The Geo Prism is a small, older car that was sold in the U.S. It’s the kind of vehicle people talk about when they’re looking for something inexpensive and straightforward to modify or use in a non-standard way. The name “Prism” is what makes it memorable in the conversation.
“Timing” in an engine context is when key events happen during the engine cycle—most commonly ignition timing (spark) and/or valve timing. Changing it incorrectly can cause hard starting, poor running, or even engine damage.
“Small block Chevy” is a popular Chevy V8 engine. People modify and use it a lot, so troubleshooting tips—like checking timing and the battery—are common.
The “battery” provides electrical power to crank the engine and run ignition/electronics. If the battery voltage is too low, the starter may struggle and the engine may not start even if timing is correct.
Blipping the throttle is a quick jab of the gas to see if the engine responds immediately. If it stumbles or bogs when you do that, something isn’t right with how it’s getting fuel/air or when it’s sparking.
Term
hiccup of heart starting
A starting “hiccup” is when the engine doesn’t catch smoothly at first and stumbles for a moment. That can happen if spark timing is off or if the engine isn’t getting fuel/air correctly right at start.
A spark plug is the part that makes the spark to light the fuel in the engine. If the spark is weak or inconsistent, the engine can start poorly and run weird.
LED is a modern type of light technology. In this context, they’re talking about using a newer LED-style timing light instead of an older bulb-style one.
Bogging down means the engine feels like it’s choking and won’t pull when you press the gas. If it only happens past half throttle, it usually points to a specific problem that shows up under heavier demand.
Microns measure how small the dirt particles are. A 10-micron filter catches smaller stuff, but it can get clogged sooner if the fuel has a lot of contamination.
This is a piece inside the gas tank that helps stop the fuel from sloshing around. When you’re climbing, descending, or crossing uneven ground, it helps keep fuel near the pickup so the engine keeps running.
A fuel pressure gauge tells you how strongly fuel is being pushed to the engine. If it shows zero, it usually means fuel isn’t getting through the system properly.
MSD makes aftermarket ignition parts. A distributor/module helps control spark timing, and replacing the module can fix misfires or starting issues.
Term
disconnect this wire
Some timing adjustments require unplugging a wire so the engine uses a specific setting for adjustment. If you don’t do it, you might set the timing incorrectly.
The harmonic balancer is a part on the engine that helps smooth out twisting vibrations from the crankshaft. If it’s damaged, the engine can run poorly even if other parts look fine.
Nitrous is a system that injects extra gas to make the engine produce more power. It’s like a temporary boost, but you need the right setup so it doesn’t stress the engine.
The fuel pump is what pushes gas through the fuel lines to the engine. If it can’t supply enough pressure or volume, the engine can run rough or feel like it’s missing power.
A fuel cell is a different kind of gas tank used in builds that need reliable fuel delivery. It helps keep fuel from moving around too much and is usually used with performance fuel pumps.
Dash six fittings are a common size standard for performance hoses and connectors. Using the right dash size matters so everything fits correctly and flows as intended.
A Quadrajet is a type of carburetor. They’re saying their manifold was made for that carb, but they can still make it work with other carb choices.
Brand
Holly plate
This is a mounting/adaptor piece that helps a carburetor bolt up correctly. If you’re changing carb or manifold combinations, you often need the right plate.
An Edelbrock Performer manifold is an aftermarket intake part that helps the engine breathe better. They’re saying they’d need that specific manifold to make their plan work.
Brand
Aeros, stealth, aeromotive
These are performance fuel-system brands. They make fuel pumps that can deliver the pressure needed for modified engines.
PSI is how much pressure the fuel system is running at. The engine needs the right fuel pressure to run correctly, especially with performance parts.
Term
Accu thingy
They’re talking about a specific fuel-system kit or part, but the name isn’t clear in the transcript. The idea is they’re choosing between different ways to get the right fuel pressure.
Elevation gain means how much you go uphill during the trip. The more you climb, the harder the vehicle has to work, so it can use more fuel and feel slower.
Term
low pressure
This sounds like they’re talking about a system that moves fuel or fluid using different pressure levels. Higher pressure can help move the same amount more effectively, so it changes how the system “feeds” the engine.
The Ford Flex is a larger crossover-style vehicle with a lot of interior space. It’s designed to carry people and gear comfortably, which can be useful for road trips or getting equipment to a destination. The podcast mentions it because the name “Flex” fits the conversation.
They mean the vehicle feels like it might tip onto its side. That can happen when the suspension and tires are loaded unevenly on a driveway or slope.
Term
suck down winches
A winch is a motorized cable that can pull the vehicle or pull something tight. They’re saying they use it to pull the Jeep down so it sits more level and doesn’t feel like it’s going to tip.
Term
Force the geometry
They’re talking about the vehicle’s angles—how the suspension and tires line up with the ground. By pulling it down, they’re trying to keep it sitting level so it feels more stable.
The Suzuki Samurai is a small off-road SUV that people like to modify. Here, they’re saying they want to move parts from a bigger, heavier truck into the Samurai because it’s easier to handle and build.
“40s” means they’re running very large tires—about 40 inches tall. Bigger tires help you clear rocks and ruts, but they also make the vehicle harder to drive and can stress other parts.
An adapter plate is a custom part that helps different drivetrain parts “fit together.” It’s used so the engine and transmission can be connected correctly in a swap.
A doubler is a gearbox add-on that gives you even lower “crawl” gears. That helps when you’re going super slow over rocks, but it makes the drivetrain more complicated.
They’re talking about the Samurai’s small 1.6-liter engine. It’s the engine size they’re starting with before they connect it to other transmission parts.
The bell housing is the part that sits between the engine and the transmission. It’s like the connector housing that makes the two parts line up correctly.
The transmission is what changes the engine’s power into usable speed and torque for the wheels. It also has to physically connect correctly to the engine.
Leaf springs are the suspension springs on some trucks, made from layers of metal. They help support the truck and control how it moves over bumps and during turns.
Term
linked the rear end
“Linking the rear end” means changing how the back axle is controlled by adding or changing suspension link parts. It can make the truck handle very differently, especially if other suspension parts are removed.
A steering shaft conversion joint is an adapter that connects different steering parts together. If it isn’t tightened properly, the steering can feel loose or fail when you need it most.
Term
orbital mount
An orbital mount is a bracket/connection point used in the steering system. It helps hold the steering parts in the right place so you can steer reliably.
Splines are the ridges that help two parts lock together on a shaft. They’re meant to transfer force, but they still need the bolt tightened so they can’t move.
Johnson Valley is discussed as a major off-road destination where the hosts had a trip. They describe the timing of their drive and arrival, framing it as the setting for their story.
Parker FlexFest is an off-road event. They’re using it as a reference point to explain their travel schedule.
Term
tows
To tow means pulling a trailer behind a vehicle. When you tow, the engine and cooling system work harder, so people pay attention to how well it handles the load.
They’re talking about a Chevrolet Silverado with a 5.3-liter engine. The point is that it has enough power to tow without feeling like it’s struggling.
Term
cutting the window in half
They’re talking about modifying the glass by cutting it. That can be useful for certain off-road setups, but it also makes future windshield replacement harder.
Term
scribe that etches the glass
They’re describing using a tool to score the glass first, so it can be broken more cleanly along a line. It’s basically a careful way to cut glass.
A windshield is the front glass panel that protects occupants and helps maintain structural integrity. Here, the speaker mentions cutting the windshield for a specific use and dreading replacing it, which implies the modification makes future replacement more difficult.
