BajaNomad - What shocks for That Road to Gonzaga Bay

What shocks for That Road to Gonzaga Bay

bonanza bucko - 9-14-2007 at 08:39 AM

We just got back from a trip in our Tundra to Gonzaga Bay on That Road south of Puertecitos. We busted a rear shock on the four inch washboard and the river bottom boulders that pass for a road bed.

We are gonna have the Tundra all fixed up before the next trip. We have FabTech coil over shocks on the front that perform well. We are gonna put either Rancho Adjustables or Fox adjustables on the rear. We busted the Bilsteins that were on there...and Bilstien doesn't make an adjustable shock to far as I find out.

I would really appreciate any knowledge or input all your experience off road nuts have on this. :?:

shocks

bonanza bucko - 9-14-2007 at 09:14 AM

Yes..Fox has an adjustable...saw it yesterday. What do you mean by "no comparison"...does that mean Fox is better or worse than Rancho?

Thanks

Hook - 9-14-2007 at 09:20 AM

Define "busted". Did the shock fail due to heat and begin leaking or did it shear off at a mount?

Roberto - 9-14-2007 at 09:22 AM

He means that Fox are much better than Rancho - no comparison, I agree. Do you happen to remember the model of the adjustable you saw?

805gregg - 9-14-2007 at 12:02 PM

I wore out my 1-1/2 year old Rancho's on a 2 week trip to Baja sur, I guess they didn't like my 50 mph run to Asuncion. It wallowed like ad old buick when I got back . I just got Old Man Emu's put on yesterday, much better, OME makes shocks and struts for your Tundra.

Bob H - 9-14-2007 at 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by whistler
I didn't know Fox built an adjustable shock.No comparision between Fox and Rancho.Go Fox.

Fox... they ain't gonna be cheap...

http://www.milneroffroad.com/FOXPRICE2.HTM

Bob H

busted shocks

bonanza bucko - 9-14-2007 at 08:03 PM

My Bilsteins lost fluid and stopped providing shock absorbsion...we were bottoming out. But I don't fault the shocks too much even though they are "guaranteed for life." The temperature was 111 F, the "road" was the worst in the world and I was overloaded in a half ton pick up by about 600#. If the shock hadn't failed I would have bought the company.

I'm gonna install Fox adjustables after the input I have gotten here.

Roberto - 9-14-2007 at 08:10 PM

Fox are the right choice, I'm sure you'll be happy with them.

Could you point me towards the adjustable model? I haven't heard of one either, unless they are adjustable by varying gas pressure and valving, which is not something a typical end user is equipped to do.

Roberto - 9-14-2007 at 08:12 PM

P.S. Since you are shelling out the bucks for the good stuff, make sure you get a shock with a remote reservoir - it makes a real difference in reducing operating temperatures, and thus increasing functionality and part life.

Packoderm - 9-14-2007 at 09:34 PM

"Fox... they ain't gonna be cheap...

http://www.milneroffroad.com/FOXPRICE2.HTM"

That must be a site from England. Those prices are in the British pound.

Shocks??

baitcast - 9-15-2007 at 08:02 AM

What with all the great trucks out there today why all the shock problems?

With a old Dodge we made the trip several times a year,car topping a boat,water,gas and kids,and the road was hell to pay but fun and this is in the mid 60,s and 70,s,never lost a shock!!But did have a few other problems like battery brackets breaking,entire exhaust systems falling off and the like :lol:

Would someone please inlighten me.
BAITCAST

baitcast - 9-15-2007 at 08:41 AM

I understand what your saying Whistler ,mine was a 3/4 T and very tight,perhaps speed had something to do with it :lol:

and overloaded!!

I guess the new road encourages a little to much speed ya think :rolleyes:

BAITCAST

TMW - 9-15-2007 at 09:17 AM

The Rancho 9000 is a popular adj. shock, I didn't know Fox had an adjustable, if so it should be OK. The better shocks would be one with a seperate resovoir. Fox and Pro Comp are a couple at $150-200 each. You would have to check to see if they make em for your truck. The problem with any stock replacement shock is that they are not really designed for that type of driving. You would have to use shocks that the prerunners and racers use like King, Fox etc, but that will cost you big bucks.

