welcome to botches off -road today is it's kind
of like a rap but it's only about poker run and
the weekend of poker run because other stuff
happened that weekend too yep uh so yeah uh gavin
how's your poker run good uh since you you got
more poker run than i got yeah i guess uh pretty
much i mean I don't know. Pretty much it went
really good. We actually had Sienna's dad join
us this time, which he doesn't really come out
to these. I've been begging him and begging him
to come out to one, and I'm like, you've got
to come to Poker Run. It's fun, dude. And so
he finally agreed the night before, and I'm like,
oh, shit, I didn't make any room for you. So
I had to go move some stuff around, and Sienna
got the back seat, though. She got out a nav.
And I was like, well, Alex is going to nav anyway,
so no big deal. Foreshadowing. And so we get
all loaded up, get the kid loaded up, and we
start heading out. And, you know, we meet up
with Alex and the rest of the group. And we take
a couple stops. And, yeah, I think that was all
pretty smooth. I don't think anything happened
on the way. It was pretty much the only times
we stopped was to clear my window because I kept
getting behind slow cars throwing salt, and I
don't have a reservoir. Yeah, so we had to stop
and do that, but it felt like we stopped a lot
for some reason. I don't know. Dude, every time
we stopped, I'm like, fuck. It's because every
time we stopped, everyone got out of every truck.
Yeah, well, when you did that, when you had to
do your windshield, I had to knock the ice off
of my wipers. Yeah. And then I had to pee a lot.
I was drinking a lot of water that day. And I
had to buy Imodium and snacks. So I should have
had all that stuff done the day before, but whatever.
Beggars can't be choosers. So we got up to the
starting point, and right before we got there
on the road, there was a big truck sitting in
the right side of the road. And we're like, what
the fuck's going on here? And that was Yamber
and his two -wheel drive Dodge that's having
a hard time going up the hill. Nah, it's an inability
to drive. Yeah. Well, so he was getting towed,
and we went around him. We got into the park.
Everybody was there staging. And when I mean
everybody, I mean that whole parking area and
then the parts to drive through it were full.
We got in, and we just pretty much stopped right
in the middle. There were probably 30 -some cars
there. Not people. Yeah, it was pretty crowded.
A lot more people. Yeah. Yeah. But it was really
cool. We all kind of sat around and bullshitted
a little bit while we let out air on the tires,
and then we tried to make some room for everybody.
That's when Leo understood the scale of it. He's
like, holy shit, there's a lot of people here.
I'm like, yeah. I said, last time I think we
were late, so we ended up kind of. missing all
this next time we'll have to be either earlier
what just so just so we're not in the in the
group i would have liked to be early and if the
chords ever if they always stay the same i want
to be early and start earlier yeah um just because
it's going to be it'd just be easier to get first
like get through everything next time i want
to do it backwards I will say we could technically,
we got there early, we could have us stage at
the campsite and wait for the corn to drop and
then leave from there. That's the opening there.
Backwards wouldn't be bad, actually. I took a
road out. We ended up getting out, and the trail
out was just pretty nice. Anyway, we started
that, and it was... Kind of the perfect day for
winter wheeling. It wasn't, like, super snowy.
We just got a few inches of powder the night
before, so everything was covered in snow. We
all got really good traction. Well, some of us
did. And, yeah, everything went pretty good after
we had aired down. All the obstacles, surprisingly,
last year were all watery and shitty, and I think
we hit one puddle. like one mud spot the whole
whole poker run and last time we were hitting
them everywhere like it was yeah it was almost
every uh part of the trail so yep that was really
uh unexpected that it was all pretty iced over
and frozen really cool though it made for a lot
easier poker run honestly i yeah and I'm trying
to think of what the first obstacle we did. Oh,
first we did that loop that we had to cut that
tree out of. Yeah, and we started out with that
one. And I don't know. We must have been the
first group to it. Yeah. We were the only group
that went through that trail. Yeah. No one else
went through there. So we got out. Or bypassed
for the whole event, I think. I think no one
wanted to do the loops. Yeah, I think it was
just us. It was kind of annoying, too, because
I was trying to keep it just what we have. Me,
Gavin, my little brother was with us, Mark, Shane,
and then Busted DeBilt was supposed to be with
us. Yeah. Yeah. So I was trying to keep it just
that group so we could just get through obstacles.
And everyone kept following us. So everywhere
we went, it was just this long convoy. And part
of that was because we were the first group to
leave, too. Because once we got aired down and
we were like, all right, everybody good? Yep.
Okay, we're leaving. And as soon as we did that,
everybody else started getting in their trucks
and following. So, like I said, I think next
year, and maybe I should talk to Derek about
this, that we should do staged. No, don't. Just.
We'll go backwards. If you talk to him about
it, he's going to set someone else with us, and
it's going to be crowded again. Either way. I
mean, I didn't mind. The people that we did have
that we had throughout the whole one were cool
people. Sorry, I can't remember their names,
but we had a Gladiator. We had a Wrangler. We
had a safety Chevy. It was like a 1500. Full
size. Yeah, it was like a full size 2017 Silverado.
Yeah. It was a 2017. No, you were like 2017 100.
Yeah. I know. He was trying to make two things
there. It was like a safety construction orange.
So I was like, who is that? And Derek mentioned
it over the radio for a second, and I thought
it was like a road worker. And then he started
doing the same shit we were, and I'm like, oh,
he must be with us. And then we had a really
old CJ, right? CJ7? Yeah, CJ5. CJ5, sorry. And
that guy was really cool. I got some pretty cool
video of him rolling around, and he pretty much
just walked through everything. I'm sure he was
probably a little cold. That thing just. Oh,
no, he was not cold. No? They were all wrapped
up in that. Hell no. They were cold. They had
no reason to be cold unless the heat didn't work.
The heaters on them things will smoke you the
fuck out. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I know when
they got out, they were, like, fully dressed.
As opposed to not dressed at all, but you know
what I mean? Like, they had their car hearts
and stuff on. Well, it's inconvenient to have
to take your car heart off in a small space like
that. Small. But I'll tell you. I'll tell you
that that thing would smoke you the fuck out,
dude. That thing is. My CJ7, I ran that thing
with, like, just a bikini top and doors on it
in the winter, and I was hot. Yeah. No, that
thing was cool. So, we had a few guys, and then
we had a couple of the Colorados. pop in and
out we had a the land rover that shane used to
have that popped in and out so we had a few guys
that popped in that popped out so he only did
one one loop yeah he just did the one loop so
yeah we had a few um he did help pull the tree
out of the way so when we finally got to that
first obstacle and there were two probably about
20 inch 20s trees something about that size yep
um and so we decided to cut those out So, man,
that's something. I don't think I checked my
bar fluid. I think I needed some bar oil. And
my batteries I left in there overnight, so they
were kind of cold, and I don't know if that's
what affected it, along with the tree being frozen.
