Just finished my second pair of chaps. This is a pair of Arizona Shotgun chaps, after patterns by Bob Klenda, Klenda Custom Saddlery. I’m not sure where the designation “Arizona Shotgun” came from, but it may be the fact that there is no zipper or mechanical closure. These are true shotgun chaps, with fully closed leggings, but rather than using a mechanical closure of any kind, the legs are laced permanently together with a 1/2″ leather lace. Well, they can be unlaced, if necessary, but you don’t do it every time you put them on or take them off.
Arizona shotgun chaps are put on by turning the legs backwards, so that the toe of the boot is toward the laces, The natural bend of the leggings, as well as the way they are laced, allow the boot to slide down into the chaps easily. The leggings are then twisted around and pulled up into place, then secured with the belt.
Whereas most chaps use an assortment of hardware, buckles, snaps, rings, conchas, rosettes, etc, to hold them together and keep them in place, Arizona shotgun chaps use only one piece of hardware: a 1-1/4″ cart buckle for the belt. Of course, any similar belt buckle can be used, but the cart buckle is specified by Bob, so that’s what I used. I purchased the buckle online from Sheridan Leather. Sheridan only carries that particular buckle in solid brass, which, in my opinion, is perfectly appropriate for these chaps.
The Arizona shotguns were much simpler to make than the batwings I recently made, both from a pattern perspective, as well as from my own additional touches. Whereas on the batwings, I used 7/8 oz skirting leather for the yokes, pocket flaps, and belt parts, and then tooled them to taste, on the shotguns I used chap leather, turned rough-out, for the yokes and pocket flaps. I used an old belt blank I had for the belt parts and tooled them with a small basket weave pattern. For the chaps themselves, I used 5/6 oz oil-tanned chap leather from The Leather Guy. As before, I am very satisfied with the leather. It was exactly as described on the website. As with the batwings, everything was hand-stitched together. They went together quickly.
While the batwings pattern was coincidentally made in my size, I had to increase the upper thigh measurements for the shotguns. That was easy to do, simply by adding an inch to the side of the pattern that wraps around back of the leg. As per instructions written by Bob Klenda on the patterns, if length (outseam) must be adjusted, care must be taken to add or subtract equal parts from above and below the knee of the pattern, so that the knee of the chaps remains at the knee of the customer.
I felt like I made the legs of the batwings just a tad loose, although they were comfortable in the saddle, so for the shotguns I decided to fit them a little tighter. Once I tried them on, I wished I had given them one more inch at the upper-most thigh measurement. They are a bit snug, but still comfortable. After making two pair of chaps, I have determined that when measuring for size, one should measure the thigh measurements (upper thigh at crotch, mid-thigh, and above the knee) with a cloth tape, and it should only be pulled as snug as you wish your chaps to fit. Measure over pants you would normally wear in the saddle. A snug fit with the tape will result in a snug fit of the chaps. While chap leather will conform to the leg, even if tight, getting them on is a hassle, as you have to pull them up, then reach down and pull your pants down inside the legging, while holding the legging up at the same time. Even so, once I get my shotguns on, they are comfortable. I was able to adjust them just a little, by leaving the top lace a little loose.
All-in-all, I really like these chaps. They were easy to make, don’t have any zippers or other hardware to break, rust, or freeze up while out on the trail, and they are a little lighter than the batwings. They are very comfortable, as well.
I expect I’ll be wearing these on a lot of future horse pack trips.
A post on the facebook group Talking Horse got me to thinking about my first mustang.
I had just moved to Farmington, New Mexico and was in a position, for the first time since high school, to be able to keep a horse, so I went shopping. I have always preferred to buy a horse that was in need of some training…mostly because they come cheaper…so I came across this five year-old mustang gelding owned by an old cowboy horse-trader. Beware of those types. I was told he was broke and trained, but it was obvious he was pretty green. I mounted him and rode him around a few minutes and found he was pretty jumpy and more than anxious to go anywhere and do anything I wanted, including jumping into a trailer. I wanted to take a look at how he moved from the ground, so I put my son, about 14 years old, on his back while I led him around a bit. The horse got to fidgeting, hit a bit of mud, slipped and landed on his side…on my son’s foot. Broke his foot in five places.
So I bought the horse.
Once I started working with him, I figured out pretty quick that the horse had been taken off the range at five years of age, castrated, cowboy broke, then sold to the first sucker who came along…me. This was the first and only horse I’ve ever been bucked off of more than once. He was about as green and rank as they come. It took a while for him and me to come to an understanding.
The first good thing that happened was that my young daughters immediately wanted to go out and see my new horse. Of course they had to invite their friends. I went by a tack shop before hand and purchased several brushes and curry combs, hoof pick, and other miscellaneous items I was going to need, in preparation for beginning my training with this horse. The first time I took all the girls out, I had them stand back while I haltered and tied him to a post. I messed with him a little until he calmed down, then I invited each of the girls to take a brush or curry comb and start brushing a different part of the horse. You have never seen a horse settle down so quickly. This became sort of a ritual whenever the girls came out to see him.
