September 12th RC Rock Race

[Happy Bear]

Who is coming out to the race? Be it to race, spectate, or help pit?

Racing(Driver, CoDriver)
1. Matt Happick
2. Chris Pearson, CJ Paris
3. Alan Thomas, Dan Guyer

I'm not sure who's going to be co-driving with me yet.

Bottoms Up Rock Racing is fielding 3 or 4 race vehicles. I don't have any pit support lined up so if anyone wants to help out that would be killer. Hopefully the only job will be topping it off with fuel once. I'm hoping to make the whole race without refueling.

[dan58]

I'm hoping to get up there for some pit/moral support for you guys.

[blee1099]

I should be able to help out and if needed I can make up some more lettering to represent BURR and the drivers on the rigs

[ne14jpn]

Matt, We are running. Do you know anything about the format or details of the race?

[doug38s]

In.


Multiple laps, roughly about 20-25 miles. From what I understand nothing on the otherside of the road. I could be completely wrong too.:brow:

[Happy Bear]

Matt, We are running. Do you know anything about the format or details of the race?

Yea, Doug is right. We are looking at a lot more rockcrawling then the RCQ though.

Expect a 3-5 mile loop that will be mostly trails, with short sections where you can open it up in between. There will not be any sustained periods of high speed though.

I heard about your new toy, look forward to checking it out.

I should be able to help out and if needed I can make up some more lettering to represent BURR and the drivers on the rigs
Awesome! I'll get in touch next week, I think we are good on stickers right now, maybe need a #515 to have a rear facing number.

[ne14jpn]

Hmm, minimal go fast.... maybe Ill just bring the Jeep:D

Can't wait. See you guys there.

[blee1099]

Yea, Doug is right. We are looking at a lot more rockcrawling then the RCQ though.

Expect a 3-5 mile loop that will be mostly trails, with short sections where you can open it up in between. There will not be any sustained periods of high speed though.

I heard about your new toy, look forward to checking it out.


Awesome! I'll get in touch next week, I think we are good on stickers right now, maybe need a #515 to have a rear facing number.

Send me some dimensions for the rear facing.. I can either drop em off to you or to AJ

[Broncolou]

I'll be there......

[Numidian]

Wish I could make it :-(

[RatLabGuy]

I might have to come out to this, get a good view... and ideas of what I need to prep for the ECORS race in Oct...
If it weren't for the rockcrawling I'd enter myself :D :doh:

[Ripster]

Wish I could make it :-(

X2

[atjeep]

I'm not sure who's going to be co-driving with me yet.



x2

[Happy Bear]

x2
Alan, what number are you going to be racing as?

[locked_n_loaded]

Any idea of how many competitors?

[RatLabGuy]

I will gladly right-seat for one of you...

[Typhoon]

As of today I am planning to come up and help out whoever with whatever is needed.

[Happy Bear]

Any idea of how many competitors?
Looks like 15+
Here is the current roster based on word of mouth, so I'm sure a few more will show:
1. Matt Happick #515
2. Dean Benner #025
3. Lou Levy #231
4. Lucas Murphy #816
5 Alan Woodson #86
6. Dave Smiley #609
7. Geoff Stopherd #444
8. Erik Miller #921
9. A.J. Condon #101
10. Doug Bigelow #5
11. Chris Pearson #203
12. Alan Thomas #27

I will gladly right-seat for one of you...
Cool, I didn't see this till I just posted on pirate offering my seat to Dave Cole. It looks like he will only be riding for half the race if that pans out even.

As of today I am planning to come up and help out whoever with whatever is needed.
AWESOME! With 4-5 of us racing I'm sure we will use your help.

[atjeep]

alan, what number are you going to be racing as?

#27

[Grason]

Ima try and make it. maybe race this one, maybe not. i definetly want to do the one in november...

[Happy Bear]

Ima try and make it. maybe race this one, maybe not. i definetly want to do the one in november...
Do it! Take advantage of these 2 events where tech rules are going to slide!

[dan58]

Looks like I'm a definite now. Woot.


Anyone planning to wheel on Sunday? I'd like to go out for a while on Sunday to be sure it's ready for Main Jambo.

[Shane]

someone let me borrow there trail rig and ill wheel sunday ;)

[Broncolou]

someone let me borrow there trail rig and ill wheel sunday ;)

I'll be all over that:flipoff2:

[Shane]

h8

[Happy Bear]

Looks like a lot of wrenching for me this week.

I decided to drop the transmission for a rebuild after RCROCS because I was intermitently(twice) losing R and 3 after the event and found metal in the fluid. The transmission wasn't ready for pickup before the weekend so I won't be able to pick it up until Tuesday.

