Was wondering about thoughts on a trend I'm seeing……hitting the trail with no spare tire, few spare parts, tools etc. I see some guys going out with very few backup parts on some badass trails. Sure they're lighter but what do they do when they break down?

On a recent trip I was stuck on a trail that shoulda taken maybe 4-5 hours for us to run. A few unprepared guys had problems with tires (no spare) and new mods (no tools or spares) and turned the trip into a 10 hour ordeal.

Light is good, but I'm wondering if this is setting a trend for more people to venture out too lightly prepared for trail carnage……thoughts?

Jay

I had a similar experience my last run. I didn't have time to build a flat bed before I elft, so I threw my tool box in my buddy's tow rig. It was supposed to make it into an xj the next morning but didn't. 5 minutes into the trail, my truck overheated and there I was without tools or my spare gallon of coolant. It was very frustrating. But luckily, I just missed step #2 for switching the direction of my new electric fan. I reversed the polarity of the wires and was running again in about 15 minutes. It was the idea that got to me. I'm always the prepared one, with tools and spares and rarely have major carnage or a breakdown, yet there I was :mad: People without tools, or basic spares are very frustrating.

I too have been bringing fewer tools and spares. I no longer carry a spare tire at all. I leave most of my parts in the tow rig.

Years ago when I started wheeling in the sand dunes of Pismo I use to have all sorts of problems, and brought everything I could to make repairs. Gradually I (and my rig) adapted to the sand and simply stopped having problems. I went for years and never broke anything. Same thing is happening with rocks. When I got into rock crawing I had lots of problems and broke axles and such it seems like every other trip. Now the rig and I have adapted and I have very few failures. In the last two of years I had a cracked frame and a broken front axle. Neither was so bad that it left me disabled, just reduced what I could do for the day.

I also look at it this way, it used to take everything my rig could do just to get though a hard trail like the hammers. A flat tire or broken axle had to be fixed on the spot. Now I can do most of them with a broken axle or flat tire, and still drive back to camp.

When I drove my 5,000+ lbs 4Runner on 33" BFG's I did get a few holes in the tires from the trail (fixed with plugs), but now I am running much larger Bias Ply's with a rig that weighs 2,700 lbs, so tire damage has not been a problem. It's so light now I can drive back to camp with a flat tire.

I used to carry a high lift jack in my truck. At the time it was vary helpfull and got me out of some bad stuck spots, I could not have gotten home without it in a couple of cases. But looking back if I had my current rig in the same situations I would not have even needed to stop. They would not be a problem at all to just drive right on through.

The other side is I used to have axles that I could pickup cheap replacments for about $100 each. Now I have axles that cost $800 for replacments. I just can't afford to carry all the spare parts I would like to have.

Originally posted by Chris Geiger
I too have been bringing fewer tools and spares. I no longer carry a spare tire at all. I leave most of my parts in the tow rig.


with the thefts we are seeing out here, I wouldn't advertise that:(

We don't wheel all that far from our tow rigs around here, so I keep most of my big spares and tools in the tow rig.

Weight helps cause breakage and having a 4oo# toolbox located over your rear axle can cause more problems than good.

Also, if you are wheeling as a group and you split up "tool responsibility" I don't think that is irresponsible at all.

All it takes is a little communication with your group before you hit the trail.

As for a GROUP heading out without spares or tools....that infringes on others on the trail and i don't appreciate that at all!

I have always traveled light on spare parts, but kept plenty of tools...

I have always seen that the guys who are overloaded with spare parts - more times than not end up needing them.

I still wheel with basic tools and some spares. I have built my jeep similiar to my friends and we tend to share parts. As for tires, bias ply interco's have changed my opinion, after 4 years of not needing a spare, it was removed. If it can't be fixed with 100 plugs and even stitched together with bailing wire, then its trashed anyways and will make it to camp flat!

