Well this was an entry that I have been planning on making for some time. Several other posts have prevented me from getting to it until now. I have to admit that Nathan's recent post kinda inspired me to go ahead and get this one out though. I have never really got into the whole four wheelin’ stuff until I bought this old 1979 GMC truck. I only paid about $500 dollars for it and man it is worth it. It’s beat up, rusted, and scratched all to pieces. It even makes that grinding sound when you put it into some gears. It has a four speed bull dog transmission, which means that it will go very slow in the lowest gear. The 350 motor is awesome but knocks and squeaks with the tension of the belts (yep no serpentine belt here…thank God). The 4 inch lift allows good clearance and several funny incidents for those who have trouble reaching up that high to enter the vehicle. When this truck is climbing up rough terrain, it will beat it’s passengers to death. The suspension has no give what so ever. The exhaust is loud and racks off. The creaking sounds of the truck climbing sound like that of the grating of some evil monster’s nails against a chalkboard. It feels like raw power driving over dang near anything that I want to. I LOVE THIS TRUCK.
Like I said, I never really got into the four wheelin’ stuff until this purchase. In fact, even after acquiring it, I still did not delve into this sloppy hobby immediately. My brother-in-law saw my new purchase as the perfect excuse to get both of our trucks nasty, filthy, dirty however. After very little haggling by Daniel, I acquiesced. “Sure”, I said, “but I do not want to get it in too deep though.” Well, going muddin’ and just getting in a little is like being a little pregnant. It is all or nothing. I have been stuck several times and pulled even more people out of seemingly bottomless holes. This activity seems to build congregations though. First it starts with spectators who are in the same vicinity as you are. Then if your mud bog is successful, these spectators seem to need to protect their own truck’s dignity by conquering the same event. If you fail, however, and have to be removed from the pit you have placed yourself in, then this is perfect opportunity for these same people to prove the worthiness of their vehicle for ultimate bragging rights. The bigger the hole, the bigger the brag. Then of course there are the sensible ones who only watch. These people rarely wind up with mud up to their armpits and almost never go home soaking wet. But what fun is that, right?
Anyway I have posted some pics of several ventures that I have made in the past, most of them feature me stuck. I don’t have many of my successful runs due to the fact that I am the picture taker and it is near impossible to drive and snap a third person pic at the same time. Some of these are poor quality but hey it was a cold day and a camera phone. Hope this gets a good chuckle for some of you.
And now the worst I have ever been stuck!
This last big stickin’ caused me to be stuck in the mud over night and until lunch the next day. It took 2 four wheel drive trucks pulling at the same time to get me out. It also, alas, broke my ring gear and pinion gear.