The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)

[1985-GMC]

Awesome! It looks like fun!


Hey where's the bow tie for the front of your burb?

[lowrollin70gmc]

That looked like fun, I remember seeing snow at the higher elevations when I was on the 40 late last week and your boy has the best way to test gravity!

I just put Goodyear Duratrac's on my 68 but it's going to be buried in snow instead of driving in it this year, but I have a feeling they'll work out better than the all terrains. Anyways, here's my build thread so you can see how much more detailed yours is compared to my three week thrash.

The Dakota Cadillac Build Thread

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Nice. I had BFG AT's on a 1989 Toyota xtra cab and they worked great for us. Except in gooey mud, but not much works good in that.

We used these on my wifes 99 suburban and I have to say, they were the best tire I ever had for snow on a truck. I've got blizzaks on my car.
http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tires...productID=1055

I think these tires would do ok, but I'm thinking the deck was stacked against them in this instance. I was pulling a pretty decent grade 8-10% on snow that had packed, melted and re-froze and the road was banked toward the hill that I kept sliding towards. It was too much at one time for them. Maybe the Blizztecs would have done it, but I'm doubting it. Some people passed me after I backed out on a Ranger or Rhino and they had a bit of a go keeping it on the trail right there too.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Awesome side trip, and you can have all our snow this year!

Thanks!! No, you need the snow where you are at. I appreciate the offer though.

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Awesome! It looks like fun!


Hey where's the bow tie for the front of your burb?

It was a hoot. I think I threw the bowtie away. It had the chrome silhouette on it when I got it but the blue inner piece was gone. I like the clean egg-crate grille so I took it off and blacked out the mounting tabs so they don't stand out.

Originally Posted by lowrollin70gmc

That looked like fun, I remember seeing snow at the higher elevations when I was on the 40 late last week and your boy has the best way to test gravity!

I just put Goodyear Duratrac's on my 68 but it's going to be buried in snow instead of driving in it this year, but I have a feeling they'll work out better than the all terrains. Anyways, here's my build thread so you can see how much more detailed yours is compared to my three week thrash.

The Dakota Cadillac Build Thread

It was fun--especially for my boy. Good start on the thread there.

[mosesburb]

Well, this one is a little out of order. We ran this one back in late October and I shot five hundred and some odd pics so it was a very large elephant that needed to be eaten somehow. Trunk or tail--gotta start somewhere.

Anyways, I started whittling the mess down and loading them so here we go!! I had a bit of a camping jones going on and my boy had his "fall break" going on, so I decided we should try some cooler weather camping. I wanted to head up by Flagstaff to one of my old haunts, but with elk season going on I figured that might not be the best idea. I came up with a plan "B", but we needed something to do before we camped. I got to wandering around in my maps and I recalled a buddy of mine from work telling me about a great time he had at Fossil Creek. Hmm, that sounds like a good destination. I didn't do any research prior to take-off which I probably should have. Oh well.

My wife had something going on so she was not able to join us on this run. We set out Thursday am and headed north. We went in from the Camp Verde side and experienced twenty miles of the worst washboard road I have run in years. It was miserable. There was no speed I could find to tune the wheelbase of my Suburban to the frequency of the washboard--or even get it close for that matter. That part of the journey was no fun whatsoever. I even locked the hubs and tried four wheel drive to see if it helped. It didn't.

The road aside, there is some nice scenery to be viewed on the way in.



This was a neat little switchback type curve that had some nice contrasting colors:



I'm not sure what this was, whether it was an outcrop of some sort or a very old mine dump, but it looked cool:



So after twenty-ish miles of misery, a "T" is reached. Left or right. Gotta pick one.



This is where I wished I had done some prior research into the area as the power plants mentioned are closed and/or gone. Now, not knowing the history of the area, I thought the Childs plant must be the one down by the Verde River that I had seen pictures of some time ago. We go right. By my odometer it is actually eight miles.

So we head off to the Childs Plant/Verde River. Now not having done any research I had no idea what to expect to see. Well, my introduction to Fossil Creek was rather abrupt. I caught a glance of it through some bushes and could not believe what I was seeing. I had to stop and take a better look. Yes I was actually seeing what I thought I was seeing.



I had never seen water this clear before. Absolutely gorgeous.



Amazing. I could not believe how clear the water was. It was like a flowing swimming pool. Now notice the concrete pilings in the background. There are all kinds of remnants like those along the creek and road. They will be better explained later. So we continue down the road and come across some signs for a lake that does not exist (anymore) and finally make our way down to the Verde River, but not before passing this sign:



My boy asks me what the sign says. I tell him it says you can't run around without clothes on. He doesn't believe me. I explain it to him again and I still don't think he believes me. Honestly, I never expected to be explaining that out in the middle of nowhere, but I guess that is as good of a place as any.

