in six months, a leaf spring broke. In fact, a second leaf - this time the main leaf, and the only one that spans from the front hanger to the rear shackle - broke from the same leaf pack, and in the same location as the first leaf that'd broken.

Obviously there must have been some sort of irregular stress in this location, since two leafs broke in exactly the same place.​

The situation this time was a bit more dire, but we were lucky that a jerry-rigged-ratchet-strap-bush-fix was able to keep the rear axle from sliding out from under the truck, eventually making it all the way home before I quickly replaced the leaf springs with another brand new leaf pack from Alcan Spring.

I'd planned to do this at the same time that I replaced the rear axle housing with a new fabricated Diamond Axle housing, but apparently that was the wrong call. At any rate, problem solved.

Hopefully this set doesn't break (the previous set were Alcan's as well), and provides support for years to come.​

I'll also be adding a couple plates and some grade 10.9 bolts to the OSK (Oh Shit Kit) so that should something like this happen in the future, I can apply a bit more robust repair. I really like this solution because it's not heavy - especially compared to carrying a full leaf, for instance - but is quite effective.

A clever solution to a broken leaf spring.​

Center Console Comfort (resolved)
TL;DR - I've raised the height of the center console by 1½ inches, and it's much more comfortable to lean on now, since it's the same height as the arm rest on the door.

You know how they say it's bad to keep your wallet in your back pocket because it makes you sit crooked and messes up your spine? Well, I haven't kept my wallet in my back pocket for more than 20 years, but I've still messed up my spine by sitting in my Tacoma for so long.

The problem is that the arm rest on the door, and the arm rest on the top of the center console are at different heights, the center console being about 1½ inches lower than the door. That means I'm constantly hunched toward the center of the vehicle - so much so that with my old seats, I could feel a deeper hole on the right side of the driver seat than the left.

While I'd regularly try to adjust my position, and resist the use of the two arm rests at the same time, in the end, I realized the only solution was to fix the problem - I needed to raise the top of the center console.

At first I thought I might do this by somehow upholstering a thicker pad for the top of the lid, but I'm no upholsterer and I knew it would come out looking a bit ... lame. After thinking about it for way to long - though admittedly never all that hard - I realized that I might be able to extend the lower compartment, and simply attach the lid to that extension.

I got started by taking measurements. Inside, and outside of course, so that I could make a small box that would fit into place.

As with anything, it took some finessing of the initial product to get something that fit just right - for instance, the top of the console has a slight crown to it, which I needed to mirror in the bottom of my riser - but in the end, I was quite happy with the appearance, fit, and snugness of my solution.

My walnut-with-maple-spline center console riser.​

A couple notes for anyone wanting to do this themselves:

1. I used all the same mounting holes for the riser as the original lid used, thereby securing it well and not adding any extra holes that need to be dealt with should I ever want to "undo" my modification.
2. The back side of the center console - where the lid hinges - has a recess where the lid mounts. By creating a tenon on the back of the riser that fits snuggly into this recess (mortise), a lot of stability is generated for the riser.
3. I wasn't sure how to secure the front of the riser at first, but as I was building it, I realized that I could use a small piece of steel angle to hook into the latch mechanism that the lid originally latched into. Works perfectly.

Performs perfectly, and now I sit much more evenly in the driver seat when I've got my elbows resting on each side.​

Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews

1. I Need New Seats - If you have the dough, scheel-mann might be the ticket for you, as noted above.
2. The Drawer in the In-Cab Battery Cabinet Rattles - addressed as noted above. Wood doesn't rattle (for the win).
3. Transfer Case Input Shaft Bearing is Imploding - addressed as noted above with a new (to me) transfer case.
4. Hella HIDs fail to turn on - resolved by replacing the Bussmann as noted above. Hopefully for good, since I've misdiagnosed this several times - first suspecting the HID system, then by replacing the relay (which had failed, but as a result of the Bussmann itself).
5. Broken Leaf Spring - got broken worse, and is now fixed, as note above.

Unchanged / Still an issue from previous Rig Reviews

There are some things that have been featured in Rig Reviews that are - as yet - unchanged from when I originally reviewed them. Rather than highlight those things again, I'll simply link to them here.

