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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8923
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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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.
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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| 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. 
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?".
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]
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
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| 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.
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bonanza bucko
Senior Nomad
Posts: 587
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Airport Bum
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shocks for That Road
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.
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8923
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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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.
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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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.
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8923
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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| 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.
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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| 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!
| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Even still, vehicle breakdowns do happen, and an overloaded pickup truck is an overloaded pickup truck.
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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]
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8923
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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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. 
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Or, maybe he should upgrade pickup trucks to a fine American-made model.
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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.
Me, I'll hang on to my F350 7.3L diesel until the engine goes and I swap it out for a Cummins.
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bonanza bucko
Senior Nomad
Posts: 587
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Airport Bum
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That Road
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.
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bonanza bucko
Senior Nomad
Posts: 587
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Airport Bum
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That Road
 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.
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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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.
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
Member Is Offline
Mood: good
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Wusses
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,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
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
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
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
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Hey baitcast - bite me!
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
Member Is Offline
Mood: good
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I may have a little to much time on my hands.
But you have to wonder how they pulled it off,time and again.
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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Ken. Yea, I'm gonna go American made.  baitcast, you've got the makings of a book
there. Thanks to both of Ya.
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
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Mood: good
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And you know what,believe it or not we managed to get in and out without a DK map
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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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.
No, the stuff isn't necessary, but I enjoy it nonetheless.
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
Member Is Offline
Mood: good
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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.
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