Rebel Off Road Trip Report - Johnson Valley
11-18-2014, 01:44 PM
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Rebel Off Road Trip Report - Johnson Valley
Our company is growing at a very rapid rate, and with that comes new employees that share the same passion for Off roading that we do. We haven't had a company wheeling trip in a very long time, so we figured we were overdue. This prompted us to think of locations for the trip, and we all agreed on one. Johnson Valley, CA is among our favorite playgrounds. The sweeping desert backroads with technical rock trails in the surrounding hills provided for maximum enjoyment for our diverse array of vehicles, everything from a Baja Bug to a full blown Ultra 4 car.
It began with a frenzy of last minute preparations of all our vehicles after hours the whole week before our trip. The guys brought their Jeeps and trucks in, clearing fenders and body panels for full bump driving, checking engine and driveline fluids, and tuning up the dirtbikes for some desert riding. Matt even did a full engine swap, as his 4.0L V6 Tacoma threw a rod bearing on a trail the weekend prior to. He actually worked from 6pm to midnight each night that week to swap in the new engine, and in true “Get it done” fashion. He was headed out at 11:00 p.m. Friday night.
The rest of the guys were already on their way Friday evening, and waited up until 2:00am for Matt to arrive at camp. Night runs, loud classic rock, and cold beverages by an enormous fire. It was definitely a great way to relax and unwind with our colleagues. The lake bed got down to the low 50’s in the dead of night, so sleeping bags and sweaters were enough to keep us warm until sunrise. The next morning, Taylor and Sean took their JK’s out for some desert driving. While 4 door JK’s aren’t the choice of vehicle for the whoop sections, the JK’s did phenomenally well. Taylor’s IRONMANJK on 40’s with Teraflex Long Arm and our Recon Coilover kit with 2.5” IBP King shocks blasted through 2 foot whoops at speeds reaching 70mph at times. Sean, who recently finished his Rock Krawler 3 link Long Arm Pro kit and 2.0 King coilovers had a similar experience in his Jeep. Both surprisingly handled these technical, suspension-demanding trails very well, almost like an IFS truck.
Saturday was open to riding around the desert, doing some trails in the area, and watching the buggies attending the Tinbenders event drive up KOH trails like Chocolate Thunder and Back Door. Next was a little test run in the rocks with the new IFS KOH car. George drove the buggy while Bond and Chris were in their Jk’s. In the afternoon, the winds picked up and turned the lake bed into a perpetual dust storm. It seemed the wind didn’t stop all weekend after that. We moved our camp to Boone Rd, near some other campsites.
Saturday night, we were joined by two of our customers who attended Tinbender. They were out with their JK’s, and stopped by our camp for dinner. We went on a trail ride up Turkey Claw, which proved to be a fun, moderately challenging and short trail close to camp. The Jeeps did great; Bond’s reverse triangulated rear 4 link on 2.5” King coilovers practically never stopped over the boulders, and Chris’ new Genright aluminum armor really saved his JK’s body from rock damage.
Sunday morning we rolled out of camp, tired, dusty, and sandblasted. It was a long, windy drive home, but everybody had a great time and we got a few cool photos to share while the dust and weather permitted.
It began with a frenzy of last minute preparations of all our vehicles after hours the whole week before our trip. The guys brought their Jeeps and trucks in, clearing fenders and body panels for full bump driving, checking engine and driveline fluids, and tuning up the dirtbikes for some desert riding. Matt even did a full engine swap, as his 4.0L V6 Tacoma threw a rod bearing on a trail the weekend prior to. He actually worked from 6pm to midnight each night that week to swap in the new engine, and in true “Get it done” fashion. He was headed out at 11:00 p.m. Friday night.
The rest of the guys were already on their way Friday evening, and waited up until 2:00am for Matt to arrive at camp. Night runs, loud classic rock, and cold beverages by an enormous fire. It was definitely a great way to relax and unwind with our colleagues. The lake bed got down to the low 50’s in the dead of night, so sleeping bags and sweaters were enough to keep us warm until sunrise. The next morning, Taylor and Sean took their JK’s out for some desert driving. While 4 door JK’s aren’t the choice of vehicle for the whoop sections, the JK’s did phenomenally well. Taylor’s IRONMANJK on 40’s with Teraflex Long Arm and our Recon Coilover kit with 2.5” IBP King shocks blasted through 2 foot whoops at speeds reaching 70mph at times. Sean, who recently finished his Rock Krawler 3 link Long Arm Pro kit and 2.0 King coilovers had a similar experience in his Jeep. Both surprisingly handled these technical, suspension-demanding trails very well, almost like an IFS truck.
Saturday was open to riding around the desert, doing some trails in the area, and watching the buggies attending the Tinbenders event drive up KOH trails like Chocolate Thunder and Back Door. Next was a little test run in the rocks with the new IFS KOH car. George drove the buggy while Bond and Chris were in their Jk’s. In the afternoon, the winds picked up and turned the lake bed into a perpetual dust storm. It seemed the wind didn’t stop all weekend after that. We moved our camp to Boone Rd, near some other campsites.
Saturday night, we were joined by two of our customers who attended Tinbender. They were out with their JK’s, and stopped by our camp for dinner. We went on a trail ride up Turkey Claw, which proved to be a fun, moderately challenging and short trail close to camp. The Jeeps did great; Bond’s reverse triangulated rear 4 link on 2.5” King coilovers practically never stopped over the boulders, and Chris’ new Genright aluminum armor really saved his JK’s body from rock damage.
Sunday morning we rolled out of camp, tired, dusty, and sandblasted. It was a long, windy drive home, but everybody had a great time and we got a few cool photos to share while the dust and weather permitted.