That said, the next best thing to do is make sure the shock you do use is free to travel the length your truck will put it through. The first part takes a little estimating in that with the shock fully collapsed (disconnect it at one end)calculate the shock length as if the truck was bottomed out or hitting it's stop. Next Use a jack, a floor jack is best, and with the shock off, jack up the frame at that wheel. Measure the distance. This will give you the extended and collapsed measurements for the shock you'll need, maybe add a 1/4 to 1/2 inch for safety then compare it to the one your buying. If the shock you buy will hit it's limit while your driving down the bad roads they are going to break. Some auto makers specify a shock with a limit stop. I've never understood why or how a stock shock is going to limit a 100+ lb wheel and A frame bouncing down a road. One time I got my Bilstein front shocks so hot on that road it melted the rubber boot.

Shocks for That Road

bonanza bucko - 9-15-2007 at 09:44 PM

I really appreciate all the good input I have gotten. I am a newby dummy about this stuff...thought my Tundra 4X4 TRD was ready for anything. Then I installed new..not OEM Bilstiens....on the back and FabTech coil over shocks on the front and it handled the washboard better.

But with about 600 # more than the truck is designed to haul, 111F and four inch washboard "road" with periodic river bed boulders for a road bed the poor Bilstiens failed...melted the cover off of one and the fluid leaked out. The other shock did not fail but it sure looks bad. A friend who was riding along happened to bring two Rancho adjustable shocks with us. We had to grind the top ends and rebush them down there on the beach to make them fit. But they performed just fine getting us home with a small load.

Off Road Warehouse suggests Fox shocks with an external reservoir and adjustability....about $265 per each. That is a little pricey and I don't think I'll have to haul that big a load again and the Mexicans finally appear to be serious about fixing That Road.

I am a novice on it...only five round trips in the last year in the Tundra....because we usually fly down there. That destroys your perspective....the 50 miles of That Road south of Puertecitos that takes us 2.5 - 3 hours to drive and which busts the shocks takes us about 15 minutes to fly.

But I want the Tundra ready for just about anything. It looks as though the FabTechs on the front are good enough. It looks as though the Ranchos on the rear ain't....and I think adjustable shocks makes sense.

Off Road Warehouse says the Fox adjustables are custom built for each truck. If that is so I think the cost may be justied.

If anyone thinks otherwise or has better ideas I'd like the hear them.

The nose wheel shimmy damper on our bird needs new O rings every year that cost 50 cents but, if you forget to replace them, and the damper rod gets spalled you gotta buy a new damper for $1500.00. That's an expensive shock.

goof on the message above

bonanza bucko - 9-15-2007 at 09:47 PM

Sorry 'bout that...the grinding and rebushing was on the lower mounts of the shocks not the tops

Goof on the above message

bonanza bucko - 9-15-2007 at 09:50 PM

Sorry 'bout that...the grinding and re bushing on the Ranchos was on the bottom not the tops.

TMW - 9-16-2007 at 10:39 AM

[Fox shocks with an external reservoir and adjustability....about $265 per each. ]

BB you may think in the short run they are more costly but in the long run an external reservoir is multiple times better than any shock without it. It will run cooler and last longer. Whistler is probably right, by adjustable they mean when rebuilding it, not by turning a knob, although if it was like a motorcycle shock it could have a knob.

pappy - 9-16-2007 at 10:49 AM

anther thing-check out super springs, out of carpenteria.california. they make a real good "add a leaf" unit, that comes into play only when truck is loaded....

TMW - 9-16-2007 at 10:52 AM

Pappy thats what I need.

BAJACAT - 9-16-2007 at 11:32 AM

Buy a H1 that's going to solve the problem...

Ken Cooke - 9-16-2007 at 05:16 PM

If this guy is worried about "That Road" so much, why doesn't he just drive Hwy 1 down to the turnoff to Laguna Chapala and just drive slowly up past Coco's Corner to Gonzaga Bay? What a wuss.

Roberto - 9-16-2007 at 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bonanza bucko
I really appreciate all the good input I have gotten. I am a newby dummy about this stuff...thought my Tundra 4X4 TRD was ready for anything. Then I installed new..not OEM Bilstiens....on the back and FabTech coil over shocks on the front and it handled the washboard better.