But it was struggling to get through that, and
it never has struggled before. Not like that
anyway. So I have to look at that. I got to get
a chain sharpener too because I haven't sharpened
my chain since I bought it either. So that could
be part of it. I got one of those over on a shelf
in my room if you want to borrow it. Yep. So.
Don't ask me how to use it. I've never used it.
I just put a new chain on whenever I need it.
Yeah. No, I know how to use them. Like, when
I did logging and stuff, I had a bunch. But once
I stopped, I sold all that stuff with the chainsaw.
I wish I would have kept it. That MS310 was a
beast. I got it for a really good deal. Then
I sold it like a chump. So, like most things.
Yeah, then we. Then we kind of, after that loop,
we worked our way up to that first hill climb
there. That was, I'm still bummed that no one
got a video of me going up that because everybody
was there. Yeah, nobody got a video of me doing
it either, dude. Which is, like, I'm sitting
there getting videos of everybody else going
up. Except me. Well, I don't know where you were
when you went up. Because I missed it. You were
standing right there when I went up. I must have
been talking or doing video with something else
because I didn't get, I didn't even see you go
up. I really didn't. So, like, I don't know what
happened. I never even saw you go up. I think
you just was like, were you gone? And I think
I saw you pull back in. I was like, oh, he went.
And that was all I was like. But, yeah, no, it
was. I actually recorded my success actually
after, like, nine tries. I'll have to look. I
know I got your fails. I do know that. There
were so many fails. I had to edit out some of
them because I can't. I won't lie, Mark. I was
like, what is he doing? Because when you, like,
hit the gas and he was, like, he was sending
that shit. And then for some reason he just,
like, pulled into the trees. Yeah. And I was
like, what is he doing? Two times I just got
off track. I'm like, why am I over here? Yeah,
and that was the second time I said that, and
I was like, okay, what the hell? I'm like, what's
going on here? That's foreshadowing again, I
guess, Mark, and going off the trail. I just
put it in four low and pressed the pedal and
went up the hill. There was no drama. Everyone
did differently, so it was hard to gauge what
was working for people there. Yeah, and I did
four high. I usually go for the wheel speed,
and I don't like to over RPM my truck. I know
that sounds weird because mechanically I'm sure
it's fine, but I just didn't want to fuck with
the rear diff and stuff, throw it into low. I
felt like that was more stress. Probably not,
but that was just my feeling in the moment, and
I was just like, throw it in four high. I don't
think it's going to be a problem. It never usually
is. And, yeah, I just went right up at four high.
Didn't have to do anything else. Just gave it
a little bean. I was impressed with my little
brother's first hill climb in his manual. Not
just in his manual Tacoma, his first hill climb,
period. Yep. But he did it. He put it in four
low. Well, he tried four high first, threw it
in second, and made it, you know. Oh, no, he
put it in first, made it halfway up, and then
reached for second and realized that he had to
back back down. And then I told him to just put
it in second and four low and go, and then he
went right up. Yeah, that made me nervous when
he backed back down because he was coming down
pretty quick. I was like, dude. Well, it's because
he pressed the clutch in. It's not like an automatic.
You're not supposed to try and shift in the middle
of a hill like that. No, I know. I'm just saying
when he did start backing up, it was like he
didn't even press the brakes. He just was like
rolling fast. If he had what I had, my brakes
were locked and I was still sliding back. No,
no. He pressed the clutch and started to zoom
backwards and then threw it in reverse to try
and control it. Yeah, because I was like, oh,
man, he's rolling fast. I'm like, he's going
to – you know roll off the trail yeah roll but
like no like he was gonna lose control i'll go
off the trail but yeah he did good that was that
was a hundred percent clutch i mean he came zooming
down i was like man but no he did good um yeah
and he already has a list of things he wants
to do the tacoma so it's usually how you find
out what you want so yeah i think everyone really
did fine i think mark just struggled and i'm
not sure I'm not sure why. To be honest, it was
the first time actually driving in snow while
doing a hill climb like that. Every time we've
done that hill climb, it's been sand, no snow.
So I was just used to the sand gearing where
we put in low and then whatever, like two or
three, depending on how the truck acts. Right.
Yeah, it was just weird because I almost was
like, maybe it's just his tires. Maybe your tires
are just getting to the point where they're burning
you. It could be that too. They are two years,
almost three years, actually, strong now being
used. Yeah, subtle foreshadowing again. But anyway,
we kept moving, and we got past that. We started
going again, and everyone started bunching up.
So we went and grabbed our card, ran back to
our cars, and went and did another loop. And
that one, I was... We were sitting there doing
it and I'm looking at Leo and I'm like, dude,
in the summer, this is way bumpier. Like the
snow flattened this trail out so good. It was
just like doing a regular dirt road. But when
you're going up that hill in the summer, there's
some like four or five inch rocks that you're
kind of clumping around in to get up there. But
that was pretty easy, honestly. I don't think
I took it out of. I don't think I put it in a
four -wheel drive for much of anything other
than the hill and, oh, what else? Something else,
something later, I think. Yeah, then we came
up to where the next cards were going to be,
and there was the, oh, shoot, not the Cybertruck.
What's the other one? Rivian. Yeah, the Rivian
was sideways inside one of the ruts and like
blocking our way in there. So we as a group decided
just bypass that section, which sucks because
the Sugar Bowl is really fun. Yeah, and that's
okay. I mean, honestly, I just wanted to go at
that point. Like the amount of driving we did
to get there, like it was like a good hour or
so. And I didn't want to stop and wait for other
people. And plus poker, your poker hand only
needed to be five cards so we could afford to
skip one obstacle. And I was like, yep, you know
what? If that means we don't have to do the other
bowl, that's fine. Like we already did one hill
climb. I'm okay for this. So, yeah, we skipped
that. We kept going. And I think we got to the
third one. Yep. Yeah. No, on the way there, Mark.
On the way to the bowl, actually. Yeah, you're
right. On the way to the bowl, where Gavin makes
a note over the phone, we all have pretty good
traction. I'm pretty impressed. And then we just
hear, Mark might need help. He's in the ditch.
Yeah. So we were the only group out there. There
was a bunch of side -by -sides, which is usual
forever. But that was a pretty big group from
Everett. And so we all got over so they can get
by. And, of course, we're, like, bottom of the
hillside of the road. So we have this going downhill
on the right side of the road for us. I got over
thinking I was not going to have any issues getting
back out. They all took off. And I proceeded
to try to climb out. And all of a sudden I realized
I'm sliding further into the ditch and not climbing
out of it. Yeah, so Mark gets out of the car,
I think, because Alan's on the mic after. And
I'm like, well, do you guys need help? And Alan's
just kind of like, I don't know. Like, Mark's
going to try. And I'm like, okay. They didn't
hear anything. He's like, yeah, Mark might need
help. So I turned around, drove to them. And
by the time I got to them, Mark was already winching
in his cable. And I was like, all right, well.
So Mark got out. But, yeah, he did go off the
road a little bit, and that's why we were foreshadowing
because, I don't know, I think it might be tires.
