ChefYota4x4

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Hey guys! Isn't she a Cutie????

Ok, I have had a heck of a time last few days. Stuff just piled on me, and of course, u know me, once I get started sometimes? Haha. .. Work changed their mind againnnnnnnnnn, wanting me for guests. ... When they knew I was trying to get away for the weekend, and they also knew I was trying to get lots of stuff done on my truck. I know, thats work... But, let's just talk when you make plans, get the go ahead, then all of the sudden oops. Hahaha. Oh well, what can I do? I'll tell you 1 thing, between the grill, cutting I'm placing the rabbit fencing as a temporary platform on top, messing with the panels, clearing the way a ton of crap to get to my gear,.... My hands are like raw hamburger! Hahahaha. Again, what can I do?

So I will just show you a video that I uploaded to YouTube of the panel on the right, passenger side, that I've actually got pretty much completely done now. It's funny, the driver side has been cut for a long time, even mounted, but I end up doing the other 1 completely, first. He he he... Anyway, here's a video... And by the way, I'm sorry if I sound like crap, it's just that I've gotten maybe 10 hours sleep in the last 3 days...

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

PS, Rad,...... Why is it again you're not going to the Salton Sea even for a day? I'm killing myself just trying to get out of here before Saturday, what the heck man? Ha ha ha ha, just kidding... But it sure would be nice if you could meet up with us down there? I'm doing everything I can to get out of here by 2mrw... REALLY NEED THIS!

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

PSS: lol. ......

Stew, Thanx for the kind words. ... u were always kinds AND patient.... And btw, that was very kind of ya to help out, .... ....I'm grateful!

Hey Smokejumper.......... No, the parts and doing the hubs is just a thing to help my mom pay for the funeral 10k $ bill... We got that sussed... but shes still needing and will continue to need help.... He left her kibda broke, which is often how it happens these days

RAD4Runner

Hey guys, sorry, must have missed message on Salton Sea. When's the plan to go there? Booked this weekend and weekend of mar 9-10 (Baldy Climb!), but otherwise weekends are usually open. Pls keep me posted.

Redeth005

Ray the trip is at Tiera Del Sol, going out toward Sulton Sea. And it is gonna be today. Friday - Sunday.
I posted it on my page a few weeks ago. Invited you, Grego, and Mark.

Cyberhorn The Dragon

commented on the vid mark but ill say it here DANG that looks good
i like the panels! great work

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

As many have seen on Richard/Redeth's Page, .... we did the Tierra Del Sol Annual 4WD event. There were HUNDREDS of sponsors, Radio Stations, areas set up for demonstration and execution of CRAZY hill climbs, etc. There were also INSANE vehicles, EVERYWHERE!!!! (You know, it's one of those events that make your rig feel like a POCRAP just for a moment! lol... Meh, s'all good... And I'm Happy for ANYONE who accomplishes and then enjoys such awesome engineering feats!)..... There were rolls(Only one that we saw).... Events at 10pm-1am on Saturday night with THOUSANDS of people all cramped into a small canyon, watching peoples OFTEN DARING testing of their rigs/toys! There were TONS of toys, hot wheelin ladies and plenty of EXCELLENT exhibitions to enjoy!

Before the pics, I just want to thank Richard, Chris and Ruben, Chris' Father(Richards Neighbors), for including me in this trip. Meeting Chris and Ruben was great, as I've heard so much about them...FANTASTIC peeps! They were very generous and kind to me! Also, Ruben and Chris' friend, Armando, showed up with his GF and Quad and 125.... And WHAT A GREAT SPOTTER! The guy was so cool to go ahead for us over the cliffs you couldn't POSSIBLY see over or want to climb(some 100 yards up at 30*degrees, ...YEAH, RIGHT, I'ma hike that every hill in 85+*F weather! ).... Armando was a solid dude, and I'm very thankful! His lady, Sadie, was nice, too... Quite the cutie and very sweet.

We arrived there around 12AM, as we couldn't leave til around 8pm(People gotta work, datz howzit is! )..... Richard cooked our dinner, Saturday night, which was great! Carne Asada and Marinated Pollo! Especially when starving, it's REALLY nice to have some hot food as it's cooling off... AND, as someone who has cooked nearly 25 years for everyone, every day.... it was nice to be cooked FOR, for a change! Thanks, Richard, appreciated!

