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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Mom Installs Her I-Rack System

I have had this thing sitting in my living room for oh 6 + months.  It just never seemed more important than other things that needed being done. You know like playing in the Jeep LOL Until the night we got stuck on the Mountain.  Our friend  popped a tire right off his rim.
Well, he and I are both on the less than tall side, and getting the Hi Lift off the top of my Jeep was not an easy thing for us to do by ourselves.  Especially on uneven ground with that passenger side pointing up word LOL

We were able to get it down and get the tire changed! WOOHOO US!  but I didn't bother to put it back up 

Today was a beautiful day and Dad and some free time and was able to give me a second set of hands when needed so we got it installed. Oh and I only ended up with a hand full of left over parts! LOL 




No Pj's today but I did wrench in my slippers!



Now I need to decide what to do with the mounting brackets on the passenger side of my rack.

Play Safe and Tread Lightly
4 Wheeling Mom


Friday, March 23, 2012

Getting the Juices Flowing

The Ugly Duckling has been giving us issues. If you remember from The Trails Bite Back  Dad broke down and some awesome friends helped get us off the mountain. The fuse for the fuel pump blew so Dad replaced the fuse, and all was good for about a week. She started having issues starting after being shut off. Dad thought maybe it was the fuel filter because the issue was intermittent.Dad changed the fuel filter out and there was no change. He still had issues getting her to start after shut off, then one day she just wouldn't start again. The next logical thought was the fuel pump.

Dad had bought a fuel pump when we bought the Ugly Duckling, but never got around putting it in. Dad spent a  long wet windy day a few weeks ago replacing the fuel pump. If you have never dropped a gas tank it is not an easy task for one person. Dad didn't ask for help so he struggled. Note, Boys and Girls if you need help ask someone.  He got it all done and back together and nothing! He was a bit frustrated to say the least. Unfortunately do to weather and school the Ugly Duckling has had to wait to be fixed.

Today was the perfect day! No school, no rain, no wind, and the sun was in the sky! WOOHOOO!

Dad crawled under the Jeep before we started the process of dropping the tank, and found this wire. It was pulled part way out of the connection and fraying. Dad called me out to
take a look and snap a few pictures. This wire is located  between gas tank and the frame of the Jeep. Not a an easy place to work. So even though we could see the issue we still had to drop the tank to fix it.
















I was not there for the tank dropping last time. This was a whole new experiences for me. Lots of jack work and wiggling the tank to get it out with out dropping in on one of us. We used 2 bottle style jacks and a floor jack to lower it down. The tank is an over sized tank and can't drop straight down it has to be loosened then pulled over and down at an angle.





                                                         



And it is out!










When we got the tank all the way out Dad unplugged the fuel pump and this is what he found. The plug on the new pump had come apart as well. Luckily we still had the old pump and where able to scavenge the plug from it and splice it in. I don't play with electricity or electrical wirering. So while Dad did that part I organized my recovery and survival gear.

After dad got the wires all done and hooked back up we started her up before re-installing the gas tank so that we were sure it was working before going through all that work to get it back in place.


Dad did let Me put the filler hose back in place and re-install the licences plate frame! :-)


I am happy to report that the Jeep started up several times with no issues and Dad took her for a test drive and made it home! WOOHOOOO!













Play Safe and Tread Lightly
4 Wheeling Mom


Saturday, March 17, 2012

WOW How Time Flies!



I started this blog and my Facebook page on a whim on this  day 2 months ago. I had no inkling I would have over 1600 blog views in that time or over 170 followers on Facebook.  Everyone I have approached about interviews has been more than willing to participate. I have met some really awesome people along the way too! The off road community has been so welcoming and supporting of me. Thanks everyone.
Special Thanks to Starlie at Poison Spyder for being my first victim err I mean Interview! Thanks to Lucas from Land Pirates Off Road for taking the time to let this crazy lady he knows nothing about interview him.

I'm having a total blast keeping the blog and Facebook page up. I hope to be able to share my adventures and interview some more cool people along the way. I have a ton of ideas bouncing around in my head. Yes that is the hollow sound you hear when standing next to me.  I just hope I get the chance to do them and share them with you guys! I want to take some road trips and interview people in their natural habitat :-) But we will have to figure out funding for that :-)  I have a couple interviews in the works, but it is the busy season for people in the off road race circuit and in off road product manufacturing. So as soon as I get them back I will get them up.

Again thanks to everyone that has made this blog and my Facebook page such a successes.

The Slide show at the top of the page is from the Wrangler Groups very first event. We drove over to Long Beach Washington, drove up the length of the beach had lunch and drove back down. It was an awesome first event.

We even got a little winching class in! :-) this poor youth group drove a little to far down the beach and got stuck.  So what do you do when you drive a 4x4 with a winch LOL you un-stick it LOL

Play Safe, Tread Lightly
4 Wheeling Mom



Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pack Out What You Pack In



Illegal dumping has been an issue for many generations. I hate it when I see dump sites in nature. It bugs me just as much to see someones McDonald cup tossed on the side of a trail or road. To me it's all the same, a big black garbage bag full of your crap or just a fast food wrapper.