Chris, would you care to share some of your $100 axles ? Mine are a lot more than that, and their Toy/Isuzu parts. :)
What you may have seen is just novice/newbie stuff. You mean this stuff breaks ?

I think you should know your rig and what is likely to break. I haven't carried spare axles or hubs up till now because my rig is light enough to not worry about those types of breakages. I do however carry spare steering parts (pitman, ball joint), spare rear driveshaft, lots of plugs, tools, welding supplies, fluids, a hi-lift (these should be a requirment) and straps. I throw the spare on when running a remote trail like some of the ones in Moab or the Con. I toss a special out-of-state box in my tow rig with bigger items like a starter, spare battery, alternator, clutch, hoses and bolts for long distance trips. If I break something big on the trail I'll call it a day and get towed out AFTER everyone else has run the trail. What I don't like is people attempting magor surgery on the trail (unless you have to to get the rig out), if it'll take more than 30-45minutes, bow out and let everyone else move on, even if you got a spare third member in the back :D

I have always carried all necessary tools for my rig, and probably always will. Just over 100lbs! I have always carried lots of spares because I like to be prepared and not a trail hinderance. In a few weeks, the only spare I will carry will be a driveshaft that fits front and rear. I have carried a spare tire once in my life and I won't do it again. It was on my first trip to the hammers and everybody said you had to carry a spare because the rocks are so sharp. I carry lots of plugs and patches instead. Light weight rig with tsl's is a safe combination for tires.

i used to carry all types of spares, now most of it is left at the tow rig. just beer, food and a lot of common sense. i can get back three legged most of the time, i always run with a friend or two. i have never been stranded on a trail, because i run with friends. and i am real good at taking chicken shit and making chicken salad. mike

Allthough I am one of the last hold outs of our group, many people in our group have lightened up on spares. But we have wheeled together often, have similar drivetrains, and know our rigs well enough to know what is most likely to break. After a recent bad experience with someone who was ill prepared, I now have no problems with telling someone they are not welcome to run with us on the more difficult stuff. Some of the new stuff we have been running is just too tough to drag someone over. Three wheel drive wont get the job done anymore.

When my new chassis is done, I will no longer carry a spare tire.(It will stay with the tow rig) but I will still carry spare front and rear axles, birfs, a hub, u-joints, slip yoke, and a welder.

I've never carried more tools than could fit in a standard-size toolbox. Add in, a small air tank, 6 quarts of oil & a filter, tow strap, hi-lift, and a cooler of food, and that's as heavy as I've ever gone on the trails. Most of our trails are within easy access of running water, so I didn't carry any extra anti-freeze. If I have easy access to the tow rig (like a designate ORV area), then I usually run lighter still. But, I did always have a spare tire :)

TEX

hey Jay,

Since the majority of the wheeling I do isn't pure rock crawling, but involves more forest service roads, trails, etc., I carry lots of spares. It's not uncommon to be 60 to 70 miles or more from "civilization". I'm also unable to hike anymore due to bad knees, so getting things fixed if possible is a priority. I'm also usually by myself on these offroad trips-

later

Leave the spare tire with the tow rig? With $350 each tires, and $200 each wheels... I don't even own a spare tire. :(

As for not having spare parts/tools/stuff... the tiny little toolbox (well, OK, not quite so tiny, it's 36x24x14 or thereabouts) on the Mantis has a (meager) tool set, welding stuff (jumper cables, rod, helmet), recovery gear (straps, gloves, shackles), a spare starter, fuel pump, belts, a couple tierod ends, etc., in it. Limited supply of spare parts--but if I need more than that, I'm hosed enough to where I need to drag it back to the trailer anyway. Probably the worst broke I've been recently, involved a twisted off transfer case mainshaft--how many people have changed one of those on a trailer, let alone trailside?