But with about 600 # more than the truck is designed to haul, 111F and four inch washboard "road" with periodic river bed boulders for a road bed the poor Bilstiens failed...melted the cover off of one and the fluid leaked out. The other shock did not fail but it sure looks bad. A friend who was riding along happened to bring two Rancho adjustable shocks with us. We had to grind the top ends and rebush them down there on the beach to make them fit. But they performed just fine getting us home with a small load.

Off Road Warehouse suggests Fox shocks with an external reservoir and adjustability....about $265 per each. That is a little pricey and I don't think I'll have to haul that big a load again and the Mexicans finally appear to be serious about fixing That Road.

I am a novice on it...only five round trips in the last year in the Tundra....because we usually fly down there. That destroys your perspective....the 50 miles of That Road south of Puertecitos that takes us 2.5 - 3 hours to drive and which busts the shocks takes us about 15 minutes to fly.

But I want the Tundra ready for just about anything. It looks as though the FabTechs on the front are good enough. It looks as though the Ranchos on the rear ain't....and I think adjustable shocks makes sense.

Off Road Warehouse says the Fox adjustables are custom built for each truck. If that is so I think the cost may be justied.

If anyone thinks otherwise or has better ideas I'd like the hear them.

The nose wheel shimmy damper on our bird needs new O rings every year that cost 50 cents but, if you forget to replace them, and the damper rod gets spalled you gotta buy a new damper for $1500.00. That's an expensive shock.

Yes, your shocks overheated. Not suprising given the circumstances. That's where the external reservoir comes in - larger volume of oil, harder to overheat. But, they will get warm anyway. :lol:

This particular idiot (that's me) decided to test that theory one day when my wife and I ran (and I DO mean ran) from Bahia to San Francisquito, had lunch and came back in oh, about 5 hours. So I said to myself "I wonder how well these new Bilstein 7100 with the remote reservoir work at dissipating heat" - and I touched them to find out. You can imagine what happened to THAT finger.

Back at camp that evening, my good friend with much more experience than I and who shall remain nameless on this board, said (calmly) "Why would you do that?". :lol:

Anyhow, getting to the meat of the matter. Bucko, sounds to me like you are being overcharged - by about $65/shock, mas o menos. I am guessing that what they want to sell you are Fox 2.0 shocks with the remote reservoir. They ARE adjustable, but not on the trail. They are more accurately described as TUNABLE - and it takes someone who knows what they are doing to tune them, either by trial and error after being on the trail, or by experience. ORW is NOT the place - my same friend who shall remain nameless calls them OFF-ROAD hoarHOUSE. Can I say that on this board?

If you are serious about this, I would like to recommend some folks in San Diego who do this all day long - for years. In fact, they are part of a big-name racing team (McMillin ring a bell?). The chances that they will get it right the first time are pretty good - and if they don't they will take the truck back and re-valve and tune the shocks at no charge. The place is SKG in Poway, CA. http://www.skgauto.com . Here is an article that describes their shop:

SKG Article

Give them a call and ask for Jason. Tell them I (Roberto, that's my real name) referred you and that you need his help. You won't be sorry.

[Edited on 9-17-2007 by Roberto]

Roberto - 9-16-2007 at 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by whistler
Or lighten the load and slow down.

You should smile when you say that, pardner. Personally, I never realized that was an option. :lol:

shocks for That Road

bonanza bucko - 9-16-2007 at 07:56 PM

This is for the dude who called me a Wuss for not driving down Mex 1 and then the 37 miles in from Lake Chapala. The reason I'm a wuss and take That Road is that the total trip from San Diego to GB through San Felipe is about 9 hours even including the 3 hours on That Road. From TJ and down Mex 1 is at least 12 hours because of the towns and stop lights at San Quentin etc. The border wait at Mexicali is also a lot better than SF or Tecate...last week the wait was 2 minuters.

So I'm a wus but not a dumbs**t. Guess this dude has never experienced the joys of The Tres Marias, Huerfanito or Papa Fernandez....guess this dude is kinda tender in Baja...guess this dude needs to keep his face shut.