One thing I will say.... it was VERY hot and VERY much a constant dust cloud heading your way, ..... especially camping right on the road. BUT, arriving at night and not wanting to search, etc.... We just pulled to the side and set up. Evenings though? PERFECTTTTTTTTT weather! 70*F maybe, .... sometimes less... And slept with a sheet over me ON TOP of my bag! lol.... THANKS IN PART to my kick butt insulation... REALLY helped! And, also thanks to the Full Tarp Job/Covering I like to do on trips.... (Pics to come, promise, hehehe)...>>

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Set up the night before, LATE, and didn't take any pics... So in the AM, Popped open my highly blacked out Ruby and got one of the Gazebos we set up........



Groups like this, all around us......THOUSANDS of GROUPS, not just people...









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Richard/"Redeth" and his Lady, Fabby, .... Who is very Fabbylous! haha... No, really, she's a great person! >>> And one with them and their dog they brought, 'Sophie'. They/we had all just gotten up and had breakfast, washed up, etc., getting ready to head out and wheel! .....











Armondo and His Cute lil other half/Lady, as well.... COOL PEOPLE! ..........





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Chris and His Rig, a SICK Super Flexy SAS 89 4Runner with 9bolt, full width, WIDE Chevy Axles(His Dad has the 85 Long Bed Pick Up).........





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First, I'll start with OUR wheeling, as a group..........

* Starting out, Chris took a couple side-lines in his beast to test it out on some CRAZY steep hills.......





I got behind Ruben, and with Richard behind me, we headed up into some pretty nasty stuff right off...





Unfortunately, pretty much from the start, Richards rig, not having a locker, would hit some really soft and often pretty difficult stuff to begin with, and lose traction... Then, to add to that, his dang Auto Locking Hubs would disengage every time, backing up to take another line... BUT, he couldn't get forward enough for them to lock again.... So he got stuck within minutes, so Ruben and Chris tied him up and Ruben pulled ole Kingsford out....





While this was resolved, I tested out my new Low Pro Bump Stops, and WOW, did they ever make a difference! .......





Back at it, tailing the DUST BOWL that is the tail of Rubens Beautiful rig, lol...... THANK GOD FOR A/C AND ROLLED UP WINDOWS! hehehehe....





Then, after Richard got stuck a couple more times(mostly due to just parts error... Which he will have fixed, soon!.... )>>> We headed back and parked his Rig and he and Fabby went with one of us, switching back and forth....

Tailing Ruben again and watching Chris often heading up his own stuff here and there... VERY sexy Rig! lol...





Richard taking a few pics from my camera, while he followed/rode with Chris in the 89 SAS'sy beast....
















NOW; AT THIS POINT, we made it up to the Event! HOLY SMACK DOWN, some sick rigs, even saw a 1st Gen Bronco Flip over, dump all it's gas and then get pulled back upright and drive off! lol.....

Just getting up to the main event, Saturday(one of many events..... This one sponsored by West Coast Gear Heads, IIRC..)>>>







Me and Ruby-Redrum! lol....



Chris, Flexing out his SICK SAS'd, 89 4Runner








Some of the SICK Trucks, Truggies, Buggies, THINGS, hahaha... , at this event.....




















This guy KEPT, OVER AND OVER, taking the wrong line, trying to be different........ And unfortunately for him, flipped, backward and sideways, his Cherry Old Bronco.... 4 People in the rig, total, and within seconds, Gasoline POURED from the tank like a firehose..... Then, some guy, saving the 'BEER', said, "Here, catch!", to Chris, and threw a gas soaked beer to Chris, soaking his hands and pants.... NOT HAPPY, as I'd have felt as well! haha... And, at first, we all thought it was water from the cooler spilling out..... BUT, from 40ft. away, I could instantly smell gas... So I told this one dude, my age..."HEY, that's GASOLINE, not water!".... So he pulled the large cigar from his mouth and said, "Hmmmm, maybe I should put this out, eh?".... DANG that could have been so much worse... BUT, as I said, "Rope, flip back over, roll back, 'VROOOM', stated right up"...hahaha...



Then, we headed out from there up this trail in the pic, as, which you could see in the pics took of us while up there..... we were totally blocked from behind by the time we left, hahaha...










This was a pretty nasty one.....




From the top of that nasty hill/crack in the wall to squeeze through....



Watched another Toy coming up.....




And, up the same hill, a poor dude that had to push his 125 mini/4stroke while gas&clutching it up with him....



Here's an idea of how narrow it was at the top....



And the nasty drop off the other side if you didn't have a spotter and happen to come flying up and over... to the left in the pic.. (I'll show another pic of it too....)>>>



View from the top; HUGE PLAYGROUND! haha....





All of us chilling up top for a minute......



