"off-roader" recently posted a report and photos from a Mojave Road trip during the weekend of October 10-12 on the Expedition Portal forum and gave us permission to share. Here's the report, with a direct link to the photos:
Mojave Road, Mojave Desert, California October 10-12 2009
Just finished the trip. 14 rigs, 25 people.
Trip started in Laughlin Nevada traversing the Mojave Road through the Mojave National Park/Desert and ended just west of Barstow California.
Rigs kept fairly separated in order to avoid dust on the trails & overall the total length on the road was nearly if not over a mile.
The trip itself was mostly uneventful with the exception of a few event and surprisingly some vehicle casualties
One driver (04 Isuzu Axiom) accidentally locked his keys in his running rig. Fortunately it had electric windows and we were able to use a tape measure to hit the window switches to gain access.
Another driver (09 Jeep Grand Cherokee w/ ~2000 miles") over-ran his bow wave while crossing the Mojave River, ingested water and threw a rod requiring AAA premium (200 mile towing) for a +100mile tow to S. Cal.
Another driver (Isuzu Vehicross) had electrical issues when his voltage regulator quit while we were on the trail. He was able to complete the run and limped most of the way home before is Transmission Computer finally gave out. Unfortunately it looks like the tranny will need a complete rebuild. We used AAA+ to tow him much of the 100+ miles home.
Another driver (01 Isuzu Trooper) also encountered issues when his front axle disconnect got stuck in the midway position. Fortunately he was able to drive it home and knows it can be fixed easily enough.
Aside from these 3 issues, the trip was a total success and everyone including those with issue are hoping to go again on another of my trips in the near future.
Pictures for those interested... http://picasaweb.google.com/RayOfSunshinePhotography/MojaveTrailOctober10122009
Thanks to "off-roader" for allowing us to post this report!
