The words "I dare you" and mud bogs DO NOT MIX!!

[RJXplorer]

WOW!!!!! HEARTLAND RUN KICKED ASS!!!!!!!! I am amazed at the capapbilities of my nearly stock explorer!! Oh, and about the title, ask Matt, he can explain! We did a bunch of sweet runs, that NO ONE would have expected in the middle of KANSAS! I am making a website, with a full write-up, pictures, EVERYTHING!! I have to get my photos developed, and am then going to scan them, hopefully i will have it by this time next week, look for the write-up. I can say, we ran into some knarly terrain, and DEFINITELY surpised the local jeep club, espescially one of Paul's hill climb!....more details to follow later, i just wanted to title the new post! Dead Link Removed

------------------
RJXplorer
'94 XLT - 30" BFG AT's
Dynamax Exhaust
K&N Air Filter
Modified Air Box
"The faster she goes, maybe the cops won't see me!"

 

[mattadams]

yeah I guess I'lla dmit defeat. I managed to take a dare to drive through a puddle, unknown the me the reason I was dared was because people always got stuck in it (or so the local jeep club said) So I looked first and there was only 6 inches or so of water with a bit of mud so I figure what the heck. Before I even know it I start driving in and I know right away it is WAY deeper then I had anticipated. But I couldn't back out of the hole I was in so I tried forward and the mud sloshed up onto my hood. Pretty much everywhere actually. Tried forward, no luck. Tried in reverse, almost made it but not quite, tried forward again. I could hear my exhaust blub-blubbing around in the mud and my tires gripped nothing. After looking out the door to see my back tire almost entirely under water/mud, I was anticipating someone to come over and tow me out, not one jumped (they all said they thought I could get out of it, apparently they were overconfident in my abilities, heh heh). But a paniced cry of "would somebody PLEASE come tow me out?" brought Paul Sabin over and about 3-4 minutes later I was finally out, mud EVERYWHERE. After about a roll of ph otographs of the mud, washed "Tippy" off, stopped upt he drain at the car wash, adn continued to four-wheeling. Longest 5-10 minutes in quite a while Dead Link Removed. Luckily everything was, for the most part, OK. I had my diff fluid changed out, blew out the air filter (it was caked with crap!) and the bearings will hopefully be re-packed this coming wednesday. Mud chunks were flying all the way back to Denver Dead Link Removed. Thanks again Paul, I'll post the pics when I get them back (should be on wednesday)

------------------
Matt Adams
94 Explorer 4-door nick-named "Tippy"
http://bart.is-s.com/~explorers/explorer/explorer.html

 

[rpenner54]

Yeah it was a blast, I can't wait to see all the pictures I took of that stuck! See how good I really am at taking pictures. It sure was impresive seeing him pretty much burried and the exhuast making that blubing sound. For anyone wondering if they should stop by this place they should! Its a great area! All kinds of little trails going everywhere. As a plus there is mud depending on the time of they year also.



------------------
Ryan Penner
1992 Explorer Sport

 

[DOGMAN]

We didn't have a large turnout(5 people and 4 Explorers)at Tuttle Creek ORV area, but everyone in attendance had fun doing a wide variety of wheelin'.

Matt stole the show all weekend with his Explorer submarine impression. Shows what a guy can do to entertain others. A Flowmaster muffler exhaust note sounds really cool when played through about 3 feet of water and mud. Matt's a trooper though, after Paul pulled him out, he washed Tippy off, then it was on to more wheelin. Seriously, Matt showed all weekend how good he and his rig worked together, along with Ryan's superior spotting and navigation skills--not to mention his expert advice--"Go ahead Matt, I dare you!".
Matt also showed how good his new Mickey Thompson Baja Belted HP's are. They surprised everyone, even Matt, on their outstanding performance on everything, from rocks to mud. If anyone is looking for a good mix of offroad performance and on road quietness, check out the HP, you won't be dissapointed.

Paul was solid all weekend, which was no surprise to me, since he and I had wheeled at Tuttle Creek before. His 2dr Sport with front and rear ARB's usually made short work of any obstacle put in front of it. The "driveshaft" trail had him frustrated a couple of times, but his perserverence paid off in a successful conquering of the slippery hill. Thanks Paul for getting the idea to wheel at Tuttle Creek.

