Seeing DaveInDenver's Marlin fixed springs reminded me of some things that I learned while on the Rubicon. I was wheeling with James Bingham the past several days on the western slope side of Hagerman Pass where he picked up a railroad track spike in one his tires. Imagine the odds of a possibly 100 year old spike lodging in a tire! Anyway, while sitting around the campfire, I remembered that two valve stems were broken on the 'con and that having a spare valve stem saved both victims some possible tire shortage grief. Easily swapped out with a Hilift jack and the valve stem pulling tool and you are back on the trail with a full complement of tires. Very easy and cool. There was another fix that I can't remember other than being simple and one of those forehead slapping things that no one else had heard or thought of either. Anyone remember what it was??
Rubithon Trail Fixes
- Thread starter Crash
- Start date
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
Grooving on the Hi-Lift handle! Skid plate de-bender, leaf spring twister-to-get-front-bolt-through cheater (with Crescent). Another handy piece was the air line splice. But I dunno what you might be talking about as far as 
moments.
moments.Dave, I think that the air line splice is what I was thinking of! So many of us run ARB lockers and the splice you gave to Cheeseman was a serious timesaver. He did have a complete air line but for fixing up a little dinky hole the splice was the cheese! 
Just cut the line around the hole and put the two pieces back together with the splice. You were the only one of the group that had one and I'll bet that ARB has sold a few more since then. Good stuff and thanks for reminding me that I need to buy a splice too!!
Just cut the line around the hole and put the two pieces back together with the splice. You were the only one of the group that had one and I'll bet that ARB has sold a few more since then. Good stuff and thanks for reminding me that I need to buy a splice too!! Rock Dog
Rising Sun Member
another cool one i saw was making a tap out of a spare bolt by filing 2 notches into the end at the right angle. Mark and Mudrack both made that trick look easy, but on the Rubicon was the first time i had seen it done... Really cool 
Rock Dog
Rising Sun Member
Chris sure thought it was a trail fix when they used the makeshift tap to cleanup the threads of his steering knuckle so they could be torqued down
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
That field made chase was the coolest thing I think I saw out there. The other stuff is just a matter of having the right tools with you. Same with my springs, I had center pins and all that, Marlin had OBA, die grinder with cut-off wheels and most importantly the Premier Welder. But all that was just a matter of being prepared. Making a chase, now that is on-the-spot rigging if you ask me.Chris sure thought it was a trail fix when they used the makeshift tap to cleanup the threads of his steering knuckle so they could be torqued down
Chris sure thought it was a trail fix when they used the makeshift tap to cleanup the threads of his steering knuckle so they could be torqued down
Neil,
THAT"S IT!!! Now I clearly remember that making a tap in the field was the coolest thing I had seen in a long time. The ARB air line splice is a great part to have along with you but being able to take a standard bolt and turn it into a tap was something I had never heard of doing as I am not a machinist type person. Mark Algazy took a standard bolt and with the narrow side of a flat file cut two grooves parallel to the length of the bolt about four or five threads long from the bottom of the bolt. It worked just like a purpose built tap to clean out the holes in Chris's 40 knuckles on Hatfield Hill. The reason it was so really cool was the fact that the old 40 uses 11mm stud bolts and finding an 11mm tap in camp was impossible. Great trail fix and thanks for remembering it Neil!!