1. Front ADS Coilover Spherical Bearings - I'm giving the new FK stainless steel bearings several thousand miles to see if they perform better.
2. The Zipper on the CVT Tent is Shit - I don't know how I'll ever address this, short of getting a GFC.
3. My Suspension Squeaks - still squeaky. I'm not all that worried about it, so I'm in no rush to fix it.

 

I went through the whole "loose connections cause spark, causes heat, causes melting plastic" on my OEM blower motor a few months back. Going down the rabbit hole, many people suggest putting dielectric grease on the connections. Most of the time, those same people say that it helps to get a better connection.

However, as soon as someone says that, someone else will quickly chime in and inform the poster that dielectric grease is non-conductive and therefore cannot improve or assist in the electrical connection in any way. It merely insulates the connection.

So in my small mind, I decided to use the dielectric grease when I replaced male and female connectors. I figured if it insulated the connection and kept air out that it would decrease the likelihood of a spark and therefore be better than not having it.

 

I’ve kinda “outgrown” her stuff, but just now I randomly picked on a new Wonderhussy YouTube video about her 4Runner, and it turns out she’s a big fan of AdventureTaco.

 

She's not a big fan of me...she mentioned my anti-Wonderhussy comment I put in a cabin journal.

 

There are conductive lubricants, like the paste you put between a heat sink and chip. But you’d want to be very careful in a connector so you don’t short everything together. Or crowbar hot to ground.

Dielectric grease helps keep water out which helps prevent corrosion. I guess you could argue it helps keep connections together because wires don’t rattle around as much. If it covers enough of the wire, it can help keep moisture from getting under the insulation.

Be careful that your grease is non conducive or you might be sorry

 

Replacing the Alcan Leaf Springs - with More Alcans

If I've learned one thing over the last several years, it's that bumpy roads are a lot of fun. The problem - as anyone who knows them can attest - is that in time, all good things get destroyed by bumpy roads.

It is a conundrum. The key of course, is to replace the good things before they are destroyed. Preventative maintenance. The easiest kind - or the hardest, depending on your outlook.

Anyway, after nearly five years of service, I successfully bounced, rattled, flexed my heavy duty Alcan Spring leaf pack to death - breaking my first leaf on a trip to Mt. Patterson, and then breaking the main leaf on our last trip to Death Valley. Quite the stressful experience, I noticed that the main leaf had broken when we were as far from pavement as we'd be for the entire trip; it was only with a ton of luck and a strategically positioned ratchet strap, were we able to make it home to safety.

It's never a good thing when the main leaf - the only one securing the rear axle to the frame - breaks.​

Once home, I knew I couldn't waste any time before replacing the broken leaf springs. I'd originally planned to replace them at the same time I swapped out my rear axle housing - also necessitated by rough terrain that'd caused it to crack on the passenger side. So far, my patch job on the housing has held up well, but I've been waiting for nearly six months for the new housing (which was supposed to be here in six weeks).

Clearly, I could wait no longer.

I'd already ordered and picked up new leaf packs from Alcan Spring in Grand Junction, Colorado, since we'd passed through on our way home from running the New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route (NMBDR), so I was good to go from that perspective - no need to wait the 6-8 weeks that many are waiting these days!

It was fun to visit the home of a product that I'd thoroughly enjoyed over the last several years.​

The shop - expectedly - was full of spring steel and partially-complete leaf packs.​

Lew - the new owner - had no problems getting his hands a bit dirty to put the finishing touches on my leaf pack when I showed up. Now that's what I call service!​

While we were there, we chatted with Lew a bit - curious about his acquisition of Alcan from Bill, the previous owner. It turns out that they are doing quite well, having increased production by nearly 400%, while keeping prices and quality at the levels that everyone has come to expect out of Alcan. I admitted to him that I'd been a bit worried when I'd heard that the company had been sold - part of the reason I'd ordered the leaf packs when I did, in case Alcan wasn't in business - but Lew assured me that there was nothing to worry about... except for rising steel prices!

So, with the leaf packs already sitting in the garage, it was less than 10 hours after arriving home that I rolled the truck out of the garage to get started.