I named the horse Max. No reason behind it, the name just seemed to fit. He and I did a lot of training together. He wasn’t the first horse I had trained, but I was a little older and took it a little more seriously with this one.
Max and Ed, taken during a horse camping expedition with one of my daughters
I expected to keep this one and put a lot of miles on him over the years. I started studying various techniques and trying to implement various things I understood and liked from a number of trainers. Eventually, we came to an “understanding” and we began to enjoy some very nice rides. He became a horse I trusted to get me “there” and back again.
Max wasn’t big, being only about 14 hands tall, maybe a mite shorter, but he was quite stout and strong. He was mustang strong, had very sound hooves, and absolutely never, and I mean never, got hurt. Additionally, he was a very easy keeper. There was a year when the area was suffering from a heavy drought and there were too many horses on the pasture for the feed available. While the other horse owners were supplementing feed to keep weight on their horses, Old Max remained fat as a butter ball. Seemed he could eat about anything.
There were times when I didn’t have time to ride for months at a time, but I would go out to the pasture and check on him often. My three daughters loved to go out with me and he always came to us and stood to let them brush him. I would often put a halter on him and sit the girls on his back and walk him around the pasture. The girls loved him.
It was funny to me how the girls could get on Max and ride him around the pasture, but when my oldest son got on his back, it was another story. My son, the one with the broken foot, honestly tried to learn to ride and to like that horse, mostly to please me, I think, but it just wasn’t to be. He didn’t like that horse and Max didn’t like him. It was amazing to me how they clashed, but my younger daughters could ride him around with no problems.
Then came my transfer. I was transferred outside the country for several years. There was no way for me to keep him. I was about to start advertising to sell him, when I learned that the pasture owner’s daughter had been feeding him apples in the pasture and had become attached to him. They pleaded with me not to sell the horse. I gave him to them and ended up selling them a saddle, bridle and all the tack they needed for $100. They gave the horse to their daughter for Christmas.
Several years later while taking my oldest daughter to college, we passed through Farmington on a visit. We took the opportunity to go out and visit Max. I told the girls that he hadn’t been ridden, or even messed with, since we left and that, in all likelihood, he wouldn’t even come up to us. They wanted to see him, nonetheless.
We drove out to the pasture and spotted the horses. We got out of the car and I let out a loud whistle. We saw Max’s head immediately come up and he left the herd and headed our way out of a 40-acre pasture. We had nothing to feed him, no halter, no brushes, but he came to us all the same. It was gratifying to know he remembered us. My two girls and I gathered around him and began to rub him with our hands while he sniffed and nuzzled.
Amy, then 16 years old, asked if she could sit on his back. I told her I didn’t think it was a good idea, because we didn’t have him haltered and I didn’t know what he would do. She insisted, so I relented, instructing her to jump off if he decided to take off or act up. He didn’t. He just stood there, seemingly enjoying our company. My younger daughter, Gina, then 9 years old, asked if she could get up behind Amy. I lifted her into place. Still no reaction from Max. He just looked at me expectantly. I started off walking out into the pasture and he followed at my elbow, just as if I were leading him, like we had done so many times years before. We walked around the pasture for more than half an hour like that, while I relived many good memories of the past.
That was the last time we saw Old Max. I expect he’s still there in that pasture, but he’d be around 25 years old now. I miss that old mustang. He holds a big place in the fabric of my life that tells the story of who I am.
A recent post on Horse Trails and Camping Across America about fuel mileage for trucks towing trailers, showed that a lot of folks are concerned about this and are looking for ways to save on fuel by adding after-market add-ons and accessories. I have a lot of these on my truck, so I thought I’d make a post about them, so that folks who are considering them might have a little real-life information to help them evaluate. I am open to PMs for anyone with questions through my facebook page.
2005 Dodge 3500 Dually
My truck is a 2005 Dodge 3500 dually, 5.9L Cummins Diesel, NV5600 6-speed standard transmission, 4-wheel drive, 373 diffs. I bought it used in 2009 with 208,000 miles on it. It was in very good condition and was apparently used by a medical corporation for hauling a trailer around to various disaster locations (that’s my best guess, from various hints I found in the documentation).
Normally I would never consider buying a vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it, but diesels are a little different in this regard. Diesel trucks used for long-hauling, that have had regular maintenance, regularly survive in good condition well up into several hundreds of thousands of miles. This bodes well for those considering buying a used truck, because, as in the case of my truck, people have a tough time selling a truck with over 200,000 miles on it, regardless of its condition, and if you shop around and know what you are looking for, you can do very well.
