I-Am

Me and my group will be there.

The Ford 3.5L has serious water pump issues. The water pump is internal (dumb design), and when it fails it dumps coolant into the crankcase and seizes the motor. Its a known and common issue with them, and kept me from buying a new Explorer personally.

I went to the North Pole and looked at all the rocks in the area. Sadly I did not come across your mother's stone.

Hi Caleb. I will be out there this weekend and will look around the North Pole for it. I know with the recent rebuilding of the North Pole things got shifted around so hopefully it is still there/not buried. Let you know what I find, if anything.

Got to Comp not too long after this happened, glad to hear he will be ok. The sand was/is very grabby this weekend.

Yup, last time I went out in the wet sand I sheared off some suspension mounts. Had to have my buddy go back to camp and grab a ratchet strap to hold it together enough to limp it back to camp. Thing is, I was just cruising when it happened (luckily). Debating on going out this weekend as I don't want to break more stuff.

Looks like some rain in the forecast.

Awesome car, I would have been all over this if it had popped up when I was looking about a year and a half ago. Good luck with the sale.

Thanks to everyone trying to help. So I ended up finding another registration services place and pretty much copy and pasted what I wrote above in my first email to them. They responded and said they could help. Long story short, they literally took all of the paperwork I had already put together to their "insider" DMV office. There they said it was good enough and issued a title. It's absolutely unacceptable that depending on which office you go to, or who you get behind the counter will determine the outcome. But whatever, I have a title now. For anyone that stumbles across this email in the future finding themselves in a similar situation, reach out to: H.E. Vehicle Registration in Redlands, CA and ask for Gaby. I couldn't be happier with her level of service. And apparently the steps I took in fact was the correct course of action. https://www.yelp.com/biz/h-e-vehicle-registration-redlands

Well I had an email chain going with her, but she stopped replying after I described the whole issue. I even called her and left a message with no call back.

Thanks, I have an email chain going with her now. Hopefully she can help.

Thanks, I'll check her out!

I need to vent. I purchased my sandrail from a very pleasant older gentleman in Nevada. Its a mid-engine Mazzone, and he was the original builder. Over the phone I asked him if he had the title, among other things, to which he confirmed. Only after I drove out to Nevada to look the car over and complete the transaction did he mention that Nevada never issued him a title for it (which I later confirmed to be a true statement). Hindsight I should have cut my losses and drove back home at that moment. But with my naivety at the time, I continued on with the transaction thinking I could easily remedy it via the special construction routine. So I got back to California and started the request for title paperwork: First trip to DMV I get there with my request for title paperwork filled out, a bill of sale and the registration card from the seller. The guy behind the counter is just dumbfounded, I assume because this isn't just some cookie-cutter issue he deals with 100's of times a day. I literally have to walk him through what I'm trying to do based on the bit of internet research I did. He has to pull out books, talk to supervisors and almost just gave up if it hadn't been for my persistence. I try telling him I need to complete this paperwork so I have something to take to the CHP to get a VIN plate assigned. Finally he completes what I need. Trip to CHP I load up the sandrail on the trailer and head to my local CHP field office (only after I had to go there once before to make the appointment). I get the VIN offer out and he starts his routine, looking over the rail, checking my paperwork, etc. He heads behind the counter to his office and I wait for what seems like an hour while he checks the federal databases. He comes back out and tells me everything is on the up and up, but he is confused as to what I'm trying to do. Again, I have to explain to him that I'm trying to get it titled in CA and it needs a VIN assigned to move that process along. After a lot of back and fourth and confusion (he was cool though), I finally just say, "you know, the little blue tag". "OH!, yeah I can put one of those on". He rivets it to the frame, gives me my paperwork and I go on my way feeling good that the process is moving along nicely now. Second trip to DMV I come back to the DMV with my now added CHP paperwork showing it has a fresh new VIN assigned. I'm thinking I'll get registration and a title today. I get to the counter and give the lady all my paperwork. Again, I have to explain the situation in detail, what has happened, what I expect to happen, etc. Here we go with the books, and the talking to supervisors dance. I'm presented with the same situation that if it wasn't for my persistence they just flat out wouldn't have helped me. I keep pushing and she does what she needs to do and I pay for the taxes and registration. She gives me the green sticker and registration card. I thinking "sweet, that wasn't so bad after-all!". Until I notice the registration is non-transferable. So I ask her about that, and she states that unless I surrender a title, or provide a verification letter from Nevada DMV that no title exists or I will NOT be receiving a California title. I ask her why nobody mentioned this to me before, I just get the blank stare. She prints on the paperwork clearly stating to surrender a title, or get a verification that one doesn't exist to complete the process. So I can at least legally drive this thing around now, but man, I'm pretty sure I'll want to sell it someday.... Nevada DMV records department I email the Nevada DMV and inquiry to what I was just told. To my surprise they get back to me in a timely fashion with the instructions of what I need to do for a title verification letter. The process includes proving I have a legal right to the information (registration, etc.), sign an affidavit and get it notarized, include a check to cover the fee and wait. A couple of weeks later I get my verification letter stating indeed there was NO titled issued for the vehicle. Damn! Finally! I can get this thing titled now! Third trip to the DMV Here we are today. The day I'm going to finally get a title! I get to the counter with my paperwork and verification letter. The woman behind the counter doesn't even pull up my information and tells me flat out I will not get a title unless I surrender a previous one. I have to AGAIN explain the entire situation, that is a special construction OHV, NOT a car, it was built in someones garage point to the official DMV paperwork that clearly states one of the qualifying documents is a letter from Nevada DMV stating there was no title, to which I have because I have already gone though this song and dance with you people. Out come of books and the supervisors AGAIN. I have to go sit back down while they talk amongst themselves. I finally get called back up to be told no again, I won't get a title because they can't be sure one wasn't issued in a state other than Nevada..... I start to get heated for the first time in this entire ordeal and exclaim that was the whole point of the CHP VIN verification, to which I have the paperwork for also! I also state flatly that I'm not leaving until it is resolved and that I need to talk to a superior. I get told to go to another window to wait for a supervisor. I stand there for 30 mins before someone asks me if I need help. I tell her that I'm waiting to speak to a supervisor, which I'm pretty sure was never communicated to anyone. She was the only helpful person at the DMV thus-far and grabbed a supervisor for me. The supervisor clearly had no time for me and also didn't want to help me. I had to explain everything AGAIN. She looks everything over and then tells me I need to get an insurance surety bond...WTF is that?!? She explains that I have to get a bond which would remove liability from the DMV in case there was some mystery title somewhere. Once I get the bond, come back and then they will send all the paperwork to Sacramento for review and then if they decide everything is ok then I'll get a title. ____________ So that's where I'm at. Over a year process, money spent, time wasted. At least is registered to me legally, but I don't plan on keeping this thing forever so I need a title. Now I have to get some bond thing and then hope and pray they don't tell me some new bullshit next time I go in? Learn a lesson from me and never buy a rail without a title, this has been a nightmare.

