RDP / SXSPerformance.com ride to Topock Pics!

[RiverDave]

Well guys I think our first Havasu group ride came off pretty good. I was a little concerned about people flaking because of the heat and we had a couple guys that ended up taking boats.. Overall though at 10:15 in the morning we left the Lpwes Parking lot with 22 Side by Sides and 3-4 jeeps!

 

[RiverDave]

I didn't get to take a lot of pics on the trail to Topock, I was trying to look after my daughter who wasn't having a good day.. I did get a little bit of video that i will try to throw together today.

The group stayed pretty well together until the 40. We had one guy lose a belt before that but about ten cars stopped for him and we were all waiting just south of the gas stations in a big flat area.

The whole responsible and wait for the next guy deal kinda ended up the time we hit the wash, from there it was WOT. and I saw some cars go down a wash on the left, some on the right and we were in the middle.. We were following a couple cars when we went under the bridge next to the rail road tracks and I told Eric this want the right way.

So long story short, some of the group went the wrong way, some of the group went the right way.


About the time we got to polaris road my ranger started acting really weird. It was either wide open or popping and stuttering..

Eric and I just bee lined it to topock.

 

[RiverDave]

At Topock we had an awesome lunch and Barker (Ranger Crew Chief) started yanking it apart to see if it was something simple or if we should trailer home.



It ended up being a cracked intake manifold. I'm not even sure how that happens but it broke. Eric said be responsible and trailer, I said get the duct tape and let's ride.






Just kind of an interesting side note. About the time we were leaving the Flying Vees old F32 pulled up.

 

[crzy2bealive]

Looks like a great time!!

 

[RiverDave]

Now our group all kind of left as they felt like it. So they were pairing off in smaller groups and rolling home.

We were the last people in our group to leave the bar about an hour before sunset. It should be noted I had to reload the coolers at topock. . The drivers were sober, the passengers... were not.



So we made our way to the underground railroad crossing and hung out in the shade for a bit. We ran into a guy with a rail, and I asked him if he knew where what my friends call the "Taco Bar" was at, and he did so we decided to mosey on over to it. Life isn't complete without hitting one more spot on the way home.











With the coolers now officially drained we made some "questionable" decisions as the ranger might have "nudged" Mikes RZR at one point.. (Mike was in the Ranger by the way.. lol). Mike's son was having none of it and parked his tire on ours..



Which from then all went down hill to the point of why do we have these big bad ass offroad bumpers if we aren't gonna use them type deal, and started a "nerf" war all the way to the 40.

We all have a little powder coating to fix now.. lol. (no big deal). The cars can be fixed, but the memories were priceless. One of the better nights I have had in a sxs.

I always wondered what it would be like piercing through the dust and running up behind someone and tapping them to get out of the way.. Apparently if you are actually on their bumper there is no dust in case you are wondering. . We managed to get up on them a couple of times but that 1000 walked away from us every time. He pushed us about halfway down the wash if I had to guess though. lol. Irresponsible? Hell yes.. But I wouldn't trade the night for anything.



We ended up at the Carl's Jr. for dinner and it was about 9:00 at night. Eric and I called Scott the Painter to pick us up with the trailer. Mike and the other cars headed back to Havasu.

In a last ditch effort to squeeze the last ounce of fun out of the night Eric and I decided to head for the walmart.

 

[RiverDave]

[video=youtube_https;de9NVuPJhIU]https://youtu.be/de9NVuPJhIU[/video]

 

[RiverDave]

Last pic of the day for me. It does sum up about how much fun we had.

 

[Bpracing1127]

We had a blast too but it was hot!!! Especially on the way home. We had no problems knock on wood. My commander belt temps were high in the wash from topical to the 95 so we had to stop a few time to cool it down. We got back to lowes about 5:00 pm. With the gps this is easy ride to do and not get lost. I think a ride from lowes to the 95 would be fun especially at night. I left my phone in the truck so I didn't get any pictures. The pool was perfect as well

 

[Dirtbag]

damn. we didnt get on the water until after 2 and figured you guys would be long gone by the time we got to topock haha...i shoulda known better!

