List,
For those of you interested, here is a trip report for my annual vacation to Northwest Mogfest. I put on 7,500 miles on my military Blazer in a period of three weeks.
August 9: Left NJ and made it to Memphis, TN to pick up a Marine Corps trailer destined for Sheridan, OR.
August 10: Arrived in Las Animas, CO to visit friends. One of my mufflers developed a hole in it so I replaced it with a new one for $35.
August 11: Camped out near Major's Junction, NV. Slept in the back of the Blazer, plenty of room for my air mattress. The other muffler got a hole in it as well. I replaced that later in the day.
August 12: Arrived at my house/hotel in Eureka, NV, Hooked up my equipment trailer to my U1300L and loaded up my Blazer and Hakan's trailer.
August 14: Left for NWMF at 4am, broke down in Battle Mountain, NV at 7am. Spent the next 13 hours working on trying to fix an air problem with the Mog. Rob Pickering was very helpful and gave great advice over the phone. Needless to say, I could not fix the problem so I unloaded my Blazer and drove back to Eureka to get a good night's sleep and make phone calls in the morning.
The next couple days were spent trying to find a hauling company to bring the Mog and Hakan's trailer up to NWMF. I also did some cleaning around the house. The hotel can get very dusty when it is not in use. The last time I was home was in April but only for a week.
August 16: I found a company to haul the Mog so I met them in Battle Mtn that evening. The driver was a nice guy and into mud trucks. I took him out for a steak dinner and then we hit the road. He stopped to sleep for the night and I continued on to Oregon, sleeping in the Blazer in the Oregon desert. It was great to be finally on the road to NWMF!
August 17: My Mog arrived and I unloaded it around 7pm. The truck driver hung around and watched all of the Mogs in the obstacle course. He had a great time! The cost to ship the Mog: $2,575.00. Expensive but I had to do it in order to get the truck sold.
August 18: Paul, Aaron, Jim Ince and I spent the morning trying to figure out the air problem with the U1300L. After five hours of frustration, Aaron found an air leak. There was an old rubber line that had a crack in it. The pressure would build up, open the crack, blow off, and then close up. It was acting as a blow off valve which was very frustrating because it was coming where the vent tubes normally blow off. After replacing it with a steel line, I was able to get my Mog into the NWMF parade and the group photo. A big sigh of relief!
August 19: Paul took my Mog for a ride on the highway and he was really impressed with the power, speed and comfort of the U1300L. When we got back, we closed the deal and my Mog was no longer mine. (A sad day in my Mog history.) In the mean time, I continued to bug Jim Molloy about his Mighty Mite. I've been eyeing it for a few years now and since he had it up and running and I had some money burning a hole in my pocket, I made him an offer. It took few days to come to an agreement but I am now a proud owner of an M422A1 Mighty Mite. I'm really looking forward to restoring it and using it. It's funny...I've gone from owning one of the biggest Mogs around to one of the smallest military vehicles around. I'm sure it will be fun though!
August 20: After leaving the Molloy's house, I headed home and stayed in the Oregon desert. I woke up to three coyotes fighting over a dead cow. I was able to snap some photos which was really cool. A few hours later, I caught up with Morris Yarnell in his Pinz. He was heading to my place in Nevada for a few days but kept his speeds around 50mph. I was going down to Fallon, Nevada to visit a friend and spend the day there.
August 22: After leaving Fallon, I arrived in Eureka and met up with Morris. We went out for a ride in his Pinz and toured some ruins and a charcoal oven. He really liked the mountains where we went. The next day, we did some more exploring of some ruins and old mines. He left after that and made his way home to San Diego after driving 13 hours straight through.
August 25: I attempted to leave Eureka and head to New Mexico but the starter in my Blazer was acting up. It took me half of the day to figure out that I had a broken wire in the system. It was not clearly broken but when I bypassed it with a new wire, the truck started just fine. Many thanks to Bruce in Sacramento for diagnosing the problem with a wiring diagram. It was very frustrating but all part of owning a military vehicle. I made it to Coral Pink Sand Dunes in Utah and camped out for the night.
August 26: I arrived at Phillip Tupelu's house in Rio Rancho, NM (another Unimog owner) and spent the next few days there. Phil and I visited another military vehicle owner nearby. He had tanks, jeeps, amphibious vehicles, and tons of other stuff. It was an impressive collection.
August 30: I left New Mexico and got to Tulsa, Oklahoma to pick up some military parts for Bjorn. After that, I made it to Eastern Arkansas where I slept in a rest area. The next day, I arrived at a relative's house near Asheville, North Carolina and spent a day with them.
September 1: I arrived in Meadows of Dan, Virginia to drop off the military parts to Bjorn and spent the night.
September 2: After leaving Virginia, I drove to New Jersey and completed my annual trip to NWMF.
Overall, the military Blazer got around 15-16 mpg, cruised at speeds between 70-75 mph, and performed incredibly well. I am very happy with this truck. But it's still not a Mog. I did notice that it was a dog on the steep inclines and was definitely a dog pulling a trailer on the hills.
Mike Pop
Currently Mogless but ok with it.