The first order of business was removing the rear wheel, and easy process with the Milwaukee M18 mid-torque impact wrench.​

With the wheel removed, I got a good look at the situation. Sketchy, for sure!​

Looking at the setup, I reflected on how lucky we were. With the main leaf broken, all the force from the front hanger was pushing down, resting on the very end of the second leaf. Luckily, that second leaf extended far enough forward - something that wouldn't have been true with the stock leaf springs - to support the weight. But that's not all. Even with the second leaf providing some support, the main leaf still wanted to pivot up in the rear, stopped only by the bolt that secured the leaf clamp halfway between the front hanger and the axle. Without that bolt - or if the axle had moved backwards another inch -the broken leaf could have easily rotated, dropping the truck to the ground. Only the ratchet strap I'd installed had kept the axle far enough forward to prevent total disaster!

After counting my blessings, I continued with the job at hand, supporting the frame of the truck as well as the rear axle with jack stands. It's important to remember on a job like this - the bit that usually connects the two components - the leaf spring - is being removed, so both need to be supported individually.

Use plenty of jack stands when swapping out leaf springs.​

After supporting the truck, I jacked up the frame far enough to take all the pressure off of the leaf spring, in order to make removal much easier.​

With the pressure off the leaf pack, I could press the broken leaf down in order to see how far out of position the rear axle was. Looks like about 3/8ths of an inch.​

Next, it was time to remove the old leaf pack. This is a relatively straight forward process that entails removing the u-bolts at the rear axle, a single bolt at the front hanger, and two nuts at the rear shackle. With a bit of penetrating oil to loosen things up, I was done in no time.

A breaker bar made quick work of the u-bolt nuts.​

Zipping off the front hanger.​

Removing two nuts allows the shackle to separate, and the leaf spring to slide off.​

At this point, I inspected the old and new packs - partly out of curiosity, partly to ensure that the new pack would fit as I hoped. You see, the last time I'd ordered my packs from Alcan, I'd installed them to find that the rear axle was too far backward in the wheel well. After a conversation with the owner, we'd come to a compromise where he'd sent me a new main leaf and military wrap - interestingly, the two leafs that'd broken - that moved the center pin forward by 0.75", centering the rear axle in the opening.

Two leafs, broken at the same location - clearly there was a stress point there. Note the rusty area of the lower (main) leaf spring, where a crack had clearly existed for quite some time.​

When ordering a new pack - now from the new owner, Lew - I'd been sure to specify the correct distance from the front eye to the center pin, and I'd also asked a bit of increased lift and carrying capacity: a 4" lift with 750lbs in the bed of the Tacoma (vs. my previous 3" lift with 600lbs).

The new pack has a bit more arch, as well as carrying capacity.​

Installing the new pack was essentially the reverse of removal. The first order of business is to get the pack connected to the front hanger and rear shackle, and then use a ratchet strap to align the center pin on the bottom of the leaf pack with the center hole of the spring perch on the rear axle housing. This can take a bit of fiddling, but once aligned, a few pumps with the floor jack under the rear axle can push everything into place. Then, the u-bolts can be secured, the truck lowered to the ground, and everything torqued to spec.

With the reaf pack secured - but not torqued - to the front hanger and rear shackle, a ratchet strap is the perfect tool to align the rear axle housing.​

With everything aligned, installation of u-bolts is straight forward. Note: You should never re-use u-bolts, as they deform when correctly installed.​

With everything snugged up, reinstall the wheel and lower the truck to the ground. Since we are dealing with suspension components, only once the truck is sitting under its own weight should everything be torqued to spec.​

Torque specs for this job:

• Front hanger: 116 ft-lbs
• Rear shackles (upper and lower nuts): 67 ft-lbs
• U-bolts (torque to spec, and then re-torque after 50, and 500 miles):
  • Stock Tacoma: 90 ft-lbs
  • 5/8" heavy duty u-bolts: 110 ft-lbs
• Lug nuts: 89 ft-lbs

If you're looking to buy and install new leaf springs yourself,
I've put together a step-by-step guide with photos on the process.
The guide also includes several options
for springs - at varying price points - for different situations.
Replacing Leaf Springs on a Tacoma




​

 

Wait, you say to not re-use your u-bolts, but it looks like you put the old ones back on. WHAT GIVES?

