Official 2017 Ga. Military Vehicle Rally info thread. Oct. 18-22, 2017

[wheelspinner]

And I am looking for contact info for Josh,

I'll send it over to you. He will be at Denton also.

 

[clinto]

Nancy and I had a great time. It took a little getting used to the rally versus the swap meet kind of events we're used to but we liked the atmosphere. Previously we've only been to pure off-road events like Rausch Creek or pure swap meet events like Sussex, Gilbert or Aberdeen.

You know, I've never really considered this aspect of the rally. Because I'm so close to it, I think maybe sometimes I see it in a different way than participants.

So, when we started, it was a cookout in my backyard. No swap meet, just come hang out, talk army trucks. Second year, or the first "official" rally, it wasn't really swap meet. It was "hang out, grill some burgers and talk army trucks". Second official year, it kind of organically morphs into what it is now. We throw vendors on one side of the field, campers and vehicle displays on the other, we do trail rides and then it just does that, bigger and bigger for the next 8 years.
So what did you think, since you've been to lots of other events? If you don't wanna' say publicly, you can pm me. But I'm curious, after you've been to "pure swap meet" events and "pure offroading events", where does this fall? Was it easy to get than hang of what was happening?

I think I'm going to try and do Denton this year. Both Blake and Wheelspinner are putting the hard sell on me ()

 

[73m819]

Dogs

For all of you that bring DOGS to the rally PLEASE remember,

1--No everyone likes to walk in DOG chit, tracking it into there trucks, hooch, tent, ect.,
2--Keep your DOG on a leash, so you have CONTROL of your DOG and KNOW where it chits (read number 3),
3--Pickup your DOGS chit,
4--Not everybody likes yappy or jumping DOGS,
5--Not everybody likes DOGS, in fact some dislike DOGS so much that they are only good duck taped to a stick to be used to clean spider webs on the ceiling, or to be cooked and eaten,

So try to be a COURTEOUS DOG OWNER or a KOREAN BBQ may be opened where they take the bark but leave the bite.

 

[doghead]

Step in something at the rally, Ron?

 

[DanM7890]

Speaking about dogs, mine had a great time.

 

[papabear]

For all of you that bring DOGS to the rally PLEASE remember,

1--No everyone likes to walk in DOG chit, tracking it into there trucks, hooch, tent, ect.,
2--Keep your DOG on a leash, so you have CONTROL of your DOG and KNOW where it chits (read number 3),
3--Pickup your DOGS chit,
4--Not everybody likes yappy or jumping DOGS,
5--Not everybody likes DOGS, in fact some dislike DOGS so much that they are only good duck taped to a stick to be used to clean spider webs on the ceiling, or to be cooked and eaten,

So try to be a COURTEOUS DOG OWNER or a KOREAN BBQ may be opened where they take the bark but leave the bite.

For all of you that are crabby ole chits or bring one with you:

1. Not everyone likes to step around crabby ole chits or have them hanging around their trucks, hooch. tent, etc.,....but we tolerate them.

2. Control your crabby ole chit and keep track of who he/she is pissing off at all times.

3. Pick up after your crabby ole chit because he will eat and leave with his mess still on the table.

4. Not everyone likes crabby old chits or likes to hear them complain about chit and jumping...into conversations etc.

5. Not everyone likes crabby ole chits. In fact, some dislike crabby old chits so much the only reason they don't kill crabby ole chits is because it's illegal.

Try to be courteous and watch out where you step if you are a crabby ole chit and be careful what you say because you may offend our dogs.

 

[CARNAC]

Exactly. My dog said I couldn't come this year cause someone was bringing their Ron.

 

[Coffey1]

I think someone step into some chit but not on the field lol.

 

[papabear]

Exactly. My dog said I couldn't come this year cause someone was bringing their Ron.

Now THAT's funny....I don't care who you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[simp5782]

Someone was tempted to buy my muffler i had for sale so that they could give it to Ron to see him throw a fit.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Holy Chit!!!!!

 

[sandcobra164]

All I need to do now is quote some of the above posts and we can sell it to Hollywood for the upcoming movie. Grumpier Old Men, Retired Army Camping Edition! Once it sells, I'll take care of the Durhamtown fees and it will once again be a fee free rally. As for dogs, they don't bother me as long as they don't bite me. I'm a cat person but interact with dogs just fine. Step in dog poo? It's inconvenient but I had it happen to my left shoe this year, the foot I broke. I did the usual, dragged it through the grass a little. Although it was painful to do, I went along about my day. Most pet owners I've met consider them more than pets, they're family members. The real elephant in the room has nothing to do with pets. Attendance was down this year. Let's all get along with each other and welcome each other and their furry friends!!! Simp, it's funny you mentioned the muffler. Ron is a good friend of mine but his straight piped 250 is why my better half now insists on staying in a cabin instead of a tent. She doesn't like hearing that truck early in the morning when getting ready to leave on Sunday.