RJ showed just how good an almost stock(Warn manual hubs and 30x9.50 BFG A/T's) Explorer could do on some tough trails -- from rocks to mud. The rest of us were impressed by the skill he displayed in difficult situations, knowing when to use finesse when required, as well as having the confidence to know when to apply the power. This was all done with no damage to his running boards, which still amazes me. Good job RJ!

As for myself, it was fun getting to wheel with people that I had previously only communicated with on this website. That is one of the great things about this site, it brings people together. My rig performed admirably, but I did learn some traction limitations (Auburn limited slip rear, Trac-Loc front) that were previously unknown. When it's all said and done, you just can't beat a locker, as Paul and Matt proved time and again. My last climb was a perfect example of that.

Wheelin with fellow Explorer owners at Tuttle Creek was a blast. Looking forward to meeting more of you at Moab in May.





------------------
DOGMAN
91 4dr 5sp
5.5" Superlift

 

[mattadams]

ok pictures are in, I've got a few of the good ones on the net, still working on getting more in as we speak, but I thought you might like a peak at some of the "muddin'" photos. Please visit http://bart.is-s.com/~explorers/tuttlecreek/tuttlecreek.html and as a little teaser heres one :

and

------------------
Matt Adams
94 Explorer 4-door nick-named "Tippy"
http://bart.is-s.com/~explorers/explorer/explorer.html

 

[GJarrett]

Hey Matt,

Don't you need to be sportin' a new "EXPLORER 4X4.COM" sticker on the back window while you're doing all that stuff?

And if you're heading to Moab, I'll see you in May! I can't wait to put some faces on everyone and really meet you guys. Dead Link Removed

 

[mattadams]

Gerald - Paul gave me one of the stickers and I just put it on today in place of my Dick Cepek sticker (since they are no longer in business). can't put one of the big ones in the back window because thats for paying advertisers only, heh heh. Only kidding. Missed you there, hope to still see your Explorer at some point!

------------------
Matt Adams
94 Explorer 4-door nick-named "Tippy"
http://bart.is-s.com/~explorers/explorer/explorer.html

 

[Gigantor]

Matt,
I just wanted to let you knwo that your phots are awsome! And your website. WOW It is also great. I jsut wanted to make sure you knew.

------------------
Nick
'93 XLT 4 Door 4x4
Bosch Plat+4's with SplitFire Dual Core wires and a
K&N Air Filter with a Modified Air Box

 

[DOGMAN]

Matt,

Great pics, here and on your site. I think you need to copywrite the term "MUDMARINE"!



------------------
DOGMAN
91 4dr 5sp
5.5" Superlift

 

[Rick]

One of my favorite lines in the movies is from Risky Business:

"Who's the U-Boat Commander"

Looks like you guys had a great time! Dead Link Removed



------------------
Rick Horwitz
Editor
explorer@4x4central.com
www.4x4central.com

 

[mattadams]

so what do you think Rick, is that Whoops page material? Dead Link Removed. Also, I think technically I would beat the Readers Rig (don't recall who's) who you described as the "muddiest explorer on the site" heh heh. Mudmarine, that would almost beat out Tippy as a nickname, but I don't want to get a rep for driving through the mud a whole lot, as fun as that was... Dead Link Removed.

------------------
Matt Adams
94 Explorer 4-door nick-named "Tippy"
http://bart.is-s.com/~explorers/explorer/explorer.html

 

[Rick]

Definate whoops material!! I'll get it up there.

 

[Paul Gagnon]

Hey Paul,

I noticed from Matt's pictures that your truck is pretty big now. It looks great. I guess you didn't like being the smallest at Blanding did ya?

------------------
Paul Gagnon
Calgary, Alberta
"No Brain, No Pain"
Dead Link Removed



[This message has been edited by Paul Gagnon (edited 02-24-2000).]

 

[Paul]

Geez, I hope you are talking about my truck! Dead Link Removed.
Yes, after the Colors Run I knew I had to do the SOA and slap on the 33s - - Had the rear shock mounts fabbed to bolt into the stock leaf perches under the axle, then dropped a leaf from each spring pack to get about 5" of rear lift. Front conversion includes Superlift axle brackets and 4" coils. Based on the inherent Explorer rear end "sag", the truck now looks perfectly level. Should see an update on the "Featured Explorers" section soon.

The Run was great. Suprising how a bit of mud can really increase the difficulty of those trails! Just want to echo the positive comments already listed. Outstanding wheeling, great weather, and a lot of fun... Super photos Matt (website, too), I hope to have my pictures and a brief write-up to Rick by this weekend.

Paul
'91 Sport