They mean they periodically go around and check that bolts and fasteners are still tight. Off-roading can loosen things, so it’s a common maintenance habit.
“Fluids” refers to the vehicle’s service liquids such as engine oil, transmission fluid, differential/transfer-case oil, and coolant. Changing them is basic maintenance, but it’s especially important for off-road use where heat and stress are higher.
The throttle position sensor (TPS) tells the engine control unit how far the throttle is opened. If it loses signal or voltage, the ECU can’t accurately meter fuel/air, leading to abnormal behavior like surging or hesitation.
A flatbed is a tow truck/trailer with a flat platform. It’s used to move a car or truck by loading it on top, instead of towing it with wheels on the ground.
Neutral is a gear position where the engine isn’t connected to the wheels. In this story, it’s mentioned to describe how the vehicle was behaving while going downhill on the flatbed.
Concept
shredding my top
They mean they tore up the roof/top of their vehicle. On some off-road vehicles, the roof can be removable, so if it isn’t strapped down well, it can get ripped during a rough ride.
Turkey Claw is a specific trail name they’ve ridden. Trail names like this usually tell other off-roaders what kind of obstacles and difficulty to expect.
A track bar is a suspension part that helps hold the axle in the right spot. If it breaks, the wheels can move around more than they should, and the buggy can feel weird or harder to control on rough ground.
A V-notch is a V-shaped bump or cut in the trail. Your suspension has to flex and the tires have to climb out, so it’s a good test of traction and ground clearance.
Concept
suspension articulation
Articulation is how much the suspension can “flex” so each wheel can follow the ground. When the trail has a notch or crack, more flex helps the tires keep grip instead of losing contact.
Wheelbase is how long the vehicle is from front to back. On trails, that length changes how well the tires can get over bumps and cracks without getting hung up.
Camel Trophy was a famous off-road race/expedition where teams had to drive and survive in tough places. People still talk about it because it helped popularize the idea of building vehicles for real-world adventure.
They’re basically describing a classic off-road recipe: stronger drivetrain parts (“axles”), larger tires for grip and clearance, and the right gear ratios so the vehicle can move slowly over obstacles without bogging down.
A Nissan Sentra is a regular everyday compact car. The point here is that the speaker swapped big tires onto it just to see how cool it looked, even though it’s not an off-road vehicle.
Term
Niddos
“Niddos” sounds like they mean Nitto tires, which are a popular tire brand. They’re talking about the off-road tire model and size they had lying around.
Off-road tires are tires made to grip on dirt, sand, and rough ground. They usually have deeper tread and stronger construction so they don’t slip as easily and can take more abuse.
Concept
Trail Hero
“Trail Hero” sounds like an off-road event or group ride. The speaker is saying they did a specific obstacle during that event.
“Milt's Mile” is likely a specific named part of a trail—basically a challenging section people talk about by name. They’re saying they drove up it during an off-road event.
Concept
V-naught wall
A “V-naught wall” sounds like a named obstacle—basically a steep wall section on the trail. It’s the kind of feature that makes you pick your line carefully and crawl up slowly.
Concept
monkey in the middle
“Monkey in the middle” sounds like a named obstacle section on the trail. The hosts are trying to remember which exact part goes with which name.
Term
releasing the suck down winch
They’re talking about using the winch to pull the vehicle into a better spot, then letting the tension off. Releasing the cable changes how the truck sits and moves on the trail.
Concept
King of the Motives
This sounds like a specific off-road contest. People show up with bikes or vehicles and try to get through tough obstacles, and the hosts are wondering if someone competed and did well.
On a dirt bike, the chain and gears are exposed. A sprocket guard is a protective cover that helps keep rocks and debris from hitting or jamming that chain area.
A dirt bike uses a chain to send power from the engine to the back wheel. Off-road riding can be rough on it, so protecting it helps it keep working reliably.
Most motorcycles drive just one wheel (usually the back). That means if that wheel loses traction on a tricky obstacle, the bike can struggle more than a vehicle that drives both wheels.
The fork is the front suspension part of a motorcycle. It’s what helps the front wheel move over bumps, and in this case someone was grabbing/using something near that area to pull the bike free.
A seat belt is what you buckle in to stay safely in your seat. Off-road driving can be bumpy and unpredictable, so it’s important even when you’re just getting in and out.
On a manual transmission, the clutch pedal helps you change gears smoothly. You press it to “disconnect” the engine from the gearbox, shift, then let it back out to drive again.
An automatic transmission changes gears by itself. That means you don’t have to use a clutch pedal, which can feel easier—especially when driving slowly off-road.
“Manual” means the driver has to shift gears themselves. It usually involves using a clutch pedal, which can get tiring when you’re off-roading for a while.
King of the Hammers is a big off-road race in the Johnson Valley area. It’s known for being intense and for drawing a lot of people, so it can feel much more crowded than other times to ride.
A U-joint is a connector inside the drivetrain that lets the driveshaft keep turning even when the suspension moves. If it breaks, the truck can lose drive and can damage other parts while you’re trying to keep moving.
A ball joint is a pivot in the front suspension that helps the wheel move up and down while still steering. If it breaks, the front end can get unstable and you can lose control of the wheel.
Front-wheel drive means the front wheels are the ones getting power. Here, they removed the hubs so the front wheels stopped driving and the truck relied on the rear instead.
The rear axle shaft is the part that sends power from the rear differential to the rear wheels. If it breaks, the rear wheels lose drive and it can also rip off or damage the parts it’s bolted to.
The axle shaft is the part that spins the wheel. If it breaks, that wheel can stop getting power, and the vehicle can get stuck or act weird while driving.
“Winch lines” are the cables connected to the winch that do the pulling. When a recovery is complicated, people may connect and route multiple cables so the vehicle comes out in the right direction.
A snatch block is a pulley you attach to a recovery point. It helps redirect the winch cable and can make the pull easier while also reducing cable damage from sharp edges.
Term
extended way out there
Sometimes you have to run the winch cable farther than you’d expect to get the pull angle right and reach a solid anchor point. That can make the recovery more complicated because you’re managing more cable.
Flange bolts are the bolts that hold the axle to the part it connects to. If you’re replacing an axle, you often need new bolts because the old ones can be damaged during removal.
The knuckle is the part near the wheel that helps connect the steering and suspension to the hub. If something breaks and knocks a joint out, you may need to remove the knuckle to put it back correctly.
Term
carnage welders
“Carnage welders” means a portable welder people bring for trail emergencies. It’s used to weld something back together temporarily when you can’t just swap parts.
Heavy tacks are small, localized weld spots used to temporarily hold parts in place. In this context, they were used as an emergency fix to keep the ball joint/knuckle connection from moving until a proper repair could be done.
A bottle jack is a small hydraulic tool used to lift a car. People use it when they need a little controlled lift to work on something underneath or to line parts back up.
A full-float axle is built so the wheel’s weight is supported by bearings in the hub. The axle shaft mainly spins to drive the wheel, so when something breaks, the shaft can often come out without the axle shaft holding up the truck.
“Building a highway” here means making a temporary track so the stuck truck can get out. They add traction and shape the ground so the tires can move again.
“Unstuck” means getting the vehicle out of where it’s stuck. They likely cleared and rearranged stuff they had put down to help the tires get traction.
They’re talking about rough parts of the trail that you have to drive through carefully. These spots can be slippery and dangerous, so you have to pick your path well.
“Off camber” means the ground is tilted sideways. When your tires aren’t on level ground, it’s easier to lose grip and harder to keep the truck stable.
They’re saying Brian’s rear fender area has been modified to give the tires more room. That helps the truck avoid hitting the fender when it goes over rough stuff.
