The Devil's Road
I was part of a group of Air Force Civil Engineers who, together with personnel from the Department of the Interior, constructed the casita at Tule Well pictured on page 24 of the Sept. '06 OFF-ROAD. This was 20 years ago, so it is nice to see it in such great condition. The design and dimensions were researched and given to us by a professor at Arizona State University, while the building materials were all donated by local businesses in Phoenix.
I am currently deployed to Manas Air Base, Republic of Kyrgyzstan, so you can imagine my surprise when I picked up Off-Road and saw the article, "The Devil's Road." I remember specifically the difficulty we had getting the materials to the site. The crew stopped at the Gila Bend (now Barry Goldwater) Bomb and Gunnery Range where we exchanged our 10-ton semitractor (highway version) for a 10-ton M-Series 6x6 semitractor for the off-road portion of our journey. I was fortunate enough to be operating (not driving, there is a difference) the M-series hauling the 22-ton flatbed tilt trailer loaded with the building materials. I remember hitting an extremely long stretch of wash that was full of very deep, fine sand. Toward the end of the wash, the trailer brake drums filled with sand and locked. The M-Series 6x6, in Low range, front axle and power divider locked, actually dragged the trailer through the sand.
I want to say we spent a couple of weeks constructing the casita. We slept under the stars at the Tule Well site, and every morning awoke to the sun on the mountains. Each morning was different as the position of the sun changed the colors of the mountains, and at night it looked as if you could reach up and touch the stars.
While I'm e-mailing, I'd like to ask a question regarding the gearing of the axles on my '84 Chevy 1/2-ton 4x4. The truck is a K10 with the overdrive automatic transmission and a 305, four-barrel. I have 33x12.5 BFG All-Terrains, which are great, except they are killing the 3.73 gears and I now find myself getting rather poor fuel mileage. During the winter, I run a narrow, 29-inch-tall studded tire on all four corners to combat the ice (for sudden stops) and I find my mileage increases significantly as I'm sure the smaller tires give the truck a higher gearing, allowing the 305 to breathe and get into a better rpm range. My question is: What axle ratio should I go to -- 3.90, 4.01, or 4.11?
As much fun as it would be to go even deeper, say 4.27 or 4.56, I have to be realistic as it is my daily driver. Any suggestions on gearing would be greatly appreciated, but I sure would like to get the gear change right the first time as experimenting with different ratios could get rather pricey.
Thank you for your time, and the travel articles are great.
Master Sgt. James Fergusonvia e-mail
James,
Thanks for the memories. Truly, the best part of off-roading is the adventure; the equipment is merely the means to an end.
For gears, go with 4.11. Your tranny has a 30-percent overdrive, so you'll have low rpm on the highway with the 33s. The lower gears will restore much of the pulling power and fuel economy you've lost.