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On to day 2 of the trip report.
First, a quick correction: Jerry's sand rail is an
Appletree rail, not a Berrien rail as I reported before.
Day 2 started out slowly as we were waiting for some
relatives of the Peletis family to meet us at the camp site. Just after
they arrive, Jerry motored up with the tub buggy. Deb quickly kicked me in
the pants and indicated that I should see if Jerry would be available to
help increase the suspension ride so the tire wouldn't rub on the body.
When could we do this? Right now Jerry said. Off to the garage for Jerry
and I.
Before going to the garage, Jerry had to talk to some
people in the dunes regarding his pick-up. So we transfer from the tube
buggy to his sand rail and head into the dunes. Sun glasses were required
by regulation as there is no windshield. At test hill (the first large
dune), Jerry went up the dune in 3rd gear and rocketed the rail over the
next three dunes before I knew what happened. Next thing you know your
pants are loaded. With sand that is. I can now understand what it feels
like to be sand blasted. The small kick up of sand from the front tires
hitting your face at 70 mph (is about right Jerry?) is indescribable. The
sunglasses are pressed to your face. But the ride is incredible. Stable,
smooth (considering its sand at 70 mph!) and precise. A quick conversion
regarding the pick-up and we are back to his garage.
The Imp was jacked up, wheel removed, axle end unbolted,
drum off, emergency brake cable (yes they are on there) disconnected, and
the torsion cover removed in no time. Making use of what we had available,
a tap and hatchet were used to mark the starting splines so we could tell
when we had moved it one spline for more ride height. At this point
everyone else arrives to ask "is it done yet?" No...
A 4x4 board to the ceiling of the garage (held by Dan so
it would bonk Jerry or I on the head when we were not paying attention)
keeps the Imp down as we jack up the spring plate and pull it out of the
tube (see a real description of the process before trying this yourself!).
Rotating the splines one knock and we are in business. Jerry made me do
this part just in case it didn't work right... The cover didn't want to
fit back on so we had to use some longer bolts to start it. Everything
else back where it should be and jack the Imp back down. The most
difficult part - reattaching that darn emergency brake cable! We also took
the compensator off to further increase the ride height.
Now we head back out to the dunes and the tire is no
longer rubbing on every bump. It did continue to hit at full suspension
travel, but more on that another day...
That's all I have time for right now. I will finish day 2
next time (The Imp meets the tree).
Paul...
Finishing day 2...
We all made it out through the dunes to Lake Michigan.
From that point, Jerry took people for rides in his sand rail while the
Imp was used for buggy rides. Everyone returning from a sand rail ride had
their pants full - sand again.
I ventured down into the "thick sand" where
trees are plentiful with the Imp for the second buggy ride. Deb had told
me previously that it was fun in this area, but she left out (or I didn't
hear) the scary and difficult part. My co-pilot and I headed down a step
dune that forked at the bottom. I made it into one of the forks and swung
around to go back up the same place. The front wheels pushed in the heavy
sand and next thing I knew, the rear wheels dug in and the engine was
resting on the sand.
We jumped out and tried to dig under it, but it was no
use. The sand was too thick and the slope was too much. Even trying to put
the pad from the back seat under the rear wheels did nothing. The air horn
received no response so we waited. Eventually a Jeep Wrangler happened by
and offered to pull us out. We hooked up the tow line and as the Jeep
pulled, we started to move.
The sand was too deep to steer in and the rear end started
to slide to the left. Of course, that was the side the clump of trees were
on. There wasn't enough time to get the Jeep to stop so I tried to push
off the tree with my arm (dumb idea). It didn't work - Bang! and the back
of the buggy slide along the tree trunk. The Jeep pulled us back to safer
sand and we returned to the beach with my tail between my legs.
The fiberglass was not damaged, but the brand new paint
job was badly scratched. Luckily the new aluminum wheels didn't take any
damage (we saw another buggy that ran over a stump with a brand new badly
damaged wheel later that week). At the end of the week, after some
polishing compound and wax, the deep scratches are still there, but you
have to look for it. Some wet sanding may bring it back... Lesson - don't
go in deep sand with trees all around you. On the beach Jerry informed me
that only vehicles with paddle tires should venture into that area.
The buggy rides continued but we noticed that the Imp was
gone for quite a while. Dan had taken his daughter Cassie out and not
returned yet. Patty jumped in the Jeep to search for him. Shortly after,
Jerry's brother arrives in their tub buggy and tells us the Imp is dead
and the Jeep is with it. We head back over and, after an inspection of the
engine, the ignition wire fell off the coil. I feed the bare wire through
some old vacuum hose, pushed the wire through the hole in the coil's
connector and bent the wire back. Then I pushed the hose over the
connector to hold it in place. It fired right up and back to beach we
went. Dan later tried to explain how slowly time went by when the buggy
was dead. It seems like forever when your stuck in the dunes.
That pretty much ends day 2. The Peletis Family had a fun
time trying to navigate the back roads of Michigan later that night based
on a 14 year olds directions in the dark... While my wife and I waited...
Yes, time does pass by slowly when your waiting... It took them 1.5 hours
one way for a 30 minute drive.
Day 3 was lightly raining and miserable. We checked out
the Mac Dune Ride but didn't go on it. At their building was the largest
(can't remember the name - help me Jerry!) discovered. It is made of sand
fused together when lightning hits the dune. I think it was around 9 ft
long.
Later that night after the Peletis Family returned to
Chicago, Jerry took Deb and myself to the Brown Bear for a Brown Bear
"hamburger" that I "had" to have according to Jerry. I
think he ordered a "wimpy" while I went for the full burger
(beef, 2 slabs of ham, 4 kinds of cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms and
tomatoes - I was allowed to skip the mushrooms and tomatoes). I also
ordered an order of chili fries which caused Jerry's eyes to bulge out...
I found out why later.
After having a fair amount of chili fries, the burger
arrived. I thought there was some mistake! It was about 10" in
diameter and too large for my mouth high. Turns out they use a ball of
beef the size of a 16" softball to start with. The bun must have been
specially ordered. It tasted incredible. Jerry then told me that only one
other person he had brought to the Brown Bear had not finished the
burger... I didn't disappoint him. It may have taken a while and I don't
think I would do it again, but I finished the entire 1 LB hamburger. No
desert please...
After that, the days kind of rain together. One afternoon,
Jerry taught us how to jump the buggy. Going into a short (4' high?) steep
sand dune, as the suspension compresses, you hit the gas and get all 4
wheels off the ground. Deb took a fantastic picture (don't know how she
timed it right) of my last attempt. We determined based on where the tire
tracks ended and started again that it was around 10' horizontally. Deb
then gave it a try and I took a bunch of poorly timed pictures...
Later that week, she would out-do me though. On the last
large hill (the one she had stuck the Jeep on top of), she took the Imp up
the hill at high speed determined not to get it stuck. The peak is very
pointed and all I could see from down below was the buggy launching into
the air with all 4 wheels off the ground. I drove the Jeep around the dune
(afraid to go over after seeing that move) not sure if she would be
casually talking to Jerry on the other side or picking up pieces of
fiberglass.
Luckily she was talking and ok. She said she screamed as
she went off the top, realized that the pedestrians and others on top of
the dune were watching and then yelled "yee-ha" as she came back
down shiny side up on the 4 tires. I missed that picture too...
I know there are lots more stories for the week, but I
will save them for another time.
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