Ken Cooke - 9-16-2007 at 08:25 PM

Dude, if you're calling it, "That Road", it kinda sounds like it is more of a hassle than fun for you. Plus, if you are driving an overloaded pickup, you are risking a blowout (or two), along with bending your rear leaf springs into a negative arch, trashing your vehicle bushings, overloading your braking system, and who knows whatever else on your 1/2 ton pickup.

Last November, our group encountered a family at Coco's Corner that didn't respect the stretch from Puertecitos to Gonzaga Bay. Their Dodge Caravan had a punctured transmission fluid pan, and Coco was busy applying a cold-weld compound to the metal to fix it. But, the moral of the story was that the family didn't anticipate the kinds of hardships they would encounter, and with the high temperatures you described, it didn't sound as if you were anticipating the kind of vehicle failure you had encountered - and this can be deadly.

[img]http://www.justruns.com/gallery2/d/6055-2/001+Baja.JPG[/img]Coco mugging for the camera at his place.

[img]http://www.justruns.com/gallery2/d/6111-1/029+Baja.JPG[/img]Traveling in a small group is always a better idea.

Roberto - 9-16-2007 at 08:44 PM

Ken, FYI Bonanza Bucko has owned a place in Gonzaga for what, 20+ years? And has been going down all that time. Just keep that in mind - this is not a newbie (and you and I are both newbies compared to BB) you're talking to.

Ken Cooke - 9-16-2007 at 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roberto
Ken, FYI Bonanza Bucko has owned a place in Gonzaga for what, 20+ years? And has been going down all that time. Just keep that in mind - this is not a newbie (and you and I are both newbies compared to BB) you're talking to.

He only had ~50 posts, so I thought he was a newbie. Even still, vehicle breakdowns do happen, and an overloaded pickup truck is an overloaded pickup truck.

Roberto - 9-16-2007 at 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
He only had ~50 posts, so I thought he was a newbie.

Guess BB has better things to do than spend time posting on Internet Boards! :lol:

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Even still, vehicle breakdowns do happen, and an overloaded pickup truck is an overloaded pickup truck.

Exactly! And BB is looking for advice on how to avoid a similar situation in the future. So why don't we tough, macho guys who spend their time figuring out what the next build-up/out/upgrade to our vehicles should be do that?

[Edited on 9-17-2007 by Roberto]

Ken Cooke - 9-16-2007 at 10:38 PM

Personally, I think the guy should drive that overloaded pickup slower on that rough and rocky trail/road, or just cover more ground on Hwy 1. Lets face it, if he breaks down and is stuck on the side of the road, he will effectively lose all of the time he would have made up by traveling the stretch from Puertecitos to Gonzaga Bay. Or, maybe he should upgrade pickup trucks to a fine American-made model. :light:

Roberto - 9-16-2007 at 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Or, maybe he should upgrade pickup trucks to a fine American-made model. :light:

Ken, how can you say such a thing?

He's driving a TOYOTA! Haven't you heard - oh, what a feeling! The horror, the blasphemy. :lol:

Me, I'll hang on to my F350 7.3L diesel until the engine goes and I swap it out for a Cummins.

That Road

bonanza bucko - 9-17-2007 at 07:35 AM

Guys:
Thanks..most of all that is true. I shoulda gone slower and I shoulda had a smaller load. But the Tundra was overloaded with 8 big batteries (130# each) for our solar system at the house we have at Alfly's...needed 'em....old ones were faling and how you gonna keep the Pacifico cold without a fridge? (we sold our old gas jobbie) Then there was my wife who weighs a little and my fat arse to boot plus food and booze for a week. The Tundra did a super job and the shocks didn't fail until we got to Punta Bufeo which, some of you know, is about the roughest washboard on That Road.

Guess I shoulda hired somebody with a Sherman Tank or a lifted five ton truck with Baja 1000 shocks and springs. But I didn't. Anyhow we made it and the Tundra is in good shape. That truck is just superb!...after five round trips on That Road it hasn't even developed a sqweek! I love that Rice Rocket!