I tore the fuel cell out and am cleaning the rear portion of the fuel system hoping to avoid clogged fuel filter problems that I've had in the past.

I'm feeling pretty good, everything else is 100%. Just need to install the fuel components, transmission, transfercase, interior panels, exterior panels, skids, and shifters.

I'm getting pretty good at working on this chassis though, I pulled the transmission in 4 hours, with only Morgans help:)

Mike Bosley(Appalchian Offroad) will be co-piloting with me for the race:thumbsup:

[atjeep]

I am almost ready. The roof is done and I have to install window nets. Other than replacing some minor missing bolts here and there that's it.
Dan is co-piloting with me.

[frosty]

I am almost ready. The roof is done and I have to install window nets. Other than replacing some minor missing bolts here and there that's it.
Dan is co-piloting with me.

Not that it has any bearing on anything but is our "fix" on your regulator still holding or did you get it fixed?

[atjeep]

Not that it has any bearing on anything but is our "fix" on your regulator still holding or did you get it fixed?

Our fix is still holding.

[frosty]

Our fix is still holding.

Nice

[67temp]

If anybody still needs a co-pilot let me know, I'm available.

[doug38s]

Can I strap you to the roof? I'm sure I'll need someone to pull cable and Kat aint coming up.

[67temp]

No no, you don't want all that extra weight up high. Inside the tires would be a much more fitting place.

[RatLabGuy]

I got the green light from The Boss to come on out Sat... so if anybody needs a hand, let me know, I'm in for anything.
What's the usual MO for travel - leave early Sat AM, or just go Fri and camp? What time does this get going?

[Happy Bear]

9AM Drivers Meeting and Line up at start line
10AM Start Racing

I will be up Saturday Morning.

[atjeep]

I will be up Saturday morning.

We could use some pit crew help.

[dan58]

I will be up Saturday morning.

We could use some pit crew help.

Indeed. :dan2:

[Happy Bear]

Indeed. :dan2:
7 laps, 3 miles, I'm thinking I may need to top off with fuel once, not sure.

[kbjeepin]

We pre ran the course on Mon. Ran 90% twith lynns TJ locked with 35's. I took my time and wasnt at speed but if you pace yourself you can finish the race. The parts I didnt run I could have if it was my Jeep. Didnt want to break hers.

[Happy Bear]

We pre ran the course on Mon. Ran 90% twith lynns TJ locked with 35's. I took my time and wasnt at speed but if you pace yourself you can finish the race. The parts I didnt run I could have if it was my Jeep. Didnt want to break hers.
Rock on, this is going to be freakin awesome. How long did it take you to complete a lap?

[RatLabGuy]

I assume this is pretty much an all-day thing? Anybody riding afterwards, or staying to Sun?
Trying to decide if I should drive my truck to "play" with as well, or just save the gas/comfort and DD it. Also I assume weather is irrelevant?
Is there any kind of provisions for spectators/non-drivers for seating etc, or literally plan to bring everything to keep my bony ass comfy?

[Happy Bear]

The cutoff is 4pm whether you are finished or not.

Bring everything to keep your bony ass comfy/dry.

I will be rolling out after the race, so no wheeling for me.

[atjeep]

I have no definite plans after the race. I guess a lot depends on the condition of my truck. :)

[kbjeepin]

If I ran it straght through the way we were probably 2 hrs. But we stopped to cut and talk about things so it took us half day. Racers going at a good safe non breaking pace should be under an hour for sure

[67temp]

If I ran it straght through the way we were probably 2 hrs. But we stopped to cut and talk about things so it took us half day. Racers going at a good safe non breaking pace should be under an hour for sure

Is that an hour per lap or total?

If it's per lap then that would be 7 hours total. If starting at 10 that would be hard to make the 4pm cut off.

[ShadyTJ]

Each lap should take 1/2 give or take. I think the winning time will be 1or2pm

[Happy Bear]

Just got in from the garage, the buggy is 98%, need to put a washer on a fuel line that is coming in tomorow, button that up. Then add fuel, start it and make sure there is enough trans fluid once the pump and tailcone fill up. Test drive for 20 minutes and put the skid plates on.

Everything else is race-prepped and 100% ready.

A month ago I swore I would never push to make an event and kill myself. But this race is going to be too damn fun to miss! It will be worth it.

[atjeep]

I have realized at the last minute that I forgot the enclosed vent bellows thing for the diff/tranny/t-case. The local moto-ATV shops I have been to do not keep them in stock.
Anybody have any spares floating around?