Just giving you a hard time. As always, thanks for sharing! Interested to hear how you like the ride with the new ones.

 

I was wondering how hard a time I was going to get for that, hahahaha! Like any good parent - do as I say, not as I do. The real situation here is that I do have a new set of u-bolts, but just as I was wanting to install the new leaf springs when I installed the new rear axle housing, I want to hold off on the new u-bolts until I get the new housing in place (since at that point, they won't be going anywhere for a while... I hope!)

Anyway, I fretted over the re-use a bit, but the threads looked good and the nuts went on/off easily - suggesting to me that I hadn't torqued them to yield to stretch the threads - so I went with it. Shouldn't be long before the rear housing is installed, so I'm only taunting disaster for a little bit here...

 

Storytelling is a gift.

 

When I added a leaf and shim to my dakar pack, the Toytec u-bolt flip kit bolt wasn't long enough to be reused. I got lucky and found that Advance Auto Parts had what I needed in stock and on the shelf. They were a bit too long, as I'm sure they were intended for something like a 12" block to be installed. That said, they wrapped around the axle and had threads all the way down where I needed them. Put them on and used an angle grinder to cut off the excess before I was able to properly torque.

Since it was in stock, I assume it to be a readily available part. With the present rate of trip reports flooding in, it might be a good idea to stop in your local auto-part store and see if they have them in stock. Especially since you've indicated no expectation that the new axle housing is en route...only that you've already been waiting 6 months.

 

It's not en route because it's received. We ran out of time installing it this last weekend. And energy, clutch job was a full day battle for all of us

 

Cool. The below note made me think that he was still waiting.

 

It may not be obvious but his updates here lag about a month behind reality sorry for the spoiler dan.

 

The plugs you used here, do you, or anyone have a recommendation for them? Or what is there technical Amazon name for them.

 

I know he publishes the reports a while after doing the trip. Perhaps thatline was written prior to receiving the unit.

 

On another site, some of the best reports are written by a guy who is a Bar Pilot. Plenty of time on his hands. His trips are immaculately planned out. Right down to the gas stop. He does a lot of historical research too. And he is behind in most reports as well. It’s like getting a chapter of a wonderful book.

I’m ok knowing this.

 

Ben - thanks, and feel free to spoil any time. @m3bassman

There are actually quite a few components that go into those connectors - the terminals (which are wire gauge specific), little silicone seals (also specific), the connectors themselves... it's quite the operation. The other "problem" is that you can't just purchase - or at least, when I got them several years ago to make connectors for my first Bussmann - one or two; you have to buy in quantity.

Anyway, rather than copy/paste all the links here, the best place to get all this stuff is a combination of Mouser and Waytek Wire. There's a write-up on building Bussmanns here on TW that I borrowed from heavily when I purchased the parts (again, several years ago, and now I just have a box of all this stuff sitting around - part of why I decided to build another Bussmann, rather than get an SPod). I'd wander over that way and pick and choose the bits you need: DIY - Build and install a Bussmann RTMR Fuse/Relay Block. Technically in that fabulous tutorial by @tacozord, you're looking for the second post that covers materials.

I'd love to read the reports. Mind sharing? (PM is fine if there's a reason to keep it under wraps.)

 

The Salt Creek Route - Bradshaw Trail #1
Part of the 250 Miles of Washboard - Bradshaw Trail trip.

For a couple of years now - ever since I read a trip report from Mike @mk5 - I've wanted to drive the Bradshaw Trail. Located in the southern California region of the Sonoran Desert, it traverses some 85 miles of desert - from the Salton Sea to the Colorado River and the La Paz region of Arizona. When I recently caught up with Mike as I was Hiking Saline Valley, he surprised me with his own personal copy of the Gold Road to La Paz, an Interpretive Guide to the Bradshaw Trail.

