King of the Hammers discussion

77GreenMachine said:
I’ve always been blown away by the videos I see on IG of people crowded around Back Door, looking like a stomped ant hill, while someone is thrashing their rig trying to get up it. It looks incredibly dangerous, and I feel like an old stiff for saying it. But just thinking about it makes me nervous, those videos look like if one person slipped, they could knock down 3-4 others and fall 10’ down under rig that is bangin the rev limiter and could easily never know they fell, and since people are yelling anyway how would you stop the driver?

Guess that’s me being older and being a parent, but oh well.
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There's an event that gets held every year that got started a long time ago when I was in my first club. The idea was to show up, get drunk as Cooter Brown, and hit stupid obstacles while everybody stood around cheering/yelling/drinking more. I was the old man at 25 telling them to not do it. I think it's been nothing short of a miracle that someone hasn't been killed from the pictures I've seen from years past. My opinion hasn't changed. I still think it's dumb. I try my best to avoid those situations anymore. I like a good thrash session but I'll be watching from the nose bleeds.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
I am interested to see the new ujoint that Miller said gained him the advantage.
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Don't label me as a hater, but outside of being a new proprietary design that prevents you from getting standard parts easily, that's the advantage of these joints ?

Any 1550 joint will turn 50+ while being super strong and Spidertrax already makes/made C's and Knuckles for them.

This feels like a good way for spidertrax to keep their customers captive and limit the axle options that are offered...
 
Mac5005 said:
Long post warning. Just followed my stream of consciousness while sitting in airport. Haha

The majority of racers do only have a handful of friends/family supporting them.

That’s why it’s important to help each other when it’s possible.

Having 3 pit areas spread out, it makes logical sense to work together. Divide and conquer. Work with a couple other racers to share pit crews and spots. This way everyone has someone in the pits for them, even if it’s another racers team.

Out there in the middle of it, even if it is your direct competition, you do all you can to help your fellow racer. It’s the thought of paying it forward, so that when your own luck is down, someone else will help you.

You don’t want to pass or win bc they had bad luck, you want to beat them on door to door racing alone.

We had a ton of help from people I have never met before this week.

Last year in the pits, I helped 3 other teams when the car came in. Helped a couple more relaying information. Even if it’s just making pb&j sandwiches or handing people tools.

The brotherhood of helping another racer/wheeler is still there.

Now the fighting and destruction at night on some of the trails by spectators, destroys some of my faith in humanity.

A JKU was stuck. Bad on Choclate thunder. One winch hooked to it, and not moving at all with a snatch block.

Hundreds of people around, not doing anything but talking smack.

Then a beat Toyota tried the buggy line, and rolled on top of the jeep.

People get out and start yelling and then fighting starts.

1) jku never should have tried that line on 37s.
2) jku should have expected damage trying that line
3) Toyota never had a chance to try that line. Everyone knew it was going to flop onto jeep.
4) jku guy started fight mad about minimal damage from toy flop onto it. (Mirror/windshield frame)

5). Now both lines are closed. Nobody doing much.

About that time Steve (with us) got his buggy close enough and we start working. Flip Toyota back over, start to work on jku.

Then use high lift and two snatch blocks to get jku unpinned and up and out.

Then another brawl breaks out. Just from the booze and egos. All the people around, and yet I find me and my wheeling group in the middle of it, fixing it to get the trail open again.

To think all the people up there, and not doing jack shit to try to help. Just throwing beer bottles and cans and yelling at them. Faith in humanity lost.

Then on back door, a rig rolled over onto another person. Broken leg.

20 mins before police on scene to get the person air lifted out.

People were literally within 10’ of rigs trying back door.

That’s what needs to be banned, or at least organized. Not the spectating and comm issues during the race.

Need a couple dedicated “Marshall’s” helping recover people at CT/backdoor and push people back at least so they won’t be pinned under a rollover.
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Is this what you're talking about?

Reckless JEEP Rolls Over At KING OF THE HAMMERS 2020 (JL Ruined)
 
McCracken said:
Is this what you're talking about?

Reckless JEEP Rolls Over At KING OF THE HAMMERS 2020 (JL Ruined)
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Yep.

Different angles of both the roll and the fight in my FB album.

The bigger fight was after this.

I’m in that video several times and so is my buddy nick.