As I said, we usually fly. But flying into Alfy's has its poco problemas too. Our runway is under about five feet of water at the high tides twice a month. Then the runway is across the prevailing wind and it's full of pot holes (caused by those A##H%$#@s on dirt bikes who do wheelies on it despite the signs). I have landed on that runway a minimum of once a month for almost 30 years and I have never busted a shock on it...maybe my airplane is just as tough as my Rice Rocket.

Anyhow, thanks for all your input. I have developed another layer of Baja crust because of it. :lol:

That Road

bonanza bucko - 9-17-2007 at 07:40 AM

:?:

Guess you guys didn't know that Tundras are made in Tennessee and that Fords have as many foreign parts on them as Rice Rockets. Guess you didn't know that the wings of a Boeing 777 are made in Japan and Singapore and that a bunch of Chevy parts come from Mexico and other places.

The VW Rabbit is assembled in Germany, shipped to Austrailia for painting and then Mexcio (I think) for interior and back to Germany for engine and running gear.

There ain't nothing totally "Made in the USA" anymore unless it's Corn Flakes and I got my doubts about that.

Roberto - 9-17-2007 at 11:21 AM

Actually my Ford was assembled in Kentucky, USA. Trucks assembled there come with a sticker "Assembled at KTP" (Kentucky Truck Plant), but not all fords are.

Wusses

baitcast - 9-17-2007 at 11:41 AM

Rubicons,F350,cummins,Tundra,taco and expensive shocks that go away,all that hard earned $,only to take it out and bust something else again?

What ever happened to the real road warriors of old? the guys who prowled the same trails in the 50,s and 60,s,no highway 1 in those days.

I think you are all Wuss,es :lol:

,hell I had 3 friends who drove a VW pickup down the whole peninsula,by way of San Filipe!!!!!1960........Another who broke an axel coming out of San Franciquito,left his wife an kid in camp and hitched rides back to Ensenada and back with axel in tow!!

Another buddy who drove a old Dodge van down that "road" loaded to the gunnels to Santa Rosalia,that was in 1959,no highway 1 in those days,no AC No 4/4 no money,we just wanted to go fishing :biggrin:

I,m always reading tails of break-downs,in the middle of nowhere,no GPS no satilite phone,quess we should have come down highway1 :lol:

I got into this madness in 63 and haven,t been the same since and when I see the equipment thats out there now I smile and think of the real road warriors,those boys were something else,just didn,t know any better I quess.

It is acceptable to abuse ones body and equipment in the pursuit of that ultimate hook-up.
BAITCAST

Roberto - 9-17-2007 at 12:09 PM

Hey baitcast - bite me! :lol:

baitcast - 9-17-2007 at 12:18 PM

:lol:

I may have a little to much time on my hands.
But you have to wonder how they pulled it off,time and again.

Cypress - 9-17-2007 at 12:34 PM

Ken. Yea, I'm gonna go American made.

baitcast, you've got the makings of a book there.

Thanks to both of Ya. :yes:

baitcast - 9-17-2007 at 12:48 PM

And you know what,believe it or not we managed to get in and out without a DK map :lol:

Roberto - 9-17-2007 at 12:53 PM

In the same vein, with all the equipment and stuff, I will often, after getting to my destination, find a Mexican family that just arrived in a '69 Chevy sedan. :lol:

No, the stuff isn't necessary, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

baitcast - 9-17-2007 at 01:11 PM

I hear that,We used to marvel at watching the Fernandez clan just do things,like load up that old truck with turtles and kids,110 degrees with a smile on their faces and head for San Filipe,no problem,it was the way they dealt with things that used to get to me. I,m glad my family and I got to spend so much time with those folks.

Ken Cooke - 9-17-2007 at 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bonanza buckoThere ain't nothing totally "Made in the USA" anymore unless it's Corn Flakes and I got my doubts about that.

Unless, you are talking about me! I am 100% from the Inland Empire! Born in Fontana, CA. Raised in Mira Loma, CA on a small farm! YEA!

Roberto - 9-17-2007 at 07:24 PM

I don't see no shocks in that picture, Ken. How will YOU perform on That road? :lol:

t

bonanza bucko - 9-17-2007 at 07:25 PM

That Road

bonanza bucko - 9-17-2007 at 08:29 PM

Baja is magic!