[dan58]

I have realized at the last minute that I forgot the enclosed vent bellows thing for the diff/tranny/t-case. The local moto-ATV shops I have been to do not keep them in stock.
Anybody have any spares floating around?

If all three have tubes on them, we can jury rig a soda bottle on them. I am in the Allentown/Bethlehem area today. I can look around for those bellows too.


Who all has EZ ups? I think we may need some this weekend.

[atjeep]

If all three have tubes on them, we can jury rig a soda bottle on them. I am in the Allentown/Bethlehem area today. I can look around for those bellows too.


Who all has EZ ups? I think we may need some this weekend.
I thought about securing balloons on the ends of the tubes.
Check the BD thread for who has the EZ ups. I have a personal one I can bring.

[dan58]

Check the BD thread for who has the EZ ups. I have a personal one I can bring.

:doh: Would you mind stoppy by Fredneck on the way through? Our pit staff would surely appreciate that. :lol:

[CrawfishStu]

I have a personal ez up as well. AJ and I are a little light in the pit area. Though we shouldn't need more than one fillup.

[CrawfishStu]

I have realized at the last minute that I forgot the enclosed vent bellows thing for the diff/tranny/t-case. The local moto-ATV shops I have been to do not keep them in stock.
Anybody have any spares floating around?

I might have one...but I know i have like 7 of the catch bottles. I'll bring some.

[Typhoon]

I will throw my EZ-up in the truck tonight.

[atjeep]

I am grabbing the club EZ ups from Frank on my way up.

[Happy Bear]

So Who all is coming?

Racing:
HappyBear/Bosley
Alan /Dan
Pearson/CJ
AJ/Stu

Spectating/Pitting:
Jack
Jeremy
RatLabGuy
Blee?
Shane?
Grason?
JT?

[dan58]

So Who all is coming?

Racing:
HappyBear/Bosley
Alan /Dan
Pearson/CJ
AJ/Stu

Spectating/Pitting:
Jack
Jeremy
RatLabGuy
Blee?
Shane?
Grason?
JT?

Kenz and Mikelyn will probably help pit if we ask real nicely like. :lol:

[blee1099]

I got a new 515 for the rear for you matt. I should be up there by like 8am or so hoping.

[ne14jpn]

Finishing up the car now...

Need to:
Install DE ram
Hook up lines/bleed
Install oil pan/fill
Install exhaust
Bolt on skid (easier said that done:o)
Install panels
Run it to make sure leaks are fixed etc.

Then load everything up! See you guys there.

-Erik

[RatLabGuy]

If anybody is coming from the HarCo sort of area and want to either ride up w/ me or let me hitchike, i'm open.
I may even take a shower beforehand...

Looking forward to meeting up w/ you guys.
Oooh ooh, maybe I'll grab a cooler full of drinks?

[Jack]

Is it going to be like this tomorrow?

[Typhoon]

Looks that way :(
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:PE4RP5ieMXuFlM:http://images.zaazu.com/img/rain-animated-animation-rain-smiley-emoticon-000400-large.gif

[blee1099]

90% chance of rain tomorrow

[Happy Bear]

Scattered showers fellers. I told Bosley to bring goggles and lots of rags :thumbsup:

[dan58]

Lots of rags. I am resolve to the fact that I will be soaking wet by the first 100 yards.

[CrawfishStu]

AJ and I were looking pretty good for getting the timberwolf loaded up......until we pulled it out of the shop and none of the gauges were working and the winches wouldn't work.

After two hours.......lots of disconnected wires and some careful tracking with the multimeter we found a couple of poor grounds and a bad relay.

Loaded up and ready to go.

[willhf1011]

According to weather.com it may hold out for you guys until late in the evening. Sounds like its gonna be a blast up there, Good Luck Everyone!

[Ripster]

Good lucks to all the Creepers today, wish I was up there with you.

[dan58]

Good times. It was a great learning experience for us. Bigelow won.

[atjeep]

Had a great time, even with a short run.

Congrats Doug!

Thanks to Rausch Creek for putting on another top notch event.

[frosty]

Had a great time, even with a short run.

Breakage?

[Happy Bear]

That was a blast! Thanks to the voice of reason for keeping me in check I was able to finish the race.

On lap 1 we lost an upper airshock bolt and managed to get lucky and only had to replace the bolt. Waiting for a bolt and helping other teams up the trail 5 hill our first lap ended up taking over 50 minutes. After this we ran about 20 minute laps which was a steady pace for my poorly tuned 2.0 airshocks. We also pitted twice as our goal was to finish the race.

Doug and Will Carter were absolutly insane throwing down consistent 10 minute laps on a 3 mile course. Doug managed to average 14mph on some bad ass trails.