Before I began to look for a truck, I went to my Nephew, Aaron LeSueur, owner of LeSueur Advance Automotive, 255 North Main Street, Eagar, Arizona, who is one of the best auto mechanics in the state of Arizona. I asked him what I should look for in a diesel truck. After going over the various makes and models, he said this: “If I were going to buy a diesel truck and could pick whatever I wanted, I’d look for a 2005 Dodge with the 5.9 liter Cummins.” His justification was his personal experience with servicing diesel trucks over the past 10 years or so. In his opinion, the Cummins diesel engine has been around longer than the current offerings of all the major truck makers, and the 2005 was, in his opinion, the best year for that engine, before the federal government began increasing the air-polution equipment requirements on diesels. His second choice, as for an engine, was the Ford 7.3 diesel, which has been out of production since about 2001. He said the later Ford engines have been going through a lot of development problems, and to stay away from them until Ford gets things squared away (I’m told the offerings later than 2007 are much better).
So, with that in mind, I began looking for a 2005 Dodge 2500 (3/4 ton) or 3500 SRW (1-ton, single rear wheel) pickup. My other requirements were four-wheel drive, and standard transmission. The need, or desire, for four-wheel drive is pretty obvious, but many ask, “Why a standard transmission?” First, I have been raised on standard transmissions. I like shifting gears. I guess it just feels “like a man’s truck” to me. I have to admit that driving an automatic in traffic is much more comfortable, but there is no question that a standard transmission will last longer with fewer problems than any automatic transmission ever invented. As I started looking for a truck I found that any advertisement for a truck with an automatic transmission invariably had some statement attached to it to the effect of, “Trans shifts well”, or “fresh trans,” or “low mileage on new trans”, all of which indicate there is a problem with durability in automatic transmissions. When a truck has a standard transmission, it is rare to see any comment other than the fact that it has one.
My truck, like I said, had 208,000 miles on it when I came across it on eBay. It was at a dealership in North Carolina. Other than the dual rear wheels, it was exactly what I was looking for. It was advertised for $18,500, which was several thousand less than other trucks I had been pricing with single rear wheels, plus, this one was within driving distance, saving me about $1,000 in shipping cost. Interestingly, I found that out here in the east (I currently live in Virginia), where traffic tends to be high, people like automatic transmissions. Out west, where hauling might mean miles of open road, people seem to like standard transmissions. This particular dealer was having trouble unloading this truck with a standard NV5600 6-speed transmission and over 200,000 miles on it, out here in the eastern US.
After doing a little research, I discovered that the fuel mileage penalty for dual rear wheels is only about 1-2 miles per gallon, but that if one is planning to haul a heavy trailer, the extra stability offered by the dual rear wheels is substantial. As it was, reports from various forums I participated in agreed that the fuel mileage to be expected from a 2005 Dodge 3500 with the standard transmission and 5.9L Cummins diesel, was in the area of 17-22mpg (no-load, highway). This was the same as the official mpg rating on my 2000 Toyota Tacoma with a 4-cylinder gas engine and standard 5-speed transmission! I decided to take a look at this one.
Excellent condition for 208K miles
I contacted the dealer and made a tentative deal at $17,500. My inspection went well and I found the truck to be in exceptionally good condition, despite the mileage. The only obvious wear I could find was in the leather of the driver’s seat, on the left side where one gets in and out of the truck. I bought the truck for cash and ended up walking out with a total, including dealer fees, of $18,400, which was still well-below the asking prices of similar trucks I had been seeing in far poorer condition, both at dealers and from private individuals.
These are the accessories that either came with the truck or I have added since I bought it:
Bully Dog Outlook monitor/Triple Dog combo (v 2.4.3)
AEM Brute Force air intake
4″ exhaust (catalytic converter only, no muffler)
2″ leveling lift in front
Bilstein shocks (blue/yellow)
Buckstop Baja front bumper
PIAA driving and fog lamps
235/80-R17E Nitto Terra Grappler tires
Dynatrac ball joints
EMS Spyn-Tec Free-Spin hubs,
One-piece custom 5″ aluminum driveshaft
As I start talking about the accessories, let me set the proper tone with a short preamble here. Many of the listed accessories were on the truck when I got it. Others I added when I had to replace worn original parts, allowing me to leverage the upgrade cost against the replacement cost of the dealer part. Not only that, but I plan to have this truck the rest of my life. Barring an unforeseen catastrophe, I will never own another truck. Let it be clearly understood. There is no performance accessory made that will increase your fuel mileage enough to pay for itself over the time span the average owner will keep his/her truck. Also, you can not add up the various fuel mileage savings attributed to each individual component. The increased efficiency attributable to individual components simply becomes part of the whole system. In other words, if a manufacturer of one accessory component, such as a computer chip, says it will increase your fuel mileage by 5 mpg, and the manufacturer of an air intake system says you can save 5 mpg with their system, do not expect to get an extra 10 mpg by adding those two components to your truck. Trucks that have been modified for high performance, such as larger turbos, or dual turbos, will often benefit more from some of these add-ons than stock trucks. Having made myself clear on these points, I have to admit that I love adding accessories to my truck. I think it’s a natural thing. Just don’t deceive yourself by justifying the purchases based on fuel savings (unless that’s the only way you can get it approved by the spouse!)
