Hot Rod Ford

[Jungle Jim]

JJ
Never posted on here before but have been reading for several years and enjoy your stories and would like to meet you or any other members. We would love to tag along on your Salinas Point run but doubt the ride we keep down there is worthy. Have a 08 Grand Vitara with a few inches of lift and 31's on it but it's a total pooch power wise. We are going to be down tomorrow and staying for a week or so.

Perry

So Perry,

The Mexican Pangueros make that drive along the beach in twenty year old two wheel drive pick up trucks with four mismatched bald tires, they do get stuck but usually have a half dozen hombres in the bed to lift it out of the sand or mud.

As for myself I will be testing out a brand new set of MAXXIM RAZR MT's at 36" tall on ten inch wide wheels. I drop the pressure to eight pounds when we leave the highway and the Jeep will go anywhere in comfort. The Mexicans stick to the wet sand at the surfline but even with a high speed approach almost always need hombre power to climb the final dune back up to the flats.

From the wet sand of the surfline to the dunes the dry sand is powder soft and deep, so plan on a lot of slow gas guzzzling creeping. I use a half tank of gas just on the beach so I always carry two five gallon Jerry cans in order to make it back to Penasco. There is no gas between the Pemex at the Los Conchas turnoff and El Desemboque so you are on your own. If you need gas at El Desemboque it will be eight or ten dollars a gallon and hand pumped from a fifty five gallon old rusty drum. We air up under a shade tree before we hit the highway home.

Friday morning will be at Guiseppies for breakfast as we plan our campaign for the weekend. We are usually there around 11 AM. You can't miss the Jeep that will be parked in front.

JJ

 

[Perry Apfelbeck]

Thanks for the insight JJ I kinda figured as much from reading some of your previous posts about that beach run. It sure sounds cool as shit but guessing the little Suzuki won't be real happy in that deep sand. My wife and I will stop by Guiseppies Friday morning to say Hi, looking forward to meeting you, we have breakfast there quite often. We just got to our place in Los Conchas, 84 degrees, light wind out of the south, ocean looks perfect for a few casts as does the forcast for the next week.

Perry

 

[Jungle Jim]

Hey Perry.........

We will see you Friday, if we make it thru the pot-hole highway without any totaled out tires and the never ending checkpoints set up by the police, La Guarda Natcional, the Army and the Mexi-Marineros.

JJ

 

[Old55]

Thanks for the insight JJ I kinda figured as much from reading some of your previous posts about that beach run. It sure sounds cool as shit but guessing the little Suzuki won't be real happy in that deep sand. My wife and I will stop by Guiseppies Friday morning to say Hi, looking forward to meeting you, we have breakfast there quite often. We just got to our place in Los Conchas, 84 degrees, light wind out of the south, ocean looks perfect for a few casts as does the forcast for the next week.

Perry

Depending on the yesr those 4wd Vitaras are great on the beach. A few owners keep one at Santo Tomas to head north to the spit or south for lunch in Desemboque…..tire pressure of course is the key

 

[Perry Apfelbeck]

Good to know thanks!
We live in Colorado I have plenty of experience crawling around in the mountains where its more about picking lines. I know nothing about the sand other than I like to sit in it with a Tannery and tonic in my hand or walk around in it whipping lures with my surf casting rods.

 

[Perry Apfelbeck]

Tanqueray and tonic, stupid smart phone spell checked me.

 

[Jungle Jim]

In all of my years driving the beach and desert around PP and beyond I have never hooked up with a SINGLE PERSON who had any interest in tagging along. Same goes for fishing from my boats AKA buddy boating.

So, we just go solo. Meaning BE PREPARED.............sorry fag scouts as in you are not, any longer capable of honoring your bullshit motto.

Being prepared means sitting down and listing any possible contingency to deal with within reason other than an "Act of God" as in tsunami, meteor impact, lightning strike, flash flood, tornado, water spout, breaching whale or rabid Cougar.

So we go loaded for bear within reason, as in a real spare wheel and tire, a winch, extra fuel, hand tools, a jack or two, a shovel, a jump starter, a first aid kit, compressed air, communication devices that actually work, drinking water, a GPS device to let someone know where you actually are and a flare gun so they can actually find you if they are really looking for you.

We have been up shit creek many times, got out on our own and made damn sure it wouldn't happen again, if possible.

My all time favorite rescues usually deal with idiots stuck frame deep in sand or mud that never took the time to know what front locking hubs are for or the little switch on the dash that indicates 4WD.

Just saying............

JJ

 

[Petrose]

Some advice on not ever getting stuck in the sand or mud:

The minute that you leave the pavement put the vehicle in four wheel drive and leave it in four wheel drive until you are ready to get back on the pavement. You may be tooling down a sand, dirt or gravel trail where you don't think 4WD is necessary then in an instant you might be bogging down in deep soft sand or mud. When that happens if you're in 2WD you are already in the getting stuck event. Your TJ does not instantly jam into 4WD as there are gears to engage and distance to travel before all of that stuff meshes up. It just ain't gonna happen if you are already in a hole.