.....and while chilling, we were also watching this CRAZY BEAST of a 4wheel steering/GIANT tired creation, who pulled up and then rolled down the other side.....








And on we go..... See that narrow ridge-top trail ahead of Chris' hood?... Yeah, actually one of the, well, not so much ''challenging'' spots.... but HAIR RAISING? oh YEAAAAAAAAH, BOOOOOOOOOEY! lol... It was VERY eroded at one spot...... Probably aided by 1,000's of rigs heading over it in a couple days... But mostly due to just plain ole mother nature... This was SO narrow at spots, Chris' rig actually edged off a lil at one spot and he gunned out of it and back onto the trail, toward the end. If you go off either way.... it's pretty much a total demolishing of your rig, or worse... ESPECIALLY to the left.... (I have video of this, actually, I'll post all the videos at the end).....



Heading down the other side, back to camp for the night.......



That evening, everyone chilling at camp, I decided to do a solo run through a rock garden I found.... Didn't get any great pics of that... BUT, saw this 3rd Gen Toy Pick Up with 4 wheel steering and what sounded like a 302 or Small block chevy, Huggar Orange, go up and burm shot on the CRAZIEST stuff... I couldn't get the camera fast enough to get that, ... but he was waiting for his buddy in a Jeep, up top, and I thought it was a SICK pic! lol>>>>



Here, you can see him off in the distance, behind me, hahaha....



Came back to camp for the night, near Sunset.......







Got a pretty good couple shots of the 4 of us, before we started dinner and all that....





But these guys? Pffffffbt, ... they don't stop.... NOT ALL NIGHT! .....



Then, later that evening, after they did a Night Run, ... Chris pulled up on his Dad, Ruben's tire, hahaha.... Ruben at first was like, "I'ma kill you!" haha... Jk, ....





Next morning, Sunday the 3rd... People began pouring out of there, early... We got up and did the same, shortly after waking/packing up.....





The Saddest part, of course...... The heading home! hahaha....





I snapped a few on the way home, as I pealed off in my own direction after a short bit on the 10, then reaching the 60......







Snapped a shot of a sign of another spot I love to visit as I passed, hoping it will inspire me to DEMAND more time to get away, and push myself to get back that way(AFTER a trip to the Sierras, of course! hahaha) >>>



More "Way Home Pics", lol....



Right around the time I got there, I didn't notice, but the ODO hit 270K ......



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That's it for the pics..... And unfortunately, I didn't get many videos... And a couple good ones of me, ..... I guess the camera was still on zoom from some previous pics being taken, ... so they were just too close, but I'll post em for the heck of it, anyhow........ (PS> PLEASE Excuse the Language..... Richard didn't mean to, it's just HAIRY in spots, lol.... And, I even let one slip I think, haha.).... If I can figure out how to edit those lil spots out, I will do so shortly, ok MODS? lol







Here, you can HEAR the A/C blasting, lol.... AND SOMETHING ELSE..... People are gonna say, "WTH IS THAT????" haha..... So, guess? lol.....



Couple more....





Last one is of the last night.... SO MANY PEOPLE out there til all hours, wheeling in the dark.... And MANY spots were FULL of THOUSANDS of people/Hundreds of Rigs, while radio shows and sponsors narrated via PA..... MASSIVE crowds all over the entire grounds... maybe 10K all together? Maybe more, I don't know. BUT, VERY crowded, that much I do know.....




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That's it for Tierra Del Sol, 2013...... KICK ARSE time! GREAT peeps to go with, thanks again for inviting me, Guys! Also, good food, good music, ..... and aside from people being a lil direspectful with the SUPER loud sounds til 4AM..... EVERYONE was pretty respectful while offroading, NEVER nearly killing me or anyone in our group... AND, usually giving us the right of way.

Hopefully, regarding my Ruby-redruM... , while I think some people thought, before leaving and while there, "OH MAN, look at that pretty thing", haahaha.... They later realized that I'll responsibly, within reason, push this thing to whatever limit I can without destroying it/flipping it(If preventable, lol)... And, that it's FAR more capable than people originally thought it would be. .....) .........

Until next time..... IT'S BACK TO THE MODIFICATIONS AND TWEAKING! OME Leaf Packs should come in this week.... But LOTS to do until they do.

Thanks, Yotatech.... i really enjoy all your write ups and great rigs, stories, etc... Hope this gives someone a smile or idea to get out there!

Chef Out! hahaha.

jason in tn

Glad to see you guys had a good time man, I thought about y'all all day sat. I look forward to getting out there and wheeling that area someday. Great pictures man I will watch the vids in a bit.