No, there was a patch of ice underneath the snow
where I was losing grip at, so it wasn't even
because of grip on the tire. There was just fucking
ice right where I was at. Perfect. Luckily, there
was a tree that was the right angle to get me
pulled out and not me scraping my whole side
of my truck up on trees trying to get out of
it. Right. So, yeah, we got them out of there,
and we got back with the group, and then we went
to technically it would be the fourth card, I
think. Yep. Yep. And that one is before you do
the obstacle, so we opted out of it because last
year it was just muddy, and it was chunky already,
and this year with as cold as it had been, we
figured that ice in there would be even worse,
and it was. Which we didn't go through it. I
don't think anyone went down that trail. I think
they did. Everyone came in and grabbed a card
and left. No one actually went around the loop.
I think some of the later people did because
I thought someone got stuck in it. Yeah, so then.
We had lunch. Yeah, we set up for lunch. We had
our trail chili, which was delicious. Yeah, it
was pretty good. And then Mark tells me. I think
when I winched it out, I ran my battery pretty
low because my truck's only at 11 .9. And I'm
like, that's not really how that works. But I
don't want to hurry up and get out of here. So
if it's still at 11 .9 in five minutes, we'll
go into town and change your alternator. So we
left the truck running an entire lunch break.
It's okay. So did I. We went back 10 minutes
later and his truck was at 11 .6. Six. I don't
know, seven. Either way. Whatever. It wasn't.
And I'm like, all right, man. I'm like, all right,
man, we got to go change your fucking alternator.
So me and Mark split off. And so I was parked
in a spot where I couldn't back out where we'd
already been. I had to go around through deeper
snow. What I didn't realize is that section I
was about to go through was at least a foot and
a half deep. Like it was drifted right there.
So I pull in and the truck just goes, zoom, almost
to the frame. Yeah, and then I hear him. just
flooring it, getting out of it. And I'm like,
okay, well, cool. So now I have to figure out
nav because I didn't have any of that pulled
up. And I'm like, all right, Sienna, you're going
to have to get back on nav a little bit. So we
started that back up, and then we go down the
trail probably a couple miles towards the next
card, and I get on the walkie. and i'm talking
to them they're like and someone gets back and
they're like so which way did you guys turn out
of there and i'm like oh my god like i asked
if everybody was there everybody said yes and
apparently the uh safety chevy uh did not get
the memo and was still hanging out over there
and so by the time we had already gotten a couple
miles down the trail already closer to the next
card he was trying to ask for directions and
i'm like dude we're already like I can't turn
around for the entire group and come and get
you. Right. I'm like, just follow the other guys.
We'll try and meet back up, and then you can
meet back up with us. I'm sorry. And so we got
in. We did the next card, which was pretty easy
too, if I remember right. And then we took the
– yeah, it was. It was super easy. And then we
took a loop. that was on the right um and nobody
had gone down it so i thought we were you know
pretty safe obviously going down that one and
as soon as we pulled in there are branches like
at the hood at our headlights like there there
are these like small bushes that you could tell
in the summer they go straight up maybe kind
of bow down a little bit, but with the snow and
ice we've got in a couple days, they just went
in almost like a heart, like the top part of
a heart, and they were just crowding over the
middle of the hood, and they were pushed down
so low that they were below hood level. That's
how that first trail was, and I was just bumping
it and waiting for him to spring up, and then
bumping it, waiting for it to spring up. There
were a few times I had to get out and shake them.
Yeah, so that trail, we couldn't even see in
front of us. And there's like a ravine to our
right. And you couldn't tell with the snow where
it started and where it stopped. And then there's
a wall to our left where it goes up. And I couldn't
see a goddamn thing in front of me with all the
branches and stuff down. So I'm like, all right,
guys. Full notice for any of you dudes behind
me, like, we're going to get some scratch paint.
Like, maybe with the ice, maybe not. But I was
just kind of trying to let everyone know, like,
hey, this is going to be tight. So I start plowing
through it. And what are you doing over there?
Alex. I was checking a notification. My phone
started playing video. I'm so sorry. So it's
an amateur hour. Yeah. So we start pushing through
it, and I got my windshield wipers going because
every time I touch a branch, I have a complete
full windshield full of snow, and I can't see
in front of me at all. And we're going, and we're
going, and Leo, seeing his dad's like, holy shit,
like, this is rough. And you could just hear
us scraping everything. And you could see trees,
like, moving behind me, and you could see him
whipping around. I'm like, everyone make some
space just in case you whip the guy behind you.
You don't want to smack any windshields with
the ice branches. And I get probably three -quarters,
well, probably halfway through it. And Leo goes,
I see headlights. I'm like, ah, they're probably
on the other loop because this was kind of a
Y loop. Yeah. And so I was like, yeah, they're
probably on the other loop going the other way.
We get going a little closer. Nope, headlights
coming right down our fucking trail. And we're
like, oh, great. And it was Derek and the other
guys, they were taking it backwards. And I was
like, fuck. And he's like, can you back up? Do
you have anywhere to back up? And I'm like. right
now no like and to Derek's credit because he
was right they're like 150 yards back there was
a really big opening that we could have backed
up in but I had three brand new people that have
never wheeled in a group like this and never
done this type of wheeling uh with like the foliage
and having a ravine on our side and I just just
not confident that they could do it without potentially
slipping off the side of the road or doing something.
Like, I just, I really honestly didn't want to
risk it. And I made the judgment call, probably
the wrong call. I'm sure they probably would
have been able to do it. And I was like, Derek,
you guys got to back up. And they were all, you
know, they were all upset because they were like,
no, we got more people. And I'm like, I don't
trust, you know, that these guys can do it safely.
And they're like, oh, okay. So Derek's group
just started fiddling around and trying to find
ways to back up. And to be fair, they were in
a really bad position too. Where they had to
back up to was all mud. That was a trail like
when you start to get to that next card and the
bypasses were mud pits. Yeah, the vagina trail
used to be. Yeah, yeah. So the bypasses were
all mud that they had to go into. And so they
really didn't have very many places. And so hindsight's
20 -20. Maybe we should have backed up. It probably
would have been easier. But again, whatever.
Everyone lived. Nobody got stuck. So they finally
got backed up. We drove through. They warned
us that there was a pretty big mud pit that someone
got stuck in. And we're all like, oh, yay. After
that, we weren't really too enthused about it.
And we got to the mud pit, and you could see
there's like two -foot ruts going down where
they broke through the ice. And I was like, yeah,
we're not going to hit that. And so I stayed
to the right, and sure as shit, I slid right
down into the – my back wheel slid right down
into the rut, and I hit it. And I just fucking
hit the gas and went through it. No problem.