 

[simp5782]

All I need to do now is quote some of the above posts and we can sell it to Hollywood for the upcoming movie. Grumpier Old Men, Retired Army Camping Edition! Once it sells, I'll take care of the Durhamtown fees and it will once again be a fee free rally. As for dogs, they don't bother me as long as they don't bite me. I'm a cat person but interact with dogs just fine. Step in dog poo? It's inconvenient but I had it happen to my left shoe this year, the foot I broke. I did the usual, dragged it through the grass a little. Although it was painful to do, I went along about my day. Most pet owners I've met consider them more than pets, they're family members. The real elephant in the room has nothing to do with pets. Attendance was down this year. Let's all get along with each other and welcome each other and their furry friends!!! Simp, it's funny you mentioned the muffler. Ron is a good friend of mine but his straight piped 250 is why my better half now insists on staying in a cabin instead of a tent. She doesn't like hearing that truck early in the morning when getting ready to leave on Sunday.

Tell your better half that she has to show up in order to complain! We can have a MV rally at the school to insist the kids can get an excused absence

 

[sandcobra164]

Simp, go through the thread posted about 4 years ago. She stuck it out with me during the early years staying in the tent until I think 2013. We had some friends down the hill shouting back and forth with the MKT crew every night and each morning, someone had a P/A speaker system announcing odd hours of the day and my better half needed a break. My family has only missed 2011 and 2017. After the 2014 Rally staying in a cabin, my better half said "Cabin or No". She's pretty tough, imagine staying in a tent in the old horse pasture with our youngest son Briggs! He was just over 2 years old then, Joey celebrated his 4th Birthday under a tent with cupcakes that GamaGoatGirl cooked in the oven Papabear's crew brought! That was in 2010. Man how time flies. I only defend the stuff in the past because I love everyone who goes out of there way to make such neat stuff happen. Lee is tough though, she can fuss if she want's to. She's an angel around ya'll though. Maybe ya'll haven't noticed she's a red head. If she ever got really mad, you'd have a mess on your hands!!! Ya'll should be thanking me!!! I hate that my boy's had 6 excused absences and Lee couldn't bring them this year. I hate it mostly because GamaGoatGirl, Jimma, ClintoGF, TimNTrucks, Papabear, TWRIGHT, TinWoodsman, Ferroequinoligist, EMD637, MDMorgan and other's didn't get to see the boys this year. I always travel up on Thursday and Lee brings the boys on Friday morning. Better luck for my crew next year!!!

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

A bit of wisdom from the genius Groucho Marx.....

​

 

[CUCVLOVER]

Well other than Ron trying to give me his "advice" for talking to a female when I was on the phone with my as y'all say better half everything was cool. I'm glad Amber has a sense of humor otherwise I would have been in deep poo when I got home lol.
Nah he was actually helpful

Also those of y'all that are considering a transmission from monster transmissions don't do it. The transmission we bought from them and put in the green machine for the rally blew up yesterday afternoon just running along easy down a back road it just up and lost all forward gears and boiled the fluid over out the dipstick almost sat truck on fire. Oh well another day another mile and another dollar

 

[Recovry4x4]

A word or 50 from the RT. Aside from getting a late start due to electicty issues, all went well. For all the folks whom I've forgotten your name for the 4th or 5th year, I'm sorry. Retired life is rough. A special thanks to all the folks who helped out at my AO. Pat, Gunnermac, Marty, PJ and my kids made it easy for me.

Since I didn't capture convoy stuff this year, I actually felt underworked. If we can work out power issues, I have volunteered to take over PA duties. Along with that, we may have an FM rebroadcaster so that anyone with an FM radio will here the announcements. I will also take on locating and implementing the misplaced dry erase boards.

Saturday night I was finally able to have a fire across from the RT. If I can get a supply of firewood in place, I would like to make this happen Wed thru Sat as a regulated community fire and welcome beacon.

I think the rally was a great success and with a few adjustments from the RT, better next year.

I plan on learning XL and doing a basic spread sheet so we can keep track of who checked in. It will help us get folks looking for one another hooked up.

In closing, if I failed to thank anyone, sorry but deal with it, I'm old. Any booming suggestions, I'm all ears. Remember though, if it's a good idea, you will likely be tasked to head it up.

