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It was a cold and crisp winter morning, and I awoke early in anticipation of a beautiful day. There was snow in the air, so I packed my chains and my new snatch em strap and headed to the first meeting spot. I got there first and found no other Cruisers. A little later a stock FJ40 showed up, but after waiting a while, we decided to meet the others at the next stop. There we met several Cruisers, and pretty soon we had 8 trucks, including Darrel and Phyllis's Bad Dawg mud racer and sand drag FJ40 on a trailer. It is not too often they get out on a run as they don't have a trail rig finished at this time.
We were like bubbling school kids, excited and eager to see the big block FJ40 spin those massive 39.5" Boggers! When I pulled my 60 up next to Bad Dawg I told Darrel - "I could be as tall as him if I attached seats to my roofrack!" The rumble of the big block, spewing its exhaust out of massive headers with nothing else to streamline or quiet the flow was quite deafening as it warmed up. Initially, Darrel was having some problems with the engine; it was not hitting the high RPM's, and he tried adjusting the MSD ignition to a cutoff of 8,000 RPMs. Definitely not the type of cutoff I was used to, my small block is set at 4600 RPM's.
Eventually he got things right and he was ready for a test drive. Darrel asked if I'd like to go for a ride, and before my mind even had a chance to think of a response, I was strapped into the five-point harness and grabbing the oh-cripes bar for dear life as we blasted off up the side of sand hill. It was like riding in a rocketship, so powerful was the launch over the peak of the sand hill. Darrel told spectators later that - "I looked at Eric at the top of the hill and he was very calmly smiling." It was definitely my highlight of the day. We all took turns being the co-pilot in the Poulter's rocketship as it churned several tons of sand. It was like being at an amusement park!
The rest of us took our turns at the sand hills in our own Cruisers. Brodie tried all day to make it over the top with his F motored 40 and 31x10.50 AT tires. He only gave up after dark. There were several hills I couldn't make it up; the 33x10.50 Ats sank into the sand as they loaded up with the fine grit. I kicked myself all day for not taking the time to swap over to the 33x12.50 MTs, uselessly sitting in my garage at home. The sand hills are extremely challenging. Here speed is king, and the faster you can spin the tires the further you will go. On the trails we typically run speed is the enemy, and it took a while for most of us to get used to this.
The last run of Bad Dawg for the day was an interesting one. Most of us were sitting around the fire warming our bodies and talking about our adventures in our Cruisers. Darrel had been having some problems with the steering wheel on Bad Dawg and Scotty joked, "Can you imagine blasting up that hill and right at the top pulling the wheel off and Darrel saying - "Hand me the Vise Gripes in the glove box!" We all started chuckling, and at that very moment the big block's motor stopped its rage against the sand. Kevin, the current co-pilot, was holding a steering wheel above his head. I quickly jumped in my 60 and blasted up the hill, tow straps ready in the backseat. When I arrived at the top, Darrel said he didn't need a strap but needed some tools. I thought to myself, "DARN! The 60 doesn't get to pull him off the hill." He got the big FJ40 situated well enough to pull it back onto the trailer. Later he determined that the aluminum collar had stripped out where it attached to the wheel, and said he had a replacement at home. Among other projects, Darrel thinks he might add power steering this winter too!
It was a wonderful winter day. Cruisers, friends, and sunshine.
As a side note: The area had sort of turned into a garbage pit since our last visit to this area 2 years ago, and as a result, NW Cruisers is planning a cleanup of the area this spring. This is BLM land, and we hope our efforts make a difference and ensure the continuing use of our public lands.