Cyberhorn The Dragon

much awesome mark looks like a major blast
are you running lockers? i forget

jason in tn

Yep dragon mark is running a locker in the rear and 4.30 gears. I know his because I was his shipping source for them lol.

Grego92

iTrader: (4)

Looked like good times, nice pics and vids!

Cyberhorn The Dragon

cool! i thought i remembered he did one of the things i might do one day to mine thank ya jason

dakotawho

iTrader: (1)

Holy Drool! Haha great pics! Love to be a part of that! Kept having to reload the page to get all the pics to show...stupid slow internet

RBX

Thanks for sharing, looks like a great time.

JonnyBoy

Looks awesome! And by the way, I can professionally state that you would have a very hard time lighting up gasoline with a cigar or cigarette. It's actually kind of fun to mess with people by throwing your butts right into puddles of it!

StewsRunner

iTrader: (1)

Hey everybody look, Mark's truck is dirty! AHAHA I'm jealous man! Looks like a lot of fun! It's always a pat on the back when you're able to keep up with incredibly built rigs while still on IFS.

Sent from my iPhone using YotaTech

Redeth005

^^LMAO stew he kept up with no problems at all. His truck can definitely do a lot more then I thought he was gonna be able to do. His truck performed great! That roof rack also held up great as mine did too. WOOOOOOOT. cant wait for the next trip. I staart my SAS/lift/duall locker 4.88 gears next month. Cant wait! Soon ill be able to keep up with all 3 of these guys! Haha. Maybe even see mark in my rear view miror lol jk. I kid. But definitely wanna hit up a bunch of places once my axle is installed. Maybe hit up the Sierras that Mark is always talking about.

aviator

great pics Mark... looks like it was a sick trip...

Cmayer

Dang, missed you guys at TDS. I'm definitely looking into a locker after this trip. I had issues in the steep soft climbs without one.

Looks like you guys had a lot of fun!

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Sure hope u can! And lemme know if it looks interesting

Jason beat me to it, lol

U sure did! Very grateful!

Thanks Grego... would of loved to have had u there!

Yep! Hehe... DO IT, U WILL NOTTTTTT REGRET IT!

Thanx bud! And sorry bout the slow net

My pleasure RBX! Ur always sharing great stuff!

Yeah, true. ... I was HAZWOPER certed and worked for a few years for enviroserv... 2's, 3's, 8's, and even did demos for companies using us for service/updating. U could drop the cig right in the bucket, and we did, hahaha. Vapors ignite, noy the liquid, and usually need open flame witb gas...... Now, M.E.K.? Seemed to have a lil lower flashpoint o.O hahaha.

Thanx man, it was great! And I wanna head up there SOOOOOON! So u BETTER mert me/us/wutever it ends up being. I go alo e lots to the Sierras.... FUN AND TRUE "peaceful solitude"... LOVE it either way, solo or group.

... yeah, or was lots of fun. I would love to do another trip there b4 full on summer, ya know? Butttttt, .. with less or preferably NO crowds ... Trusty me, NO ONE can pull on that event and leave clean. ... even if they never wheel! Haha. .. It is like a perpetual dust bowl! Hope you can meet me for a trip to the Sierras in the near future!

Thanx brudda! Yeah, she fools many, quite the lil sleeper, right? Haha... But, the driver isn't TOO bad lol. Jk, but seriously, it does take a "feel" for lots of it, which just comes over time, ya know? Been wheeling for 29 years... just not near as much the last few. But I will try to get out more I think considering wut I've spent on it being minimal, regarding suspension, gears and such,.... I think its a pretty cool/comfy/capable lil rig.. I LOVE IT! I would love to have a middle raised SAS under her... just couldn't justify it really... soooo spensiiiiiive! Haha... So I just did wut I cud, lil at a time, without breaking the bank,........ in increments, ya know? So, I figure, why not be happy with what I have, until I can afford or decide I can't take it any longer and just simply go full bore into whatever is next. Yep, she gets dirty, hahahahaha! Isn't that funny that's the same things mentioned twice in a couple days? Heeheehee . I guess people forgot this trip........






Thanx, Paul... and, SICK? LIKE THE PLAGUE! Hahaha

Dannnnng! U were there? Wish I'd have known that. We did talk about it on Redeths thread and here a lil bit... but definitely should have done a thread. .... Heck, there might have been one and I wouldnt have known, as I had. No idea tol the day we left it was the event we were doing... I was kinda told Salton Sea... S'all good, next time, eh?

PS: The locker? HUGE and in the top 3 IMHO as to mods of practical wheeling application!