Got through it. Warned everyone else. When in
doubt, throttle up. And when I hit – I warned
everyone else. I'm sitting there watching my
rear camera. Everybody else took – Took the good
line. They didn't slide in. They just drove right
through it. I'm like, all right, well, fuck it,
whatever. So we got to the next card. Oh, okay,
sorry. My wife is locking the door so the kid
doesn't come in and try to bother me. But we
like the Jasper interruptions. Yeah, something
like that. It brings me off my game. But, yeah,
I think, and I lost count. I think going towards
the last one. Hold on. Okay. Yeah, it should
be the last. You were. Sorry, mate. At the off
-camera section. So I thought I lost you guys.
So, yeah, you know, internet errors. But, yeah,
so we get to the last section. There's a bunch
of people grouped up down there, and they're
all kind of like, oh, we don't know if we should
do this. I don't know. They're all like, well,
we're going to take the bypass. There's a bypass
there. And I'm like, bypass? And then I remember
last year when we made a bypass. We didn't make
it. We didn't make that bypass. It was already
there. Immediately went to correct it. We didn't
make it. It was there. It just wasn't well -traveled.
Like, we were the ones that re -traveled it.
Yes. It was a new bypass. So anyway, everyone
else is sitting there like, yeah, we're going
to try and take this. And you can't even, don't
even try that one. It's not worth it. And here's
a guy with a super duty. And to be fair, he couldn't.
But he's like, yeah, there's no way anyone here
is going to be able to make it. The articulation,
it's crazy. You'd need a buggy to do it. And
I'm like, we just did this two months, three
months ago. I did it without any problems. And
he's like, no, it's worse now. Whenever you did
it, it's way worse. There's a big rut on the
left. I'm like, yeah, I know. That's how they
are. This is like the third time I've done it.
So he's telling me that a couple other guys come
in that did it last year. And they're like, yeah,
no, it looks way worse. And I'm like, does it?
They're like, yeah. I'm like, oh, man. And I'm
sitting there talking to the group, and I'm like,
maybe we don't do this one. And they're all like,
well, is anybody going to try? And I'm like,
I'll creep up. I'll try it. You know, worst comes
to worst, I could just back out. And I get up,
and, you know, I just throw it in four high.
I don't even have it in four low yet. I creep
pretty much through the whole thing, get about
halfway through, and I get some articulation
wheels start spinning. Throw it in four low,
lock the... Keep crawling through everything.
And we get up to the end where the people at
the top of the bypass are grabbing cards. And
there's two Colorados right up at the top by
the cards. And we get to that last part where
we get that real deep rut that you went into
last year. And I'm trying to hug the right like
I did last time to stay out of from doing body
damage or whatever. And I do pretty good. I'm
doing it. And then, boom, slide in. And I'm like,
all right, well, fuck. And Leo was taking video
with both cameras, phones. He had one going vertical,
one going horizontal like this. And then he went
from that to dropping both and grabbing the old
shit handle because all of a sudden he was like
in my seat. Yep. Nope. And I'm sitting there,
my elbows touching the snow outside of the window
because. That's, you know, people don't understand,
like, how much that really throws you on, like,
your side. Like, we weren't on our body, but
I was touching snow with my elbow that was, you
know, on the ground. Like, I could reach out
on the ground and grab dirt. I so wish that I
had been there when them guys were saying that
because I'd have been like, all right, just got
it and went up it. So that's what I did, and
then I got to that, and I was like, well. And
Leo's like, well, shit. And I'm like, yeah, no.
I said, we're good, we're good. I said, we're
not scraping body or anything. I try to go for
it a little bit. I can go for it a little bit,
but I'm worried if I send it, I'm going to run
into those Colorados. So I'm like, hey, can you
guys move the Colorados? I back up. No problem
backing up at all. I try to go again. I'm just
not getting it. And then one of the guys from
the Colorados, I can't forget his name. He's
really cool. I think he's got the black one.
Probably Jack's. Yep. Yeah, Jackson. He got the
Colorado out of the way, and then he's helping
try to, like, spot me. He's like, yeah, let's
just back it up more. And you just try to take
the full right side again. I'm like, yeah, yeah,
sure. So I back it up. I am actually grabbing
the right side this time. My tires are. So I'm
like, oh, cool. I'm going to be able to hop up
here. And I go from me, this is the trail here.
This might, you know, just think of a straight.
And my rear tire, I start sliding down, my rear
tire hits the rut, and all of a sudden I'm crawling
sideways the trail. So, like, my top front end
is on the right high part of the trail. Yeah,
and I was. I crab crawled for about, I don't
know, four feet. I almost got out of it until
I pretty much lost traction and locked myself
sideways in the trail, completely sideways. I'm
like, well, shit. So I try to back up. I could
feel I'm hung up on my bumper along the bank.
I try to go forward. I just spin. And Jackson's
like, yeah, oh, that's fucking weird. And then
I hear Shane out of the back corner going, how
the fuck did you do that? I'm like, I don't know.
We're just hanging out here. And so Jackson's
like, well, you want me to winch you? And I was
like, yeah, probably. So he hooked up to the
winch to the front. He moved me probably like
four or so inches, and that was just enough to
keep me up on the trail. My other tire grabbed,
and then boom, I was right up. I crawled right
up the right. They told me to stop because I
was going to run over the line because I was
just like, fuck, I got to go. So they finally
grabbed the line and started pulling it, and
I just drove right up and was out. And everybody's
like, oh, shit, you got it. I'm like, yeah. I
was like, Shane, you next? He's like, nah. So
nobody else did it in that group. So I was the
only one there. I was the first one to do it.
And I was the only one of that large group to
do it. So I was like, hey, cool, good job me.
And so we got that. We drove off. And as we were
getting ready to drive off, Yamber started walking
up it and saw that I was up there. And he's like,
yeah, we're going to go up here. I'm like, yeah,
well, I know you could do it. That's no problem
for yours. And he did. He just crawled his right
up and then busted to built. They got up there.
And they crawled it like nothing. Like you could
barely even tell. When they went through it,
it looked like there was nothing even going on.
Yeah. Damn near straight. I'm like, all right,
whatever. So we got out of that. We're just,
you know, chilling. I was excited. And I was
gloating a little bit because I was like, ah,
like I'm the only one that got it. Ah. And finally,
I'm like, fuck, how are we going to get out of
here? And I didn't have that planned out. So
I'm like, you know, they have. So we're sitting
on nav for a couple of minutes and we're like,
all right, I think we found a spot. All right,
guys, going to have to follow me. This might
get shitty. I don't know. I don't know what the
trail is going to look like. And, you know, it
wasn't bad. Everything else was just pretty much
just dirt road to get out. And we got out of
the trail, did that blue trail. That wasn't even
hard and got out of that. Connected to a main
road. And then right before we hit concrete,
we decided to air up. Somehow the exact same
place we aired up front at last time, last year,
on that dirt road next to the field. And your
brother pulls up. He's like, I don't have a compressor.
