saline
Senior Member
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.
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.