The minute that you leave the pavement air down the tires. Don't wait till you are in two feet deep muck and the valve stem is in sixteen inches down at the bottom of the wheel deep in water or slimy goop. I always drop the pressure to 10 psi. then check it again in a few miles as the now soft bulging tire builds up heat and the pressure increases. So you just might need to let more air out to bring them down to the 10 psi. range. Since you mention that you will be getting new tires you might consider buying a set of rapid air down valves. I have them on both of my TJ's and they save a lot of time letting the air down like maybe ten seconds at the most for each wheel. They will require drilling and additional hole in the wheel as they are only for deflating and your original valve will be used to inflate.

When you are ready to hit the pavement air the tires back up to highway pressure. This can be a slow process depending on the inflation system that you have like a bicycle tire pump, an electric compressor or a 3200 psi. Scuba tank. I carry a Scuba tank in my vehicles everywhere I go. With it I can inflate each tire to highway pressure in about thirty seconds. One of those Scuba tanks can easily inflate ten or fifteen big off road type tires, as long as you keep the tank topped off.

Carry more recovery gear than you will ever expect to use. Of course it's an issue in a little TJ Jeep but make the space for it. First would be at least one of the longest pull straps that you can find, next would be at least two but three or four would be better, steel shackles to connect the strap to your Jeep and the vehicle that will be pulling you out or maybe to another strap or two depending on how far from solid ground you might be bogged down in.

Carry a real full sized shovel that can move some dirt, not one of those folding toys they sell that might be good enough for digging a poop hole. You might be bogged down to the frame and have to move hundreds of pounds of dirt in order to get the wheels back on solid ground to drive out.

Carry an extra hydraulic jack or two. Your stock jack is designed to lift the axle with stock tires on flat pavement, not lift it when the axle is under two feet of sand or mud. Keep two or three wood blocks to increase the height of the jack. I keep a 2x4, a 4x4 and a 4x6 block in every vehicle.

Carry a High Lift jack. These are the ultimate for a speedy lift if you can find room for it. Don't forget they cannot lift your axle or wheel as they require a solid, not body sheet metal point to do the lift. That point will be the front or rear frame mounted bumper which means the lift will probably be more than two feet in order to get the wheel up off of the ground. They make a 12" x 12" base plate for those jacks for use in sand and mud otherwise the jack will just sink into the sand and lift nothing.

Carry a functional winch. This will be helpful especially if you have something to attach it to. Good luck if your out miles on a muck beach or out in the dunes. The last resort for a solid pull point will be your spare wheel, if you planned ahead and have the strength and balls to attempt this: walk out with your winch cable as far as it goes, did a DEEP hole, wrap the cable around the wheel thru the center hole and bury it. You now have a solid pull point and just might be able to get moving. You might have to repeat this ordeal several times depending on how far out you ended up.

Carry a CB Radio that works. Good luck trying to explain where you are stuck, especially in Spanglish!

By the way, I have never been stuck or marooned in a spot that I couldn't get out of on my own even if it took two days! Some day let me tell you about the adventure that I had in a four hundred foot deep swale of talcum powder sand in the dunes on the west side of the Pinacate....

Thank you Jim for the above information. Yes, his rig is loaded for bear.

AZ_Mike...

 

[Old55]

Great advise ….or get a couple Honda Ranchers ….two is a magic number out there incase one craps out…

 

[Old55]

and side note once you pass the spit unless a shell collector there isnt much point of going all the way to Desemboque.It is sorta dicey down there now.Maybe cut back out at the point (Jaguey) or Santo Tomas.

 

[Mexico Joe]

Did Perry make it?

 

[Perry Apfelbeck]

Did Perry make it?

I did make it Joe. JJ and his better half showed us how to fill a bucket with clams was our first time doing it and eating them, they are tasty as hell. Going to attempt the Salinas Point run today hopefully he doesn't have to drag the Suzuki most of the way. Fishing has been awesome nothing all that big but good numbers lost count of how many sand bass I've caught a couple days ago, got 8 Corvina, 5 Triggers, and quite a few Pompano as well.
Perry

 

[Perry Apfelbeck]

I did make it Joe. JJ and his better half showed us how to fill a bucket with clams was our first time doing it and eating them, they are tasty as hell. Going to attempt the Salinas Point run today hopefully he doesn't have to drag the Suzuki most of the way. Fishing has been awesome nothing all that big but good numbers lost count of how many sand bass I've caught a couple days ago, got 8 Corvina, 5 Triggers, and quite a few Pompano as well.
Perry

Thanks again JJ my wife and I had a awesome time on our Salinas Point adventure!! Your knowledge, advice and stories about the history of the area were second to none.I think the little Suzuki did pretty good in the sand. Any experience with full size trucks on the beach? I have a half ton Ram with 35's and a locker in the rear. Hopefully the wind is a bit less and the waves not so big.
Perry

 

[Jungle Jim]

As a matter of fact Perry, yes a big truck will do fine just consider another six thousand pounds of steel, plastic and rubber to dig out.