Brush bars are metal guards that stick out to protect the truck from hitting branches and brush. They’re meant to take the hit instead of the important parts up front.
They mean the truck ended up “making room” for itself after rubbing or hitting obstacles. Instead of carefully modifying it beforehand, the trail damage created the clearance.
They’re describing how the truck’s body tilts when it hits uneven ground. Ideally the suspension helps the vehicle shift in a controlled way, but sometimes it compresses in a way that feels wrong or damaging.
They’re talking about where the off-road camera is mounted—either on the axle (lower and closer to the wheels) or higher up. The lower mounting can show the tire and ground situation more directly.
They’re talking about how the camera picture looks “warped” because of the lens. After they understood that, the view made more sense and helped them drive.
“43s” means very large off-road tires—about 43 inches tall. Bigger tires can help you roll over obstacles, but they also affect how the vehicle sits and turns.
“Point and shoot” means the vehicle feels like it tracks straight toward where you steer, instead of wandering around. It’s a compliment about how controllable it feels on the trail.
Coilovers are suspension parts that help your truck absorb bumps. They can often be adjusted so the truck sits the way you want and rides better over rough trails.
“Links” are suspension pieces that help control how the wheels and axle move when you hit bumps. They’re important for keeping the tires planted when the truck twists or drops wheels off-road.
Sledgehammer day four or five was Boulder Dash and Claw Hammer.
I was like, we're Sledgehammer.
I just read it.
Yeah.
Stupid.
Which one?
What do you think was your favorite trail?
I actually liked Sledgehammer probably the best.
I really, I remember liking Off Your Rocker a lot too.
Because the boulders on that trail seemed bigger than ever.
That's where Miguel snapped the track bar off the buggy.
Oh yeah, that was good too.
And the big V-notch?
Yeah.
I have a video when everyone left of going up the V-notch last,
smooth as butter.
Yeah, you walked right up.
No effort required.
Mine was not going to go.
No matter how hard I pushed it.
I think it's a wheelbase thing.
Like we're at roughly 117 wheelbase.
It looked like such a simple nothing obstacle.
And everyone struggles on it.
Yeah.
Except us.
Yeah, but I walked up that blueberry whatever line it was,
right up over that crack twice.
Yep.
That was cool.
And I wasn't going to do that.
The little obstacle at the end.
Yeah.
But the guy in the buggy walked us through like,
he helped us with some spotting.
Yeah.
Then I ran back.
Oh, you weren't there the night, huh?
Because you stayed back.
Yeah.
That was our anniversary.
The Sailor Dude.
Black Friday.
Yeah.
What was that guy's name?
John Sailor.
Oh, his name is actually Sailor.
Yeah.
Oh.
John was named.
I wonder if it's called the Sailor Dude or whatever.
The Sailor Dude.
Anyway, that guy was super cool.
And yeah, he went over there and walked right up it.
Then we walked right up it.
And then somebody else behind us walked right up it.
Guess who almost didn't make it?
The Toyota, bro.
It landed on both sides.
Damn.
He crashed it or flopped it both sides.
Backed up, hammered on it.
He had like a skull and crossbones.
So, you know, he's a serious flag.
Was it the Dirt Nation guy?
No.
Dustin.
And the black Toyota?
Because he put me on his little,
I shouldn't say little.
His Instagram is way bigger than ours.
Yeah.
But yeah, I'm on his video.
Damn.
Pretty good.
What kind of kickbacks?
Well, you could see the Toyota struggling in the same video.
So just keep going to the very end.
Would you say a Land Rover is better than a Toyota?
Or Land Cruiser?
Land Rover?
I don't know which one's which, actually.
Land Cruiser.
I know they have a feud going.
Oh, do they?
So just pick one.
Better than a Toyota?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I don't think so.
Yeah.
I think a Toyota takes, I've had a couple Toyota's.
Like what?
The guy from the magazine, Vern Built.
The Desert Safari.
No.
It was yellow.
The Camel one.
The Camel one, yeah.
Camel Jockey.
Yeah.
Anyway, do I think that's better?
No.
No.
I mean, that thing's pretty.
Vern's was cool because he did the old Camel trophy.
That's what it's called.
But that thing only has like 99 inch wheelbase.
It's a little tiny thing.
But nah, the Toyotas, they dominated for a long time,
even in the early 2000s.
There are badass Toyotas, but I feel like all the really cool
off-road cars I like, you know, like it's just the look of the vehicle
and everything else has been replaced.
Yeah.
Because it's always the same.
Yeah.
It's always big axles, big tires, good gearing.
Remember, do you ever see that picture I did where I took my tires
and I put them on the Nissan Sentra?
No.
Then I put them on my BMX bike and I put them next to the mountain bike.
Then your off-road tires, the Niddos?
Forties or whatever.
I just happened to be having them off and I just rolled them around
and everything.
I was like, you can make anything cool with big tires.
That's it.
Nice.
Anyway, so back to Johnson Valley.
Yeah, I like blueberry.
That was fun.
I did not actually like chocolate thunder at all.
Really?
We never once made it up chocolate thunder that Thanksgiving week.
I mean, I think we only tried twice, maybe three times,
but where that big dip is, we just could never get past it.
On the left?
Yeah, on the left.
I know that's vague, the big dip.
I think people don't know.
You know what I mean?
Like, yeah, the left, they know.
Hey, if you know, you know.
Yeah.
YK, NK, UK, something.
Period.
Yes, period.
I think I made the left the first day and then the second time
we went through, I went through the middle section part,
but I almost dumped it there, like just trying to back up.
Like I was going around to the right and one little tiny backup.
Next thing you know, it's like,
falls off on a ledge because you don't,
you forget you're already on a hill.
You know what I mean?
You're just trying to maneuver around.
And you can't see anything behind you, really.
Not in detail, you know?
No, it was good.
You're just like, oh, I drove right up here.
I should be able to back right down.
But legitimately, you went up back door.
Yeah.
Not when the crowd was there, which is good.
I got on back door, but it would not go up.
We both went up it.
Well, yeah, I kind of went up.
We took the video in a very special way.
You're correct.
That makes you look awesome.
I did ask.
You know what, you know, it screws up about that.
So when I was in Trail Hero, I went up Milt's Mile or something like that.
It's that one where the V-naught,
there's like a big V-naught wall sort of thing.
You go up my monkey in the middle or something like that.
Or it's either monkey in the middle's trail and it's Milt's Mile obstacle.
It's got to be the opposite.
Anyway, it's got to be the opposite.
That was what I thought.
So you I go up that, but you hear me releasing the suck down winch in the video.
And I've been asked, like, you ever winch up that?
I was like, no, dude, I'm telling you, I was releasing once the suck down.
I was letting the suck down go.
Yeah.
So but they hear a winching noise.
So they're like, well, you winched.
Yeah, exactly.
But I wasn't the guy that cut the trail was standing right there.
And he like, we might have talked about that once.
Anyway, he sat there and he said, uh, yeah.
How cool you are.
This is where you go.
Trust me on this.
And I was like, who are you?
Oh, he knew the line.
Yeah.
And you did it.
And it didn't say this somewhere.
But yeah, I was like, maybe it was on the Mike and Max Offroad podcast.
I don't remember.
Episode, uh, those guys were cool.
121.
I remember them at minute marker 79.
Yeah.
Go check it out.
Anyway.
So, uh, yeah, ask me what my favorite trail was in Johnson Valley jeans.
I'm not done with me.
All right.
No, that was it.
So I was trying to interrupt.
We go into, oh, do we, do we jump there?