Another point I think is relevant here, since we are trying to evaluate things that may increase fuel mileage, is that things such as tire size affect not only real fuel mileage, but also calculated fuel mileage. If you use wheels and tires that are not standard size, as stated by the truck manufacturer in the manual, your speedometer and odometer will be inaccurate, and will affect the accuracy of your fuel mileage hand calculations. Simply stated, if you put larger than stock tires on your truck, your speedometer will indicate that you are traveling slower than you are actually going (and cops and judges aren’t very sympathetic on that issue), and your odometer will understate your miles traveled. Therefore, your fuel mileage hand calculations will show fewer miles per gallon than you are actually getting. On the other hand, if you put smaller tires on your truck, you may be unjustifiably happy about your fuel mileage. On newer trucks, the truck’s computer can be programmed to adjust for non-standard size tires. Some after-market chip manufacturers also provide this capability. Using GPS to figure your distance mileage can overcome tire-size inaccuracy as well.
To add to the above, the factory installed digital fuel meters, which supposedly tell you your fuel mileage either cumulatively or up-to-the-minute, are notorious for overstating actual fuel mileage, particularly when you are babying the fuel pedal to increase your mileage. In my truck, I have babied the meter up as high as 23mpg in town/rural driving, while my actual hand-calculated mileage was in the area of 17mpg. Folks on truck forums jokingly call them the “lie-o-meter”. Vehicle manufacturers increase their vehicle sales by claiming increased fuel efficiency in their vehicles. That’s what everybody wants – better fuel economy – even in trucks, so it’s understandable that they would set their fuel meters to be, shall we say, optimistic. In normal driving, my meter normally shows about 19mpg, while my hand-calculated mileage hovers between 14 and 15 (town/rural driving).
Finally, before I begin the taste tests, I should mention that if you are contemplating buying a dual-wheeled (DRW) tow vehicle for your horse trailer, do not even consider one without four-wheel-drive. The dual wheels of the rear spread the vehicle’s weight over so much area, that there is actually very little weight on the rear tires individually, which results in reduced traction. A two-wheel-drive DRW vehicle will leave you stuck in the most aggravating circumstances. My pickup, even with the aggressively treaded mud/snow tires I use on it, will get stuck on level wet grass in two-wheel-drive if I have no load in it. It would be quite embarrassing to have someone in their family minivan pulling your truck out of a little old patch of mud somewhere! However, in four-wheel-drive, I can go just about anywhere. Again, if you plan on hauling a horse trailer around, do not consider a two-wheel-drive DRW truck. The fuel mileage penalty for four-wheel-drive is only about 1-2mpg, and in the Dodge trucks, that loss can be reduced to be comparable with a two-wheel-drive truck, as I will explain later.
The Chip
First, I’ll talk about the chip. Ever since computers entered the engine management scene a few years back, folks have been trying to circumvent the factory programming restrictions (to comply with government environmental regulations) to improve torque, horsepower, and fuel mileage. Since horsepower is the product of torque and RPM, and since diesel engines are low RPM engines, torque is the most important factor here. Chips reprogram the timing sequences of the diesel fuel injection system, to maximize power output of the engine. The increased torque (and therefore horsepower) increases fuel mileage simply because a more powerful engine pulls a load easier than a weaker engine, requiring less “foot” on the fuel pedal. Claims of huge fuel savings from chip manufactures have fallen far short of reality. To expect more than an increase of about 2-3 miles per gallon is unrealistic. Many people actually experience a drop in their fuel mileage after installing a chip, however this may properly be blamed on the “fun factor” of having increased horsepower. It’s so much fun to stomp the pedal once in a while and watch that black smoke billow as the rear wheels spin! It’s tough to resist feeling the power sometimes.
Bully Dog Triple Dog Power Pup programmer
Which brings us to another matter. Government regulation in the computer programming was occasioned by the fact that fuel injection can be timed to eliminate the black smoke problem that diesels have when too much fuel is dumped into the cylinder and cannot all be burned during ignition. However, if not enough fuel is dumped in, you lose power. The chip changes the programming to dump more fuel in a timing sequence that produces more power…and lots of black smoke. I found that with my Bully Dog chip set on a the most aggressive aftermarket program available for it, aptly named “Crazy Larry” after the programmer, I loved the power, which allowed me to easily spin the dual rear wheels on dry pavement even in fourth gear, but the amount of black smoke dumped on the gasping public was embarrassing. I have reset it to a more reasonable power level, which is a good compromise between black smoke and towing power. It increased my fuel mileage at most about 2mpg over the standard programming from the dealer for highway driving.