What a cool loaner! Thanks Mike!​

The Bradshaw Trail itself though, isn't the highlight of and adventure like this. The road itself purposefully follows the most boring route through the desert possible - after all, if you were doing this in a wagon train, low effort would be your goal too! Rather, much like the Mojave Road a hundred miles north, a series of side roads and attractions provide the intrigue and adventure on this trip. There, mosaics of colorful geology, blooming cactus, and historical sites abound. And then there is the solitude - this area seemed even more remote than Death Valley or the far reaches of the Mojave Preserve. For the desert lover, there is certainly plenty to get excited about!

As I drove south - for the better part of 24-hours, passing Mono Lake in the early afternoon - I was looking forward to my upcoming adventure!​

Having left earlier than usual, I arrived at the Salton Sea a little before 10:00pm, and quickly found a place to setup the tent and climb into bed. Temps were nice - in the mid-40s °F, and I got a fabulous full night of sleep.

Desert sunrise.​

My personal little nook just east of the Salton Sea.​

As the landscape brightened, the folds of the badlands and brilliant green of the irrigated fields filled my view.​

The sun - accompanied immediately by heat - spilled over the horizon.​

With temperatures warming up by the second, I put the tent away as quickly as I could and ate breakfast. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten the actual cereal for my cereal, so it was a bowl of blueberries and milk, every day of this trip!

Tasty, but missing a little something.​

I still had a few miles from my camp site to the Bradshaw Trail, and with the Salton Sea Visitor Center halfway between, I decided a quick stop was in order - even if it was still too early to be open - just to make my way to the sea's edge and check out this crazy body of water.

Welcome to the Salton Sea.​

<span class="l_ecrd_txt_pln">At 35 long and 15 miles wide, the Salton Sea - which is 200 feet below sea level - is the largest lake in California. With nowhere to drain, the current sea was created in 1905 when irrigation canals burst and for two years, water from the Colorado River flowed into the valley. Today, runoff from agriculture continues to be the main source of water for the sea, which loses water only to evaporation. This combination has resulted in the water becoming more than twice as salty as the Ocean, killing the vast majority of the aquatic life that once lived within its banks.</span>

Reaching the edge of the lake, the "sand" was like no other I'd seen. Turns out, this is no sand, it is the shells of barnacles that have died due to the increased levels of salinity.​

An entire beach composed entirely of barnacle shells.​

There are obviously still some fish and other life in the Salton Sea, as there were plenty of shore birds poking around in the water for tasty morsels.​

I didn't spend long at the edge of this vast lake, anticipation of my desert adventure too great to dawdle. Soon enough, I was headed east, where I'd air down for the duration of the entire journey along the Bradshaw Trail, as well as several side trips!

The start of the trail is - today - at the end of a road leading out of a small mostly-mobile-home development.​

Looks like I'm in the right place!​

The first few miles of trail wind along next to the Coachella Canal, to a palm tree oasis that was once the site of the Dos Palmas Stagecoach Station. At the time, only two palms grew here, where today there are hundreds.

Life blood of the California deserts.​

I really liked how the sunlight hit the smaller trees, while the larger ones were still in shadow.​

These palms haven't been trimmed in a while!​

Persistence Palm.​

In recent years, the site of the old Dos Palmas station was used as for agricultural purposes - like much of the rest of the valley - hundreds of small pools now all that's left of an old fish and shrimp farm.

These pools look great for taking a dip in, though they are now part of California's water supply and swimming is prohibited.​

Even wandering around in the shade of the palms at 8:56am, I was starting to sweat. Temperatures were forecast to be in the low triple-digits for my entire journey, figuring that I'd be much more comfortable in the air-conditioned cab of the Tacoma, I headed that direction to get back on the trail.

Already - and for much of the remainder of the trail - I found myself travelling over one of the most deeply wash boarded roads I've ever travelled. It was the kind of washboard where no speed was really fast enough to smooth out the bumps, both my truck and bones feeling as though they would rattle themselves apart if pushed too hard. It was a little frustrating actually, as for me, 250 miles of washboard made what a trail I'd really been looking forward to, a little less enjoyable.

Luckily, side trips were (a bit) better - though UTVs had worked their destructive magic on them to an extent as well - and my first was only a couple miles up the road to an unnamed mine working on the southern flanks of the Orocopia Mountains.