 

[RiverDave]

We had a blast too but it was hot!!! Especially on the way home. We had no problems knock on wood. My commander belt temps were high in the wash from topical to the 95 so we had to stop a few time to cool it down. We got back to lowes about 5:00 pm. With the gps this is easy ride to do and not get lost. I think a ride from lowes to the 95 would be fun especially at night. I left my phone in the truck so I didn't get any pictures. The pool was perfect as well

Lowes to the 95?

 

[Mike L]

Now our group all kind of left as they felt like it. So they were pairing off in smaller groups and rolling home.

We were the last people in our group to leave the bar about an hour before sunset. It should be noted I had to reload the coolers at topock. . The drivers were sober, the passengers... were not.

It should be noted that this was the point where I was held hostage to make sure you weren't left in the desert if the Ranger quit. Man did that plan back fire on you!

 

[Bpracing1127]

Lowes to the 95?

Oops I meant Lowes to 95 and 40 intersection

 

[underpressure]

We had a great time too! Appreciate ole RD setting this up! It was cool to see that many rides and met some of you in person. It got a little disjointed at that stop near the 40. Might have been better to stop in that large open lot next to Terribles so that peeps could enjoy the facilities (made my wife a happy camper when I took her there while the group was waiting). When we started again for the final leg in the washes and under the tracks, the group got really split up. Not sure how to fix that?

Anyway, we had fun, enjoyed the outing, liked the food at Topock, and would definitely do it again!

Thanks RD!

 

[RiverDave]

It should be noted that this was the point where I was held hostage to make sure you weren't left in the desert if the Ranger quit. Man did that plan back fire on you!

I was trying to remember how you ended up in the Ranger.. LOL Apparently I'm a fairly smart drunk to make sure we don't get ditched in the Desert.

Oops I meant Lowes to 95 and 40 intersection

We should do a night right, and end up at Hanger 24 after it's over.

We had a great time too! Appreciate ole RD setting this up! It was cool to see that many rides and met some of you in person. It got a little disjointed at that stop near the 40. Might have been better to stop in that large open lot next to Terribles so that peeps could enjoy the facilities (made my wife a happy camper when I took her there while the group was waiting). When we started again for the final leg in the washes and under the tracks, the group got really split up. Not sure how to fix that?

Anyway, we had fun, enjoyed the outing, liked the food at Topock, and would definitely do it again!

Thanks RD!

Yeah we got kinda split up from the start. We lost all the jeeps in the first five minutes. Then someone stopped at that flat area, then everyone stopped, and I figured we would just wait a minute for the rest of the cars.. Ended up missing about 10 cars till they got the one belt changed. After that it was a free for all.

The way to fix it is simple, you just do the old school offroad deal. You stop at every turn until the car behind you comes up, and then they in turn wait etc.. That way the chain of cars is always within eye site. I wasn't aware that not everybody in the group knew that program. We always had a car behind us the entire time, then I looked back at one point there was only like 4 or 5 cars total.

RD

 

[SXSPerformance]

We had a absolute blast. That was a day I will never forget. What RD and Eric did not take into account as they nerfed us is that Mikes son is a a racer and I have a fair amount of experience in the passenger seat navigating. so it was a blast riding the back bumper of the ranger to the 40. And to watch Eric "trophy truck" that pig around the desert made my face hurt from laughing. What a great day. Thank you all for making this happen.

Kyle

 

[glamis0812]

We also had a blast and it was definitely warm but my four girls and wife toughed it out. We are for sure in for any future rides and many upgrades are coming for our rzr's.

