ALBERTA nov 19

[s0ulst3al3r]

Took 2 hours exactly for the flat bed to show up ...he actually had me back in Edmonton at my mechanic's shop by 10:45pm....although the tow bill was a kick in the teeth ..$633 (and thats with 160kms for free) ...mechanic is pulling her into the shop as i write this , so Ill know whats up later today....thanks Dennis for letting me use your Onstar phone (gotta get mine hooked up) was a life saver. Feel bad for ending everyones day so early ..but i did have a great time till then , even almost rolling my truck was kinda fun ...right JL lol.

[Tonkatruck]

Well guys what a blast I worked the hummer hard and the great times were worth the breakdown but I must say I think I earned a new name instead of tonka! They say the best names come from life experience and may e I should change my name to Half Shaft!!!! Lol what do you guys think? Gary I hope your truck isn't as bad as we think good luck and let me know!

[humybby]

So here's my take.



First, the ice didn't cause any breakage. The half shaft broke because the driver floored the truck coming up an embankment. The front wheel came off the ground, the wheel spun madly, and when it landed back on the ground the shaft snapped. I think there's a vid where I yell 'Nooooo!' just before the snap. 100% driver error. He was well out of the ice by then. I know this, he's a better driver today than he was yesterday! <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> Hey halfshaft, do you agree?



I don't know why the diff broke but it wasn't terrain related. It was a flat (well.. fairly flat) water crossing. Not deep, no ice to climb, it was easy terrain. I'm certain Gary would confirm this.





I wasn't leaving anyone behind when I suggested that we continue to the waterfall. I NEVER leave people behind. We would've left their truck (not them) at 4 Corners for about 2 hours and picked it up on the way out. I would've followed them right to their house if needed. Halfshaft and Bree seem like really nice folks - funny too!



Brian and Gary headed out to to get cell reception and call for a tow truck. That's exactly what should've happened. I didn't know they were doing that, I just saw them drive off. There's NO WAY that I would've suggested that a call for a tow truck wait until after a trip to the falls.



I don't know what you guys did to help the halfshaft truck. I presume they made it out just fine since I didn't see him on the trail. Gary was still waiting (along with an FJ) when I left the trail at 4:30, still daylight. I offered assistance but they had everything under control. I did see the towtruck heading out to him so I doubt he had to wait too much longer. I'm sure the truck was there by 5:00 - right at dusk.





Modified trucks.... You can make improvements, no doubt. But be very, very careful with what you do. In my experience the single improvement I would do to an H2 is more durable tie-rods. They'll transfer more loads to the steering rack - so that needs to be considered - but it's likey all I would do. Well, maybe that and a stock size but more aggressive tire.



Or maybe I'd just pack a couple of spare tie-rods and the tools to change them, call it ready to go. An H2 tie-rod can be replaced in just a few minutes in the field.



I've made many mods to my truck and almost everyone has a negative tradeoff - many of them I wouldn't do again if I had the choice.







Anyway, we made it out without issue by 4:30. I expect that with a larger group we would've been out there until at least 6:00 - in the dark.





I guess this is where I got the idea we'd be having a fire and 'dinner' out there - I clipped this from the first post:



we will be stopping out there for a dinner out in the bush(burgers and smokies)?

should be back close to staging area around dinner time for those who want to leave before dinner



so a vehicle count as well as head count is needed

if everyone is willing to split the food tab i can get all the food shopping and stuff done prior to date

once i get an actual confirmed head count we can tally up a food bill between how many heads there are





Anyway, I was a little surprised when everyone took off but I expect that everyone was just as surprised that I went back in.



So, all good - I had a great day. I'll hook up again if I can.



For the past several years I've been spending a lot of time at the race track and that used up a lot of 'wheeling time' but now that Race City is gone I'll be wheeling a lot more. I'm doing Moab for sure, and there are a few local trails that I'm interested in that I have yet to do - Like Top of the World. Plus at least one more trip to the falls before Christmas - if the snow allows it!



But let me end with a sincere apology, Gary, Halfshaft and Bree, if you felt I was abandoning you, I'm sorry. It was far from my intent.