We used my friend Steve’s winch to flip the Toyota back over, and winch the jeep back a couple feet in order to drag the front end a foot over before it could be winched forward.

The guy in the JL instigated the first fight.

He also reached out to Steve the next day to send him a new winch rope. We destroyed the last 10’ of a well used rope, and then tied a new loop on in the moment to get it done.

Kudos to him for making effort to replace the rope, even though it was well used.

Really only messed up the driver mirror and driver side of windshield frame.

I’m sure it looks worse in daylight, but no where near the damage the purple Toyota took in a separate but similar incident.
 
Bebop said:
Don't label me as a hater, but outside of being a new proprietary design that prevents you from getting standard parts easily, that's the advantage of these joints ?

Any 1550 joint will turn 50+ while being super strong and Spidertrax already makes/made C's and Knuckles for them.

This feels like a good way for spidertrax to keep their customers captive and limit the axle options that are offered...
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He claims that it gave him 3 more degrees of steering which made the rock sections faster for him. Not sure if he was comparing to 1480 or 1550 joints.
 
Mac5005 said:
Yep.

Different angles of both the roll and the fight in my FB album.

The bigger fight was after this.

I’m in that video several times and so is my buddy nick.

We used my friend Steve’s winch to flip the Toyota back over, and winch the jeep back a couple feet in order to drag the front end a foot over before it could be winched forward.

The guy in the JL instigated the first fight.

He also reached out to Steve the next day to send him a new winch rope. We destroyed the last 10’ of a well used rope, and then tied a new loop on in the moment to get it done.

Kudos to him for making effort to replace the rope, even though it was well used.

Really only messed up the driver mirror and driver side of windshield frame.

I’m sure it looks worse in daylight, but no where near the damage the purple Toyota took in a separate but similar incident.
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I never did understand this. If you're going to roll your pile up a very difficult section of rocks, expect damage. If you're being a trail tampon then also expect people to go around you. This may also result in damage. Would I be annoyed? Yes, but only because it adds another element to the recovery and makes it more difficult. Being pissed from damage? :lol:
 
Mac5005 said:
The guy in the JL instigated the first fight.
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Is that really fair? I'd say getting punched in the head by a vehicle would be instigating the fight...
 
jeepinmatt said:
I personally would have thrown Mr Woooo down the hill. Also "JL Ruined" is a bit extreme. And this video helps remind me of why I hate people and want to move to a couple hundred acres way up a mountain in middle of nowhere.
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So much dumbassery in this video.
 
McCracken said:
I never did understand this. If you're going to roll your pile up a very difficult section of rocks, expect damage. If you're being a trail tampon then also expect people to go around you. This may also result in damage. Would I be annoyed? Yes, but only because it adds another element to the recovery and makes it more difficult. Being pissed from damage? :lol:
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Booze and mr thick dick attitudes led to the fighting. Adrenaline and alcohol both blur cognitive ability.

That leads to taking a 4 door JL on stupid lines, also leads to taking a clapped out yota on the buggy line.

Also leads to swinging your dick around and talking shit when neither goes your way.

I mean damage is a possibility when entering chunder at night ?

Move out of the friggin way and don’t be a trail tampon.

We broke on upper part of backdoor and worked as feverishly as possible to get out of the way. But then again, our group is used to rollover and breakage and knows how to get fixed/or out of the way. Hence why we ended up in charge of clearing the shit show on chunder and getting it back opened up.

We really didn’t say much, just hey “you want help getting out of this, ok listen to us only, do what we say, when we say it, and you’ll be out asap”. “ there are three of us, two on foot, one in buggy, listen to us. We are nick, Scott and Steve. We aren’t responsible but we won’t destroy your junk either.”

We ignored all the other crap, and just did our thing.

Thankfully no one talked shit or threw anything at us. We made it very apparent what our goal was, and achieved it as fast as possible.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I personally would have thrown Mr Woooo down the hill. Also "JL Ruined" is a bit extreme. And this video helps remind me of why I hate people and want to move to a couple hundred acres way up a mountain in middle of nowhere.
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Always wanted to go but I figured it would be loaded w guys like that,looks like I was right.They use to (may still do) advertise it as a "family" sport,but mouthy drunks droppin f bombs and fighting doesn't seem too "family" oriented to me.
 