If you are considering a chip, here are some things you should know:
First, if you have an automatic transmission, the added torque will damage your transmission eventually. There is no question about it. You cannot avoid it by driving carefully. It will damage your transmission. If you decide you still want to chip your truck, you should consider having your transmission upgraded as well. There are modifications that can be done at a reasonable cost that will extend the life or your automatic transmission. There are also after-market transmissions that are built specifically for trucks with increased towing capacity and power. Neither of these options are a good investment, money-wise, unless you plan to have your truck for a very long time. If you have a standard transmission, you are safe as far as the transmission is concerned, however the more aggressive programs can overpower the clutch, causing it to slip and fail prematurely. There are aftermarket clutches that will remedy this problem, however in this regard, driving carefully is an alternative.
Secondly, if you chip your truck while it is under warranty, your warranty will be voided and will not be honored for any reason by the dealer. There is no way to conceal the installation of a chip from the dealer. Even if you remove it completely, they will see the tracks of the programming when they do their analysis. If you buy a truck that has had a chip installed, do not expect the dealer to honor the warranty.
Thirdly, if you chip your truck and take it in to a dealer for any kind of engine or drivetrain service, the dealer will, as a matter of course, reset your truck to its factory programming, unless you specifically tell them not to do so. If that happens, you will have to reprogram your truck after the service.
Fourthly, most chip programmers are “VIN-locked” (VIN = Vehicle Identification Number) to the vehicle on which the chip is installed. This protects the manufacturer’s interests, such that a person can’t use his programmer to program his friend’s truck. So if you buy a truck with a chip already installed, make sure you also get the programmer from the seller! In my case, I did not get the programmer (the dealer never received it from the original owner). When I started having trouble with the chip (which was reset to factory by the dealer), I could not re-program it. I found a programmer on eBay that was VIN-locked. I bought it and was lucky enough that the manufacturer, Bully Dog, looked sympathetically on my situation and unlocked it and provided the proper programming over the Internet. Do not rely on this to be the case. If you should decide to sell your truck, but wish to keep the chip components and programmer, you must “uninstall” the program, using the programmer, to unlock it from the VIN of your vehicle. It can then be installed on another vehicle, or the programmer can be used on another vehicle with the chip already installed.
Bully Dog Outlook Express monitor
My chip is a Bully Dog Triple Dog, which includes a small programmable monitor installed in the cab. It is an older model that is no longer manufactured. I have been pleased with the unit. The company is a small one and they were good to me when I needed their help. I was able to download from the Internet various unofficial programs for the unit, among which I found one I liked and have stuck with. In using these unofficial programs, I gave up some of the other functionalities of the programmer, such as the capability of adjusting my speedometer and odometer for tire size, and being able to read and clear vehicle error codes. If I were to go back to the Bully Dog factory settings, theses functionalities would be restored, but I would lose some performance. I prefer the performance.
Air Intakes
Much has written and said about the inefficiency of stock air cleaners on modern trucks. The fact is, they are pretty well engineered and effective. They represent a pretty good compromise between air flow, ease of maintenance, and cost of manufacture. Air flow, to a diesel, or any engine for that matter, is critical to the production of power, and therefore fuel efficiency. All late model diesel trucks are turbocharged. This means that all the air that goes into the air intake gets compressed in the turbo and shoved into the cylinders, where it is compressed even more, which causes it to heat up. It is combined with a tiny fog of fuel, which ignites under the heat and pressure, which, in turn, makes power to turn the crankshaft and eventually the rear wheels. The key is to get as much air into the turbo as possible. If you start that process with hot air, which is less dense than cold air, you get less air to compress, and therefore less air to burn with the fuel, resulting in less horsepower. If you have a restrictive air filter, or too small of an intake tube, you have the same problem.
AME cold air intake
To remedy this problem, after-market manufacturers have created what is know as a “cold-air intake” or CAI. A CAI attempts to get the air intake away from the hot air of the engine compartment and send a large volume of air to the turbo via a special air filter and a large tube. My truck came to me with one manufactured by AEM Induction Systems, which is highly regarded in the industry. Some manufacturers have claimed as high as a 10% gain in horsepower and substantial increases in fuel efficiency. Since my truck came with the AEM CAI, I have no data to compare a stock air intake system, however, from the various forums I have participated in, few truck owners have realized any substantial fuel mileage increases after installing a CAI system. No more than 1 mpg should be expected over a regularly serviced stock system on a stock truck. The stock systems are pretty good.
On the other hand, there are a couple shortcomings of CAI systems. One enemy of a turbo charged engine is moisture in the air intake. Moisture in the intake tube can cause premature turbo bearing failure, excess wear on the turbo blades, and can damage expensive sensors, such as the Air-Flow Sensor, which communicate with the vehicles’s engine management computer. Removing the air intake from the protection of the stock air box may improve air flow a little, but also places it where it may be subject to splashes of water. Additionally, a wet air filter severely restricts the airflow through it. I have not experienced any detrimental effects that may be attributed to the AEM CAI in my truck. I am quite happy with it.