Do I really just keep on trucking?
Go ahead.
What's your favorite trail, Max?
I think nobody gives us.
Please don't cut that part off.
Definitely.
I want to say off your rocker and Sledgehammer for my favorite.
Because you just said that like 10 minutes ago.
So why do we have to do this?
Why?
Because I'm reaffirming.
Oh, you wasted my time.
I'm reaffirming how cool we are to you.
No wonder I stopped wheeling.
Yeah.
Do my dad used to get so pissed when you crack on me?
He'd be like, he'd be like listening and he's like,
I don't know who this Max guy is, but I'm going to jack his up.
I got a couple words.
I got a couple words for your dad.
Yeah.
Look me in the eyes and tell me how you feel.
Okay.
Dude, you just cracked on my dad.
What the hell?
Is he still blind?
Yeah.
I thought that was like a, like a temporary thing.
Yeah.
Like you got some alcohol in his eye or rubbing, not drinking.
As far as I know.
Damn.
It's all fake.
That's rough.
No.
It's like the pigeons, huh?
I'm going to get crickets, bro.
But you, you know the pigeons, how everyone's like,
pigeons are robots, pigeons are fake, pigeons, pigeons, pigeons.
You don't pay attention to that.
It's a whole big thing.
So what really happened was that guy in the tow truck called you
and you did answer the phone.
Oh, the bridges are going.
Yeah.
Now you're all in the, in the world.
You went deep, bro, deep.
You don't want to know.
You don't go down that rabbit hole.
If your dad listens to this, that was just a joke.
I hope he knows.
But he also knows how much you used to talk about buttholes.
So buttholes?
Me?
I know you're going to deny it and you're not going to remember, but.
You're trying to set me up like that.
Instagram is like, you'll no longer be gay.
I'm not gay.
He's like, yeah, exactly.
Oh my God.
All right.
Okay.
I have, may I interject?
Please do.
I have one of my favorite moments from Johnson Valley, the trip,
because it was like a full week of hanging out.
Your dad punched me.
Oh, sorry.
Yeah, that was, that's up there.
Is that where you're going?
I don't get an honorable mention, but we had so much firewood.
I was basically like scolding Mike for not putting enough firewood in the fire.
And everybody, what do you think, was like 10 feet back from the fire every night.
That was one of my favorite memories.
There was no issue about having a gigantic.
And then the night where the, like the sun had just gone down.
And I think we made it like another hour.
And you're like, I'm going to take like a 20 minute nap.
You know, and I just do like the face of like, all right, bro.
Like go ahead, take your 20 minute nap.
And you never emerged again.
That was your favorite part when I left.
I went to bed.
No, not the fact that you went, not the fact that you weren't hanging out with us.
For life, man.
You just made me back into that.
But like, I knew you weren't coming back.
But like when you're exhausted and like, we're not coming back.
No, but you know what I mean?
Like, like we're all, we all work a bunch.
We're tired.
This is a super cool, relaxing, fun trip most of the time.
You know, it's stressful also.
But like, like wheeling a new trail that you don't know how it's going to go
is a little bit stressful to me.
Normally, yeah, but that week actually not.
I just was like, but I knew you weren't coming back.
Yeah.
From the moment.
I knew I wasn't coming back either.
I just sent it to show you guys up.
No, why?
You didn't have to.
You could have been like, I'm tired.
I'm going to bed.
I'm like, I get it.
I had to go rest my arm.
Yeah.
From dawn.
Oh yeah.
Okay.
Here comes the honorable mention.
My stepdad was there and he likes to like,
how would you, how would you explain that?
Like with the, with the open.
Clenches fist solid.
And jack me in the face right out of this lawn chair.
Dude, you're not Robert Pal effects.
Like that's not how that goes.
You got to open hands up that guy.
But, um, it was not like, isn't it like, Hey, I got a story.
And he like smacks you on the arm with his hand.
It's like, Hey smack.
I smack.
Yeah.
I got a smack and story smack.
Hey, hey, smack, smack, smack.
And the more drunk he gets, the later it gets, the harder the hit gets.
And it's in the same spot where I had to switch sides.
So he hit the other side, dude.
That's true, man.
I know.
He's funny, but him and I, we're like, we're a lot of like, you know,
in a way like, um, we did motorcycles.
You know, he's obviously got way cooler stories about the military.
Well, he's older and more.
He's definitely older.
Life.
I'm just kidding.
This is shit on everyone's dad.
Anyway, the, uh, yeah, no, it was cool.
But yeah, it's funny because I didn't catch it.
I actually didn't, I didn't, um, how do I say that?
I didn't even know what was happening.
I know I moved and then when you pointed it out, I was like, did he hit you?
And I was like, Oh yeah, dude, all night long.
And then like your arm literally felt bruised.
Well, it definitely is sore.
Yeah.
You do take a beating.
I mean, it's like, what's that Chinese drip thing?
You know what I mean?
Are they torture you with water drips?
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's like that.
It's just not hard hits.
Thousands of them.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's good shit.
Now he's a cool dude.
I like talking with that guy.
Good.
And his jeep's awesome.
But one of the main reasons you were invited
is actually to be a human shield for his stories.
Because we've heard him like a thousand times, you know, not to.
Yeah.
And I know you don't like hearing the story twice.
No.
Don't even start a podcast and let's hear your stories over.
You told that story already.
Yeah.
But not to those people, the new ones listening.
And nobody on this podcast has heard him.
Well, that's true.
Right.
Yeah.
Jump on everybody's podcast and take it over
so I can tell my same stories over and act like I do things.
Do you remember what I told you I wanted to do?
Because they do the voicemails now.
I wanted to do like little mini three episode podcast
where we don't have to pay for the hosting fee.
And just speed talk and be like, hey, I'm Mike.
This is Max and we're reeling out this weekend at Table Mesa
and blah, blah, blah happened and bye.
Doing the intro on somebody's voicemail.
By the way, put that on there, would you?
But we never did it.
That'd be funny, though.
I don't.
You did screw with somebody with the email, wasn't it?
Oh, Jay, Lorenzo.
We made Lorenzo email because lunch.
Remember the donkey was missing, right?
Like, and I think it was Jimmy or it's been quite a few years.
I thought it was Jimmy in the long run, right?
Like the info came out, but Lorenzo was missing
and we made a fake email that's like Lorenzo the ass
at Outlook.com or whatever.
And then we would just email Jason and Chris and be like,
hey, man, I'm doing good.
I'm sitting in the bomb right now.
I don't know.
Just similar to Martin.
I think we did one or two emails and now that's my stupid email
for my new phone, the Apple account.
Oh, nice.
So when I go in there, I'm Lorenzo the ass.
I'm like, what the fuck, dude?
Like, why would I do that?
I don't know.
That is so stupid.
I have an email.
Yeah.
Well, I had two phones for a while.
So I think I needed, you can't have two open Apple accounts
on phones, I think.
I think that was the issue.
And I had just made that email and I was like,
oh, I'll just use that.
What's the big deal?
No one will ever know.
I'll never have to go into the Verizon store
and talk to them in person.
We made the one like,
Mike and Max is an off-road podcast.
Check your info at blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
We made it so long that hopefully nobody would ever use it.
I wonder if there's anything in there.
I never checked it.
We made it and told everybody and then never said it.
Never checked it again.
Solid.
That's awesome.
I'm waiting for my thing from Google saying,
bro, we're going to close this thing
if you don't do some activity activities.
So anyway, yeah.
What else?
That's hammer.
That's it.
So check this out.
Sledgehammer.
Sledgehammer was awesome.
Yeah.
