April 27th 2024
I’ve Been thinking about this trip for quite a while and since the Pryor’s are so close. It’s been years since I’ve been up there, and I really wanted a good shakedown of the Landcruiser before we go on a 3-4 day Missouri Breaks trip.
Not necessarily anything big but an observation, having camped out of a truck for so long and not really needing to worry about how it all gets packed in, the cargo area of our little FJ60 gets quite cluttered very quickly. Tool’s (it’s 40 years old), tent, kitchen, clothes…..it gets a bit disorganized. AND EVERYTHING SQUEAKS!!!! SO loud in the cabin…..A work in progress for sure.
We got a bit of a late start, I would have liked to have been gone by 7-8am but we hadn’t prepared at all, so it was closer to 10:30 I think when we got going.
Mile 0, Billings
I went and got us some sandwiches at Carmel Cookie Waffle. They went in the cooler with a couple bananas, protein shakes and water. Loaded up a few tools, jerry can of fuel, some tools and off we went. I had fueled up the LC last night, the jerry was empty and we’d fill it in Bridger. I hadn’t been getting more than about 6.5 MPG around town with the LC so the jerry can was in case she got thirsty. Turned out to not be need though, more on that at the end.
MIle 47, Bridger, MT
We made our way to Bridger, where we topped up on fuel, got a few snacks and pressed on. There were looming clouds over the mountains to our east as we pulled out of town and it looked as though we were going to get rained out. Pryor Mountain Road is not something you want to tackle on your own if it’s wet. The first few miles past Pryor Gap Road, even though it’s a ranch access, is deeply rutted red dirt and clay that turn into the devils soup when wet. Slippery and sticky all at once, clogging up your MT tires and then adding 0% traction, and you're going nowhere fast. We were alone, and had minimal recovery gear so if it started to rain we would have to abandon the trip for today.
Mile 67 Sage creek rd/Pryor Gap Rd
It’s been sprinkling on us but nothing to worry about yet, the road is deeply rutted, but dry so we’re pressing on. We’ve gained about 1000’ in elevation from home, one thing I want to see is how the truck behaves at altitude, does the HAC kick in or does it sputter and complain a little. SO far so good, she’s running great! It’s been at least 15 years since ive been down here and the Bowler flats area is now a very large wind farm, who knew?
Mile 70 Sage creek turnoff
We’re through the worst of the road, having transitioned from private property to forest service land about 1/4 mile ago and the road has gotten drastically better! Now the climb begins and the LC is running great.
mile 78 we’re at the top
7100 feet and no issues, the road to Big Ice Cave is still closed for a few more days so were heading down FS1017 Crooked Creek road.
The initial drop in is a little steep and snowy, but there is a KIA up here so I know its not going to get worse, we stop for a minute so I can lock in the hubs (I kinda forgot) just in case, and off we go. A mile or two in and the scenery opens up, you can see down the canyon all the way to Cowley and Lovell, Wyoming. Crooked Creek has carved itself a very deep vertical canyon lined with layers of gray, red, and white rock providing an impressive view along the way as well as a bit of a pucker factor in the narrow parts of the road. It offers no protection should you misplace a tire over the edge, your going over, and its a long way down. The steering of my 39 year old Landcruiser is a bit of a problem. All of the normal solid axle issues have been sorted out but I still have a bit of a sway/under/over steer issue when she gets flexy. I haven’t quite sorted it out, my thought is the whole spring pack is shifting but I can’t verify it for sure. From time to time in certain conditions the whole front end just seems to swoop left or right. Its not necessarily an issue and I know when its going to happen, but when your mere inches away from certain death and she sways towards the void, well lets just say you’ll be awake for sure.
Mile 86 Lunch
We found a nice knob to pull up on, decided to have the sandwiches we brought along. From here you can see the whole valley from Warren, Montana to Graybull, Wyoming. Heart mountain poking up to the west and way off in the distance the Wind River Range is getting hammered with a storm. If it wasn’t for the commute and the wind, a cabin right here would be just fine by me. Stormy afternoon though and the wind kept us from sitting here too long, so we pressed on down the road. The road gets pretty rocky from here on down, and everything in the old cruiser was squeaking, shaking and making an abundance of noise.
Mile 93 HELT Road
After a tooth jarring 7 or so miles we turned right onto Helt Rd hoping for a reprieve from the rocky downhill, but it wasn’t to be. After a few miles I’d finally realized the really loud noise was from the roof rack mounted Hi-Lift Jack, so it came down and rode the rest of the trip out on the floor of the back seat. It’s fixed now and shouldn't be a problem next time, glad we figured it out. the rest of the drive on dirt was just a little quieter now!
Mile 104 Quarry road
Next time I’ll have a pump and deflators with me (I found the deflators in the back of the cruiser later) so we can drop the tire pressures on these rocky sections. I hadn’t planned as much as I should have and didn’t think the deflators were with us, and the pump I had was missing battery connections so we never aired down like we should have. It would have been much more pleasant and way less jarring on all the old bits, but nothing broke, came loose, fell off……so it was a successful “Shakedown” …..quite literally.
By the time we got yo Quarry Rd we had both had enough and decided pavement back to Bridger was the way to go……4 miles to highway 310……on pavement…
Mile 108 Highway 310
Right turn and we traded the rocky, squeaky, grumbly 40 year old truck noises for the slap of probably out of round, probably out of balance, blown shock tire noise for the next 21 miles back to Bridger. It almost seemed quiet! Ok so some of those things are probably slightly true and I am trying to get them dealt with, but time is money and money is time. The tires are in ok shape, the shocks …….eh…..but I need new wheels for it so I can get the spacers the previous owner installed removed, and finding a wheel that fits(and isn’t $$$$$) the cruiser is proving to be harder than I had anticipated. More on that later though.
mile 129 Bridger, Montana
We pulled into the Conoco, topped off the fuel, cleaned the red dirt off the windows and headed for home. Laura seemed to be getting sick so straight home, 47 miles to go.
mile 177 home
Started running some numbers and found that we averaged 12mpg on the trip, way better than I had expected. I got an IR thermometer after parts of the truck, wheel bearings, differentials, steering gearbox, and transmission without finding anything of real concern. the right knuckle was running 5 degrees or so warmer then the left so I’ll keep an eye on it …but the shakedown was successful in my mind, nothing fell off and nothing broke! I’ve been planning a trip I mentioned above through the Missouri Breaks and the 3 old river ferries still operating on the Missouri River in Montana……I think that’s next….Stay tuned!
Having lunch halfway down Crooked Creek Rd FS1017