1-tonmudder said:
Always wanted to go but I figured it would be loaded w guys like that,looks like I was right.They use to (may still do) advertise it as a "family" sport,but mouthy drunks droppin f bombs and fighting doesn't seem too "family" oriented to me.
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It is definitely a family environment. Especially inside Hammertown.

If you don’t want the drunk shenanigans, then don’t leave Hammertown after dark, after Wednesday. Sat, sun, mon, tues, wed wasn’t bad at all. And avoid the shootout.

This was Thursday night. Biggest night for doing dumb stuff.
 
@Mac5005 Whats the cliff notes on the logistics of it? It would likely be years before I go, but who knows? I plan to hit Moab in a few years with my daughter. If I time it right we are more than half way there anyway...

So you rent an RV? Commute back and forth to hotel? I’m a KOH virgin, really only started following along in the last 2 years after meeting Ken and keeping up with what he’s doing. Which awesome by the way, what a great dude.
 
77GreenMachine said:
@Mac5005 Whats the cliff notes on the logistics of it? It would likely be years before I go, but who knows? I plan to hit Moab in a few years with my daughter. If I time it right we are more than half way there anyway...

So you rent an RV? Commute back and forth to hotel? I’m a KOH virgin, really only started following along in the last 2 years after meeting Ken and keeping up with what he’s doing. Which awesome by the way, what a great dude.
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Fly to Ontario, pickup rv, drive 1.5 hrs to Hammertown, stay there.

Flight is usually around $400,
RV is around $1000, including gas, water refill on lakebed,

Food is available on lakebed but is pricey.

Figure on 5200 mile round trip if driving, so $1500-$2000 on fuel. Less if towing sxs. More if stopping at hotel each night/fancy restaurants.

The catch is transportation around on lakebed. Need something to get from a-b to see some of it. 4wd truck or suv rental is $600-$1000.

It’s much easier to work out as a group. Some flying, some towing. Cost splitting etc.

Can spend more or less but that’s middle of the road.
 
Mac5005 said:
Fly to Ontario, pickup rv, drive 1.5 hrs to Hammertown, stay there.

Flight is usually around $400,
RV is around $1000, including gas, water refill on lakebed,

Food is available on lakebed but is pricey.

Figure on 5200 mile round trip if driving, so $1500-$2000 on fuel. Less if towing sxs. More if stopping at hotel each night/fancy restaurants.

The catch is transportation around on lakebed. Need something to get from a-b to see some of it. 4wd truck or suv rental is $600-$1000.

It’s much easier to work out as a group. Some flying, some towing. Cost splitting etc.

Can spend more or less but that’s middle of the road.
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I feel pretty dumb that my instant thought was “why would I fly to Canada and then drive an RV to Hammertown??”
 
77GreenMachine said:
I feel pretty dumb that my instant thought was “why would I fly to Canada and then drive an RV to Hammertown??”
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Some people fly into Vegas and LAX depending on costs, availability, and where your RV rental is out of and where ya are meeting people, etc.

Ontario is easiest and closest. I fly into LAX as it’s usually half price and flight options were much more abundant.
 
rockcity said:
Some people fly into Vegas and LAX depending on costs, availability, and where your RV rental is out of and where ya are meeting people, etc.

Ontario is easiest and closest. I fly into LAX as it’s usually half price and flight options were much more abundant.
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But damn I hate LAX. Personally A RV is the only way I’d stay on the lake bed. I’m not tough enough to tent camp in that environment anymore. When I went in 2011 I had a blast and spent the entire week there. I was working at Ft Irwin at the time and just drove in from Barstow every day except 1 night I stayed with one of the race teams. I will go again and this time I will stay in an RV on the lake bed.
 
Palm Springs is the closest airport and is usually $20 to $50 cheaper to fly out of.

New RV companies are offering lakebed delivery and pickup + cleaning.
 
NCJeeplover said:
Is there also a sewer pump truck on the lakebed? I would imagine the waste tanks would get full with 3-4 people sharing a RV for a week.
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Yep multiple pumper trucks and water trucks on lakebed. Price doubled from last year to this year.

We fount the best RV to deal with and price in ONT. also flew from there as it meant no layover in Chicago or Denver. Last year almost didn’t make it back out of Chicago. Another thing with flying this time of year, Try to avoid the snow belt.
 
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