I'm like, all right, well, I figured. Someone
wasn't going to have one. I was supposed to be
his compressor. I was like, that's fine. I'll
fill you up. No problem. So I get out. I'm hooking
my compressor up. It doesn't turn on. I'm like,
what the fuck? What's going on? Like, there's
got to be something wrong with my Anderson at
this point because there's no reason why my compressor
wouldn't turn on. So I'm using my Leatherman
to, like, open that sheet metal bolt or screw
that I put in, pull it out. Fucking negative
cable is cracked right where it meets up with
the Anderson, and I kind of flex it a little
bit, and boom, just breaks free. There's a fuck
ton of, like, corrosion on the inside. So I'm
like, ah, fuck. So I went to go use my jumper
cables. And hooked those up. And I hooked those
up to the positive and negative. The other side
of the jumper cable came right off. The negative
end just like fell off as I was doing that. So
I'm like, all right, well, I'll just touch the
negative to it. Touch the negative, got sparks.
I'm like, that's weird. Why am I getting sparks?
And so I tried it again, sparks again. And it
was like sparks like welding. It was not power
sparks. It was like I had them mixed up. But
I couldn't. I just plugged the Andersons in to
the jumper, right? So I just plugged the Anderson
from the Thor's Lightning to the Anderson to
the jumper cables. I'm wondering if I might have
gotten the jumper cable Anderson flip -flopped.
Because I haven't really used those. Yeah, that's
possible. thinking i did was i shorted out the
fuse in the thor's lightning because when i was
like fuck it like i gotta air up like and i gotta
air him up i just cut the ends off of the anderson
on the thor's lightning and uh your brother was
talking to me for a second then the other guy
came up and was asking what was wrong and in
that process i forgot which one was the positive
and negative because they're both black I'm like,
this is exactly why I need the fucking, the tube,
you know, the labels on here. I need to be able
to label these. So I'm like, all right. So I
go and touch them on the battery. Nothing happens.
Switch sides. Oh, fuck it. Maybe different side.
Nothing happens. I'm like, all right. Well, now
I'm fucked because if I didn't fry it, I fried
it now. So I'm pretty sure it's a fuse. I got
to take it apart. I actually brought it inside
today to dry out and warm up so I could take
the casing off. I ended up just throwing it back
in my truck, packing everything up. They used,
one of the other guys had a Milwaukee pump. So
your brother used that. And I'm like, I will
just, we're running out of time. I'm like, it's
4 .30. We got to be there. So I just drove. I'm
like, I'm going 45. you guys can follow or you
can pass me. And they're like, we don't know
how to get there, so we're going to follow you.
I'm like, all right, cool. So we get to the bowling
alley. I'm like, I'm just going to fill up the
gas station later. We do that, and I'm sitting
there talking to the guys, and everyone's asking,
you know, well, who did the obstacle? I'm like,
yeah, it was me. They're like, oh, you actually
made it? I'm like, yeah. And then Joe's like,
well, I did too. I'm like, cool. Dang it. So
someone else actually got to do it. And, yeah,
Alex and everyone else were there. We did the
giveaways, and I had a trash hand. And I thought
I had a three of a kind, but that's not a thing
because it has to be, like, three of the same
number and suit. Right, right. Yeah, we had three
spades. Well, we had four spades in a club or
something like that. I don't remember. And, yeah,
it wasn't any hands, so we had nothing. We had
a trash hand. And then coming to find out people
were actually picking the hand they wanted. And
I understand that confusion. And when I looked
back at the comments in Facebook, Derek said
yes to do that. And I was like, fuck. Because
our group would have had the best hand because
we pretty much hit all of those first. We hit
a lot of those obstacles first. So we would have
had a really good hand for the first half. until
we started running into people doing them backwards.
So it's okay. I think the rewards were there
was a Trey. I don't remember what it's called.
Trey USA or something like that. It was a diff.
Yeah, diff breathing kit. Trey 4x4. Yep. And
then something else. Oh, it was like camp lighting.
So those are the main prizes. And then Busted
to Build was really cool. They put up a prize
pack. That was super cool then because they absolutely
didn't have to do that either, but they put up
some prize packs together, and they gave one
out to whoever had the smallest tires and whoever
got stuck the most, which I don't remember. I
think it came into a tie, but I think it was...
It was Rivian that won that one. It was a tie,
but he got stuck the worst. I think it was. So,
yeah, that was a lot of fun. And we sat there.
We all kind of, like, forego dinner because last
time dinner took forever. Good pizza and stuff.
I think last time me and Shane left at, like,
10 with our pizzas finally. Me and Mark actually
left before the giveaways because we both had
to work early in the morning. We were like, yep,
we're out. To be honest, I was more there for
just being there and not actually participating
in the whole thing. Yeah, I didn't really care
about the giveaway. I was just there to do it.
I was just drawing random cards to make it harder
for everyone else. I didn't even care. Yeah,
I think at this point we were all kind of just
there for the camaraderie, just to be out there
with our friends. And the poker run's a good
opportunity to meet people you haven't seen in
months. And that was my... Even Leo kind of made
a comment and talked to me. She was like, Leo
says you talk a lot. I'm like, yeah, I do. Especially
when you're meeting up with like some of your
good friends you haven't seen in months. Like
some of these guys I haven't seen half the summer
since summertime. And, you know, because I didn't
know Riggs and Coffey or some of them I haven't
met at all. Yeah, they're mostly on the east
side of the state, so this is one of their events
that they can get to us. Yeah, so a lot of the
times you're meeting a lot of people, you're
re -meeting, you're visiting a lot of these people,
and it's just a really good event to branch out,
talk to people, get to know. I mean, we made
some new friends. I think the Rivian guy added
me on Instagram. He's got a couple of cool videos
of him driving around. He's a cool guy in general.
Yeah, we got some cool videos. I got to actually
meet some of the faces behind, some of the people
I've followed on Instagram and never really met
in person. So it's a really great event for that.
I don't know. We had fun. I mean, honestly, it
was way better this year than it was last year
for me. I don't know about you guys. Overall,
I think I liked it better this year. It would
have been way better if I got to wheel. Yeah.
Things happen. So you guys heard my whole story.
Let's break off to Alex and Mark's part of the
story where they break off because they have
their own little story here. Yeah. So short story
real quick. If you have an issue with alternating
battery. Even though supposedly your alternator
is fine, just replace the alternator. You had
a trouble with it, you might as well replace
it. That's a short story. Now for the loans.
And don't trust O 'Reilly's or AutoZone or any
of those alternator testers because they're all
fucking junk, dude. I don't know. There had to
be some notification because I've had them work
pretty good to tell you whether they're good
or bad. But I kind of watched the constant voltage
with my voltmeter because I'm petrified. I installed
a voltmeter, a digital one, on my dash area so
that I could constantly watch it because I've
gone through two alternators in the past few
years. Because you get a new one, and after,
like, 50 -some, 100 -some miles, it goes bad
again because it's a reman. So, like... But don't
buy Raymans. At the time, that's all I had money
for. Usually, it's the only thing in stock. That's
also true. Of course, I get a new one for free.
