New Spring Hangers

Back in 2009, when I bought my current CJ-7 trail rig, I noticed the U-bolt protection plates hanging down well below the axles. I thought I needed to get more clearance there before too long.

Well, seven years later, countless broken U-bolts later, I finally got rid of those low hanging hangers.

Thank you to Ruff Stuff for make a product I had been thinking about for years.

Spring Under U-Bolt Plates http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/R2198.html

The clearance is clear. The wood represents the leaf spring (sprung under). The old on the right, the new on the left. (It’s only a 1/4″ piece of steel under the spring. The block is to get the ‘springs’ at the same height for demonstration purposes.)

I have a problem that I can’t leave anything stock. I’m not always the one to come up with an idea but I can always figure out a way to make it better. So, in this case, I welded a thick washer in order to better protect the leaf spring bolt (actually the nut) from getting scraped or broken off.

Since I was relocating my anti-sway bar mounts, I had to fab up a new mount. This was an early version, the later version had two cross braces to prevent the bending of the plate. This involves a system to move the axle 1″ forward on the spring for better tire clearance with the back of the front fender.

I have these products on the rear axle of my CJ-7. I think I had to move the brake line mount because the U-bolts are spaced wider with this application. On the front, since this is made for 2 1/2″ spring, I had to install spaces to keep the springs aligned in the center of the bracket. The ‘seams’ of the new bracket were also welded for more strength.

On the front axle, the diff is off to the passenger side so I had to make room for the diff and cover. There was a little grinding of the front diff to get better clearance for the plate and the U-bolts.

Once making the clearance, I had to make braces to make up for my cuts in the original product. The results of my welding shows I’m a little out of practice.

Installed under the rig.

You can sort-of see the extra braces on the anti-sway bar mounts.

The heavy duty steering and tie rod went in at the same time. (see previous ‘knuckle’ post)

It has survived a mellow day of runs in the area. I’ll soon take it out for a true pre-season ruin. There’s still a ton of snow in the mountains so I have time to dial things in.

Rubicon Ronin

New OHV Recreation Specialist @ TNF

I had the honor of working with Susanne Jensen on the Tahoe National Forest (TNF), Truckee District for at least a dozen years. She was the OHV Recreation Specialist, and back then, I was the new guy just getting in to OHV trail maintenance. Susanne Jensen has now retired. She will be greatly missed as she was a pleasure to work with.

She understood OHV and what needed to happen to properly manage it. She was open to ideas regardless of where they came from and was very professional about getting back to people in a timely fashion. She was always willing to roll up her sleeves and get dirty to get the job done. She trusted those who had proven themselves.

The other day, I had the opportunity to sit down with the new OHV Recreation Specialist on the Tahoe National Forest, Truckee District, Sam Donahue.

Sam comes from 14 years in fire suppression and has a degree in Recreation Management. He’s an OHV guy as he rides snowmobiles. He day after I sat down with him, he was off to get certified on a motorcycle as part of the job requirement. There is rumor that the TNF has bought or will be buying another Rubicon for the Truckee District, so he could be out on the trail on any number of vehicles.

There was no specific agenda to the meeting, I just wanted to do a face to face with the new guy. I brought John Briggs, the Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR) Tahoe Side Lead along with me. We talked about what the volunteers had done in the Rubicon area over the years, the different “Adopt-A-” type programs in place and the great working relation between the volunteers and the Forest Service and Placer County.

Sam came across as open mined, respectful of the volunteers past accomplishments and ready to continue the success we have had with the TNF over the years.

Sam can be reached through the Truckee District office, where he is taking over Susanne desk. He got her phone number and extension but hasn’t changed the phone message, it’s still Susanne’s voice. Don’t let it throw you. Leave a message, Sam will get back to you.

Rubicon Ronin

Trail Conditions 4-26-2017: SNOW!

I had planned on a nice spring day of skiing Alpine Meadows but when I checked the weather, there was a “Lake Wind Advisory” out for the day. I went for a snow hike instead.

Around 9:30am, I headed up the Rubicon Trail. Although there is no ‘street’ parking until the end of May but there has been enough snow melt you can hide inside the snow stakes and not get a ticket.

The ramp is still very steep. Wheeled vehicles will have a challenge just getting on the trail.

Starting up the trail, you can see the odd melting near the trees creating tree wells that are just calling for a rig to side off the snow and in to the trees.

Many trees down or bent over the trail. The ones I encountered were already cut but there are surely more further up the trail.

The bridge over McKinney Creek is covered with four feet of snow. You can barely see the wood rail on the far left side.

The snow is melting. Previous pictures of the staging area had three more feet of snow at the toilets.

I did a quick check of the condition of the roof structure of the kiosk. Easier than bringing a ladder later in the year.

This is where I start to get concerned. The Rubicon Trail runs down the right side of this photo. You can see snowmobile tracks there. Unfortunately, someone has been driving a ‘wheeled’ vehicle to the left through the open area but off the trail. ‘Wheeled’ vehicles are not allowed off the Rubicon Trail. Tracked vehicles of any kind are allowed off the trail.

I realize how difficult it would be to drive on the trail at this particular spot on the trail but that’s what we need to do. We’re out for the challenge, why take the easy way?

Just a little further up the trail, the ‘wheeled’ vehicles again drive off the trail to the right. I understand they are avoiding the extreme off-camber section and the tree on the left but it is not legal. The motto of this website is “Turn Around, Don’t Go Around”. The anti-OHV people will use this kind of behavior against us and get our trails closed. Please stay on the trail.

Please stay on the trail.

I made it as far as Water Bar #8, the Arizona Crossing. I took a quick walk down stream and didn’t see a snow bridge across the creek. I probably wouldn’t have trusted it if I had found one. I took just under an hour to hike this far.

On the way out, I snapped this shot of the gate and bridge of the Noonchester Mine Road. Open to tracked vehicles. Those snowmobilers are a little crazy driving over that snow on that bridge. The snow was getting little soft and I almost wanted snowshoes.

To try and give you a better aspect of the steepness of the ramp, here is a shot from the side. It’s a full 45 degree slope if not more. The whole hike was under two hours.

I know everyone wants to get out and go wheeling. My advise is go east and explore the desert and some old mining towns while the sierras thaw out.

Always Tread Lightly!

Rubicon Ronin