New! 2009 GA Rally Multimedia Thread

[mdmorgan]

Where to start? well this was the first ss rally my wife and i have been to but it will not be the last. this was the most fun we have ever had. It was our 1st off roading adventure and we are hooked, many thanks to everyone who helped me with my truck i learned so many things about it, wreckerman, mike, everyone else that helped with meals, top notch job. now for pics

 

[mdmorgan]

more

 

[mdmorgan]

and some more

 

[mdmorgan]

and 2 more

 

[steelsoldiers]

i did have fun thru it all... the doc said i had upper rest. infection.. the test was not on the flu or a bug.. so late this evening with a shot in the .. and some pills i fell better already.. those boxes are in ams truck going north chris... i got bryans racks... and GEs stuff but it will be a couple days before i can unload them... i felt ok in the morning time but the late afternoon air make me caugh and ketch a chill.. thanks to jerry for the meds... make my trip home better... a real big thanks to two to the nicest guys(an niciest gal) Tony. Jim.. and Wendy they binded down my load for trip home.. thanks... my dearst freind and wife pam drove all day an into the night only stopping for rest area breaks and fuel... eat her meal on the road.. she is a trooper ... it was one to the best rallys that could have been... thanks to all that expressed their hopes for my recovery.. Tim

I am glad you are feeling better!! Kudos to your wife for taking such good care of you. Thanks again for dragging my stuff across the gulf coast for me!

 

[mdmorgan]

Ok well after getting home from the rally i have looked everywhere and i can't find my wallet, did anybody by chance find one? thanks in advance.

 

[wreckerman893]

MD......I did a police call of the area around where the MKT was set up.......I did not find it.
You might call Mike at Durhamtown and see if one of his folks could give the area a walkdown and look for it.

 

[wreckerman893]

Some ideas for next year......your input appreciated.

COMMO: Do we have any ham radio operators that could set up a base and a mobile (to go out with the trail rides) so we could get ETAs on when they would be back for meals.
We all know cell service out there is spotty at best.
The alternative would be CB radios with "kickers" so we could communicate some distance.

BOX LUNCHES: Instead of returning to the FOB (Forward Operating Base) for lunch we could fix box lunches to eat out in the woods. In the Army a normal box lunch contained two sandwiches, a piece of fruit, chips, cookies and a bottle of water or drink.
These could be ordered the day before and we would not waste food. The sandwiches would be made just after breakfast and would be fresh. We would publish a list of items and you could customize your meal. Cost would prob be around 4 bucks.

LAYOUT OF FOB: We would section off the whole area and as you enter you would be directed to a space. The layout would be posted prior to the rally and you could reserve your space on a first come, first pick basis. This would allow us to get the maximum use of the space we have been alloted. It would also present a more professional appearence.
We could offfer prizes for the best "theme" or decoration of the spaces. We are getting bigger and bigger so space may become an issue. If you need more space than one section you would get the adjacent space. A quartering party would be at the gate to sign folks in and to direct them to their spots. This would also help us keep track of how many folks attend and where they hail from.

SHOWERS: I have a shower unit that I would be willing to bring and set up provided we have a jenny to run the 3 phase pump. We would need some type of shelter or tent to use for showers and to insure privacy. As I understand it the shower house at Durhamtown leaves a lot to be desired.

HARDBALL CONVOY: I am not a mudder person but I would like to participate in a convoy on a paved road. It would be cool to have a video of as many vehicles as possible passing in review. It would not have to be long...maybe down to the first town.....make a loop and return.

Post your thoughts and ideas....this is all about making next years rally even better.

 

[poppop]

Like mdmorgan I got home with out my checkbook. I left it under my bed in the truck. Its possible it viberated out the side of the truck on the way home. If anyone saw it somewhere let me know.

 

[Speddmon]

mdmorgan and poppop. I'm very sorry to hear that you guys both lost valuables, I surely hope you get them back or at least can contact the proper agencies and get things canceled before something bad happens.

 

[mdmorgan]

I like the idea of coms between base and the trails, though the best i got is a walkie talkie. box lunches sound good just so long as we make sure no trash gets left out on the trail. showers would be great (thanks again tim and pam for letting us use yours). a convoy into town sounds good too, but i think it should be one of the first things we do before everyone gets muddy, so it looks nice.

 

[Speddmon]

My current plan for next year is to provide the electric power for the rally.

I'm going to strip my lube trailer out and mount inside of it one of my MEP-003a 10KW sets. insulate the inside a little for noise abatement and mount a light tower on the side of the unit. I also plan on having a couple of "remote" light towers to illuminate the field after dark for those who are packing up as it get's late. I'm hoping to have a few outlets at each light tower for people to plug into if they need it. And this should still have enough left to power WM's shower unit if he brings it

 

[Recovry4x4]

We would need some VRC12 radios for the range. As far as trail communications, FRS radios are good and cheap. I use Powercom headsets as an intercom in my trucks. FWIW, JW4x4 and I talked the whole time on the trail Saturday and we were in different trucks. I had 4 pairs with me and JW had a pair too! I don't know the range of a PRC77 since it has lower power than say and RT524. I'm pretty sure that the RT524 on high power would do 25 miles in that terrain. They say in ideal conditions on high power, they will do up to 50 miles. ChevyC60 was at the rally and he is a green radio guy, how bout it Roy?

 

[neilhendrix]

I seem lost here as I can`t add much to the input already here. Just remember I can provide commo wire.