The warranty is great on that, but still, I have
to pull it out and put a new one back in. I'm
always watching that. There had to have been
some kind of telltale sign that that one was
going bad again. I don't know. I have no idea.
Was it the actual alternator? You didn't have
anything going wrong with, like, the belt or
anything, right? No. Not majorly. The only reason
why I think it was the alternator, because you
can watch it when it looks like it engaged, but
it jumped up, like, .3 and then dropped right
back down to where it was. Yeah, it must have
been having some issues. So, to me, it was, like,
partially engaging, but not. Yeah, so you guys
ended up peeling off, and then you went to O
'Reilly's, right? Because that's usually Alex's
favorite, so I'm assuming that's O 'Reilly's.
Well, because we have a company. Yeah, shop discount.
Not judging. It's not just because my wife works
at AutoZone or anything. I'm just saying usually
that's Alex's favorite. We can almost get parts
half off. It's kind of hard not to go to them.
Oh, I don't blame you. We actually, so. My roommate,
his brakes were going bad on his car, so we went
to get brakes for his, and they were like, he's
got a Chevy Malibu, some little piece of shit.
But they were like $279 or something like that,
and then I put in my account, and it knocked
it down to like $105. What's crazy about that,
just for a tangent real quick, is that that's
just part of the markup for him. Like, they're
not even at cost there. They're still marked
up. So, like, people who make parts make a crazy
amount of money on parts. Just absolutely. And,
of course, that's why they make them to fail.
So you have to keep buying them. Just saying.
Yeah, because with our discount, a lot of times
we get damn near O 'Reilly's price for them,
which is pretty nice. Not every part's that way,
but a lot of them end up that way. But, yes.
Yeah, so we get his alternator out, get the new
one in, and then realize his belt's bad. So then
we had to drop the skid plate to put the new
belt on. Pain in the ass. Then... Then... Oh,
yeah, we haven't even gotten through this weekend.
We're at an hour, and we still got, like, two
more major things to get through. So then...
So yeah, we get Mark's alternator changed. We
go changing cards, then we go home. That's it.
The rest of that was easy. Then the next day,
I just get this random picture on our group chat
of every single component of Mark's truck laid
out. Every accessory. Pretty close, dude. Just
the pulleys and the freaking belt that got chewed
up on the way into work again. That tells me
that there must have been a pulley issue too,
though. And that might have affected. Yeah. Oh,
yeah. I already replaced the tensioner like two
weeks ago. So. Yeah. Unfortunately, I have been
dealt with three belts or destroyed three belts
within three weeks. Technically two in one day.
Scary spare belts, guys. Yeah. So. I wish I do
have another spare belt because I don't know
what's going to happen now. But I'm like, okay.
Yeah, so Mark did his pulleys and everything
again. Also, technically, before we went trailing,
I had a feeling something was going to go out.
I didn't think it was going to be the alternator.
So I already had a pulley, and then I bought
the lower one, my lower pulley, which is different
from my other ones, which I figured that one
out. So I have two upper pulleys, which is just
bearing on wheels, while the lower one is like
a beefed up bearing. Yep. He's like a thick boy
and stiff. Yeah, so all Mark's accessories are
new. All his pulleys are new. His belt's new
three times. That's rough, but I've been there.
Usually, yeah, if you can afford it, which half
the time I can't, but if you can, replace them
all and then buy spares of all of them. So with
a Toyota, it's like, and i don't know i only
have experience with my toyota so but with toyotas
in general with the alternator lower yeah you
go through muddy water a few times and that could
be mine yeah and that could be all you need to
ruin that whole set of pulleys uh go through
the belt because of that and then the alternator
so it's one of those things where like If you
end up doing the overlanding thing and you end
up taking your vehicle through water and you
know it's going to go through water, you need
to have a spare set of all pulleys, all belts,
and if you can, a spare alternator to rotate
out. Mark, isn't your alternator and Gavin's
alternator in the same spot? He says it sits
lower than his. We technically should be the
same because we are the same engine. I find it
hard to believe that they switch up the setup.
I mean, mine's lower. I think it's weight. Mark's
is lower than mine. Mark's is lower than mine.
AC compressor. I know mine's towards the bottom
of the engine, and that's quite... It's below
the other pulleys. Gavin's... I would say mine's
mid... Gavin's is also right above the AC compressor.
I think I'm actually using the same alternator
you do. I didn't have a spare. I would have gave
it to you, but I think I use the same alternator
because the Tacoma. There's only two alternators
because one is the towing package and one is
not. Well, the FJ alternator is different from
the Tacoma alternator. Riddle me that. The Tacoma
one puts the leverage. I'm looking at it now.
The FJ alternator is the same as the one that's
supposed to be in Mark's truck, but we did the
higher amperage one, which is probably the one
you've got. Because there's two different ones
for the Tacoma, which one's the same as the FJ,
the other one's not. Because for some reason,
I was talking to a buddy when I was replacing
mine, and he's like, just go with the Tacoma
one. It's the same fitment because it's the same
engine, but they have a higher amperage. I didn't
specify when I got that alternator which one
to get. I just got the Tacoma alternator because
I didn't know there were two different ones,
and that's what I got. So I'll have to make sure
that that was a higher amperage one next time
when I have to go through another one. But I'm
going to go to Rock Auto. I'm going to buy the
cheapest alternator I can. Then I will replace
that one, and then the next time I find a parts
store, I will warranty my old alternator, and
I'll run the cheapo as long as I can, and I will
just rotate them like that. Yeah, I highly recommend
just buying the alternator that you would have
in the truck anyway. That way, when you do a
trail fix, it's just the fix. Yeah, effectively,
I'd like to get to... of the same AutoZone warrantied
alternators because I could just flip -flop them.
So one goes out in a lifetime, which is crazy
that they offer a lifetime with an alternator.
Those go bad, like, every couple years, it seems
like. And in our case, every couple months. And
so I think that's the most replaced part. Like,
I've replaced alternators more than brakes, which
is probably also my fault, too. I have had, so
the original alternator to my truck died two
years ago. And then the one that I had replaced
it with just died a couple weeks ago. So I've
done it twice in three years. I've done it twice
in three years as well. This would be the second
one. Yeah, so after that whole fiasco. We had
a pretty chill weekend of just playing games,
really. Then Sunday night, I was headed to Fremont
to get some groceries, and I came across this
Ford Explorer that had went off the road somehow.
The road was clear. I have no idea how this dude
went down in a ditch. But he had... Yeah. So
the back of his truck was against a sign, and
the front of his truck was against a mailbox.
So I kind of... I kind of wheedled him out the
best I could and got him to a point where all
I had to do was pull the front of his truck over
like six to seven inches, right, so that I could
just pull him straight out of there. And as I'm
doing that, I just hear pop, and my bumper goes
doop and points down. So I ended up ripping the
top of my frame. where it was welded to the bumper
and then broke all the welds from that point
and bent the bumper down and it's funny because
i made a reel about this and like it got pretty
big and there's all these dudes just trying to
slam me oh i wouldn't have towed from that angle
anyway oh it's just user error and it's like
dude how else are you supposed to get the front
of that truck over without hitting anything Like,
he was wedged in. Like, I'm not saying it's preferred.