I met some of Papa Fernandez's family on the grade up the most southerly of the Tres Marias on "That Road" the day after Papa died in 2001. He was 103+/-. They had broken down in an old F150 and needed a pliers to rewire the coil and distributor...I had one. We had a cerveza and remembered Papa with jokes and laughter....he was a great man! The gulls and frigate birds wheeled in the sun and wind off the sea against the cliffs, the dirt in the road was clealn and the friends were better than in The Bankers' Club or The Ritz.

I could lay a $100 bill on my porch down there at Alfy's and it would be there a year from now.....maybe with interest if someone needed it. (That's gonna change fast when the new road is finished).

About 15 years ago my buddy's son went fishing in our 14 foot skiff with a brand new Yamaha 9.5 hp engine. He had a few Pacificos and pulled the boat up on the beach in front of the house and had a nap. The tide came up about 15 feet and when it wet his feet he woke up...boat gone to sea on a west wind. We wrote it off.

Two weeks later I was sitting in my office in San Francisco and a guy from Riverside called to say that a fisherman had found the boat half way to Topolobampo in the middle of the sea. He had spent four days walking up and down beaches to see to whom it belonged. Somebody remembered we had lost ours. When we got back to Alfy's it was stowed, upside down in the sand in front of the house, engine on the porch. We never even knew his name! Try that in USA just about anywhere except Nebraska a long time ago and you are gonna lose the boat and motor and get a bill from somebody for liability and some buttcrack polititcian is gonna try to pass a law against having a beer and falling asleep on the beach....with extra taxes to pay a worthless flake who can't get a job anywhere else to enforce it....and drink the beer.

We need more Mexicans up here! We just need a federal gummint with the balls and the brains to manage the influx of people a lot better than we are and without some self serving agendae to it. .

When we are about 100 miles south of the border we are in a country that is full of the best people I have met on earth... and I have been almost everywhere on earth at least twice!...no kidding. The honesty, reverence, family, friends, work and wholesome play of those beautiful people will make Hollywierd, politicoturds of both parties and our newsholes look stupid any time they are compared....one little ten year old Mexican kid in bare feet, a big smile and floppy hat has more moral power than CNN or FOX can put on TV any day.

If we had a brain more American kids would have that too....and more American families would stop half way up our version of the Tres Marias to tell a Gringo/Mexican in a truck worth two years' pay how great Grand Papa was.

His shrine and ashes are behind the cantina at Papa Fernandez's town now. (www.papafernandez.com) His great, great grand daughters cook the best food on earth...better, again, than the Banker's Club and The Ritz by a lot.

The only thing wrong with Mexico is the gummint and the only thing wrong with the USA is that we put up with gross incompetence in ours. I'd love to turn WASHDC into a museum/mausoleum and move the capitol to someplace hard to live in...like Baja.... after fireing everyone currently in WASHDC....I'm sure none of those creeps would move. :?:

Roberto - 9-17-2007 at 09:20 PM

Thanks for that, BB - I think that is the longest post I have ever seen from you anywhere. Did we get your blood flowing?

Seriously, I understand where you are coming from. Call Jason at SKG about those shocks - he will set you up.

Saludos,

Roberto

[Edited on 9-18-2007 by Roberto]

Ken Cooke - 9-17-2007 at 09:39 PM

Not sure if anyone touched on this, but your shock failure was most likely due to the shock absorber over-compressing due to the vehicle being overloaded, and the leaf springs not being able to fend off the extreme load you placed upon the rear axle. This was no fault of the shock absorber or its manufacturer. The shock was simply asked to compress more than it was engineered to do so. Hope this helps...

Skipjack Joe - 9-17-2007 at 10:07 PM

You've said a mouthful, bonanza bucko. And you've said it about as well as the best of them here.

Thanks amigo

Paulina - 9-17-2007 at 10:14 PM

Bonanza Bucko, the relationship you have with the Mexican community is priceless. You give respect and get it in return. I can tell that you have found yourself a 'home'. It is to be envied.
Saludos,
P<*)))><

wakemall - 9-18-2007 at 12:41 AM

What about KYBs

bonanza bucko - 9-18-2007 at 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Not sure if anyone touched on this, but your shock failure was most likely due to the shock absorber over-compressing due to the vehicle being overloaded, and the leaf springs not being able to fend off the extreme load you placed upon the rear axle. This was no fault of the shock absorber or its manufacturer. The shock was simply asked to compress more than it was engineered to do so. Hope this helps...