Some manufactures, such as AEM, use an air filter that must be cleaned regularly and is re-usable after cleaning. I have found mine to be durable and easy to clean, but after cleaning I have to let it drip-dry before I can re-install it and drive. Not nearly as simple as slapping in a new paper filter and driving away. As always, the manufacturers recommend expensive cleaning solutions that are specifically formulated in their labs to be compatible with the special materials used in their air filters. I have found a solution of warm water and dishwashing soap to work very well.
Four-inch Straight Exhaust System
My truck came with a 4-inch straight exhaust system already installed. There is no muffler, but there is a catalytic converter installed. It is illegal to remove any factory-installed equipment that affects environmental regulations. While diesel trucks manufactured prior to 2006 enjoyed little in the way of government required smog-control devices, those that were installed, such as the catalytic converter, must remain, the fact that your state/locale may not conduct inspections for such notwithstanding.
Four-inch exhaust system with no muffler, only a catalytic converter
In my earlier life, I was quite into performance accessories for my cars and pickups that ran on gasoline. It seemed that the first thing anybody ever did to improve the performance of their vehicle was to install a set of “dual pipes” and exhaust headers. It was a well-documented fact that the installation of a set of headers was, dollar-for-dollar, the best way to improve engine horsepower. Improving the flow of exhaust gasses away from the exhaust ports of the engine, in fact, improves the performance of the engine. This is especially true of a turbocharged diesel engine. The turbocharger forces a high volume of air into the cylinders, but it can’t get air into the cylinders any faster than the exhaust system can get it out. As compressed air combusts, it expands at an explosive rate, which provides the power, so the exhaust system must be able to move air away from the engine faster than it comes in, because there is a higher volume. A high-flow, low-back-pressure exhaust system is essential for a diesel engine’s performance. Having said that, most late model trucks have pretty good exhaust systems on them. However, if you need to replace any portion of the exhaust system, I would recommend looking into having a large-diameter, say 4-5″ exhaust system installed. 4-inches should be more than sufficient for any truck that has not been modified for higher performance with something like a larger turbo. Again, do not expect fuel mileage gains over a couple miles per gallon, at most.
Five-inch chrome endpipe on my exhaust sytem – purely for looks
As always, there is a drawback to my straight exhaust system. While I love the deep rumbling, big-truck sound of my truck, when you are rolling down the highway at 70 miles-per-hour and the engine is at around 2100 RPM, the exhaust tone creates a very annoying and loud drone in the cab, particularly in the rear seat. Once I start hauling my horses over longer distances, hopefully in the near future, I will install a good quality, high-flow muffler, such as a Donaldson.
Exhaust Brake
I might mention something here that is not on my truck, but is on my wish-list. While it has nothing to do with fuel mileage, it is an accessory that improves safety while hauling a trailer. An exhaust brake is a very useful accessory for one who regularly tows trailers, particularly in mountainous regions. Diesel engines do not have the back-pressure a gasoline engine has, so it will not slow down the way a gas-engined truck will when the foot is lifted off the gas pedal. A diesel-engined truck will require more braking than a similar gas-engined truck on the same grade hill. To remedy this, large trucks use what is known as a “Jake Brake” (named after the original manufacturer, Jacobs), otherwise known as a compression brake, which uses the engine’s own compression to create braking power in the drive train. For our class of trucks, the exhaust system provides the braking power.While there are a several of types of exhaust brakes, they all work off the same principle: using back-pressure from the engine exhaust to act as a brake on the engine and drivetrain to assist the brakes at the wheels. This adds a true safety factor when hauling a heavy trailer down a long grade in the mountains, where regular vehicle brakes and trailer brakes can easily be over-heated. Two major manufacturers of exhaust brakes for our class of trucks are Pacbrake and BD-Power. Each uses a slightly different mechanism and both have good reputations for safety and reliability.
Free-Spin Manual Hubs
The next thing I’ll mention is the set of manual hubs I had installed. As I mentioned in the preamble, do not even consider buying a two-wheel-drive truck for hauling a horse trailer. The places you have to go to pick up and deliver horses, in addition to the places you will want to go to ride, will always have places that will get a two-wheel-drive truck stuck. The fuel mileage penalty for the four-wheel-drive front end, as I have stated, is only about 2mpg or so. In Dodge trucks, the four-wheel-drive system is a shift-on-the-fly system that has the front axle components turning anytime the vehicle is moving. That amounts to over 300 pounds of metal that is spinning for no reason when you are ambling down the highway, not to mention the unnecessary bearing and bushing wear in the components.
EMS Spyn-Tec manual hubs
Several manufacturers have developed a manual hub that replaces the sealed unit bearings in the front wheels of Dodge trucks. The manual hubs allow the front axles to be disengaged from the wheels, allowing the axle and all the connected components up to the transfer case to remain at rest even while the vehicle is in motion. One such manufacturer is EMS Offroad, who markets their hub conversion under the name of Spyn-Tec.