Not only does it look nasty, but it is harmful to the environment, could cause health hazards for humans, and is costly to clean up. I could go on all day about the harm it can do to wildlife. For a little more info Check out this PDF from Green Sweep 

On the off road front, dumping trash of small or large amount can get trails and road closed down. As Off Roaders we have so many things to worry about to keep our trails open, but one of the easiest to avoid is littering.

The problem starts with one person thinking" It won't matter if I toss this one thing out the car window"  Then the next person comes along and thinks the same thing. Next thing you know you have 10 or 20 people thinking tossing only one item won't make a difference, but it does! You now have 20 pieces of trash where there was none.  Now this one spot on the trail looks more like a garbage dump than a beautiful trail in the mountains, desert, beach, mud or where ever you wheel. This goes for all off road activities boating, hiking, horseback riding, biking skiing ect.

Is it that hard to keep a trash bag or a roll of them in your rig? No I didn't think so. Is it that hard to stop and actually take it out and put your trash in it? No I didn't think so.  I'm proud to say I know many off-road enthusiast that pack out more than they brought in! I strive to be that type of person, but I'm not perfect. I don't always take out more than I bring, but I never leave anything behind!


Check out this video from The Vermont Jeepgirl. She found this dump site while out on a drive. It breaks my heart! She wanted to organize a trail clean up, but found out it had already been closed :-(

Don't let this happen to your favorite trail! 


4 Wheeling Mom
Drive Safe, Have Fun, and Tread Lightly!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Mom and Dad Have a Different Sort of Adventure

Cooking Pot
We went to dinner at the home of some good friends of our. They introduced us to a traditional winter dish from China. They called it Hot Pot.  This dish is an ongoing meal you eat as food is cooked adding different things along the way such as beef, fish, tofu, pot stickers, leafy veggies, mushrooms and other goodies. It last for a couple of hours. It made for a great way to gather around the table and have a great conversation with friends.

I did not  tell Dad what was for dinner until just before leaving. HAHA Dad has a  little picky eating issue and doesn't like to try new things.



When we walked in the dinner table was set and each spot had chopsticks. One look at Dad's face and they offered him a fork :-) In the 20 + years we have been together I don't think I have ever seen Dad use chopsticks, and last night was no different :-)  I admit it had been a while since I had used chopsticks but after a few fumbles and bits of dropped food I was proficient enough I was in no danger of starving :-)  Dad ended up enjoying the meats they had :-) See what happens when you try new foods :-) I still can't get him to eat his veggies!  HAHA


After we ate our fill we sipped on blooming tea while we finished our conversation. 


It was an awesome night, we stayed way longer than we planed LOL did you know the freeway is empty at 1:00 am ?

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Mom and Dads first experience with Browns Camp



Adventures have been few and far between for Mom and Dad. Well, unless you count the approaching end of winter term in school. Dad in panicking about finals, Mom is in denial that they are coming up. So here I sit typing a blog instead of studying or doing house work.

If you have not noticed I have added a slide show at the top of the page. I'm going to try and change it out periodically.

I figured to fill in on my lack of adventures and interviews. ( I am waiting on several interviews to come in) I would share some of our adventures from last year with you guys and gals.


Our very first tip out  was to Browns camp but before we met any other  off roaders in person . One of the guys on Wranglerforum.com told us about the Powerline Trail at Browns camp. He told us it was a nice easy drive and a great place to have a picnic lunch. So we packed up our lunch and our SAR trained son and his girlfriend ( Mom was a bit worried about getting lost)  Both the boy and  his gal pal are proficient at reading maps and wilderness survival. Mom was afraid dad's skills at SAR and wilderness survival where a bit outdated and rusty. Shhhhhh Don't tell him that!


We knew nothing about sway bars and disconnecting them.  Ok we had read about them but where not confident enough to play with them the first time out with no one else with us.  YES, yes shame on Mom and Dad for going out in one vehicle alone. I had no idea just how much difference there was in  being disconnected in ride quality and flex. I disconnect and air down now just on gravels roads LOL oh the ride is so much nicers!  And yes I did learn first hand why we reconnect before hitting the freeway at high speeds LOL can you say body rollllllllll



Baby Dolls first photo off road. AWW how young  she looks there.









This is where I learned what I missed most about the F-250 I traded in for Baby Doll. THE TAIL GATE!   We have had trucks for so many years I took for granted I had a built in table for picnics
We now have a small roll up table we carry with us or we use the hood.












Mom panicked and made Dad leave before it got completely dark. Now  we hardly ever get out of there before dark. Oh how quickly things change when you have fun LOL
I did make the kids double check each others mapping though. They did as I asked even if they did roll their eyes at me every time I asked! Dad just ignored me after 20 years he is use to it :-)




We all have to start somewhere!
Play Safe and Tread Lightly
Mom