And I didn't have my toe strap with me because
I'd taken it all out at this point. Like, I just
had to pull him over a little bit to be able
to winch him forward. When you're watching a
video like that, and this goes for a lot of our
videos, reels, anybody's, you only get part of
the story. So the comments don't really help
when you're trying to, like, be corrective and
you're like, you have no idea what situation
was really there. Like, we don't have a bird's
eye view of the situation. This was a, who shot
that anyway? Was that Kalen? No, my roommate,
Ryan. I was like, damn, he got a cameraman for
his recoveries? What the fuck? I'm like, I'm
sitting there. I'm like, why don't we have cameramans
for our last recovery? What the hell? So, yeah.
Oh. I was about to say, I think someone would
have critiqued. how I got out of my situation,
but all I had was to sit around a tree and hook
it. It would have been ideal if I had a tree
saver. There will always be a hater, and that's
how you know you're doing something right, when
you start getting enough comments and shit that
some of them are negative. There will always
be a hater. Yeah, we got that kid out. I had
to stop traffic for like two minutes. In that
two minutes, an ambulance pulled up without their
lights on or anything. They watched me break
my bumper, and then the paramedic in the passenger
side gets out as I'm disconnecting to pull forward
and let him through. You've got to move your
vehicle. I'm like, oh, you fucking prick. I know.
We're working. It's crazy. Oh, and so was that
it? Was that all of it? Because I just want to
make sure. Okay. Yeah. So I did a follow -up
because it was dark when I finally got home.
I couldn't walk my truck and see what was really.
If I had damaged anything, really. And I did
the walk around. It's been raining all day today
and stuff. And so I'm like, cool, I'll be able
to see any scratches. I didn't really have any
scratches, which makes sense because those bushes
that we went through were covered in ice. So
they probably wouldn't have scratched. But going
through those bushes, I had so many of them grabbing
up and getting pinched in between the awning
that it actually ripped my. awning off of the
mount it like snapped the it snapped the bolt
or it ripped it out of the the channel and so
my awning was just barely it was just hanging
on by the two bolts in the in the back and so
that was hanging off and i was like meh whatever
like as far as damage goes that was probably
best case scenario so i was cool that i just
was like whatever um wrapped a strap around it
called it a day it was like you know it for everything
that we did that day and for all the stuff that
i'm worried about already with my diff and everything
my axle like if i rip my awning off well fuck
it like it was barely a hundred dollar awning
like i could just throw it back on no big deal
um of course i had my fucking limb risers off
and I made a reel about that, too, and I tagged
Eagle Pursuit. Yeah, Eagle Pursuit. And I knew
that he's an avid YouTube watcher as well, so
I knew we'd get the joke. And I said, so what
do you think about Limrisers now? Because Ozark
Overlanders, they made a video about, like, useless
items that people usually get and he said that
in in that video he said that limb risers were
useless so i made the joke i was like what do
you think about it now and he goes he goes i
bet you he changes mine then i'm like yeah i
said i'd tag him if he if he would answer but
i don't want to yeah i don't want to make him
think that i'm like making fun of him or anything
but in that situation with those bushes limb
risers would have been mint but i didn't have
them on I took them off and had them inside my
door because I was worried that I was going to
have some other issue with the battery because
my battery had been dead. Turns out it was because
auxiliary power was turned on the whole time,
so it completely drained my battery. But I was
worried that I had a cell die or something, but
thankfully. Now, I got really worried when we
were going through those bushes because my windshield
wiper stopped working completely. It turns out
it was because there was so much fucking snow
and brush underneath the windshield wipers that
they couldn't cycle down all the way. So I had
to actually get out with my snow brush and clear
all the snow and stuff out, and then they worked,
and I was like, whoo, because I thought I was
losing power. But, yeah, no, everything went
good. It was a really fun poker run. We didn't
have any really serious catastrophic failures.
Nobody D -beated, which was great. Great success.
Very good. Because that was, like, last year
it was cold and shitty, and that was just a pain
in the ass last year. It was not a big deal.
Like, we got it done within, you know, in about
an hour or so. But it was just a horrible spot
for a DB to happen. And in the snow, I had, like,
the shitty free. uh like what was it like two
ton jack or something that i've been using as
my off -road jack and that was sinking into the
snow and sliding and it was like okay i need
a new jack yeah yes i still haven't done that
yet but like it still works still works it was
free so yeah it was a good poker run man we should
We should get Gavin one of the jack stand jacks,
which last year, if my truck wasn't at the bottom
of the hill with the jack stand jack, we would
have used it. No, I think I have one in my car.
It's a bottle style, but it's got a extended
pad out so that it won't sink. But it's like
a full -ton bottle jack. If you're going to do
a bottle jack, do the jack stand jack. Because
then you get... Does it have a jack stand on
it? I'll share it to you guys later. Yeah, because
if it... If you're already doing a bottle jack,
you may as well do one that's... Yeah. Yeah,
then you just lock it and now it's a jack stand
and you don't got to worry about it collapsing.
Like set up at the base with the... I think there's
a pin there to lock it, but yeah. sounds about
right that's what what i was reading that was
probably the best bang for my buck the off -road
jacks they're big um they're really expensive
man like i don't i just can't see paying like
three some hundred bucks for bigger wheels honestly
it's pretty much the only yeah they look they
look cool kind of the only difference really
from a regular low boy or something is they just
have bigger wheels i feel like we could do that
at home And just use, like, casters or something
and longer bolts and still be able to do it.
So. So, yeah, you want something like this one
I'm sending you right now. That is the best bang
for your buck offer of jack you can buy. Yeah,
I think that's what I have in my cart. Because
it gives. Good. yeah that gives you one uh that
pin you pull it out and it's height adjustable
and then two it's got that switch up and down
to put the put it in jack stand mode and they're
only 80 bucks like it's by far the best thing
you could buy it sucks that they haven't been
back in tractor supply since that one year we
bought them yeah i've not seen one back in tractor
supply everyone keeps dude i had some really
good uh really good like off -road stuff a while
back, and they stopped making money on it. So,
like, they sold all the good off -road lights
that they had because they did have some good
ones. They pretty much got rid of all the nice
synthetic winches that they had. And let's see.
Is it the Powerbilt, right? Yeah. That's exactly
the one I have in here. Yep. Oh. Cat just came
out with an even nicer one. Oh, yeah, that looks
smaller. That's one ton more. Well, it's not
small. It's a bigger. Yeah. I was saying, like,
it looks shorter, like, to start. Yeah. Well,
they've got adjustable. I don't know. The cat
one just looks nice. They also don't have the
jack stand corners like they usually do. The
other one, this one. They do have an off -road
trolley jack, if you look at that same selection.