You will still be required to let the tire pressure down and have a method to air them back up.

You will NOT be driving a truck up into those dunes like I did with my Rubicon, sticking to the wet sand along the tide line will be the best bet just as we did on the way back last weekend and as Jose the panga camp guard and his compadres do on a daily basis.

The horror of a low rider Hot Rod Ford Raptor marooned with it's belly on the ground and all four wheels spun out and hanging down in self dug holes and perfectly functional lockers front and rear is something I don't ever plan on doing again. Better make sure that you always have a REAL full sized shovel handy!

JJ

 

[Old55]

In all of my years driving the beach and desert around PP and beyond I have never hooked up with a SINGLE PERSON who had any interest in tagging along. Same goes for fishing from my boats AKA buddy boating.

So, we just go solo. Meaning BE PREPARED.............sorry fag scouts as in you are not, any longer capable of honoring your bullshit motto.

Being prepared means sitting down and listing any possible contingency to deal with within reason other than an "Act of God" as in tsunami, meteor impact, lightning strike, flash flood, tornado, water spout, breaching whale or rabid Cougar.

So we go loaded for bear within reason, as in a real spare wheel and tire, a winch, extra fuel, hand tools, a jack or two, a shovel, a jump starter, a first aid kit, compressed air, communication devices that actually work, drinking water, a GPS device to let someone know where you actually are and a flare gun so they can actually find you if they are really looking for you.

We have been up shit creek many times, got out on our own and made damn sure it wouldn't happen again, if possible.

My all time favorite rescues usually deal with idiots stuck frame deep in sand or mud that never took the time to know what front locking hubs are for or the little switch on the dash that indicates 4WD.

Just saying............

JJ

Fag Scouts ? That is pretty low.You know they are just kids having fun in scouting and that is a good thing! In many ways It is a better organization these days. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/first-black-openly-gay-boy-scouts-executive-portland/283-96f05bd3-348d-48ea-86a0-f4563a545de9

 

[Jungle Jim]

As a Cub Scout we were mentored and controlled by some of our straight white married female moms.

As a Boy Scout in Newport Beach we were mentored and controlled by a gaggle of young mackeral snapper priests who were as gay as a herd of castrated pink plush unicorns, my first exposure to real fags. The Scout leader was a 70 year plus skinny queen that never was seen without his Scout uniform and Smokey hat. He had an incredible garage turned shop where he could make any item of equipment as per the Scout manuals. His favorite past time was one on one training sessions with a fresh young Scout.

I couldn't stand any of it so transferred to the Sea Scouts at the Newport Sea Base next to the Balboa Bay Club. We had pro surfers, beach boys and real professional boat Captains as leaders as well as every type of sea faring watercraft imaginable for our use. We even had a sea marksmanship course and merit badge available and let us make use of almost every type of firearm. That training made my soon to happen transition to a US Army Air Cav Trooper a breeze.

"BE PREPARED" is my middle name.

JJ

 

[ernesto]

Ha! Mackeral Snapper,haven't heard that for a bit! Remember fish stick fridays at school? I still eat those.

 

[Jungle Jim]

I do Ernesto and now I always do aged dead cow on the barbie on Friday nights, as we will do tonight.

Ever since those good old days in N-Port Beach and I told a nun to stick her knuckle smackin yardstick up her coolero.

JJ

 

[Jungle Jim]

Some advice on not ever getting stuck in the sand or mud:

The minute that you leave the pavement put the vehicle in four wheel drive and leave it in four wheel drive until you are ready to get back on the pavement. You may be tooling down a sand, dirt or gravel trail where you don't think 4WD is necessary then in an instant you might be bogging down in deep soft sand or mud. When that happens if you're in 2WD you are already in the getting stuck event. Your TJ does not instantly jam into 4WD as there are gears to engage and distance to travel before all of that stuff meshes up. It just ain't gonna happen if you are already in a hole.

The minute that you leave the pavement air down the tires. Don't wait till you are in two feet deep muck and the valve stem is in sixteen inches down at the bottom of the wheel deep in water or slimy goop. I always drop the pressure to 10 psi. then check it again in a few miles as the now soft bulging tire builds up heat and the pressure increases. So you just might need to let more air out to bring them down to the 10 psi. range. Since you mention that you will be getting new tires you might consider buying a set of rapid air down valves. I have them on both of my TJ's and they save a lot of time letting the air down like maybe ten seconds at the most for each wheel. They will require drilling and additional hole in the wheel as they are only for deflating and your original valve will be used to inflate.