It was challenging.
Dave Cole decided out of everyone on the trail to spot me.
It's because you needed it.
Look at this ass clown.
And I didn't ever, ever getting out of this trail
if he doesn't get some help.
Who's got the Special Olympics out here?
Me.
Yeah.
But it was cool.
I didn't know who that was,
not by looking at him in person.
Yeah.
You won't shut up about it once you found out.
Oh my God.
Starstruck Matt.
It was cool.
It was very cool.
Yeah.
He was cool.
And he was helpful.
And he got me through a really weird shitty section of the trail.
I remember you going like, that's Dave Cole.
I was like, who the fuck's Dave Cole?
It didn't click.
Just teasing.
But that's what his friend told me too
because I asked his,
his friend was standing there still, right?
So I was like, hey, what's your friend's name?
I was going to say thanks for helping me
get up this like crazy section, you know?
And he's like, that's Dave Cole.
Do you know who that is?
I'm all.
I think it took me a second.
Do you know who I am?
Yeah.
I think it took me a second too.
I was like, oh, okay.
Yeah.
Dave Cole, you know?
And then I was like, thanks, Dave.
And that's it.
Are you the guy that has that laser town?
No, that's a different person.
Yeah, it is.
Oh, I know.
That's what I'm saying.
Cody Wagner.
That sounds wrong.
I don't know why.
No, that's right.
Oh, okay.
Cool.
Laser.
Laser nut.
Something like that.
Anyway.
It's better than laser butt.
You can cut that part.
I have no access to this to cut anything.
I was talking to the guys.
The other guys, my friends.
My closest friends.
My friends.
Anyway.
Yeah.
No.
Oh, yeah.
Good.
Keep going.
It's like a time.
The, uh, no, so, so, oh, shit.
We haven't even talked about pacing.
That's the crazy one.
The, um, uh, anyway, slow tamer.
I thought it was kind of crazy that I was at camp talking
about this dude, uh, Tim and, uh, my friend Tim and Marie,
their little brother, Marie's little brother, AJ.
And we were talking about like, I don't know, a Thanksgiving
out of Lake Pleasant when I met them.
And this kid had the craziest ADD and he's ripping around on his,
on his motorcycle doing burnouts next to the fire and jumping the fire
while we're all sitting around it and he's out of control.
We start sledgehammer and I got to the base of it.
That was when my Jeep broke down.
So I walked up into the sledgehammer to see how far you guys were in
to see if I could catch it.
If I wanted to go in there alone, you know, and the, um, and see
if I could make it to where you're at.
And then I turned around, I get up, I see where I'm like, oh, yeah,
I'm going to go grab my Jeep.
I turned back around and there's AJ.
He's like, Mike, I was like, yeah, and he's like, it's AJ.
I was like, get the hell out of here, bro.
And he ended up being there.
And I hadn't seen that dude in years.
Yeah.
And it just happened to be at the, he's on a motorcycle
preparing for King of the Motives.
He was going to run it.
So do you know if he ended up doing it?
And like if he did well or anything, I don't know.
Actually, I tell you the truth.
I never checked.
Nice.
But yeah, it was the dirt bikes were crazy on sledgehammer, man.
They had to like work, beat the bikes to like drag them up.
Yeah.
Basically it was and, and they had like cool sprocket guards and stuff
with like a curved metal, right?
To protect the chain and everything, but man, those,
and it's only one wheel drive.
Obviously.
Dude, I watched one guy with the handle on the front of the fork
just dragging it out with the obstacle.
I'm like, damn, that looks tiring, dude.
And you're doing that in motorcycle boots and gear and all that.
And I think the off-roading can be tiring.
You know, like,
Yeah, sitting there holding your beer.
Got to reach back and get another one.
We got to jump out, unbuckle the seat belt again.
It's exhausting.
Take a leak every time you get out.
Yeah.
It's exhausting, bro.
Switching these gears, pushing the clutch, you know.
Yeah, an automatic would be nice.
That would really take the edge off things.
Yeah, sometimes.
Yeah.
You still got to prove you're a man though, you know.
That's right.
I think all wheelers should be.
Oh, look at this.
Manual.
Additional drinks.
Oh, that's funny.
You got one too.
Oh, you're good.
You're good.
Oh, thanks.
But the, actually.
But basically Johnson Valley is a blast.
Yes, Johnson Valley was fantastic, actually.
Good weather.
We stayed out of all the nonsense and the trouble.
Yeah.
It's still, you know what it is?
Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a good time to go to Johnson Valley.
Really good time.
Because if I just calculated in my math,
how many people listen to this and how many are we telling
and how many can add, possibly add.
And I was like, 20.
Cool.
Let's do it.
If people haven't checked out yet, they will.
No.
This is one of the best episodes of the year
on the snail trail four by four.
Hardcore podcast.
Is it hardcore?
No.
Right.
I mean, it is.
They got better.
That's not the name.
I mean, actually, I haven't listened in a bit.
Thank you guys for inviting us on here.
Yeah, this is cool.
Honored.
This is cool.
That sounds real.
It does.
Totally.
If you say the words, I'll believe it.
This is the on show version of me.
A more whale, more.
More of a whale.
More of a whale.
Dude, I'm definitely a whale.
I got no whale jokes.
Anyway, yeah, Johnson Valley is cool.
It is a great time to go.
You got about what, 2,000 people there, maybe?
I was going to say like 5,000.
Yeah, either way, it's very spread out,
but it's nothing like King of the Hammers,
where it's like packed as packed as it is.
King of the Hammers is ridiculous.
I mean, it's awesome, but you can't wheel really.
I mean, you can, but.
You got to go away before all the races.
That's how people get out wheeling or go at night, I guess.
At night, yeah.
But that's when you sleep.
I don't know how people do that.
Yeah.
That was a really good time, actually.
I was burning out bad for all those that don't.
Well, actually, I don't know if you guys,
whoever listened to our podcast too, I guess, I don't know.
Basically, I just got a different job.
We'll give you two rounds of catching up or two seconds,
two minute catch up.
That's what this is.
Basically, I got a job, went back to work or back to school
to get a better job and to blah, blah, blah.
That's why we kind of ended our shit.
So that's it.
And it's been good, but at a point there where I've actually
done nothing for a very long time.
No, not nothing.
Work, school, overtime, family.
Yeah, but that's what I mean.
Like four wheeling wise, it's been pretty much nothing.
But you're still as busy as always.
Oh, absolutely.
Like sun up to sundown.
I feel like you're busy.
Yeah.
For some reason, I can't stop that.
But at any rate, yeah.
I should be back out on the trail by next season.
Cool.
And that just because my wife's back to work
and I'll punch all the crap.
We're so close to having the end of all this nonsense
that we had to do, but it's going to be cool.
And I don't, it's not that I don't want to wheel.
I want to wheel.
Yeah.
And when I went to when I went to Johnson Valley with you,
I literally just ditched the family and everything.
I was like, I'm going, I'm going alone.
Well, it's Thanksgiving.
You know, I mean, and the cool part about that was like,
there was what, two turkeys that we were eating
on the lake bed and deep fried turkey, Miguel Mexican food.
Oh, yeah, it was good.
Dude, that was the best tacos I ever ate.
I never had even on the trail.
Those ones I've been pursuing forever.
Yeah.
That carnice or carne asada from where was that?
Some special like carne sirria, something blah, blah, blah.
That stuff didn't hold a candle.
Yeah.
It was good.
Yeah.
His stuff was really good.
It was real.
We got one of those little griddles like they have.
Yeah.
That doesn't work if you just use that.