 

[frodobaggins]

Ok WM, I saw that bolster trailer with the deuce bed on it. We need more pics, if not rally related, put them somewhere

 

[poppop]

I did'nt take no stink'n shower the whole Rally, but it was not because I did'nt try. Everytime I went to the on site shower it was occupied. Hope I did'nt stink anyone out. Really I did sponge off in my truck so maybe I was not to fragrant. Showers on site would be great. Box lunches sound great as long as wrecker is not serving fillet mignon to the people at camp. Radios of some kind are a must for next year. Even though the instructions were to watch the truck behind you, on almost every ride several trucks made it through and waited a long time for the rest to catch up. We had not a clue of what was wrong. On one occasion big case hoofed it back to see what was wrong. There was no way we could send a truck back as there was no turnaround. The FRS radios will probably work for the people in the field, but most I have used are real staticia. CBs may work for the field but unless hopped up will not reach the compound.

 

[poppop]

speddmon, your ideas on the power plant sound good, but sound proofing is very important.

 

[clinto]

Ok, this is the first chance I have gotten to work on a list of attendees. I will add this to my initial post in this thread as well. If anyone wants their real name removed, PM me and I will remove it and only use your screen name. If I missed you, please PM me and let me know so I can add you.

SS username -- Vehicle brought to rally

Speddmon -- Rode w/Gimpy!
Doghead, DHwife -- Civvy pickup (went home with M274A5!)
MDMorgan -- M35A2
SCSG-G4 -- M35A2 & MKT
Gimpyrobb -- M35A2
Jerry's buddy Mike -- Civvy pickup
Jerry's G/F -- Rode w/Jerry and Mike!
JW4x4 -- M1009
Bob130AB -- Civvy BMW bike
Poppop -- M813 & M35A2
Phil2968 -- M109
Recovry4x4 -- M35A2 & M1008
CARNAC -- M1009
BFR -- M185A3 w/Knuckleboom & M105
AM General -- M54A1 & M35A2C
Ferroequineologist & wife-- M109A3
Big Case -- M35A2 & M105A2
Clintogf -- M35A2 & M105A2
Clinto -- M274A5 & M38A1
Wreckerman893 -- M109A3 & trailer
TaylorTradingCy -- M109A3 & trailer
Timntrucks & Wife -- Civvy pickup & military trailer
Squirt Truck -- M54A2, M274A5, M37
1958M274 -- Gama Goat!
Sevo & G/F -- not sure what they brought
Pjpiche1 --M35A2 w/ custom bed
Jason (Pjpiche1's brother) -- M35A2
Chris (not sure of username) -- M35A2 bobbed
MitchG -- not sure if he brought anything
JWaller -- HMMWV & M101A1
Bob Dotson -- not sure if he brought anything
ChevyC60 & wife-- M151 & #7 wrecker hoist on civvy truck
Scooter01522 -- N/A
Salafrae -- N/A
Salafrae's Dad -- N/A
HndrsonJ & wife -- M274A5 (sold to DH & DHW!)
Twright & wife -- M35A2
neilhendrix M35A2 & M109 camper trailer
dumpster -- Rode w/Squirt Truck
John Vara -- N/A Camper (official rally vendor)
tennmogger -- Unimog
Bronco4x4 -- M35A2
ButchAtkins & friends -- M35A2

*I am so embarrassed, I can't remember this fellas name

I am adding this here (and edited to add them in my original post on page 2) the people who helped Mike and Richard with the MKT. Tim's wonderful wife Pam, Mahala Morgan (MDMorgan's wife and a skilled Deuce driver in her own right), Poppop, Phillip, SEVO and his G/F Stephanie (Hope I am getting all this right), Amy (DHWife) and a few others (if you are one of these folks please PM me your name so I can get you the recognition you deserve).

Thanks to all who brought firewood-looks like we had enough people donate wood so that we had some left over. That means if everyone brings the same amount of wood next year we can have a really big fire! Phillip, MDMorgan, Poppop, BFR, et al.

You folks are the best. So many people have thanked Dawn and I for the rally and honestly, you people did all the hard work of making the rally so great.

 

[tennmogger]

Amen on the comms. It was 'painful' to not be talking on a radio during the trail rides, and waiting at a meeting point out on the trails for people who were back in camp because cell service stunk.

Talk in via radio would have been great, too. I arrived at 2230 and had no idea where camp was so slept in the truck out along the road.

I'm a ham and will be glad to coordinate comms for next year. That's assuming, of course, that there are other hams to talk to. If not, then CB would be better than nothing. We might have trouble from the bottom of the Grand Canyon play area or down along some creeks but with a little elevation, CB should work fine. We can have a tall antenna at camp to help compensate. The lower the frequency the better we can expect ground waves to propagate.

FRS works fine for along the trails. Everyone should bring their HT's next year. I had 3 with me but had no idea others had FRS radios in use.

Would be nice to use green radios. A few hams using PRC-77's or similar (I have an SEM-25) operated on the 6 meter ham band would solve our comm problem. Those without licenses can still listen. By all means let's keep it legal though. No amplifiers on CB, or operating in ham bands without licenses. Not that we'd get caught....it's just 'right'.

I know Joe (Gamma Goat) just got his ham license!!! Who else is available?

Bob

WB4ETT

Some ideas for next year......your input appreciated.

COMMO: Do we have any ham radio operators that could set up a base and a mobile (to go out with the trail rides) so we could get ETAs on when they would be back for meals.
We all know cell service out there is spotty at best.
The alternative would be CB radios with "kickers" so we could communicate some distance.

 

[1958 M274]

Thanks again to everyone that helped with the rally! I had a great time getting to visit with lots of good people and enjoyed having an opportunity to play with my Gama Goat off-road! I'm just getting started with the radios but I do have some VRC-12 series stuff and would be happy to help with communications next year if we decide to use military radios.
Joe
KJ4PQW