I have a lot more photos and words to go with them, but I think this is a good place to end for today.

[1leglance]

This is gonna be a good one..
I have not been in that area in a while and really want to go play in the water with the family when the temps get hot.
Looking forward to reading more

[hgs_notes]

Around here if there was something called green river or lake, good chance you wouldn't see 3 inches into it from the algae growth. Very pretty waterfall there.

[1985-GMC]

Very cool!

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by 1leglance

This is gonna be a good one..
I have not been in that area in a while and really want to go play in the water with the family when the temps get hot.
Looking forward to reading more

Oh, it is a good one. We haven't even gotten to 1100 on day one yet. You will really want to go play in the water when you see some of the pics I have yet to load.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Around here if there was something called green river or lake, good chance you wouldn't see 3 inches into it from the algae growth. Very pretty waterfall there.

This is the only clear water I have seen in the state. I have seen nice looking water, but none this clear unless it was in a swimming pool.

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Very cool!

Thanks!!

[mosesburb]

Ok, so after you pass the sign that states you must remain clothed, you arrived at the Verde River. Yes, as a matter of fact, it is green. Anyways, the area draws people who like to run around with no clothes on and on the other side of the river is a hot spring with a tank. I saw no unclothed people while we were there.

As soon as you arrive at the river, if you look over your right shoulder you see this:



This is the Childs Power Plant. It was constructed in 1908 to send power to the mining towns in the Bradshaw Mountains. Towns/cities such as Crown King, Poland, Clarkdale and Jerome all used power generated at this plant. The plant used flumes and penstocks to transfer water from Fossil Creek to turn the generators in the power plant. The plant is all fenced off, but in our aimless wandering we came upon some "tunnel" looking openings under the plant that were not fenced off. That is as good as an invitation for me.



So we go up the trench/tunnel and end up under the plant. We are greeted with a really neat water wheel apparatus (and the prerequisite discarded Bud Light can):



The thing is really neat looking. At this point I was still not sure how it was used. I later found out that these are the original water wheels that were installed when the plant was built.



Upon crawling up and under the water wheel I saw the motivation for the water wheel:



The water would come down the penstocks under tremendous pressure and shoot out of the upper hole and hit the wheel and rotate it. The shaft that the wheel is mounted to has a generator on the other end of the shaft. That is how the electricity is produced. After it spins the wheels (three total), the water flows out the trenches and into the Verde River.

This is a daily report sheet I found in one of the tunnels:



The service yard area:



This is a substation that was located across a creek bed. I am sure the creek bed had something to do with the operation, but I can't find information on that.



The required gratuitous truck shot:



So, this gets us to the Verde River. We now have to make our way back out to the sign where we had to go left or right. I have to sort through more pics and load them, so this will end today's installment of The Suburban Travels. Stay tuned for more fun and adventure!!

[1leglance]

Way cool...
I have never been there but heard about it...top of the list for a day trip now.
Thanks for posting the pics , more important thanks for getting the rig out in the dirt so people can see the old iron in action

[1985-GMC]

I want one!

[hgs_notes]

Very cool. I'm a boiler inspector and do some small generating plants once in a while. I was also a nuke operator on navy subs for a while, so this stuff really trips my trigger. If I ever get my Jimmy out there I'm looking you up for some back country goofing off.

For clear water up this way we have some abandoned iron mines that are great for diving, and then Lake superior which is also a great dive location. I love shipwrecks.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by 1leglance

Way cool...
I have never been there but heard about it...top of the list for a day trip now.

Wait until you see the good pics--you will want to leave the house upon viewing them.

Originally Posted by 1leglance

Thanks for posting the pics , more important thanks for getting the rig out in the dirt so people can see the old iron in action

That's what they are for right??

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

I want one!

An old power plant??

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Very cool. I'm a boiler inspector and do some small generating plants once in a while. I was also a nuke operator on navy subs for a while, so this stuff really trips my trigger. If I ever get my Jimmy out there I'm looking you up for some back country goofing off.

If you ever get out this way even without your Jimmy, you can look me up for some backcountry exploration.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

For clear water up this way we have some abandoned iron mines that are great for diving, and then Lake superior which is also a great dive location. I love shipwrecks.

I have a friend that goes up to da UP eh and sends me pics of Superior. I want to get up there one of these years.

[JAA]

This is an awesome thread. I think I have enjoyed the stories/scenery pictures just as much as the truck/fab pictures. BTW, I love your suburban. I think it is cool that you and your son go on all these adventures.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by JAA

This is an awesome thread. I think I have enjoyed the stories/scenery pictures just as much as the truck/fab pictures. BTW, I love your suburban. I think it is cool that you and your son go on all these adventures.

