ahsumtoy

I had to take my toyhauler in for some warranty work and the maintenance guy told me something to do to my generator. I have an Onan Gold 5.5 and he told me every 2 months of sitting to dissconnect either the red or white wire, fire up the generator and let it run out of gas, thus cleaning out the fuel pump and carb. I've been doing that it I've never had a problem. He said a fuel pump on those things costs around $400 big ones so I should do what he said. My two wires are on the very left side of the gen.

I have a friend that has a Tom Pro car. He got it turbo'd and has reverse. It's an awesum car and fun to ride. It is extremely fast and handles well. Maybe I can get him to come out to Dumont sometime (he normally goes to Gordons Well). Another friend doesn't want to spend any more than $25K and he is also looking closely at buying a Tom Pro so he can play with us. Don't know about the other cars however.

It took us a while to post from the Oct ride but we were there from Friday, Oct 5th through Oct 14th. Just got back and for once was ready to come home (just for a little while). It was great meeting some of you for the first time. I made it out to the south pole and then went on the ride later on. Some of you might have seen the patrol guy. He scared me to death. I was sitting about 50 yards away from the main buggies talking to 3 other riders. I poped open my beer, they left so I decided to move my buggy over to the rest of you. I got out and a guy said "What's with the open container". I thought he was joking until I looked him over and found out he was patrol on a Raptor. He let me go with a warning but said starting Halloween they are going to start cracking down big time. Just a word of warning. Anyway here are some of the pictures I took.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

I have a 2006 Duramax and it doesn't smoke at all, even if I floor it (at least I've never seen it smoke). A mechanic friend of mine said they have changed the timing to 10-80-10 whatever that means.

Count me in, sounds like a lot of fun.

Don't know about most people but I'm getting there around 7:00pm Friday and staying until Wed.

I like your attitude Don. I live in Arizona and there is a site call ridingarizona. Any time a topic comes up like what is the best quad, what is the best truck, etc., you know there is going to be trouble. I bought my rail to ride the dunes, it's not the quickest, the prettiest, or the badest, but boy I sure have fun in it. I believe there isn't a rail out there that is the best. What is best for someone is not the best for someone else. Hopefully, you get you gen working and I'll have a chance to meet ya and others this coming kick-off weekend.

While riding last season, I noticed some witches-eyes. I was riding in a rail and we fell into one. That's not usual for Dumont that I know of. I wonder if this is a new pattern.

The problem I had with the match-up was they were not comparing apples to apples. Many cars came with major horsepower and others came with lesser horsepower. If you looked at some of the categories like how well does the buggy wheelie, and 2 guys give it a 4 and 5 and the other gives it a 1, there is something wrong here. Some had more shocks than others. To make it fair, every car needs to have about the same equipment in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I'm a computer nerd and don't know a thing about building a rail so I had to go out and get one. I have taken tests rides in SU's at Dumont and that sold my wife on getting one. I started looking around and the prices were out-of-site. I didn't want to spend a fortune. For me, I didn't need a sterio or headsets or the largest engine, I just wanted to do the dunes and have fun doing so. I didn't have to have the fastest buggy but wanted it to handle well through the bumps. When I talked to the current builder of my buggy, I asked about the 17" tires. He explained that it looks cool but 15" handles better and the center of gravity is lower. He also stated the larger tires would rob some of my power. I know there are some of you that probably have these larger tires but I don't get it as well. Everyone to their own. I enjoy having decent power, a buggy that handles well going up hills as well as just duning from dune to dune.

Just opened Sept/Oct SandSports mag and on page 31, there is something called Steer Right. It's an adjustable steering column by Poly Performance which has 6 easy-to-adjust positions. The spring-loaded, positive locking adjustment handle rotates up to 38 degrees for optimum steering wheel tilt. The steering column is available in 3 models (1.5 and 1.75 O.D. tube mount, or Standard for custom mounting. The adjustable steering column is laser cut from 1/8 inch steel and MIG and TIG welded for strength and durability. A standard 3/4 inch steering shaft size is utilized with a high-grade MDS-Filled nylon bushing for smooth steering wheel motion in any off-road application. They can be reached at (805) 783-2060 or visit www.polyperformance.com . Hope this helps.

Here's probably a dumb question but where is the South Pole located at Dumont? I know where the North Pole is, but not the South.

