So its a nice friday morning and bailey, my cousin (riding with me) and i went out for a little, short, offroading trip. We'd been up there many times before and it usually takes ~3.5 to 4 hours allowing stops to take pictures and taking the last section slowly (very rocky and more challenging than the first part).

I just got my new lift, and everythign was working great, no more stuffing the tires into the wheel well, the add a leafs stiffened up the springs so not as much wheel hop, everything was wonderful.

11.7 miles into the trail a turn was coming up, so i began to brake and turn the wheel.... only the brakes were really stiff, and i had to fight the steering wheel. My whole truck shut off, no power to anything, whatsoever. I got out of the truck and checked all the fuses, electrical lines, undid the negative battery cable and got no spark, SO.... i took out my battery, took out baileys and swapped em (with the little..... and i mean little.. tools i had). Truck started right up and ran fine. we put the battery back in her truck and she pulled my gimp truck up the trail to a spot we could park it.

sooo we hop in baileys truck, i'm riding in the backseat (if you can call it a seat) and lets just say, 12 going around turns every 5 sec and bumps like crazy, sitting sideways i was nauseos, lightheaded the whole shebang.

We FINALLY got to the bottom of the mtn and i thought i was going to pass out, but we make our way to the local 4 wheel parts store to pick up a new battery, i got an optima red top. we go back to my house to get some more tools and to grab some lunch. My cousin decided to stay home, and jared came up on the trail with us with his truck.

Now we make our way up the trail and find my truck right where we left it at 11.7 miles, i take out the old battery and put in the new one.....but wait..... IT DOESNT FIT! i had to beat the battery tray wider to get the battery to fit, and then it was skinnier, so the stock holder didnt work. luckily i had a tie down that i was able to get around there and keep it in place. So i connect all the wires and it fires up like nothing ever happend.

We finish the rest of the 25 mile trail, partly in the dark (which is actually very fun) What was supposed to be a 3-4 hour trail ride turned into a 10 hour ordeal.

Today i took my truck to 4wp and the guy said..."hmmm i guess that isnt the right battery!" so they swapped it out for the correct one, then i went to autozone to get a diagnostic done on my truck and the old battery, the charging system on my truck was fine, but the battery was dead, they tried to give it a charge but they got nothing out of it. I figure somethign inside the battery must have been damaged, along with it just being an old battery, if it was just slowly dying, the alternator should have kept a charge and not died like it did.

SO, the moral of the story.... and some advice.

1. ALWAYS be prepared, bring lots of tools, even though you dont think you'll need it
2. If you are going to be offroading alot, invest in a good optima battery, you'll regret it when you're 12 miles up on the trail stranded.

sorry for such a long post, this is just the abbreviated version


alon

 

very good advise

 

Or a 6 Pack, Lunch and sleeping bag and maybe some marshmallows for the campfire

 

More importantly, something to LIGHT THE FIRE with.

 

i love my optima red top

yes, the size is a bit awkward, but i put mine in the stock tray along with the little clamp thing at the bottom and everything is intact after many offroading trips

 

Well, sounds like a cool experience. And yeah you have to bring tools were ever you go, i just take my tool box with me.

 

wow..sounds kinda scary..glad everything worked out good though...

 

so umm... how did it feel with the lift?

sorry you had to deal with that dude. But hey, what else can we do at rincon right? hah.

 

u forgot to add the getting eatin alive by bugs part...

 

Wow what a day! yeah tools are always good. This reminds us of the 1st rule of off-roading, never ride alone

 

^^^ true! thats why alon called jared to come up with us, just in case something happened with my truck on the way back up there

 

Good thinking

 

Sounds like an experience I had several years ago.... while out for a drive with my wifes Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep had been sitting for several weeks and I found that the battery was low on charge. Decided to go for a drive down a local country road to charge the battery.... After driving the vehicle for 5 miles I found out the dirt road had been blocked with concrete K rails by CALTRANS. While turning around the engine slowed and died..... VERY DEAD BATTERY !!!!!!
Had no cell phone (stupid me... I left it at home), nor did I have any other means of communication.... This required me to walk 5 miles down a country road and then a mile across a local ranchers land.... The walk home was fine...., but the ranchers dogs worried me some !!!! Got lucky.... they must have been on the other side of the ranch.
Arrived home and asked a neighbor to come with me so I could jump start the Jeep. When we arrived at the Jeep..... he looked amazed..... You walked all this way..... IN THE DARK !!!!
SO..... the moral of the story is..... even when out for a short drive you should be prepared.....
When I go offroading.... I bring a SSB CB and a 2 meter radio, emergency survival kit, tools and usually invite a trail companion.....

OR 4x4

 

oh yeah well, i got a flat!!!! so bahh!

 

^^^ OH! He told yall!

That reminds me... i REALLY need a full-size spare now!

 

just go to your local tire store and buy a really cheap used 33 somewhere till you can get a new one!

 

it's always better going with a group, cuz somebody's bound to have the tool ya need..

like yesterday, one guy needed a 7/8" deep socket to fix his broken U bolt and I had one.. and another guy needed a funky sized spark plug socket and one of our ranger guys had it. Somebody even thought enough to bring a chainsaw and lighter fluid.. moral of the story = more people is better!

 

or just bring a chainsaw and lighterfluid no matter what... but not to the airport. thats a no no