2/25 Day Trip - Bee Canyon to Pine Cove Road (Hemet to Idyllwild)

Your little co pilot is awesome and he is suppose to tell you, he wants to go watch The new black panther movie with his momma next weekend

 

Yeah, our schedule was so full this weekend, we missed it. But hearing you went and loved it, increased our excitement!

 

To all the socal crew it was nice meeting you guys. Wife and kids had a blast( couple times they felt sick but they concoured it). It was a great turn out but now im worried about pinstripes lol o well it wont stop me from doing another run

 

It was a great run and thanks to Sunnier for organizing this trip.
It was nice to meet all Socal members here and hopefully will see you all again in the next wheeling trip.
We got to the pavement little after 8pm from rouse hill road, my friend Liem wanted to experience the night run so he got it.

 

It was great to meet you! And your friend seemed like a good guy too (good sense of humour and laugh); if it's up to me, he's welcome back any time. It's great you're teaching your son about off-roading responsibly; lotta great family stuff happening on these trips! Glad your 2nd run was a good one. Nighttime running: we'll get there....

 

Looks like you guys had an awesome time! Great pictures too! Keep em' coming if there are more. Bummed I couldn't make this trip, huge turn out. There's a large so cal Tundras.com presence!


@Sunnier bee canyon is a great place to start night runs. Definitely up your lighting game though. It's a huge help to have some ditch lights aimed to the side to make those corners.

This is actually on bee canyon -

Headlights only -


With ditch lights -

 

Thanks for the air Jimmy. You were done pumping air even before I could start setting up my compressor.

 

Early evening break on other trail and some noodle

 

Oh, yeah, ditch lights would definitely be needed, at least interspersed between any without. We'll get there! I'd have two big concerns about a night run up Bee Canyon in a Tundra though, at least running groups of more than maybe 3 trucks:

1. Passing full sized trucks coming the opposite direction was challenging in daylight along some stretches (the narrowest portions are alongside the steepest drop-offs, so required extraordinary cooperation by our group AND the on-coming group. All I can say about this is, Tundras.com are the best kind of people!)

2. I realized it was a good decision NOT to attempt to lead a bunch of 4x4's up Bee Canyon with a 2WD Tundra. At least not for anyone (me) not yet ready to throw away concern for scratching the heck out of the paint. The best "line" a 2WD could take often was not the "line" someone concerned about paint damage in an extra wide truck would consider -- or, in some cases, the "line" of necessity created by on-coming traffic meeting at a narrow stretch. There were several "holes" that, if a Tundra dropped a front tire in at slow speed, and with the weight of the engine over it, probably could not be moved forward by a 2WD with an unweighted bed.

I think all the Tundras in attendance had 4x4 so everyone that wanted to could prioritize paint over ease. A couple Tacomas did the route in 2WD, no problems. @Porschetech29 followed me part way, then one of the Tacoma guys. Watching in my rearview, I could see how the difference in truck width created a HUGE difference in options through any kind of rough surface.

How was your visit with the "M-ogf-I-L?

 

Sorry I did not make this one guys. Plans did not work out for me this weekend so I will have to act like I went on this trip through all your pictures. I will plan the next one better so I can make it 100%

 

Nothing funner than taking over a town with a whole bunch of tundras and hitting up a trail in a huge caravan.

 

so quick questions,I was planning on heading up to big bear for this weekend's fresh powder that is about to come down. Would I need chains, and does our truck even allow chains, and is our stock all terrain tires considered a snow tire? Sorry for the questions, thanks people

 

Heard on the radio chains are required unless ur 4x4

 

Did a quick search and found this -
http://kbhr933.com/big-bear-roads/

 

I looked into California chain control requirements when I was struggling with my tire decision. http://www.dot.ca.gov/cttravel/chain-controls.html
The short answer is that 4wheel drive plus M+S tire gets you through chain controls. You are supposed to carry chains, but would only be required to put them on for R3 controls. When trying to figure out exactly what the means, it sounded like it rarely happens and the hwy would most likely be completely closed first.

 

CHP usually requires that you have them. I’m sure they’ll require them due to all the rain.

 

So... I grew up in high country (in CA) and we used to have "snow bunnies" show up whenever we had good snow. If you're not "very practiced" at snow driving and 4x4 driving all conditions, it's definitely a great idea to buy and carry chains. That said, the first time you put them on, it's nice to have help (after that, you'll wonder what the fuss was about). That said, if you don't get off-pavement, you'll likely not need chains.
BUT if you want to play in the snow, you want to make sure to GET FAR AWAY FROM PAVEMENT.

The risk of playing near a road is not only that, 1. people/kids get focused on playing and lose sight of boundaries in the snow (I've had people sled right across the road in front of me, and kids paying "tag" run into the road then slip and fall) but, 2. even experienced drivers would be challenged to stop in time if suddenly faced with such a hazard. Also, drivers can slide off the pavement without warning, colliding with vehicles (or people) alongside without warning.

Basically: to keep your family safe, you wanna play away from pavement; to avoid a collision with some other less-safe person or family... drive only on pavement, park in designated parking areas with access from pavement, or TAKE chains (or MayTrax) off-road. Plus, the locals will appreciate that your playing respectfully in their "back yard"!

And yes, we can get chains for our trucks!

 

Big Bear did get some fresh powder last night. Go early, traffic is a Bi. It took me 6 hours once for a 40 min drive home

 

Gotta put it to the test and see if they can hang with the big boys
After a few trips thus far, the PRO is badass in the dirt

 

Hey does everyone have the trd rear sway bars? Did any of you have to re tighten the bolts? I notice that the bottom did move around from the original lubricants that you put on during install?

 

Come on down to SoCal and wheel with us anytime Chris you can take the kiddos to Disneyland afterwards

 

I do not have a sway bar. If I'm correct, sway bars might affect the ride when wheeling but I'm not 100% sure

 

@Porschetech29 I got one more of you through the creek

 

On road sway bars are beneficial. Off road they limit your suspension travel.

 

How do we add videos? Do i have to do it thru youtube? Or can i upload like a picture?

 

YouTube only

 

Not trying to be a di or a know-it-all. I'm certainly no suspension guru either. But, my understanding is that with the sway bar the the wheel is gonna travel the same distance as w/o. But, if being pushed up or, stuffed, it links the other side and pushes it up too. So, it's not limiting travel but is inhibiting articulation. That said, I've removed both front and rear sway bars. I was very surprised that I felt less of an effect after removing the front sway than I felt after installing the rear?