Hey thanks!! I'm glad you like it all. The thread has kind of morphed into a being a general repository for trail pictures and Cliff Clavin type stories. Just for the record, my wife usually travels with us. She has been absent (and missed) on the last couple runs though.
I noticed in your sig line that you have a 76 T/A with a 455. A buddy of mine has one of those with the same drivetrain. That motor is just a bit ridiculous for that vehicle (but way fun to drive)!!

Thanks again for the kind words.

[mosesburb]

On the other side of the truck is a thick stand of something. It is very dense and no path will be made trying to go through them. One must stay on the existing paths:



The path leads out to the Verde River:



Yes, it is green:



Down around the bend is where the crystal clear Fossil Creek meets up with the Verde River:



We did not go far enough south to find the actual confluence. I bet it looks really cool with the clear water mixing with the green water. Somewhere in the vicinity is an area where the river can be crossed. I did not see it anywhere and honestly I did not search too hard as I wanted to get back and check out some more of Fossil Creek.

On the way out of the area some neat scenery is available:



This was just a crazy yellow outcrop in the middle of nothing else that is yellow:



This was up by Stehr Lake (bed):



So was this:



Finally we meet back up with Fossil Creek:



Off in the distance some plumbing is running up the hill. This is more remnants of the power plants:



So now we are back at the creek on the trail that basically parallels the creek bed for some time. I need to load more pics, so this will end the Suburban Sagas for this evening. Our next installment will have our heroes traveling along taking some unbelievable pictures as well as impending tragedy and vehicular mayhem that may require some tools or maybe even a fire extinguisher.

[mosesburb]

So we made it back to Fossil Creek and then back to the initial sign:



The sign clearly states that the Irving Power Plant is three miles down the road. Well, we went more than three miles and never saw it. This is where some advanced research would have come in handy. Come to find out, the plant was decommissioned and removed. Yup, the whole thing is gone. It was kind of an interesting setup the way they ran the plant. The Irving plant (which is gone), took the water from Fossil Creek and ran it through its generators. Then the water left the plant and flowed through flumes over to Stehr Lake. Stehr Lake (now a dry lakebed) was used as a reservoir for the Childs Plant in the event of a water flow disruption like flume maintenance. The water flowed from Stehr Lake through flumes, then penstocks down to the Childs plant on the river where it was used again to generate power before being released into the Verde River. It was a pretty ingenious setup for early 1900's technology. Everything needed to build the plants, flumes and penstocks was brought in on mules--seriously. It was really amazing when that is figured into the equation. Most of the flumes have been removed as have most of everything else from the Fossil Creek area. Not much left to see. Now, had I know this, I would have been on the lookout for remnants along the way. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to go back another day.

This sign informs visitors of the diversity and fragility of the area:



This one shows where you can and can not go/camp:



In the area much navigation is done in reference to "the bridge". It is not a very picturesque bridge, but is is a bridge nonetheless:



This is a view off the upstream side of the bridge:



This is the downstream side:



We went down the rocky slope down to the water and this is under the bridge looking upstream:



This is looking downstream from under the bridge: (is that cool or what??)



This is just below the previous pic:



I am guessing the water is probably twelve to fifteen feet deep here. Absolutely amazing. (Hey Lance, you want to leave now or wait until sun-up??)



It was really cool watching the fish swim around ten feet down in the water. It looked like you could just reach in and grab them. Everywhere we looked there was something cool to look. I was absolutely amazed at how stunning this natural pool is. I wished it was just a bit warmer outside so I could have "fallen" in and gone for a swim.

Well, I have run out of pictures for today. The next installment will find our heroes discussing the origin of "the smell". Stay tuned!!

[hgs_notes]

The color of clear water on a tropical beach is what I was trying for with my C-10. That last pic is like that.

[skoffice]

I'm from Sacramento, and these pictures have me convinced that I will definitely find my way to Fossil Creek at one point in the next year. Amazing!!! Keep 'em coming!

[mosesburb]

So, last we heard our heroes were leaving the enchanted waters of Fossil Creek. Upon heading out toward Strawberry (the opposite way from the one we came in on), altitude is gained almost immediately and is constantly being gained almost all of the way to Strawberry. There are some very striking views to be had from the road.



Looking back to from where we came:





So in around here somewhere, I smell something. I think I know what I smell, but I hope I am wrong. I really hope I am wrong.

Me: You smell that??
My boy: Yeah. It smells like wheat.
Me: What?? Wheat?? No way, it smells like hot electrical.