I mean, that's not what made it taste so good.
No, but that's what they use to cook all their stuff.
Oh, okay.
They have like a little camping griddle.
No, I'm with you.
I'm with you.
I'm just saying it's one step closer to make it taste that good.
Hey, you got to buy it and cook it.
Okay.
Just check.
Right.
In case somebody comes in the bag.
10% sure.
No, I think that was their own family recipe.
Remember where I asked him?
It was amazing.
I was messaging him before he came over.
I could, we could figure it out.
Yeah.
I'm sure he'll tell us.
Cool guy.
Really loud.
But he was cool.
He's one of them people that yell everything.
What are you?
Oh, we're getting hand signals that's insinuating Mike is loud.
Who did we hear the one night all night with Miguel chatting in Johnson Valley?
Oh, Mike.
It wasn't me.
I'm pretty sure it was.
It was Mike and Don.
Oh, Mike and Don.
One night was for sure, Miguel, because his voice just absolutely carries.
It was Mike, Don, and Miguel.
Oh, my God.
The combo of doom.
Hey, it was awesome, man.
Yeah.
Good folks.
Yeah.
But anyway, yeah, I'm debating whether I go to the bathroom.
Oh.
No, it isn't above ground.
Why did I put those on?
All right, we're back.
No one knows we left.
Oh, did I not say I was going to take a peek and leave a peek?
10% chance.
Okay, cool.
So, yeah, we'll kick it off or we'll tell one more story.
Okay.
Payson and end it with a joke.
And they do insert commercials and stuff.
So I'm sure if you left a break, you could like point it out to Jimmy.
Hey, Jimmy, this is a break.
Yeah.
I'm going to go pee.
You got 39 seconds.
Yeah.
No.
Oh, I like it.
I'm not going to tell them how to do their show.
They didn't tell us how to do our show.
Exactly.
Damn.
Skippy.
The kind of did.
No, we should actually say, well, we can say it then.
Thanks, dudes.
This is actually sort of fun.
Yeah.
When there's not pressure to do it every single week nonstop
and you feel like you have nothing really good to talk about, it's very fun.
Well, that's still there.
No, we have a bunch of good stuff, like two good things to talk about.
It's hard.
Yeah, two.
Two.
That's more than one.
Yeah, right.
That's one more than one.
That's all.
That's double.
I went to school and got smarter.
Damn.
All right.
Anyway, so do we go way details with Payson?
How far did you go on that total off-road podcast?
Are you cutting this out?
I don't know.
I was thinking.
So I was like, fuck, I can't like pause forever.
But I mean, like pretty detailed.
Not like with names of groups and all that.
Not talking shit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah, talking shit, but not at anyone specific.
No groups.
Because that drama still follows around.
Stick with your mama.
That drama has barely slowed down in like the last two months.
That's why I'm not trying to like poke the drama.
Oh, sweet, not shy.
We could skip it.
I mean, we can talk about like the trail and all the breakages and fixing it and stuff like that.
Yeah.
Can you even name the trail?
Nah, it's probably best we don't do that.
I don't actually know the trail anyway.
Yeah.
It's cool.
Anyway, so it was very hard.
It was a Payson.
You went in there and broke all to hell.
Well, three of us went in and I just, I think.
Two came out.
Two came out, for sure, for sure.
I think it's just like.
A week later.
Yeah.
I think it's like 50-50 on, if you don't have like a full-on build, awesome buggy.
I think it's just literally 50-50.
You could make it or you could break something, you know?
And even the buggies break in there.
We know that.
When we were camping there the year before, they all were out to like four in the morning or something.
Trying to get a rig out of there.
So it's definitely a very, it's too hard of a trail, I think, for me.
Hindsight, you had no business being in there.
Yeah.
You should have not went in there.
And anybody who had ever, did anybody, I have already gone through that trail?
None of us knew the trail.
Oh, okay.
And we thought one of the people with us had hiked it.
But once we were in like, you know, a quarter of the way, they were like,
oh, we're going to go up ahead and look at the rest.
I was like, what?
So really no one had seen it, you know?
Not all of it.
That's how you got in trouble then.
So like you just actually didn't know and didn't.
Yeah.
And you're just cruising in there having a good time.
So what really messed us up is this extremely long V-notch,
because we walked it, I don't know if you remember,
but it widens out enough just for one axle to drop down flat.
And your rear is still in the V-notch and your front already has to climb
before the rear drops to the flat part.
And that's where we already broke the U-joint, the ball joint and the front axle shaft.
And we tried lifting the truck up completely sideways and winching it forward.
I mean, it worked, but it didn't help anything because the parts were already broken, you know?
Yeah.
But we like figured out a way to reseat the ball joint,
and then we just took the hubs out on both sides.
So there was no more front wheel drive.
And we made it to like the second to the last obstacle on the trail.
And that's where the rear axle shaft just snapped and took out all the flange bolts with it.
Right.
Like shot them out of the back of the axle.
Yeah. Oh, and, you know, the rock was only like, let's say 15 inches away from the hub.
So it shot out, hit the rock.
It sounded like a gunshot almost, you know, and bounced back in.
That's like how loud that axle shaft break was.
Yeah, that was crazy.
It was real crazy.
That thing was stuck, stuck.
I couldn't believe it.
And it didn't look that stuck.
But it was also hooked on the top of the cage, which didn't help any.
Yeah.
And you're still tied to the tree when I walked in.
I beat it there for some reason.
So basically we were stuck with one wheel drive because of the front end.
Both hubs were out and then we broke the rear axle shaft.
And that's basically when we decided to just leave it because there's no way.
Like we couldn't get it out with both rear wheels working.
We've already established it barely steered.
Yeah.
No, this, this, it was steering better by that point.
It was.
It was.
Was it on leave still?
It was the front.
Yeah.
And then, you know, so we decided to leave it.
And by the way, we did this trail on a Sunday at like eight or nine a.m.
We started and we didn't get out till one a.m.
Or so on Monday and still had to drive back to Phoenix.
I had to go to work Monday morning because I already scheduled a bunch of stuff.
And then we had to like rush delivery, front axle shafts.
And then I had to go buy new ball joints.
I think I borrowed your ball joint press.
And, you know, we had to get food, tools and parts, water, like a whole bunch of stuff.
You ordered shafts.
Yeah.
And, and they, that was your East Coast gear supply.
And they, they were like nice enough to be like, okay, it'll be there by like Wednesday
or something from ordering it on Monday.
So that was awesome.
You know, they, they were like, they understood, you know, like, this is a big
problem and we can help you with it.
Like granted, you got to pay for it.
You got to pay for a rush shipping.
Yeah.
But that was definitely an awesome outcome.
Because if we wouldn't have gotten the front axle shafts, like, I don't know how we
could have gotten it out.
Yeah.
I don't know either.
Yeah.
Honestly, it took forever to get it out of this, just where it was stuck.
I think it took us three hours to winch it out of the spot it was stuck in.
Yeah.
But that was such a cool, a cool picture of like how many winch lines we had running
all over the place trying to.
Because we were, were we using three snatch blocks?
Yeah.
We used one on the cage to pull it out of the obstacle like sideways.
And then we had to go a specific direction for it to go back to get it off the wall as well.
Yeah.
And then it still came back to the truck and another point just to.
The way you move the ass around and get it backed out.
Yeah, it was, it was a feat for sure.
Because there was just winch lines everywhere.
Yeah.
We pointed that one spot.
And there was winch lines connected to winch lines that we had to like disconnect
as we kept pulling the winch in, right?
And yeah, yeah, because it was to get the length on.
Yeah.