The reason I have to change my tires is because my hauler is 98" wide at the door. My rail is 99" in the rear. So I have other tires to put on for hauling. Also, my front end is 88" wide. With both my sofa and table up, I only have 84" and I don't want to take the sofa or the table off the wall - I just got old VW 5 hole wheels and put on 135x15 tires on and that gave me another 5 inches. The short of all this is my rail is too wide for my hauler so I have to change tires. Someday, when I have more money, I'll get a stacker with a motorhome, but for now....

My Gearbox has a compressor on it so I use my air impact. But once I use it to tighten them, I use a 10" extension on my torgue wrench to make sure they are all torgued the same.

Here is my first ever long travel. Got to use it a few times last season before it got too hot.

I am on my 3rd toy hauler. My first two came with Carlisle tires. The first one blew 2 tires within a month. I called Carlisle because I found a web site that had over 10,000 complaints about their tires. They settled with me and gave me my money for different tires and they paid for the side of my hauler repair. They knew they had a problem but dealt with it on an individual basis. My next hauler was a 28' with Carlisles again on it, except this time, they put 235x16" tires on it and said their problem was fixed. Hogwash, I blew 2 tires again and never was over the payload limit. Carlisle again paid me. My third hauler is a triple axle. I immediately went to Discount because I like their warranty. They put on BF Goodrich 235'sx16x 10 ply commercial grade tires. The owner told me it is what he runs on his 38' hauler and he runs it at 80mph overloaded and never in 2 years has he had any problems. I am sure there are other tires out there as good, but so far, running my 39' hauler with my rail and quad, 150 gals water, 60 gals of gas, etc. etc., I have had no problems. I drive it fast and far since I come to Dumont from Arizona.

My family and i will be there from Oct 6-14th. I'd love to meet some of the DDR folks. We usually camp in the wash, all the way to the back, not on top.

Easter weekend we're going to Gordons Well and the weekend after will be the last Dumont trip. After that we're thinking of going to Idaho, St. Anthony.

I agree with you Sandseeker. I have a Rhino and I put 4 pt. harness on it, side doors so your legs won't come out, etc. etc. and my family runs it responsibly, not crazy. My 15 year old daughter drives it, but only when I am in it and we are all buckled up. Some people would say she rides a too powerfull quad (Raptor 700R) but she has been riding since she has been 5 years old and we have gone out about 10 times a season for the last 10 years. She is a great rider. She is very carefull, never rides beyond her limits and I am always there with her. Parents need to be responsible and teach their children correctly. We have taught her to respect others and when we come out of the dunes, we never race through camp sites. We also have a rail and we have made the decision to wear helmets. That's our personal choice and would not like that to become law. We have taught her never to litter and respect everybody's land. Unfortunately, not all parents care what their kids do and are not even a good example for them.

Here's are 38 1/2 foot 5th wheel Gearbox:

It's a 38 1/2 Gearbox. If you're going to be up at Dumont for the cleanup, I'll show it to ya if you want. I camp in the wash but I know I can recognize your rail. It's the only hauler that I know of that can fit both my rail and a quad in it, plus has all the options my wife wanted and I wanted. My only other option was a stacker and a motor home. Don't want to spend that type of money yet. We're pretty darn lucky, see picture below. Actually, our house it right at the dunes - he he

If you ever get to Buttercup (just outside Yuma on Hwy 8), one vendor called West Coast Duners has all the flags and poles you need.

I am new to this game. Just got my rail. Will have it out for the Dumont Cleanup. I have a 4 seat long travel with a Redline 450 hp engine. It came with 14.50/15 extremes in the back and STU razor's in front. When I asked the owner of the company what I should run, he said 12 lbs if I want to hook up better but 15 lbs all around for better handling and turning. Oh, they have bead-locks all around if that makes a difference. We'll find out next week.

I have a new Gearbox 5th wheel with 102" size. The inside has 96" of room with 20' length before you get to the kitchen. If your rail is over 96" wide, you're going to be out of luck. You'll have to put on other tires. What I like about the Gearbox is that is has no wheel wells inside and comes with triple 16" commercial truck tires. They also got smart and if you want to take your side couch/bed's off, you don't have to unbolt them from the wall. They put pins in the wall joint and all you do is pull out the pins and move your couches for the ride if needed. This is my 3rd hauler and by far, the best one I have had. I can get my 16' sandrail in and my daughters Raptor as well. My sandrail is 96" wide and hits the side but I have the chrome diamond plate on the sides so the walls don't get ugly.