Along about the time my truck passed 225,000 miles, one of my front bearings went bad. Dodge uses a sealed unit bearing which comes pre-assembled from the factory. There is no other way you can make this repair, but by replacing the entire unit, at a unit price of close to $500. I found the unit was very difficult to remove from the truck, even for a confirmed and experienced do-it-yourself-er like me. I had to take the truck to a garage to have the old unit removed and replaced. The cost estimate for this service brought the total repair cost up into the range where I decided to replace the units with the EMS Spyn-Tec Free-Spin manual hubs. This did two things for me: It gave me the option to unlock my hubs when I don’t need four-wheel-drive, which decreases wear on components and increases fuel mileage, and it gave me regular wheel bearings which I can service myself by simply cleaning them and repacking them with grease about every 50-75,000 miles or so. It was a no-brainer for me, particularly since I fully expected the other front wheel bearing to go fairly soon after the first. The total repair, including the new hubs ran about $2,500. Not much more than just having the Dodge unit bearings replaced.
Again, other ramifications. When the front hubs are disengaged, you can no longer “shift-on-the-fly”. If you have the hubs unlocked, you cannot use the 4WD shifter unless you are fully stopped. It will simply grind the gears. If you forget you have the hubs unlocked and try to shift into 4WD while moving, you may get it into neutral, but you will have to stop to get it engaged in any mode again. While you’re stopped, however, you can get out and lock the hubs. If it’s raining outside, or you are already stuck in the muck…well you see what I mean.
My fuel mileage gain measured out to be about 2mpg with the hubs unlocked under highway driving conditions, so I got back what may have been lost by buying a four-wheel-drive truck over a two-wheel-drive. During the winter, or during rainy weather, I simply lock the hubs and leave them locked. There is no harm in this. Just don’t drive around on pavement with the hubs locked and the shifter in four-wheel-drive.
I have been very pleased with the EMS hubs. Just make sure you provide the installation instructions to your installer and that he/she follows them to the letter. Sometimes an experienced mechanic figures he don’t need no stinkin’ instructions, but both he and you will regret it if he does not read and follow the manufacturer’s printed instructions. Take my word for it.
All the Rest
The rest of the accessories have little to do with fuel mileage, but I’ll go over them quickly, just for good measure. I wouldn’t have put them on my truck if I didn’t think they did some good.
Front Bumper
When I bought the truck, the big black bumper came with it. I did some research and found the manufacturer is Buckstop Truckware . It came with four great big holes in the bumper for driving lights, which, apparently, were removed by the previous owner.
Buckstop Truckware Baja bumper
The bumper is a $2,500 accessory (with the four holes), and I liked the look and protection it offered, so I was quite pleased. One thing I have on my wish-list is a 14-16,000 pound winch, which would be substantial enough to pull a 7,000lb truck and a horse trailer out of a ditch if necessary. Such a winch would require a very substantial bumper. The Buckstop bumper is such a bumper, and it comes with a built-in compartment for a winch. It is very well built of heavy steel and attaches to the truck frame with very substantial brackets and bolts. I’m quite sure it doesn’t help my fuel mileage.
Driving and Fog Lamps
It didn’t take me long, after buying the truck, to become very tired of the empty holes in the front bumper. It didn’t take me much longer to figure out how to justify buying fog and driving lamps to fill those holes. I found that the normal bright lights of the stock headlights are plenty bright for driving on the narrow, tree-lined Virginia roads, but when I got out onto some of the more rural and open roads in the western states, I was wishing for more light out farther ahead. I needed driving lights. I also concluded that a pair of yellow fog lights would be helpful in dense fog, since the headlights and driving lights are mounted fairly high, and white light in the fog can actually decrease visibility.
PIAA fog and driving lamps in the Buckstop bumper
I contacted Buckstop Truckware to ask about their recommendations for driving and fog lamps, to make sure what I bought would fit the holes and mounting brackets correctly. I ended up ordering a set of PIAA lamps from Buckstop, both white and yellow, to fill the holes in my bumper. Happily, since I had a Buckstop Bumper, they offered me the same discount on the PIAA lamps that they give their customers with the purchase of a bumper. The cost of the lamps, with shipping, was about $450. Expensive, but they really put out some light!
Two-inch Front End Lift
I didn’t discover the two-inch lift pads in the front suspension until I bought new shock absorbers and installed them. Many owners of Dodge trucks will install lift kits in the front suspension to level the truck somewhat. The rear suspension of the 2500 and 3500 trucks is quite heavy and gives the truck something of a “stink-bug” look. The lift in a four-wheel-drive Dodge also has some utility, in that it provides a little more clearance between the front axle and the frame. There are several manufacturers of these kits, some of which are steel lifts, while others are polyurethane. I have no opinion on which is better. I have read that the increased height detracts from fuel mileage at highway speeds, but I suspect it makes no difference for in-town driving. I like the look of it, especially in conjunction with the large bumper.