But how?? Why?? More importantly, what?? This is the one I have no idea about. It isn't terribly strong stink-wise, but I am thinking it is definitely there. I decide I should stop and check it out. I find a nice scenic spot to pull toward the side. I open the hood and look around. Now, mind you, there is really minimal electrical on this truck. All of the main power feeds are in one spot. I grab each one and none are even remotely warm (no warmer than the ambient under-hood air). Well what the hell is going on. I can kind of smell it, but not really. Meh, maybe I was imagining it. Yeah, that's it.

So I close the hood and we head on. We keep steadily gaining altitude. We see more and more cool scenery. That zig-zag is the road up there:



This white mesa was really cool:





Right about here is where I decided I am not imagining what I am smelling. There has got to be something running hot. I stop and open the hood again and this time I find one of the inner hood support brace insulators laying on top of the turbocharger (long foam strips that go between the brace and the hood skin--actually the only one left). SWEET!! That has got to be it. Right?? Yeah, that has to be it. I grab it and throw it in the back and away we go. I keep inquiring with my boy that the smell is better now, right?? Well, it did get less intense, so I figured we must me on to something.





This little area off of the trail here didn't look like much at first, but a closer look showed it to be a ledge with about a 3.5 screamer to the bottom. Wow, all that uphill driving sure got us up a ways. Well, the smell is getting intense now. There is no denying it anymore. It stinks. Hot electricity. Permeating the vehicle. I am trying to get as close to civilization (and a fire department) as I can now. We are not too far so I am just going as long as we can go.

I did stop to look at the flowers though:



This was pretty neat with it on both sides of the road:



Shortly after we get past here we start seeing some signs of civilization. I decided to stop and unlock the hubs since we hadn't used four wheel drive in quite a while. While I was out I was thinking about our problem and something came to mind. When we are on dirt, I always run the auxiliary electric fans as it keeps the mechanical fan from engaging almost completely. I look in the grille as I pass by and whoa, only one fan is turning. Hmm. I open the hood and notice the other fan is billowing smoke. Hmm. Now I'm no electrical engineer, but I think this is a bad situation. I reach up under the fan and grab the connector and disconnect it. We continue on our journey, but that nasty hot-electrical smell remains with us for a long time and many miles. At least I figured out what was up before the smoke turned to flames.

As a side note, when I got back home, i wanted to check the situation out. I could not figure out why this had happened. There was no obstruction in the fan, it just locked up. But why did it not pop the fuse?? Did I put the wrong amperage fuse in?? I pulled the fuse holder and checked it and it had a 20A fuse in it. Well, that's not it. I put smaller and smaller fuses in it until I was at a 5A and it would not pop any of them. I thought this was strange. Anyways, I bought new fans for it, but unfortunately I have to tear the whole front of the truck off to get to pull the aftercooler to change them out. I have since re-engineered the mounting configuration to permit a fan change in the vehicle. Unfortunately circumstances have not permitted me to get to fab it up yet so right now it runs with only one auxiliary electric fan. Meh, it's winter right??

[hgs_notes]

Switchbacks are awesome. The last 2 pics are great srta reminds me of pics from the outback. As for the truck, you still have the mechanical fan also.

On the electric fan and not blowing fuses, they will usually just pop from a grounding condition. So if the fan has a bad bearing and it is just getting hot from that, it maynot draw enough amps to pop the fuse. The small fan motor is only capable of drawing so many amps based on the windings, etc. and really doesn't draw much for normal operation. When you tested the fan back at home with different fuses the fan had already cooled off and I doubt that you ran it til it got hot again. If you had the heat would have directly caused a higher amp draw and you would have blown a fuse. So the chain of events goes like this, bearing failure causes motor overheating, which eventually leads to insulation breakdown in the windings, which result in a through fault and then the fuse pops or fires happens or both.

Another mode of failure (usually on just heavier rotating equipment) is bearing failure where the rollers are discharged, resulting in the shaft loosing support and dropping, resulting in the rotor and stator contacting each other and damage to both. This can also result in the winding insulation being compromised (tore up) and a through fault and fire, etc.

[Dieselwrencher]

Great pics and sweet journey once again! I have seen electric fans do the same thing a few times. The only thing I can come up with is purchase a good reliable set the first time. They may be expensive, but there's a reason for that. lol:

[1985-GMC]

More awesome pictures! Im gonna have to take a trip out there in a couple of years.

[mknittle]

That does it! I have almost enough parts to buila a K20 and my 1990 dodge is falling apart at the seams.I love the cummins but the body is junk1 now I wish I had kept my 68.

[mknittle]

OOPS crappy 30 yearold pic.