[Heavychevy]

Did the 2.0's heat up or did you have the same crappy ride the whole time? (my new one has 2.0s)

[Appalachian Offroad]

Did the 2.0's heat up or did you have the same crappy ride the whole time? (my new one has 2.0s)

They were hot. Ride wasnt to bad but it could have been a lot better.

[Happy Bear]

Ride wasnt to bad
Please! I'm really not sore today but the shocks bottom out a lot when I try to carry any speed over rocks and I don't have any bumpstops.

I think I can get them about twice as good with a good day of tuning. I'm hoping to tune them all day Friday at Big Dogs.

They were steaming at the end of the race and were too hot to keep your hand on them.

It's insane how hard a race like this works every system of the vehicle.

[atjeep]

Breakage?
I broke a shock mount, which wasn't bad. What took us out was a broken wheel.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30244461&l=cad553afa0&id=1467931176

[Broncolou]

It was a lot of fun....glad we could help out with the shock bolt.

[RatLabGuy]

Ditto on being a great time, it was nice to meet so many of you in person. Some really nice racing there... esp w/ Carter practically crawling up Bigalow's ass for 95% of the race.
On the last lap, when we saw Doug go by and Will WASN'T on the tail, we knew immediately something must have happened, lol. And bot did he break it right, completely sheared off the knuckle end of the axle.

One thing for sure, having some sort of sommunication between racers and their "pit" would be really nice, (a) so wecan keep up w/ what's going on, rather than just sitting aorund waiting w/ nothing for 5 mi nstretches, and (b) to be prepped and ready for pit stops.
Clearly cell phones ain't gonna cut it lol.

Too bad there wasn't more of a spectator crowd there.

[Happy Bear]

It was a lot of fun....glad we could help out with the shock bolt.
Thanks a lot! Also, thanks to Doug for tossing a bolt to us on his way by and Erik Miller for letting us use his floor jack to change a tire.

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs229.snc1/7633_137065686407_92812931407_2958930_6122417_n.jp g
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2604/3919392270_43d3b2c282_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3482/3919422936_56cbaa288a_o.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs209.snc1/7633_137066246407_92812931407_2959016_3870965_n.jp g
Heres me and Bosley after the race:
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs215.snc1/8231_156960239991_543319991_3635329_7256521_n.jpg

[Typhoon]

It was a great time, glad I came up.
Hmm, what to build for next year........

[breakinshit]

If anyone is on the fence about trying this, you need to just get out there and try it for Nov race. I only made it 2/3 of a lap, but I have to say this race was the most fun I have ever had off-roading. There is nothing else like it, dropping off the stair steps on the front two tires and then holding it too the floor to get to the next obstacle. Needless to say, I am hooked and look forward to next season as this is an awesome addition to the the east coast off-road scene.

The RC staff did a great job laying out the course! It was very difficult, but was still doable in a 35" tire vehicle. Mad props to Jay in the little TJ. He finished the entire race in a TJ with 35" tires. That's doing something, considering all the DNF's at the race. We made it to the bottom of the trail five hill climb and lost a drive shaft due to the axle u-bolts working loose. We will be better prepared in November as this was a huge learning experience.

[01TJ_03KJ]

someone should let me borrow some 35s :D

[RatLabGuy]

someone should let me borrow some 35s :D

Somebody should let me borrow some 35s and a solid axle ;-)

[atjeep]

someone should let me borrow some 35s :D

Want some Q78s? ;)

[atjeep]

If anyone is on the fence about trying this, you need to just get out there and try it for Nov race. I only made it 2/3 of a lap, but I have to say this race was the most fun I have ever had off-roading. There is nothing else like it, dropping off the stair steps on the front two tires and then holding it too the floor to get to the next obstacle. Needless to say, I am hooked and look forward to next season as this is an awesome addition to the the east coast off-road scene.

The RC staff did a great job laying out the course! It was very difficult, but was still doable in a 35" tire vehicle. Mad props to Jay in the little TJ. He finished the entire race in a TJ with 35" tires. That's doing something, considering all the DNF's at the race. We made it to the bottom of the trail five hill climb and lost a drive shaft due to the axle u-bolts working loose. We will be better prepared in November as this was a huge learning experience.

Pretty much ditto on everything Pearson said. I didn't make it much further, but it was the most adrenaline-charged wheeling I have ever done.
I'll be back in November.

[Numidian]

I might need to see what the 4runner needs to pass tech....

[atjeep]

I might need to see what the 4runner needs to pass tech....
I think it needs a new truck. :flipoff2:

[Jack]

lol Post of the week. Congratulations to Alan.