July Night Run at Vietnam

Picture are not that great- because it was DARK!!!!

Wow- It really gets dark out here!! :-)
Lets see, Its brown- must be Allan	Your guess is as good as mine!
Chu ramping his Jeep

Here is a short write up- by Karl Bellve


We all arrived at Allan's house for the BBQ. The food was good and Allan
had plenty of toys and outdoor equipment to handle all the kids! I like
to bring my entire family wheeling! I have pictures of Megan sleeping
through a really tough obstacle at BHCC 99.

There were a few 40s (Jim, Tim, Matt), Allan's 60, Joe's 55, Charlie's
Jeep (Kevin as copilot) and my 4Runner. We met Todd (pickup) and Mark
(Turbo 4Runner) at Vietnam. I don't know everyone's last name, so I will
just use the first name. As we were getting ready to leave Allan's
house, my daughter Megan (2) decided she wanted to ride in Chu's Jeep. I
have got her trained well but she doesn't have the brand loyalty yet :-)

After airing down, Todd pulled up in his extended cab pickup (stock).
Mark showed up after we just entered the trail. Chu went first in his 2
wheel drive Jeep with 35" Goodyear MT/Rs. He had a little trouble
getting up the first section but got it on the second try He decided to
let me go up the first rock ledge. He pulled over to let some more air
out of his tires and thought I should be in front of him in case I had
to snatch him. I drove up the center of the ledge with both lockers
engage. Charlie drove around to the left (bypass). Since I was in front,
I didn't see anyone else drive up the center but I am sure Mark (crazy
plus lockrite) and Jim (dual ARBs) would have attempted it.

The big hill was next. I stopped my truck at the top and walked down. My
wife didn't like the looks of the hill nor the line I wanted to take.
Luckily, I was driving and not her. It appears there is a nice path down
the right side, then it crosses over to the left and down. I went down
the right side, and straight over a big ledge. The truck cleared
everything very well. Shelly didn't like the feel of the truck leaning
that much but it was a fairly simple drive down.

Todd (pickup) went over the same ledge on the hill. His stock Toyota
bumper dragged across the rocks and basically bent in two, right in the
middle. It made a nice crunchy sound. Mark (Turbo 4Runner) decided to
take the left side from the top. He didn't go too far until his truck
(and suspension) was pushing big boulders. He backed up and then took
the right line all the way down. His truck did well over the big ledge.

Charlie made it look simple, even in 2WD. No problems for him coming
down. Joe decided to leave the FJ55 at the top and he and his family
hopped a ride with Allan. Every else did pretty well. Just alot of
banging and dragging.

We then went to the end of the trail and turned around. On the CB, I was
asked if I could get in the front of the pack in case a winch was needed
on the big hill. Mark pulled over to let me pass but I couldn't get in
front of Todd (CB not working or didn't know that I was supposed to work
my way up front). I decided to take a bypass on the lef that went up
some rocks and then back down to the trail. I was hoping to cut in front
of the pack :) But it took me longer and I got behind Todd again. It
seems everyone behind me followed me up on the rocks and back down
again! :) It turned out we didn't need a winch at the top of the hill.

Going up this hill was more interesting. Almost everyone drove the easy
route up (right, then crosses over to the left).  Charlie made it look
easy by driving up the hill in 2wd. He took the easy route. I tried to
climb the big ledge with both lockers engaged. I was handicapped by my
street tires. The truck got close but needed more traction. Mark (Turbo
4Runner) tried the same ledge but couldn't do it. He had ATs, IFS and a
rear lockrite. Jim with dual ARB's and 33" MTs tried but failed after
several attempts.

We then went over to the rocky play area and drove all over the rocks.
Charlie was able to drive up a fairly steep rock in 2WD. He also drove
up on another to test his front suspension flex. We then drove out the
right side of the trail. There was one more steep hill climb. Mark drove
up it in his IFS rigged and wanted me to drive up it. I was behind Tim
(FJ40) who made several attempts but decided to go around. It was an
easy drive up the hill with a nice ledge in the middle. I had both
lockers engaged. I usually engaged them before I go over something that
looks tough. I rather have an easy go of it then to stress the truck
unnecessarily.

After the trail we all headed over to the Mobil station. Some people
used the free air. By the time I got to the free air, the machine had
shut off due to the overheating (it came back to life in about 10
minutes). Charlie aired me up in seconds using his York air compressor.
That thing was impressive and is now on my list of mods!

Many thanks to Allan for organizing this!