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Rockcrawling, Mud Running, and Four Wheeling from Nebraska

October 7, 2006
Good Time 4-Wheelers Fall Crawl

The Humps - Kirkman, IA



Fall Crawl 2006 - People's Choice

1985 GMC - S-15 Pickup
Driver: John Baumert
Co-Driver: Jerry Watson

This year's Fall Crawl brought had interesting twist. During last year's competition, using the winch cost enough points, that we ended up fourth place overall. Without those penalty points, there was a pretty good shot at second place. This year, not wanting to gain those "additional" points, I decided that winching was going to be a last resort. Well, go figure, the one spot that I should have winched, and we ended up rolling the truck. Follow along to see how the story unfolded.

THE LOG RUN

"Starting off on top with a great run..."

This year's log run was set-up similar to previous year's course, with one exception, water. The guys at GT4W had the local fire department bring a truck out and fill up the course. This made the for a challenge similar to the Frame Twister of Top Truck Challenge. Of course, the carnage level was raised, with plenty of axles snapping and sheet metal damage from sliding into trees. We came out on top of the pack with only 14 penalty points.

Click any of the pictures for a larger view.


THE ROCK GARDEN

"Took the right line, and everyone else followed..."

After watching the big tire class run, we had a good idea of which lines not to take. The garden hadn't changed muchand we had made a clean run last year, so we knew which line to take. The only problem was, we managed to line up about third in the pack, and we ended up showing the other competitors how to get through. We made a clean run with no penalty points, as did others, but with our good run on the logs, we still held first place.

Click any of the pictures for a larger view.


Watch the run ....

THE WALL

"Should have used the winch this year..."

And that brings us to the hill climbs. Last years showing was a little bit of a flop. Not judging the first of the three hill climbs right and the truck's "longer" wheelbase, left us high-centered. I had ended up having to winch loose, which cost enough penalty points to drop out of the top three. This year, not wanting to make the same mistake we decided to hit it hard. After completing the first two hill climbs with ease, we lined up for the wall. We made numerous unsuccessful attempts, and not wanting to use the winch (got to keep those penalty points down), I tried a different line. Well, needless to say, that didn't work and we rolled the truck.

Click any of the pictures for a larger view.


Watch it roll ....

REPAIRING THE TRUCK

"When the going gets tough..."

There we were, sitting on top of the pack at one minute, and falling to seventh place the next. The rollover left us with a DNF (40 penalty points). I guess the winch (10 points) wouldn't have been so bad. Surprisingly, the old S-15 fired right up, and was able to drive back to the trailer. We talked to the judges and they informed us that if we could straighten the cab and knock out the windshield, we would be eligible for the final competition. A little work with high-lift jack, a big hammer, and a lot of help, and we did just that. We managed to get everything "good enough" and got lined up for the final event.

Click any of the pictures for a larger view.


BEFORE


AFTER

THE CREEK RUN

"The tough get going..."

We weren't dead last, but we had fallen a long ways in the points race. After learning last year that mud, water, and a lack of bead locks don't mix, we tried something new this year. I had brought along a portable air source and we inflated the tires to about 15 psi, as opposed to the 7 that I usually run the rocks with. The results were better than expected. We ran the creek run with the second best time (only missing the leader by 10 seconds), and the crowd was amazed to see us back.

Click any of the pictures for a larger view.

THE STANDINGS

"What a day"

With our good run on the creek run, we brought ourselves back to fifth place. Not too bad considering we had the DNF on one event. We stuck around for the awards, only to find out that we received the People's Choice award. I guess the extra work paid off.

Special thanks goes to: Jerry, for getting back in the truck after I smashed his side in on the wall. Heather and Hannah, for their support and getting me to "stick with it" and finish. Ronnie and Josh, for being a great pit crew.

As for the truck, a new one is in the works, and yes, it will be bigger (and have a cage.....)


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