Greg

[s0ulst3al3r]

I do have to say Greg , those radios worked great! ...ya I have no idea why my rear diff tanked ..it shouldnt have , cause ya that river crossing wasnt that bad. I do have a spare set of tie rods in my truck (and a heat gun lol) but i gotta get a spare half shaft.



Again thanks everyone for making sure that me and my rig got out safe ...thats one thing I like about our club ..im never worried about being not making it back , cause I know i can rely on all you guys 100% <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... ght_on.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':right_on:' />

[humybby]

OK, I've posted a couple of vids of the ice crossing - for some reason I don't get sound.... I don't know why.



Anyway, here's a link to Gary's truck crossing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=084BF1ck ... er&list=UL



And here's Halfshafts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRR_0jSM ... u_in_order



I'd love it if anyone has a vid of me in there! Please post.



Greg

[s0ulst3al3r]

I caught the end of your river crossing Greg , I missed the part where you broke threw all the ice ...maybe someone has a better vid but here's the terrible vid i shot lol



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJGXxgOtdgI

[Khamul]

Starting to get worried there.... Family first!!!!!

I think we always have to make sure we are open to other ideas and if confused about something... We should speak up to ensure there are never any misunderstandings! Glad all is good...



As for half shaft....love it!!! A lot of what I have learned of these couple years is for trial and error... I've blown 2 shafts now and it is easily done without even thinking about it and also in the heat of the moment...you don't realize your foot is still on the gas as those wheels will speed up real quick if they hop off the ground! I guess that's why I should listen to Greg's advice from the previous run that we should be in low gear at all times to avoid the high wheel spin..... I still love half shaft.

But man.. That looked freakin cold!!!!!

[humybby]

Nice vid Gary! It was difficult - no doubt. When I drove out onto the nice clean and smooth ice I was hoping, hoping, hoping......... CRACK! I knew once I had all 4 tires on the creek bed it would be fine, but that took a while.



I've broken my fair share of stuff over the years...... I'll probably break more too. Almost 100% of the time it was something I did and not just a mechanical fluke. I like to think I've learned something by doing it too. Maybe not, who knows.



Greg

[humybby]

Dave,

How much does an H2 halfshaft cost?



I can't seem to get prices on the Canadian NAPA site but the US site has reman units for $65 - CHEAP!



I have a brand new H1 half shaft on order right now and the MSRP is almost $500.



Greg

[Sugarphreak]

[quote name='humybby' timestamp='1321803875' post='32883']

I have a few questions.



And I'm going to be a bit of an a$$ here, but it needs to be said - I apologize in advance.



1) Why is that people with stock trucks think they are more likely to break than modified trucks when, in fact, the opposite is true? Someone please ask me why this is true almost 100% of the time.



2) The days plan was to make it to the waterfall then have a fireside dinner in the wilderness.... but then everyone just leaves and goes home at 2:30!!??



3) Why does it seem prudent to floor the throttle, ever, when off road? The first breakage was entirely driver error, and then everyone told him he needed a better half shaft. The truth is that when you have a wheel spinning at, oh, about 100mph - when it hooks up something will break. This is guaranteed. If it wasn't the easily and fairly cheap halfshaft it would've been a t-case. Thank God the halfshaft broke first.







I did have a nice day, the sun was warm, the air crisp and clean, the scenery stunning. After everyone (EVERYONE!) turned tail I went back to the waterfall. It was beautiful back there. Some animals had even left what was left of a fox carcass right on the trail. Way cool.



Anyway, it was a great day with fun folks - and we had beautiful weather, especially considering the time of year.



I had fun wheeling with ya'll. <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



I will be making another waterfall run sometime in early December. I'll start a post in the next week or so.



Greg

[/quote]



haha, I knew this post was coming.



I've pretty much learned the hard way not to floor it when I get into a situation, way to easy to break thing.



As far as the end of the trail where we ended up parting ways. From the beginning of this thread I had said I wasn't able to stay for the dinner. It was already 3:00 by the time we hit 4 corners, I didn't get home until probably 6:00 if not later.



I had strongly considered going with you to the falls as I really don't like trucks going it alone out there. But Ferdy was my guest and he wanted to head home at that point as well (he was also not staying for the dinner). Best as I can explain it anyway, it wasn't an easy call to make for me.