Lastly, for those who came by my rolling NAPA only to be told items were out of stock, sorry. I'll do better with inventory next year.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Also those of y'all that are considering a transmission from monster transmissions don't do it. The transmission we bought from them and put in the green machine for the rally blew up yesterday afternoon just running along easy down a back road it just up and lost all forward gears and boiled the fluid over out the dipstick almost sat truck on fire. Oh well another day another mile and another dollar

Consider Bowtie Overdrives. The main man owns a CUCV.

 

[MWMULES]

[QUOTE Saturday night I was finally able to have a fire across from the RT. If I can get a supply of firewood in place, I would like to make this happen Wed thru Sat as a regulated community fire and welcome beacon. [/QUOTE]

Kenny I second the idea of a beacon fire by the RT. I only wish I could have made it down there this year to share in the good clean fellowship!

 

[LanceRobson]

You know, I've never really considered this aspect of the rally. Because I'm so close to it, I think maybe sometimes I see it in a different way than participants.

So, when we started, it was a cookout in my backyard. No swap meet, just come hang out, talk army trucks. Second year, or the first "official" rally, it wasn't really swap meet. It was "hang out, grill some burgers and talk army trucks". Second official year, it kind of organically morphs into what it is now. We throw vendors on one side of the field, campers and vehicle displays on the other, we do trail rides and then it just does that, bigger and bigger for the next 8 years.
So what did you think, since you've been to lots of other events? If you don't wanna' say publicly, you can pm me. But I'm curious, after you've been to "pure swap meet" events and "pure offroading events", where does this fall? Was it easy to get than hang of what was happening?

I think I'm going to try and do Denton this year. Both Blake and Wheelspinner are putting the hard sell on me ()

Well, first off, like most folks in the hobby we're not professional vendors. We had a fair sized fleet of deuce, 5-ton and M915 trucks along with a small herd of CUCVs and one lonely jeep. We had a farm and construction business in a corner of the Finger Lakes region in Central New York so there was at least a ghost of a justification for having them but mostly it was just because I wanted them. We also had two very big concrete floored shop/storage buildings in which to store things and work on them and behind which I could hide....err, park stuff to keep it out of my wife's sight.

And, like many of us I bought and sold stuff to help finance my addiction and with trucks usually practiced the buy three to sell two to keep one model. So we often had a lot of parts and accessories to sell so we could fund the hobby. And with that said........

Every show has its own vibe. Sussex, NJ and Gilbert, PA are in really nice county parks with clean showers, inexpensively priced camping, reasonably priced food on site and plenty of space for vendors, campers and big military vehicle display areas. Aberdeen, MD is currently in a stadium parking lot with no services other than water and porta-potties provided and where you usually either bake or get flooded and the food onsite is mediocre and overpriced (in my opinion). They also have a large military vehicle display area.

Of the three Sussex and Gilbert have very reasonable vending space prices and Aberdeen is pretty pricey as each space is just two parking spaces in the lot and they aren't cheap. All are open to the public with Sussex and Gilbert charging admission. Aberdeen is open to the public but as it is in an open asphalt lot on the Ripkin Stadium campus they can't charge admission to the public and have to fund the whole thing by charging for vendor spaces.....

Rausch Creek on the other hand is purely an off-roading event with some great camaraderie. I haven't been there in several years but by all accounts that tradition goes on. While there are other off roaders there it is not open to "the public". It's just a bunch of folks out for a good time. Services on site are pretty much limited to porta-potties. The location is pretty remote and camping is....rustic.

For Nancy and me all of these events are as much about the friendship and fellowship aspects as business. Yeah, I needed to at least break even and really wanted to make a few bucks (OK, maybe a lot of bucks) but especially now that we only have one M923A2 and don't need to finance the whole fleet I'm looking forward to relaxing more at events.

As far as getting the hang of things at the GA Rally, I suspect it was more of a challenge for Nancy. She'd never been to an off-road event so she only knew about shows where we were more oriented to vending and shopping for our trucks and farm shop. Once she figured that out that the rally was more about fellowship, on-road convoys and off-roading she understood why there weren't acres and acres of vendors and why there weren't steady bunches of military vehicle parts shoppers or the public there.

Other than Gamma Goat Girl and Wheelspinner the only other person at the GA rally I had met was Ferro and Ferro was kind of a hit and run thing at Findlay, OH last year. I expect that a few more folks I've met before will be at the Denton Farm Park show next year. At any rate, now that we know more of the GA Rally folks we will likely be back and since we wont still be selling off excess inventory we ought to be able to both visit with folks more and help out some. EDIT: And maybe we'll save space in the cargo trailer for a small trailer mounted smoker and bring a couple coolers of critter parts to help out the MKT crew....

Once again. our thanks go to all who helped make this event happen. We really enjoyed our trip.


Lance and Nancy