I am a little late reading the story, but that is one of best threads I have seen. Great Post to say the least!

 

Great story and pictures Alex! I think you're an inspiration to all of us.
I'm interested in your thoughts on the BFG's you put on before the real trip began. What size and type were they and your impressions, over all of them. Are they noisy on the highway?
Hope you have a great summer and get some, or all of the things you want done to your truck.

Wayne

 

Thanks everyone for the continued comments. I really have enjoyed my BFGs so far. They are stock size but they ride nice and are nice and quiet but to be fair I put my 5 inch exhaust on about a day before I hit the highway with them. I wouldn't say that are a good all terrain tire but they get a lot done for their stock size. Ice/snow has been my biggest problem thus far and that probably has more to do with me learning how to deal with snow. The truck has been underwater, around rocks and through basic muddy roads without any trouble.

If you are the kind of driver that occasionally leaves the pavement, they are probably perfect. I got the best deal at Costco and my brother used his membership to get them put on for me. I paid him back since I could not pay for the service as a non-member.

The way I drive however, is going to require a lift and bigger tires but I can't honestly complain about my current set at all. I just demand too much from them.

 

wow... amazing story. Terrible luck! I'm sure we'll cross paths around alaska....

 

Thanks! Glad to hear you enjoyed the story. I should have some pictures to update this thread with at some point.

 

So here we are with the first mid summer update.

As most of you know, I don't have internet and I am quite busy with the tourist season here in Talkeetna, Alaska. Despite her flaws, Mugly has been busy at work keeping up a hell of a reputation here in Alaska.

I have to send out a HUGE thanks to Les (UASF CCM) and Mark (Maevans) for their help! Les enjoyed the thread in my link so much that he sent me a set of steel braided EOSF lines he wasn't using. He sent them to me back in April and I waited till snow melt to get them in. During this time I also rebuilt my hubs and discovered one of the nylon pieces had broken. Mark happened to have a hub laying around and donated the parts so that I could rebuild mine. Neither of them accepted my offer to send them any money back for their help, please rep them for this.

With their help Mugly is now a true flip of the switch 4x4 again and because of the EOSF fix my air vents now work again as well. This means no more freezing toes when winter hits again.












I also decided it was time to get rid of my old engine out of the back of my truck. My girlfriend has all the pictures on her camera but I did end up getting the piston and rod out of it as a lifetime memory of this entire experience.

If anyone has any good ideas for what I can do with it, please let me know.

So with my 4x4 fixed and a afternoon off, I could only think of one way to enjoy myself. Mugly and I were due for a date with Petersville Rd, the area where my truck fell through the ice this winter. It has been raining for about 5 days so I expected bad weather conditions but Mugly was ready for it all and so off we went. I grabbed two friends and my camera but I was concentrating on the trail so much that I didn't take pictures until we got to the end. I also FORDed the river that I feel through this winter.

Its about 35 miles of road and at the end we were at about 2,900 ft and Talkeetna is at 312. Its a fun trail needless to say.








The photos up in the hills were all from the end of the road. 4x4 vehicles are required to make it to this point so there is a sense of pride in making it there. The road ends up right at the border line of Denali State Park and thus I can't go further. If you look closely in a couple of the pictures you can see the road we drove along to where we ended up. This road was built in the 40s/50s as a mining access road, beyond that it serves no purpose.











Thats all I got for right now. I do have a video of my river crossing but it is on my friend's camera. I thought I would let everyone know that their donations were put to use and everyone's advice and help has been extremely appreciated.

 

Alex,

Thanks for the update of the continuing saga of your adventures in The Last Frontier!

Beautiful photos of some real desolate back-country, too.

Pop

 

Awesome, awesome, AWESOME thread!

I find myself waiting for the next installment of story and accompanying pics like waiting for the sequel to a best seller!

Ford HAS to read this!!!

Way to go dude!

TX

 

i love the land, keep the pics coming.

 

great thread, cograts on overcoming all of the problems. Keep it up!!

 

that sir was one hell of a story...

serious kudos for rolling with the punchs and dealing with it...

 

Good to see you getting "back on the saddle" by crossing the river, again. Good thing that you had your hubs and hoses fixed so they wouldn't take on water. What were those "scratches" on the no motorized vehicles sign?

 

Mark,
Those look like buckshot and bullet holes.

____________

Alex,

This could very well be a best seller, what a book for a short story.

Get a Professional Ghostwriter and Publish this Epic Adventure.

What brand of tools did you use to do most of the work?
You need to contact them for a sponsorship on this one.

This sounds like a toolmakers dream story for marketing.

Not only that, but for Ford too, they need to give you a new Super Duty
for this Story.


All the best,
Russ

 

Alex-
Dunno what you plans for a lift are, but I might change directions with mine and have a 3 inch leveling kit available. Rubicon Express, new in box. I figured with very minor trimming you could run 35's.

 

You certainly are one persistent S.O.B. My hats off to you sir, for your hard work, your incredible story, and the fact that you embody the true American spirit. You are a real hero in my book.

P.S.: Word up, from a fellow nom-nom avatar thingy.