I do carry a HiLift jack--I used to carry spare front axles, but after I put the 60 in, I couldn't afford any, so I don't have any now. Depending on where I'm going, there may be a spare 9" third member and an axle shaft in the tow rig, maybe a spare transfer case as well--I can limp out of most trails (after letting everybody who wants to go by, go by) with a friend and 2WD.

So I guess the majority of spare parts I carry, are small engine external stuff, and enough tools to take my junk apart and put it back together again. I might be cobbling on the tool selection--it's amazing how much you can do with channel locks and a crescent wrench, if it means the difference between going home today or tomorrow.

When I was taking longer trips with the '86, farther from the trailer, I used to carry almost an entire front end, a whole steering system, a spare tire (or two), air tools, enough stuff to equip a decent hobbyist's garage. No wonder I couldn't find enough room to bobtail it.

The next time you do a repair in your driveway or shop think about if it might ever be a foreseeable trail repair. Then try to do it with just the tools you carry on your trail rig. If you can, great. If you can't, you might be under-prepared.

Tool-wise, I've got enuf in a small soft-side toolbag to fix about 99% of my breakages on the trail....it's taken a few years of NOT having something or realizing I've carried something and never used it, to trim it to it's current size.

Parts-wise, I carry what can be replaced in about 30 minutes....front shafts, birfs, lockouts, driveshafts, u-joints, spare tire, etc. Anything over 30 minutes of work, I can send someone to my trailer for the part and by the time I've stripped it down, they are back or close to it. Most of our rides are park-related and you are within 20 minutes of your junk. My trailer spares include a center section, t-case, and related big-heavy stuff.

The driveway comment by D60 is a great one....next time you need to repair/replace anything, grab your travel kit and see if everything you must have is there. Granted, you probably won't have a torque wrench along or other bigger/pricey things, but COULD it be repaired for a trip back is the question...

I carry a whole freaking snap-on tool truck with me.
But i am a pesimist (cheif mark not speel that) so i have to :D

Hmm... I can only say this to those that have flipped me LOTS of shit for the tools/spares I carry.

I carry nearly 400lbs of tools/spares when on a trail. Ok.. thats a lot of crap, BUT 99% of the time it is used to fix someone that is NOT prepared! :mad3:

On top of that.. people like to flip me shit about the amount of equipment I carry. Then they turn around and break and need to borrow something from me because the equipment I carried was a waste of space/weight.

Its great if your rig has adapted to the point of not needing the tools/spares. But.. even when mine does, I'll still carry them so I can get someone else out of my way when I run in to them.

Originally posted by woody
....it's taken a few years of NOT having something or realizing I've carried something and never used it, to trim it to it's current size.

Exactly. Newer guys should ask people who run similar setups what to have........

I used to pack my whole garage up with me for every trip, but I have definitely pared it down. My group also goes with the split up what you need rather than everybody carrying everything. Now one guys has a tool box, I carry spare driveshafts and axle shafts, another has some various fluids, another a hi-lift. While we are staging we talk about who has what and make sure we have enough to get us through, even to the point now of just sharing food and drink in one big cooler rather than everybody having little small ones.

I find that it can make it faster to get to the trailhead because everybody knows their role and doesn't have to pack everything, just what they've signed themselves up to bring. It makes it better in case of roll or major problems, too since you don't have to unload a u-haul truck worth of junk from the rig you have to leave behind or turn back over or whatever.

If traveling with a group, share parts and tools so everyone doesn't bring the same.

A tube is the best thing to carry for a spare. Light and easy to pack. Fixes almost any tire damage. Fits any size tire well enough. Can use it in the lake. If the guy you loan it to doesn't return it, it only cost 15.00.

I was with a group last week and needed to barrow a socket. Out pops a Craftsman tool kit with four 1/2" sockets in the kit. I wish we could build a custom kit online from sears, like when you order a truck.

Oh ya, the socket I needed was a 15/16 but the kit only goes to 13/16.

see ya,

tony k

Ready welders rule..................best trail fix period.