Hey! I know Mark! He is apart of your normal group Pete? The group that he goes to find and visit sometimes is ours. He is my good friends boss.

Overall it turned out being a pretty good weekend despite getting off to a bad start. 20 minutes after heading out early Saturday morning one in our crew had a blowout on his RV. Luckily we were able to limp it into a tire center. That was a 5 hour detour where we also discovered the tire shrapnel ripped out the gas filler tube. A few curse words and a trip to the auto parts store and we were able to repair that as well. We rolled into Dumont around 3pm Saturday and immediately started getting some runs in. Even with our late start we made the most of it and got a lot of good runs in. I wasn't using my turning brakes because of the wet sand, however that still didn't stop me from breaking things (pictured below). Got that welded up pretty quick and we were off running again. We too were at Comp Sunday night when it started to rain, but we high-tailed it at the first few drops and got the buggies packed away right before it really started to come down. Despite the rain, wet sand, cold, wind and bad luck it turned out to be one of the best weekends of the year for our group.

Here is the first had account from the guy that found the remains. I've read this a few times over the years and its just fascinating. Its a long read, so give yourself plenty of time to finish it. http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hunt-for-the-death-valley-germans/

Plan to be there if the weather holds up.

The owner of this car is a friend of mine, I'll make sure he gets the picture.

Thanks Pete, great thread. I'd love to see that pinned and have more driving tips. The post about the time of day/shadows is great information that not everyone will be aware of. I'd like to see more of that kind of information shared!

Hey all, I noticed there really isn't a condensed guideline for how to drive safely in the dunes located in one spot. I think it would be cool to put something like that together for beginners. Things like understanding the concepts of razorbacks and how to safely get over them. What a witches eye is and tips to look out for them. Safe camp speeds, best time of day to ride, etc, etc, etc. I think this would be valuable information and could possibly save injuries or worse. Perhaps it can be made a sticky. I'm not a beginner, but also not a seasoned veteran myself so I'd like to hear from the community on what their tips and tricks are to be safe out there while driving. Also, if something like this already exists slap me and link it!

I realize avoiding the entrance fee is probably something you're trying to achieve as well, but your best bet is to have them park near the ranger station honestly.

Cool shot from my GoPro.

Chilly weekend you say? Us air cooled guys rejoice.

This years set up was so much better organized! Being in a straight line, the road block, the folks assisting with lining everyone up to park. Kudos to the organizers. It was better and safer this year.