 

[TPC]

Margarita flats Taco Bar

 

[Singleton]

The slow Jeeps were also last man in line. Within 5 minutes a car was down so MJC stopped and I continued until the next turn (Dave Petty went the wrong way) and I followed once MJC caught me. By the time we figured out how lost we were, we were 30 minutes behind. We jumped on the 95 and caught up with the group at the 40.
Helped fixed another SXS between the 40 and Topock (spare tire mount issues).
On way home we took the dirt and helped a green rail change a flat then cruised to Hanger24 without issues.

All in all a great day! I recorded the trail in LeadNav and once I fix it for the detours I will save the route and post the file so everyone can use it.
Would do it again and still be the last guy, it was fun fixing stuff that broke on the SXS's

 

[TPC]

I pretty much stayed second in line in route there.
Gradually on the last leg my front suspension went ape, the vibration was murder and then it effected my steering above 50 MPH and I was all over the road trying to stay straight.
At Topoc I could see both front shocks lost all their oil. Maybe internal damage too.
Oil blew out through bottom seals (O rings?).

Had a good time.

I RV camped at Lone Tree BLM, just a few minutes from Craggy Wash.
Most the camping spots aren't level and their was a camp host.
14 day limit. Free. Quiet time 10 PM to 6AM regardless of weather.

 

[mjc]

a shot from the stop at the 40. everybody but the green one that was 2 far left.
I started following but the pack was faster than me.
i could follow the dust until it disappeared then was on our own.

 

[Wmc]

A couple pics

 

[plaster dave]

I had a good time on the ride despite missing first turn. Not my fault. Lol but it would have been nice if people waited at the turn offs and forks for the next guy.
It was a hot day so the later in the day the more I wished I was boating instead of off-roading in the desert. Lol but I would absolutely do the run again from November-early march.
Would also have been nice if maps were printed for the run so every car had one.
I had 3-4 people come up to me and say don't leave without me because they wanted to follow us back. I told them we got lost coming to topoc so don't follow me. Lol but around 3 I decided to leave because if we broke down I wanted enough time to get home.
On the way back it was an all out race to the 95. Then we topped off with gas and the whole group decided to take the 95 back. It had to be a sight to see 6 rzr's doing 60 mph down the 95.

 

[TPC]

I had a good time on the ride despite missing first turn. Not my fault. Lol but it would have been nice if people waited at the turn offs and forks for the next guy.
It was a hot day so the later in the day the more I wished I was boating instead of off-roading in the desert. Lol but I would absolutely do the run again from November-early march.
Would also have been nice if maps were printed for the run so every car had one.
I had 3-4 people come up to me and say don't leave without me because they wanted to follow us back. I told them we got lost coming to topoc so don't follow me. Lol but around 3 I decided to leave because if we broke down I wanted enough time to get home.
On the way back it was an all out race to the 95. Then we topped off with gas and the whole group decided to take the 95 back. It had to be a sight to see 6 rzr's doing 60 mph down the 95.

I feel bad about that Dave and sorry you had to go through that.
It's a big, lonesome desert out there.
We need to run heats of 5 to 7 vehicles with someone that knows the route in each heat. (The Pirates Poker run needs to do that too).
I think I ended up being last man standing and took the 95 back from Walmart to Lone Tree Wash.

Also, the route on the West side of Az 95 is much better than the route we took to get there.
Another tricky part is negotiating around the sanctuary, ya really need to void that, but if ya know about it, ain't to bad to figure out.

 

[plaster dave]

I feel bad about that Dave.
We need to run heats of 5 to 7 vehicles with someone that knows the route in each heat. (The Pirates Poker run needs to do that too).
I think I ended up being last man standing and took the 95 back from Walmart to Lone Tree Wash.

Also, the route on the West side of Az 95 is much better than the route we took to get there.
Another tricky part is negotiating around the sanctuary, which if ya know it, ain't to bad to figure out.

I would love to do the west side of the 95 with you sometime.

 

[THE WIDGE]

Anyone have the directions you took to topock? I know how to get to Terribles, but how do you get across 40 and directions from thr. I’m thinking of taking this ride on Saturday . Thx