For those of you interested, here is a trip report for my annual vacation to Northwest Mogfest. I put on 7,500 miles on my military Blazer in a period of three weeks.
August 9: Left NJ and made it to Memphis, TN to pick up a Marine Corps trailer destined for Sheridan, OR.
August 10: Arrived in Las Animas, CO to visit friends. One of my mufflers developed a hole in it so I replaced it with a new one for $35.
August 11: Camped out near Major's Junction, NV. Slept in the back of the Blazer, plenty of room for my air mattress. The other muffler got a hole in it as well. I replaced that later in the day.
August 12: Arrived at my house/hotel in Eureka, NV, Hooked up my equipment trailer to my U1300L and loaded up my Blazer and Hakan's trailer.
August 14: Left for NWMF at 4am, broke down in Battle Mountain, NV at 7am. Spent the next 13 hours working on trying to fix an air problem with the Mog. Rob Pickering was very helpful and gave great advice over the phone. Needless to say, I could not fix the problem so I unloaded my Blazer and drove back to Eureka to get a good night's sleep and make phone calls in the morning.
The next couple days were spent trying to find a hauling company to bring the Mog and Hakan's trailer up to NWMF. I also did some cleaning around the house. The hotel can get very dusty when it is not in use. The last time I was home was in April but only for a week.
August 16: I found a company to haul the Mog so I met them in Battle Mtn that evening. The driver was a nice guy and into mud trucks. I took him out for a steak dinner and then we hit the road. He stopped to sleep for the night and I continued on to Oregon, sleeping in the Blazer in the Oregon desert. It was great to be finally on the road to NWMF!
August 17: My Mog arrived and I unloaded it around 7pm. The truck driver hung around and watched all of the Mogs in the obstacle course. He had a great time! The cost to ship the Mog: $2,575.00. Expensive but I had to do it in order to get the truck sold.
August 18: Paul, Aaron, Jim Ince and I spent the morning trying to figure out the air problem with the U1300L. After five hours of frustration, Aaron found an air leak. There was an old rubber line that had a crack in it. The pressure would build up, open the crack, blow off, and then close up. It was acting as a blow off valve which was very frustrating because it was coming where the vent tubes normally blow off. After replacing it with a steel line, I was able to get my Mog into the NWMF parade and the group photo. A big sigh of relief!
August 19: Paul took my Mog for a ride on the highway and he was really impressed with the power, speed and comfort of the U1300L. When we got back, we closed the deal and my Mog was no longer mine. (A sad day in my Mog history.) In the mean time, I continued to bug Jim Molloy about his Mighty Mite. I've been eyeing it for a few years now and since he had it up and running and I had some money burning a hole in my pocket, I made him an offer. It took few days to come to an agreement but I am now a proud owner of an M422A1 Mighty Mite. I'm really looking forward to restoring it and using it. It's funny...I've gone from owning one of the biggest Mogs around to one of the smallest military vehicles around. I'm sure it will be fun though!
August 20: After leaving the Molloy's house, I headed home and stayed in the Oregon desert. I woke up to three coyotes fighting over a dead cow. I was able to snap some photos which was really cool. A few hours later, I caught up with Morris Yarnell in his Pinz. He was heading to my place in Nevada for a few days but kept his speeds around 50mph. I was going down to Fallon, Nevada to visit a friend and spend the day there.
August 22: After leaving Fallon, I arrived in Eureka and met up with Morris. We went out for a ride in his Pinz and toured some ruins and a charcoal oven. He really liked the mountains where we went. The next day, we did some more exploring of some ruins and old mines. He left after that and made his way home to San Diego after driving 13 hours straight through.
August 25: I attempted to leave Eureka and head to New Mexico but the starter in my Blazer was acting up. It took me half of the day to figure out that I had a broken wire in the system. It was not clearly broken but when I bypassed it with a new wire, the truck started just fine. Many thanks to Bruce in Sacramento for diagnosing the problem with a wiring diagram. It was very frustrating but all part of owning a military vehicle. I made it to Coral Pink Sand Dunes in Utah and camped out for the night.
August 26: I arrived at Phillip Tupelu's house in Rio Rancho, NM (another Unimog owner) and spent the next few days there. Phil and I visited another military vehicle owner nearby. He had tanks, jeeps, amphibious vehicles, and tons of other stuff. It was an impressive collection.
August 30: I left New Mexico and got to Tulsa, Oklahoma to pick up some military parts for Bjorn. After that, I made it to Eastern Arkansas where I slept in a rest area. The next day, I arrived at a relative's house near Asheville, North Carolina and spent a day with them.
September 1: I arrived in Meadows of Dan, Virginia to drop off the military parts to Bjorn and spent the night.
September 2: After leaving Virginia, I drove to New Jersey and completed my annual trip to NWMF.
Overall, the military Blazer got around 15-16 mpg, cruised at speeds between 70-75 mph, and performed incredibly well. I am very happy with this truck. But it's still not a Mog. I did notice that it was a dog on the steep inclines and was definitely a dog pulling a trailer on the hills.
Mike Pop
Currently Mogless but ok with it.