Ken:
That is exactly true. I had 1100# of solar system batteries on board plus another guy and my wife plus food and booze..I was probably about 600# pounds over the half ton the truck is supposed to haul. It was 111 degrees F out and the washboard down there is 4 inches high when it's washboard...when it's not it is just bare rock and boulders. I am surprised I made it as far as I did and I probably could have made it all the way had I slowed down...I was running about 25-30 mph on washbord when the shock failed. But after 45 miles and three hours I had a case of "I need to get there and have a cold beeritis." :mad:

David K - 9-18-2007 at 08:37 AM

Thanks BB for the post... I wish there was a 'way back' machine to let us re visit Baja before graders and pavers came!

Here's a photo of Desert Rat and Papa Fernandez taken in 1994...

Here is a couple photos of the road south of Puertecitos, before 1985, when the new one was built...

[Edited on 9-18-2007 by David K]

nomad 061.jpg - 49kB

That Road

bonanza bucko - 9-18-2007 at 10:25 AM

David:
Thanks. Nice words.

Papa hadn't changed much from that to the day he died..alsways looked the same. Spoke so slowly that even with little Spanish we could understand. Tended his trees every day. I think the picture of him and John Wayne in the cantina and on Papa's web page needs to be seen a lot more than it is and it's fading with sun and age....probably by getting splashed with Pacifico and taco sauce a few tiime too.

I first met him in 1979.

That Road is worse now than it looks in your picture..there is no gravel left. They haven't graded it since BEFORE the Baja 1000..not after. There are pot holes and washout holes bigger than my truck. In a couple of places someone has stacked rocks around the holes so nobody falls in...if someone hit one of them above about five miles an hour they'd get hurt. There are lots of stair step climbs that require about 2MPH and 4X4 is handy although not required .....yet. It'll soon be such that only a 4X4 is gonna make it in some spots. They are starting to survey for the paving south of Puergtecitos...white painted lines on the ground about two miles south as of last Friday. Because of the impending construction I don't think they will spend any money on That Road until the paving is done.

We probably need to set up a memorial to "That Road" once it's gone...pictures like yours..... maybe we should preserve a small stretch so people in 20 years can see why we were "wusses" so often trying to make it through it.

Alfonsina and Rodriguez at Gonzaga Bay have already started to plan for and discount the new road. That big new Pemex that she borrow our money to help build ten years ago is gonna pay off and so is Rodriguez's big investment in big city runways down there. Prices are going up. We even have a bootleg WiFi on the beach now....a couple of Sat internet set ups with wireless routers with outdoor antennae.

We also probably need a press and PR campaign to convince people in big cities with camper shells that there are dangerous wolves and coyotes, bandidos and rare latin diseases to be caught on that new road.

We saw two mountain sheep on it last week....they better not be there when it's a freeway.

Fun times at PAPA,s

baitcast - 9-18-2007 at 10:39 AM

PAPA,s turtle rodeo mid 60.s,my daughters first turtle ride in front of PAPA,s casa.......Fun times :biggrin:

baitcast - 9-18-2007 at 12:45 PM

BB sorry I got off the subject but when you wrote about the old man I got a rush!......Hadn,t thought of him in a long time,we all loved him to death.

wakemall - 9-20-2007 at 09:48 PM

Sorry to respond late to this shock subject..... But I worked at an off road shop years ago and our baja 1000 rig ran KYB shocks. Actually four on each side in the rear and two up front. They were the only shocks that did not break. Again that was years ago. One of my best friends has an auto shop and KYB is what he uses for all his replacement shocks. Please do not get me wrong, my Pismo buddies run those fancy shocks with the external gas cylinder. But what are we talking here? Great replacement shocks or off road racing shocks. KYB has always had a good name and they are reliable and less expensive than a racing shock. My Ford Powerstroke has Rancho's that came stock. Once they are worn out, I will replace them with KYB's...

markshark - 9-21-2007 at 04:40 PM

cant help but add this picture of papa

reyesgroup.jpg - 24kB