Up to my first unnamed mine site. Except for tailings piles, roads, and views of the Salton Sea, nothing else remained.​

Not knowing that most of the mining sites I'd visit along the way would be in similar condition, I was still in high spirits as I bumped and clanked back down to the Bradshaw Trail. I knew I had a decision to make - continue on to the Eagle Mountain Rail Trestle, a landmark I'd been looking forward to - or make a loop up through the Orcopia Mountains and a visit to Gucci Spring. Knowing that I'd eventually make it to the trestle, I opted to give the loop a go first.

For those interested in this loop, the Gold Road to La Paz guidebook noted that it is closed to all vehicular traffic between June 1 and November 1 to avoid possible harm to a heard of Nelson bighorn sheep that cross the area in search of water every year.

I should note that I believe the guidebook may be out of date. While there was no signage indicating wilderness at the beginning of the loop I took, and tire tracks the entire way, there was a sign - and barb wire fence - when I arrived at the opposite end of the loop near Gucci Spring. While I found a way through, I believe that this area may now be wilderness and should be hiked rather than driven at all times of the year.

​

Climbing the alluvial fan, I soon found myself meandering into a wide canyon, the walls rising into the bright blue sky, and the views behind me stretching for over 50 hazy miles.

Up into the canyon, shrubs beginning to green up for spring.​

Looking down the canyon, El Centinela in Mexico rising behind the Salton Sea.​

A brilliant Palo Verde along the way​

Before long, I was headed up a side was of the main canyon, and the geography really got interesting. Narrow passages, tight turns, and colorful hillsides unfolded before me, each turn heightening my curiosity for what it would hold. Despite the warmer and warmer temperatures, I found myself constantly exiting the Tacoma to snap photos and hike portions of the trail, just to experienced them on foot.

White and purple mountains, split by a wash.​

Bands of orange decorated some of the steeper sections of trail.​

The Orocopia's rivaled some of the most colorful canyons I've visited.​

As I wound my way through washes - there were several places where the geology really jumped out for one reason or another, and clear indications that explorers had been visiting these places for many years.

A nearly vertical wall that rose up in the middle of the wash, channeling water down its face.​

Unfortunately, those before me had left their mark.​

From one formation to another.​

A vertical stack of cards. Remember, this was all laid down horizontally!​

Erosion at work on the outermost card.​

A kaleidoscope canyon.​

Eventually, I reached the trailhead for Gucci Spring. Amazed that there could be a spring in this area - but reminding myself of the amount of water at Dos Palmas - I set off on the mile-long hike to the spring. This was the most enjoyable segment of the loop for me, as I've found that the experience when hiking is much more immersive than driving. I don't know if it's the slower pace, the smells, or simply the ground under foot; whatever it is, it is bliss.

On my way to Gucci Spring.​

Colorful, but dry.​

Correction - mostly dry. There is still the smallest bit of water, carefully managed for any wildlife that may happen by.​

By the time I finished up at Gucci Spring and made my way back to the Bradshaw Trail, it was just a little before noon. It was hot. And I was glad to be at the Eagle Mountain Rail Trestle, where at least there was a bit of shade.

Built in 1947-1948 to haul iron ore from the Eagle Mountain mine down to what was then the Southern Pacific transcontinental mainline, Eagle Mountain Railroad was one of the longest new rail construction projects of the century. It crossed a number of washes with wooden bridges and cast-iron culverts, the longest of which was this 500-foot-long steel beauty at Salt Creek Wash.

At its peak, from the 1950s through 1970s, two fully-loaded 100-car ore trains departed from the Eagle Mountain Mine each day, ferrying their loads to the Southern Pacific at Ferrum Junction.

Eagle Mountain Mine closed down in 1984 and the last commercial train ran on March 24, 1986.

A monster of engineering, this steel trestle replaced a wooden one that burned after construction was completed.​

From below.​

From above. The rail was removed in 2017, and sold as scrap to recyclers.​

After a bit of poking around and procrastinating the pure torture I knew was ahead, I climbed back into the Tacoma to resume my bouncy-jouncy ride along the washboard of the Bradshaw Trail, now tracing its way up the Salt Creek Wash. I was starting to get hungry at this point, and figured that my next side trip - to Canyon Spring, the site of an old stage station - might be a good spot to have lunch.