So we had like extended way out there to be around to keep everybody in a safe spot.
Yeah.
And yeah, that was nuts, dude.
And then, yeah, so then we back it up out of there.
And I think we took a break actually.
Yeah.
Because it took forever.
And then we just got busy, bro.
And like, I couldn't believe every repair worked.
Yeah.
Like just did its thing.
Because you did the rear axle shaft and all the flange bolts.
They all had to be like drilled and easy out removed.
That's right.
Because we had to get new bolts and a new axle shaft for the rear.
And then I started on the front axle shaft,
like, which just needed to be replaced with a new one.
But then we had to get an entire knuckle off or something.
Yeah.
We took the whole knuckle off because the top ball joint got pushed out when the axle shaft broke.
And then we only got it seated about three quarters of the way back in.
So someone that was with us on the trail had one of those carnage welders.
And I just put three heavy tacks, like from the knuckle to the greasy ball joint.
We didn't clean up nothing.
And it held, it held perfect, which was amazing.
That the like that.
No, you put in a new one, right?
When it first broke, that's how we put it back together.
Like we used a bottle jack and somehow the ball joint went most of the way back in.
And then I tacked it for the rest of it.
So it wouldn't just come out again if there was too much pressure on it.
Right.
Yeah.
It was crazy.
So I thought you guys changed the ball joint at the end, like that.
No, we did that when you and Brian came with us to fix it.
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Oh, okay.
So it did get fixed before to actually get it out.
Yes.
That had to get replaced.
Yes.
Right.
Yep.
And then, yeah, because then I put together one side of the hubs up front.
Yep.
That was actually cool.
You know what's funny?
We were so shocked that when I shoved a magnet in the rear axle shaft, it came out.
The broken piece did.
But then it's a full-float axle.
Of course it's going to come out.
Well, and we had already rolled the truck about 40 feet.
And since that axle shaft wasn't connected to the hub anymore, there was no more binding.
Oh, right.
You know, so like it should have, ideally it was loose enough to retrieve it.
Yeah.
And then not one of the bolts fought me easy outing.
They all came out pretty smooth.
I did take very, just nothing got rushed.
We just took our time taking it all apart.
And then you even had to put a whole new winch line on.
Yeah.
Oh, we broke our winch line multiple times on that trail.
Yep.
That was crazy.
And then we had to build a highway to get you out of that obstacle you were in.
Yep.
But we did go back and unstack it.
I was going to say that too.
And the whole time we walked up, we unstuck all that crap.
So we built it and tore it out.
And I got pictures of all that crap in case nobody believes us.
Which people don't.
It don't matter.
We did do it.
And we know we did it.
Exactly.
Who cares?
But it was crazy because I want to say the first day on that trail is when we broke.
That was a 17-hour day on that trail.
And then when we went back that Thursday morning and went to fix everything,
I think that was about a 14-hour day.
It was definitely dark.
To winch it out, fix everything and finish the trail.
Because there's quite a loop at the end to get back to camp.
Yeah.
Because we were even talking about just leaving it and coming back in the next day to get it out.
Because we were so tired.
Yeah.
Yeah, that was insane.
I don't know why we took it out.
We did too.
I think just because we could.
And while the sun is going down and it definitely got dark on the way out.
It was black by the time we went up that last hill.
So yeah, that was cool, man.
But that was a fiasco.
There was a bunch of drama wrapped around it.
I guess we won't go into.
And that was just nonsense.
But shit happens.
You're going to get it in a trail.
You're going to get stuck sometimes.
And you're going to push the limit.
Now you know, you'll stay out of stuff like that.
If you can find and figure it out.
And I mean, as an honest mistake anyway about like, oh, nobody knew, you know,
but that was a long trail, not a long trail to walk.
But dude, the trail itself is nuts.
Yeah.
There is that one section where you're like this off camber double step sideways thing
over not a little pool of water.
Yeah.
Huge pool of water.
And sludgy with like bugs and all kinds of that.
And you're held upside down if you go in that.
And you're leaning towards it as you go up the obstacle.
Yeah.
You're off camber going around that pool over the obstacle.
That was nasty.
It was gross.
Yeah.
So that was real nasty.
Some of that crap, I was like, I don't even know how you made it as far as you did.
So the fact that you did make it that far.
It was awesome.
Yeah.
And it was so cool that you and Brian both like had to take off work, drive out of town.
Basically like it's like what hour and a half out of town from us.
But like without that help, I think it would have been much worse.
Or we would have been camping potentially by the truck in order to get everything done
with just me and my girlfriend, Kida.
Yeah.
It was a hell of an adventure for sure.
And it did take it.
Brian, he has that scout.
I felt bad when I was like, you can make it dude.
Just turn into the rock.
And sometimes that works because it pivots you away.
It normally works.
It did not work.
Just not a.
He munched that side on the way in and he munched the other side on the way out.
Dude is tagged hard.
But now he has high clearance rear corner fender.
What is that called?
Those brush bars or whatever.
No, it's just the whole side, the body, you know.
But now he has a high clearance body in the back of a scout, which is awesome.
Self-clearanced.
Yeah.
Self-clearanced.
Dude, it was funny because I felt horrible because this scout looks beautiful.
Yeah.
And I walked through the other side and he's all bass to shit.
And I'm like, no, I don't feel bad at all.
That's horrible.
I mean, I do feel bad because especially when it happened, I don't know.
It was just one of the things, man, where I've seen that a lot of times.
I'm like, turn into it and it'll lean the body the other way.
And it just didn't do that.
It just smushed it.
I was like, oh my God.
I feel like an idiot.
It's just a very hard trail.
Even that last section that's easier to get out is a hard trail.
Oh, yeah.
You know, that was when I drove Don's Jeep camera.
Yeah.
It's still freaking big.
Because you can't see anything.
No, and it's dark.
And has he got a camera on the axle or is it above the axle?
I think it's in the grille.
Yeah.
Dude, once I figured out the distortion of it, I was like, oh, this is awesome, man.
I just drove most of that trail back.
And that's just a TJ, but it's extremely big.
And I think the front sits a little higher than the back.
And then the seats sit extremely low and like the cage is low.
It's hard to see anything.
So you can't see over the hood.
I think it's almost as bad or worse than seeing out of the Dodge before I narrowed the front.
It's got to be worse.
Yeah.
It's got to be worse.
It's a huge thing.
I don't even know how to explain it because even the like the hood had been raised.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
It's a clearance to whatever, shocks or whatever, big 43s.
Yep.
43s.
Yeah, that's, but it was fun, man.
I couldn't believe how good it drove.
It drives great.
It just point and shoot anywhere you want.
And it just absolutely works.
So I probably built that up, but just because we can't spill the beans.
And if you're almost out of the drama and it's been almost a year.
Yeah, I would like to stay out of the drama.
Let's just stay out of it.
Yeah.
I know I wasn't going to do anything either.
I was going to tell everybody to just shut the hell up.
So that's it, dude.
I'm just kidding.
But like it's been a cool couple of years for us at least or for me, you know, like
with that we got the red truck all built up.
It's all on links and coilovers.
And we've been going a ton of places.
Yeah, you have.
You actually wheeled like crazy amounts this year.
It's been super cool.
I'm going to next year.
I keep saying that every time, but you help me get the little wheelies up on
stuff to start working on.
I've been cleaning up around the house.
I got what I was, what I was shooting for at work.
So that's awesome.
That's all done.
Now I just got to get the wife back.
School is basically done, right?
Yeah.
I have one more semester and then I'm done with it.
But I got the job anyway.
So when I was pushing for, I've got it.
