The Ultimate Test

[HUMMER H1]

In 6 hours man and machine will be put to the test, 300 miles to Death Valley, Bad Water Basin 282 ft bellow sea level, lowest point in North America, hottest place on the planet, it should be 128 + degrees by 2 pm there are lots of up hills I have to traverse before the final destination, I’ll see how Humvee does in that heat, I’ll send the report to AM GENERAL and show those fools how to build a proper cool running hummer .

 

[TOBASH]

Be safe and be careful Eric.

 

[swbradley1]

I rented a Toyota Camry in Vegas and drove over. Went to Dante's Peak, the Borax Tailings Rd, Devil's Golf Course and to Bad Water Basin. I took enough water for one person for about 3-7 days and food. All for a daytrip. I had driven to Pahrump and spent the night and hit it first thing in the AM.

I also had cell phone and three handheld 2-meter radios. Drove up to Beatty and then back to Vegas. Wore boots and long jeans. People looked at me like I had three heads but they probably had not seen a rattlesnake earlier either.

Have fun and be safe. Local restaurant owner from Dayton died in the valley a few years ago. Not prepared.

 

[Guyfang]

My Father owned some land down by Blythe. We spent countless hours in the desert. Anyone traveling out there alone, or with out the basic's, gets what he has earned. I was maybe 8-9, and we came up on a rock hound who had not followed those rules. He was not just dead, but looked freeze dried, in his sleeping bag. No water, no food, means no life out there.

 

[juanprado]

In 6 hours man and machine will be put to the test, 300 miles to Death Valley, Bad Water Basin 282 ft bellow sea level, lowest point in North America, hottest place on the planet, it should be 128 + degrees by 2 pm there are lots of up hills I have to traverse before the final destination, I’ll see how Humvee does in that heat, I’ll send the report to AM GENERAL and show those fools how to build a proper cool running hummer . View attachment 878456

All the best and I like your Plate We also needs lots of pics................

 

[MarkM]

After reading this thread I turned the temp down on my air conditioner and cracked open a cold one.

Mark

Hell I don't like to ride my motorcycle if the temp outside climbs over 90 lol

 

[HUMMER H1]

It was 131 at the Bad water Basin 4:56 pm, 282 ft bellow sea level

 

[HUMMER H1]

so here is how it went,
First of all I was shocked absolutely amazed how busy Death Valley was in this temperature, 95% from other countries,

I drove doors off for few reasons,

#1 started at 80 degrees temperature, by the time I got to 130 degrees i was slowly acclimated to that temperature and to be honest it did not bother at all,

# 2 I don’t wanna be like tourists who jump out of rental car with AC snap a picture next to thermometer and run back to the car,
NOPE, if I am going to do this I am gonna do it the way ppl did in 1849 without AC

#3 my Humvee has no AC, doors off provided more air movement .
_________________

 

[HUMMER H1]

So the distance that you travel between 124 degrees to 131 degrees is about 75 miles
not much grade change, it’s between sea level to bellow seal level elevations.
I was able to maintain stabile water temperature At 55 +\- Speeds at 125 plus temperature.
highway 190 entering Death Valley and coming out is torture for any vehicle, going out is about 16 miles of constant 6 to 8% grande at 125 degrees temperature, I slowed down because I couldn’t go faster haha, there is no oxygen left for the engine to produce any power My speed was 35 to 45 maximum going up that grade , most RVs and trucks couldn’t even maintain 35 mph.


iPhone stops working due to over temperature
Anything that works normal at 110 degrees, starts to give up at 125 ( strange )

 

[HUMMER H1]

flawless operation by the Humvee , total driven miles 490,
diesel price is 8.33 a gallon in Death Valley.

I didn’t-have to stop cool off or anything, 17 miles of the stretch was over 128 degrees.

my average coolant temperature was 215 to 220, I have H1 hummer motor, fan clutch kicks in I think at 215

I had 20 gallons of water with me, and I can confidently say I drunk at least 3 gallons in 10 hours

heat is no joke. Car failure there is death sentence, at least i was prepared, but average new car driver thinks otherwise, however in Death Valley nothing works normally forever regardless what you drive.

 

[juanprado]

Interesting as I did not realize it was below sea level.

I thought only south Louisiana lived under the sea

 

[HUMMER H1]

My Father owned some land down by Blythe. We spent countless hours in the desert. Anyone traveling out there alone, or with out the basic's, gets what he has earned. I was maybe 8-9, and we came up on a rock hound who had not followed those rules. He was not just dead, but looked freeze dried, in his sleeping bag. No water, no food, means no life out there.

That must have been traumatizing to see something like that
rock hounds spend there life in the desert they should know the basics.

 

[swbradley1]

Great pics.

This is my favorite pic of going out there. Looking down towards Furnace Creek from atop Dante's Peak.

 

[swbradley1]

And what you said about foreigners was true for me as well. You couldn't swing a dead rock hound without hitting one. I also noticed they had no respect for the signs telling what not to do to keep from destroying the area.

 

[badger_610889]

Nice trip
You did the right thing not using AC and dropping doors, IMHO.
I've spent a bit of time in Africa where tourists and people temporary deployed there and using their ACs would paradoxically be the ones to dehydrate and get sick. We simply didn't have AC so we had to adapt and cop with the heat, it's true that you get used to it quickly. From there you enjoy being outside of the truck, which gives you more freedom.
Today I live in California and even our house has no AC. Some days are tough but overall we feel better and got used to it...