Making my way up Canyon Spring, where there is no longer any indication of an old stage station.​

Still worth the exploration though!​

Back in the day, there was - apparently - a mill approximately half a mile up the canyon on a large shelf above the wash. While the mill was removed - and repurposed elsewhere - the foundation walls were still visible on the shelf. As I searched for them, a trio of F-35s raced overhead and I snapped as many photos as I could.

This is the closest I got to having an in-focus photo of the iron eagles!​

I hadn't really been expecting to see any jets on this trip, so you can imagine my excitement with three low-flying F-35s. I shouldn't have been surprised, really, since just south of the Bradshaw Trail is the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, and the Gold Road to La Paz warns dozens of times, not to take roads that lead south! Still, seeing the planes put me on alert for the remainder of the trip - a fact I'd be thankful for later.

Leaving Canyon Spring, lunch was at the top of my mind. I hadn't found a great place to eat it, but I hoped that perhaps the narrow washes of Red Canyon - and its next door neighbor, Pinnacle Canyon - the entrance to which was just a mile up the trail, might provide a place to part the Tacoma in the shade and assemble a lunch that could offset the meager breakfast I'd consumed nearly six hours earlier.

The imposing entrance to Red Canyon.​

Pinnacles of the aptly named canyon.​

Lunch shade.​

I always love the orange glow of the sun on the sheer walls of a fanglomerate dry fall.​

I wasted no time in setting up the kitchen to prepare tacorittos. Even in the shade it was over 90°F, and I quickly cooked and consumed the beef-rice-guac-cheese-lettuce-and-tortilla meal in order to retreat to the air conditioned comfort of the cab. Only half-way through the Red Canyon loop at this point, I was soon navigating my way through one of the few places that a vehicle can climb out of the canyon bottom and onto the ridgelines above.

Along the way, I startled a trio of mule deer, who quickly scampered away to the next canyon over.​

When I reached the ridgelines, the views were spectacular. To the north, the gentle fingers of the Orocopias spread out to the east and west. To the south, views over the Salton sea. And, along the trail, ocotillo cactus, many of them in full bloom!

Driving the ridgeline and looking back into the Orocopia Mountains.​

Mountains to the south.​

Not quite opened ocotillo.​

Soon, my side trip was complete, and I was back on the trail. For the final two miles of the Salt Creek portion of the Bradshaw Trail, I'd travel the old rail grade, its solid base a welcome change to the soft wash-boarded trail that'd led me - to this point - over the alluvial fan and through the Salt Creek Wash.

While the lack of rails and ties to explore is a bummer, the well-graded rocky surface made for a nice smooth ride!​

Sign after sign to the south. Blank.​

Here and there, a few new signs had been erected; it was only at this point that I put two-and-two together with the F-35s I'd seen earlier.​

A mile later, as the rail grade continued north and the Bradshaw Trail turned towards the east, I put the first segment of the trail behind me. Except for the washboard, and the fact that the historical sites I'd hoped to see have been largely lost to time, I had to admit that the scenery was extremely nice.

And, while I hoped that the next section - Across the Chuckwalla Bench - would be a little smoother and offer a little more in the way of relics, I had no idea the excitement I was in for. Not to mention the place I found myself as the sun set, and the spirits of old mines began to roam the land.

.​

 

Funny. There is a group trip in May for the Red Canyon Trail, which connects with the Bradshaw. I was just checking it out. I saw "Patty Hearst Trailer" nearby.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/P...41e3be0c17ae2!8m2!3d33.5595962!4d-115.6439486

Just spent almost an hour Googling to find a link between her and this wreck in the desert. Didn't find any. Doesn't mean she wasn't there, just that there are gobs of info to wade through. Including a 42 chapter FBI report. I gave up.

Returning to TacomaWorld I see your post. Did this POI crop up when you reviewed the area?

In case you, or any of your Dear Followers are thinking "Who the hell is Patty Hearst?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Hearst