It wound up being an uncommonly warm weekend for the end of December and the first come first serve campground that stays open during the winter wound up being completely full by the time we got there. But not to fear! We tried our hand at off the grid camping in the national forest. It turned out to be great- we drove a few miles off the highway and there wasn’t anyone to be seen. We’ll probably look to do more national forest camping in the future even if campsites are available.
On the trip to the canyon I noticed BOB was riding lower and lower. I used the timbren 2,000 lb springs and with BOB weighing in at 2,500+ I figured I needed to upgrade the springs. A quick check of the fenders confirmed the tires were bouncing off the fenders since the paint was rubbed off:
I ordered 3,500 springs and went about installing them. The 2,000 lb springs were easy to remove since they were so compressed, but the 3,500 springs were a beast to install. I wound up getting them close, then using a clamp to get them almost all the way in, and finally prying them into place with a screwdriver:
3,500 spring on the left (part # A00101-5500D - sold individually by timbren retailers) and the 2,000 spring on the right
In the end I wound up with about 2 extra inches over the old springs:
I also mounted the final items I’ve been planning on- an axe and shovel secured by a few quick fist clamps. I think that means BOB is finally done! Probably...