That's only $149 rather than $300. I see their
off -road trolley jack that's 426. 149? Hold
on, let me copy and paste. Huh. Because it says
149 on mine. Oh, you're looking at the 301, Alex.
He's looking at a bigger one. Yeah, check that
link. There's the off -road trolley. Oh, yeah,
look at that. Look at the car ATV. It's a two
-ton. Yeah. The two -ton should be able to do
it, right? Yeah, I don't know. It just doesn't
have a lock. I just don't know how I feel about
those floor jacks with big wheels on them. Yeah,
I think they're kind of gimmicky. I'll be honest.
I mean, you want to talk about gimmicky, you
got O 'Reilly's tank tracks. No, that isn't gimmicky.
The one with tank tracks is not a gimmick. O
'Reilly's got them ensnared. No, it's super sick.
It looks awesome. No, that is the future, man.
Yeah, that's exactly why. It looks like the hail
tank got turned into a jack stand. Dude, it's
honestly, like, I don't see it ever being useful,
but it looks fucking cool. As soon as you said
tank, I'm like, if it's 40 green, this is all.
It has a headlight, damn it. Oh, my God. Tank
tough. You know what? If it was electronically
assisted to move or something, I would be like,
cool. That would be cool. Because the biggest
issue with these floor jacks is getting them
to move on uneven terrain. If it was electronically
assisted, like with a controller or something,
that you could actually get it to move under
the car where you wanted it, I'd be like, shit,
that's pretty dope. But that's interesting. $400
for that thing. My lord. It's a three -ton. I
wonder how easy those tape tracks will get destroyed.
I guess. So I'm looking at reviews right now,
right? On Reddit, of all places. Everyone says
the best part about it is that it... It moves
over terrain better than the Harvard Freight
Jack. O 'Reilly's at the one stars, and they
got, would not lift tank, would not roll in mud
or dirt. The other one says, doesn't work outside
at all. Dirt and gravel stops it dead in its
literal tracks. So, literally. The thing about
the O 'Reilly's reviews is that there was a meme
for a while of just writing bullshit reviews
on the O 'Reilly's website for this jack. This
could be it because it says, so gravel gets stuck,
stuck inside the track frames and completely
locks the tracks from moving. Heck, it barely
rolls on hard pavement. Save your money. What
vehicle did you purchase this for? A 2004 AM
General M1151 Humvee. Yeah, like. Literally,
there was a meme for like six months of just
roasting O 'Reilly's in their review section.
But it returned it the same day. Hard to push.
Hard to turn. Not what I expected. What was this
for? A 2018 Ram. Went to order and not a real
item. Tried ordering for government to test and
was ignored. Tried ordering for 24 hours and
ignored. No response. That one sounds like a
meme one. Yeah, so that's the thing. Jacks are
jacks. Having a jack is better than no jack.
Like, I'm not a big fan of farm jacks, to be
honest. I think they're more danger than they're
worth, and a lot of the times overlanding with
typical starter vehicles, you don't have a ton
of points that you can actually jack off of.
Like there are a lot of people like me, for instance,
that I don't have welded sliders that I could
hook that up to. So not having welded sliders,
you could try to do a pinch point, but you can't
because the body rounds out too far for you to
actually get the lip of the farm jack on. So
you're pretty much limited to, if you have a
steel bumper, steel bumper or steel, you know,
front bumper. And a lot of the times I don't
have a steel front bumper. So I'm looking at
rear bumper only. So God help me if anything
else goes wrong. And even your rear bumper, you
don't have anywhere to put that without taking
your spare tire off. Because the only spot you've
got on your rear bumper to put it is in your
hitch receiver. So I've done it before. It was
super sketchy. And I did it to the side part
of my bumper to do just a corner. But still.
The issue with those is they're so floppy. When
you finally get them up to the height that you
need them to, they want to teeter either side.
There's no real stability with them. If you do
it right, it's not a problem. But the problem
is that that's not what it was. You know, back
2016, 17, farm jacks were, there was a lot of
education around them. Well, then end of 17 going
into 18, it just became the thing to have a farm
jack on your off -road truck. So you started
seeing them just mounted to the hoods of Jeeps.
I've done a lot. I've done recoveries with farm
jacks. I've used them pretty much every way you're
not supposed to and every way you are. And they
are a useful tool, but nine times out of 10,
having something else is the better move. To
me, they're useful. They're better than nothing.
and the nice thing is you can kind of use them
as a come -along if you have the skill to hook
them up right. But if you have a winch, and if
you have almost any other jack, those are more
useful. I used one as a winch for a long time
with my DJ because I didn't want to spend the
money on a winch. I've seen the horror stories.
I watched Joe Yamber, and this was after the
fourth time he's had to... take it out and put
it back on because he had it mounted to his uh
spare tire carrier um i watched him um he wasn't
even near it but the handle started popping off
on its own it it started the jack itself started
messing up like it was a it was not well he didn't
yeah so just the jack just started having the
handle do this like gave up like it you could
hear it go clink and then The handle flew up.
It wasn't doing the teeter thing like you do
when you just kind of let it go to go down on
its own. It just went, you heard like this clink,
and it turned out it bent. But, yeah, no, it
went up. The handle went up once, uppercutted
him right in the chin, and he just kind of like
walked it off. But I was like, fuck. I saw that,
and I'm like, hey, he wasn't even near it. It
wasn't supposed to be doing anything. He wasn't
even trying to like loosen it. I always secured
my handles when I pulled them down to lock them.
And then on top of that, the biggest problem
with farm jacks is that we went from a time period
where farm jacks were useful. And then when they
started getting used for off -roading, the Chinese
market flooded the farm jack market. And then
now I want to trust. 98 % of the farm jacks because
they're not the product that we used to get.
I mean, you can go pick one up. You can go pick
one up for 75 bucks. Now I spent 400 on my old.
Oh yeah. I'm pretty sure I saw one for 50. I
have one. I have a farm jack and I've used it
a couple of times. And every time it was a way
sketchier than it would have been to just throw
a regular floor jack underneath it. And every
time that I did use it. I should have and could
have used a floor jack. It was just lazy. Yeah,
and that's why we went to the jack stand jack.
Yeah, it's not only safer, it takes up a little
bit less space than a large floor jack. It has
a jack stand on it, so you can let it rest on
there and not worry about, because typical floor
jacks don't. There are some that have locking
pins, but typical ones don't. And plus you get
a lot more, what is it, vertical rise typically
out of the bottle size. Yeah. So you get a higher
vertical push, raise, lift, whatever you want
to call it on those. So they're kind of all around
better with a smaller footprint. And typically
those bottle jacks, like the ones that we have
posted, which you can just look them up, they
have a big square base. So they're really good
for like sand. distributing all that uh yep you
know distributing all the terrain so kind of
the best all around for the most part all right
boys i think it's time we go get that other episode
done yeah yep all right well thanks for listening
in guys and we will talk to you on the next one
later