Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-13-2012, 08:41 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Western Colorado
Posts: 1,228
Saline Valley trip December 11'

We made our annual trip to Saline Valley again last month. The weather was great this time with only a few windy nights, usually after dinner. The springs were a ghost town! It was probably the fewest campers that we have seen in years. I'd guess that at any one time during our 9 day stay there were no more than 25 people there. We did get a chance to meet fellow SMB owners Jim & Chris (1BADRV) and enjoyed chatting and hanging out. Another dark blue SMB showed up as well but we never met the owners.

We enjoy the slower more scenic route across highways 6 and 50 through western UT and NV. There are lots of cool places to explore along this route and there is almost no traffic. We boon docked our first night east of Ely Nevada in Spring Valley a few miles from the highway. Although a bit cold out it was a nice spot with a view and had a great area for some frisbee with the dog.


The next night on the road was spent at Benton Hot Springs near the California/Nevada border. This is a private campground and each campsite has its own private hot springs tub.


The next day we headed into Bishop, topped off the tanks and headed into Saline Valley via the North Pass. The road was in excellent shape this year and the washboard was not bad at all.










Looking south into Saline Valley










Azlo's bed up front. It worked quite well and satisfied him enough to keep him off of our bed.


Azlo covered in dirt after a bit of fetch.




Once we hit pavement again on the way out I noticed a driveline vibration and suspected a rear u-joint. The vibration got worse as we neared our stop for the night at Benton. I removed the driveshaft in the morning and sure enough it was the rear joint. Two of the caps were dry as a bone. Apparently I did not lube it as often as I should have. Luckily I had a spare and did a poolside u-joint replacement with a 22mm socket and a hammer. Good times!





We were happy once again to have the SMB and its comforts! Just before the trip I replaced the rear axle with a full floater and threw on some E range Toyo MT's. The Toyo's made a huge difference in handling over the BFG's and having the full floater gives me peace of mind. There is less wandering and overall mushiness now with the new tires. We also added a subwoofer and an amp before this trip and that made great difference in the sound.

__________________
Desert Solitaire
2003 7.3L EB 4x4
Timberline 4x4 conversion
saline is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-2012, 08:58 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
cellularSTEVE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,071
Re: Saline Valley trip December 11'

Thanks for sharing. This is one place in DV I still haven't been to.

How hard was it to replace the U-Joint?

steve
__________________
'05 Ford V-10 4x4 SMB "50" White
'00 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 Highly Modified
'04 Jeep Grand Cherokee- wife won't let me modify it. :-(
Does anyone really read this stuff other than surfgeek?
cellularSTEVE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-2012, 11:26 AM   #3
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: Saline Valley trip December 11'

X2... Looks like you had a great trip Saline, now I wanna go back. Good move on having a U-joint, I gonna get me one now.

So why haven't we been there Steve
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-2012, 02:05 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
jstanley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 138
Re: Saline Valley trip December 11'

.
jstanley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-2012, 07:59 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: San Diego
Posts: 527
Re: Saline Valley trip December 11'

Hi Saline! Great report, I appreciate it as its been on my mind for awhile. Just curious on your Toyo's upgrade from BFG; did you have the MT's or the AT's before?
Pat
__________________
2004 SMB 4x4 RB 6.0 PSD; ARP Head Studs, Gen 3 Cylinder Heads, BPD Oil Cooler connected to AMSOil Bypass, a whistling Wicked Wheel Turbo, Coolant Filter, Upgraded alternator, ScanGauge, SCT custom and SMB Fox shocks.
BFG 285/75 R16 KM3 Mud Terrains on ProComp 7069's
PatO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-2012, 08:43 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Western Colorado
Posts: 1,228
Re: Saline Valley trip December 11'

Quote:
Originally Posted by PatO
Hi Saline! Great report, I appreciate it as its been on my mind for awhile. Just curious on your Toyo's upgrade from BFG; did you have the MT's or the AT's before?
Pat
Thanks! I had the AT's. These Toyo's are a bit noisier than the BFG's but worth it my opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cellularSTEVE
Thanks for sharing. This is one place in DV I still haven't been to.

How hard was it to replace the U-Joint?

steve
Not hard at all. Just some elbow grease. A 22mm deep socket is about the perfect sized for the U joint caps. Don't try and use a regular 22mm though. I smacked my hand twice with the hammer before I realized I had a deep socket.
__________________
Desert Solitaire
2003 7.3L EB 4x4
Timberline 4x4 conversion
saline is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-2012, 06:20 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 785
Re: Saline Valley trip December 11'

Great report and pics, thanks!

We just rolled into the driveway about two hours ago from a four day trip to Saline and the backcountry of north DV.

That area is my favorite of all the places I've explored thus far.

We also came in via north pass and it was in excellent shape. Much better than prior years. Many reports said that south pass is in very poor shape, and those were confirmed by some campers at the springs.

We did not go up lippencott, but were told the road is in good condition.

R
__________________
2006 SMB 4x4, EB-51, 6.0psd
EMrider is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2012, 03:00 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
UJOINT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: AVL NC
Posts: 1,008
Re: Saline Valley trip December 11'

Great pics, dying to get out there again. I'll be out west in late May, but I'm afraid it may be a little too hot for a Saline Valley run....
__________________
Chris Steuber
02 E350 7.3 (V4)
17 Focus RS, 90 SHO, 49 CJ2A, 89 LSC, 20 T250 AWD
ujointoffroad.com
UJOINT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-24-2012, 05:31 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Christopher Thwaites's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Santa Rosa CA
Posts: 638
Re: Saline Valley trip December 11'

Benton Hot Springs looks great. I've been past that place many times and never thought to stop. Your report does bring back a not so fond memory of blowing both tires on the passenger side as I crested the summit of the south pass. PJPV was right behind me thank goodness. A new BFG A/T costs almost $400 in Lone Pine!!! I carry 2 spares now for long trips off pavement.
__________________
Chris/Ruth
2016 MBZ Sprinter 144" 4wd.
DIY
07 BMW 525xi wagon
Christopher Thwaites is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:25 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.