Oh, ditch school.
And then my wife is on, she's doing her clinicals now.
So she'll be back to work.
She hasn't worked in like two and a half years.
So three years, something like that.
And things are not getting cheaper.
Oh my gosh.
So I mean, that's a struggle on itself.
Yeah.
Just all of it, trying to survive on just what I make.
You know what I mean?
Like it's crazy.
Now we did good and it's not easy for sure, but it'll be worth it totally.
So because she should make more than I do.
So when it's all said and done.
Well, and if you can get a nice little tow truck and a trailer,
then you'll just be able to take it anywhere you want.
And no matter what happens, you'll be able to get it home.
For sure.
And after driving your truck, I'm not trying to prove anything anymore.
I've already proved everything I needed to with the Jeep.
So I have no problem putting it on a trailer now.
Yep.
Like it's, it was fun.
It was so much better.
It's nice.
You can cruise, you can, you know, fight in the heat.
None of that stuff.
There is no, about it.
Because I had a blast dude.
Like the Thanksgiving thing, I was, it's weird when you don't will,
it's like going to the gym.
It's like, you know, it's hard to get there.
But once you get there, you're like, oh, this is fun.
It's awesome.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
You get used to it again.
And then like the wheeling thing.
Yeah, should I just had a good time?
I was definitely rusty.
Like, holy shit, I can't believe about that.
When you doubt yourself, right?
And I think everyone does that a little bit,
especially when you're on a new trail and it's, it's hard.
It's hard or it's harder than you think, you know,
because it's like, oh, it's, it's a 10 out of 10 on the off-roading apps or whatever.
And you're like, damn, a 10 out of 10 is crazy.
But we all managed it.
And if we needed to, we have winches.
Yeah.
And it was fun.
And that's what they're for.
Like Sledgehammer was a bit crowded.
That was the only one that we got jammed up on.
But that was because somebody else in front of us, wasn't it?
Well, there was just all of a sudden, like multiple groups when,
when it was really slow moving.
I think people caught up to us and then some of the buggies like passed us.
So then they were in front of us.
And it just felt like a lot.
But it was really that one section.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was not bad, like traffic wise.
No, that was good.
And everyone was there to see everyone else make it.
Yeah.
That was the coolest part.
You know, it's like, no one cared that you were stuck or like,
you were struggling on an obstacle.
They were just like, oh, this guy's working it.
You know, like, I want to see him make it.
Yeah.
That's what it felt like to me.
It was cool too, because we had like a array of different Jeeps.
You know what I mean?
Like buggies and we had some buggies with us and we have our Jeeps or your truck.
And that just felt like different vehicles.
They were all a little different.
So you definitely pointed out some things that work better in one obstacle
and not in the other and vice versa.
Well, every rig will have an obstacle that it's better on than someone else's.
Yeah.
Like you can't build the one perfect, well, maybe, but not like,
not like a at home build on a budget.
Well, budget, you know, whatever.
But there's still the fine line.
Like if you drive it on the road, it's only going to go so far.
Exactly.
If you want to cruise the road, you know,
where that is what's still cool about the wheelies is like it'll,
it still books around the road.
No problem.
And you can pick up your grandson to flex on his friends at school.
That's right.
In your monster truck.
I'm going to flex on it.
Kevin's got no shot.
None.
Actually, I think it's Cody.
He's like, yo, bring me the, bring the Jeep, dude.
Yeah, that was cool.
Anyway, hey, that was fun.
I think we're done actually.
Oh, I got to do a joke.
We got to do a joke.
Every snail trail four by four podcast episode ends with a joke.
Okay.
Do you know Apple is going to come out with a car?
I did not.
Yeah.
I'm not going to buy it because it doesn't have windows.
Okay.
Did you get it?
It's good.
Yeah, it's got Apple software instead of Windows software.
Yeah.
It's good when you have to explain it back to you.
That's how you know it landed.
Because I knew the answer.
Yeah, it was good.
It was a solid, solid 10.
10 out of 10.
I was going to say it landed solidly.
Dude, that was Matthias' joke.
I stole it.
Nice.
I stole it.
That's good.
Right.
Well, this is the Mike and Max Offroad podcast signing out.
Yep.
Peace, fellas.
About this episode
Mike and Max spend most of the takeover episode swapping trail stories and wrenching notes, starting with a Jeep that bogged down at half throttle because of a clogged fuel filter and tank debris. They dig into TBI fuel pressure, ignition timing, and the idea of building lighter around a Samurai platform. The back half turns into a Johnson Valley and Payson recap, with favorite trails, brutal obstacles, broken axle shafts, and a long overnight recovery that stretched into the early morning.
After being away from podcasting, they came out of retirement to help Tyler and Jimmy while they are out at TrailHero Expedition. I guess it never hurts to ask. It’s so much fun hearing these guys back on the mic, talking about their trips to Johnson Valley and a location that shall not be named. It’s also great to hear that they are doing well in life and still able to go wheeling.
We have a massive discount this month with Rusoh Fire Extinguishers. You can get 25% off this month only with the discount code Rusohcrawlers. Go grab yours today!
SnailTrail4x4 Discord: https://discord.gg/yFyFFkQbuy Come hang out with us on the SnailTrail4x4 Discord — it’s the easiest way to connect with Tyler and Jimmy directly, chat with fellow offroad enthusiasts, and get first access to Group Buys and Treasure Hunt token drops.
MORRFlate Giveaway at 900 Reviews on Apple Podcast. But our next giveaway is when we reach 800 reviews; we are giving away an OnX Elite Membership. We will also give away an OnX Elite membership when we get to 850. However, when we reach 900 Reviews, we are teaming up with MORRFlate for a $1000 MF Product Giveaway. Go over to Apple Podcasts to leave your review now and become eligible to win. Congratulations to A13XMONT, who won a set of tires from Yokohama Tire!
Call us and leave us a VOICEMAIL!!!
We want to hear from you even more!!! You can call and say whatever you like! Ask a question, leave feedback, correct some information about welding, say how much you hate your Jeep, and wish you had a Toyota! We will air them all, live, on the podcast! +01-916-345-4744. If you have any negative feedback, you can call our negative feedback hotline, 408-800-5169.
4Wheel Underground has all the suspension parts you need to take your off-road rig from leaf springs to a performance suspension system. We just ordered our kits for Kermit and Samantha and are looking forward to getting them. The ordering process was quite simple, and after answering the questionnaire, we ensured we got the correct and best-fitting kits for our vehicles. If you want to level up your suspension game, check out 4Wheel Underground.
SnailTrail4x4 Podcast is brought to you by all of our peeps over at irate4x4! Make sure to stop by and see all of the great perks you get for supporting SnailTrail4x4! Discount Codes, Monthly Give-Always, Gift Boxes, the SnailTrail4x4 Community, and the ST4x4 Treasure Hunt! Thank you to all of those who support us! We couldn’t do it without you guys (and gals!)!
SnailSquad Monthly Giveaway
Massive thanks to this month’s giveaway with Rusoh Fire Extinguishers. We have one of their 2.5-pound extinguishers to give away to a lucky winner. This extinguisher has an 18-year shelf life and is the best fire extinguisher for any off-road vehicle. To learn more, check out Rusoh.com. If you want a chance to win, sign up for the Giveaway Tier on Irate4x4
For the Month of April, we are giving away Gift Boxes. Its Gift Box month and two luck indiviuals will win a one of our gift boxs. These are jam packed with goodies from tools to whiskey smokers. They are always different and always random. If you want a chance to win, sign up for the Giveaway Tier on Irate4x4
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