When you are ready to hit the pavement air the tires back up to highway pressure. This can be a slow process depending on the inflation system that you have like a bicycle tire pump, an electric compressor or a 3200 psi. Scuba tank. I carry a Scuba tank in my vehicles everywhere I go. With it I can inflate each tire to highway pressure in about thirty seconds. One of those Scuba tanks can easily inflate ten or fifteen big off road type tires, as long as you keep the tank topped off.

Carry more recovery gear than you will ever expect to use. Of course it's an issue in a little TJ Jeep but make the space for it. First would be at least one of the longest pull straps that you can find, next would be at least two but three or four would be better, steel shackles to connect the strap to your Jeep and the vehicle that will be pulling you out or maybe to another strap or two depending on how far from solid ground you might be bogged down in.

Carry a real full sized shovel that can move some dirt, not one of those folding toys they sell that might be good enough for digging a poop hole. You might be bogged down to the frame and have to move hundreds of pounds of dirt in order to get the wheels back on solid ground to drive out.

Carry an extra hydraulic jack or two. Your stock jack is designed to lift the axle with stock tires on flat pavement, not lift it when the axle is under two feet of sand or mud. Keep two or three wood blocks to increase the height of the jack. I keep a 2x4, a 4x4 and a 4x6 block in every vehicle.

Carry a High Lift jack. These are the ultimate for a speedy lift if you can find room for it. Don't forget they cannot lift your axle or wheel as they require a solid, not body sheet metal point to do the lift. That point will be the front or rear frame mounted bumper which means the lift will probably be more than two feet in order to get the wheel up off of the ground. They make a 12" x 12" base plate for those jacks for use in sand and mud otherwise the jack will just sink into the sand and lift nothing.

Carry a functional winch. This will be helpful especially if you have something to attach it to. Good luck if your out miles on a muck beach or out in the dunes. The last resort for a solid pull point will be your spare wheel, if you planned ahead and have the strength and balls to attempt this: walk out with your winch cable as far as it goes, did a DEEP hole, wrap the cable around the wheel thru the center hole and bury it. You now have a solid pull point and just might be able to get moving. You might have to repeat this ordeal several times depending on how far out you ended up.

Carry a CB Radio that works. Good luck trying to explain where you are stuck, especially in Spanglish!

By the way, I have never been stuck or marooned in a spot that I couldn't get out of on my own even if it took two days! Some day let me tell you about the adventure that I had in a four hundred foot deep swale of talcum powder sand in the dunes on the west side of the Pinacate....

Thank you Jim for the above information. Yes, his rig is loaded for bear.

AZ_Mike...

Hey Mike,

Almost reads like I wrote your whole note myself!

I did the Pinacate dunes episode myself. Managed to get out in a day. We were going to drive over the dunes to Adair Bay then take the short cut beach run to PP before the Coastal Highway was built. BAAAAD idea no matter how much air we let out of the tires.

Anyway, considering functional com. All of my vehicles and boat have a hard wired CB radio, a hand held CB radio, a handheld VHF, a hand held GPS, two smart phones with GPS, a 12 gauge flare gun with a dozen extra shells, numerous flashlights and stick matches to start a bonfire just in case someone might actually come to your rescue!

JJ

 

[Petrose]

Hey Mike,

Almost reads like I wrote your whole note myself!

I did the Pinacate dunes episode myself. Managed to get out in a day. We were going to drive over the dunes to Adair Bay then take the short cut beach run to PP before the Coastal Highway was built. BAAAAD idea no matter how much air we let out of the tires.

Anyway, considering functional com. All of my vehicles and boat have a hard wired CB radio, a hand held CB radio, a handheld VHF, a hand held GPS, two smart phones with GPS, a 12 gauge flare gun with a dozen extra shells, numerous flashlights and stick matches to start a bonfire just in case someone might actually come to your rescue!

JJ

Yep, you wrote it all! I was on the coastal highway about 10 miles outside of El Golfo going towards Peñasco and went off road to look at something. My TJ sank in the dry sand like it was water. Aired down after the fact and just went down to the frame. Luckily I had my folding GI shovel.....worthless!
J.J. on his way back to Yuma sees this and unlike anyone else, pulls over and schools me on the do's and don'ts of sand driving, including to get a real shovel and fix my winch so it's operational.
That was awesome is after this incident you followed up and wrote advice to me, great stuff! Working rescue on the Goldwater Range for 30 some years i thought I knew how to off road, maybe in moon dust but not unsuspecting dry sand is a huge difference.
I still owe you for the save and do my dental in Algodones, lunch some time.

AZ_Mike