Shock Absorbers
When the time came for me to replace shock absorbers…which was actually about 75,000 miles before I ever owned the truck…I went with Bilstein. I have used Bilstein shocks for heavy-duty and off-road applications for quite a few years and have never been disappointed. Not knowing I had a lift in the front suspension, I ordered the standard blue/yellow shocks recommended for my truck. However, if you have a lift on your truck, or intend to install one, you need to order the Bilstein 5100 (silver) shocks. They are specially designed for heavy and off-road use and are made to extend longer than a standard shock absorber, so they are perfect for the lifted suspension. The blue/yellow shocks will top-out (reach full extension) when you go over bumps, and will eventually fail if installed in suspensions with the 2-inch lift kit. I expect to have to replace my shocks again in the near future, due to this.
Ball Joints
All four-wheel-drive Dodge diesel trucks will need to have their ball joints replaced by the time they reach 175,000 miles. It’s just a simple fact of life…or engineering. When I bought my truck, I was assured by the dealer that the ball-joints had been inspected and were in good condition, so I assumed they had already been changed. When I went in to have the alignment checked after having new tires installed, the shop told me how lucky I was that neither ball joint had failed. They showed me that there was nearly 1/2-inch of play in both ball joints. I did some research on ball joints and read up on them on several forums and decided on Dynatrac ball joints. They carry an excellent warranty, are guaranteed to correctly fit the vehicle for which they are made, they are rebuildable without special tools, and they are require no maintenance (while they do not require maintenance lubrication, they do have grease zerks, so they can be greased if desired). Dynatrac’s reputation among experienced mechanics is unsurpassed. While they are more expensive than the regular replacement ball joints from parts stores, the failure rates of the less expensive ball joints overcame the price difference for me.
One Piece Drive Shaft
On the very same day that my front right wheel bearing went bad (see Spin-Free Manual Hubs), the carrier bearing in the middle of my driveshaft also gave up. I had gotten stuck in a ditch and had to use four-wheel-drive to get out. After getting out of the ditch, I noticed a noise in the front right bearing and found the bearing had gone bad. Later that day, as I was driving home from work, the carrier bearing gave way and nearly scared me to death with all the banging around. So, while the truck was down for the wheel bearing replacement, during which I ordered the manual hubs from EMS Offroad, I did some research on the carrier bearing issue.
5″ diameter one-piece aluminum driveshaft
I discovered that many people had complained about a vibration felt in the cab at low rpm and low speed in first, second, and sometimes third gears, just after letting out the clutch. I had felt this vibration as well, and had recognized it as a driveshaft vibration. This is quite common in a truck with a carrier bearing, so I had disregarded it. The driveshaft is actually engineered to compensate for this vibration via counterweight on a small flywheel on the front driveshaft yoke. Once it reaches a certain rotation speed, the vibration ceases. In reading some of the forum topics on Diesel Truck Resource forums I found that the carrier bearing was a weak point in the Dodge drivetrain and that it was a known problem area by both truck owners and the manufacturer. In fact, Dodge had begun to install one-piece driveshafts in many of the models that had previously had two-piece shafts. I found that many people had resolved this problem on their own by having a custom aluminum driveshaft fabricated, eliminating the carrier bearing. I contacted a local company that advertised that they made custom driveshafts for machinery, etc, and asked about the possibility. They said, “No problem, just give us the old shaft and we’ll make it to measure.” So, I had my shop pull the old drive shaft, while the truck was waiting for the front hubs to come in. The driveshaft place sent a driver by to pick it up. About a week later they dropped off a beautiful piece of work in the form of a 5-inch diameter aluminum tube, tig-welded to heavy-duty yokes on both ends, already mounted with U-joints and ready to be installed. My only disappointment was in the price. The quote they gave was $550, but when I got the driveshaft, the price was $750. The difference was that they had quoted the driveshaft thinking it used the standard U-joints for a Dodge 1-ton, but when they got the shaft, realized it had the heavy-duty U-joints used on the Dodge 3500 with the standard transmission. So, while I would have appreciated a call first, the price was still commensurate with what others were paying for similar driveshafts on the forums.
I have been very pleased with the driveshaft. I no longer have any vibration at any speed or engine RPM. Smooth as silk. And, I eliminated about the only weak spot in the Dodge 3500’s drive train.
Tires
Nitto Terra Grappler LT235-80R17
When it came time for me to buy new tires, I got on the forums and asked around to see what tires folks were liking on their trucks. There were a number of people who were pretty happy with the Nitto Terra Grapplers, which had just come on the market recently (2010). I looked into them a bit and got some prices and compared them with other similar tires on the market. I shopped both on the Internet and at local tire shops. I located a set of them at Merchants Tire and Auto Center, in Stafford, Virginia, where I live, and took a look at them. I liked the tread design, because I wanted something that was fairly aggressive for mud and snow, while not being too loud on the highway. The folks on the forums seemed to agree that these tires fit that bill well. Surprisingly, I found the price at Merchants Tire to be better than the prices of Internet sources I found with the tire, including Tires Plus and Tire Rack, once you include shipping, mounting, balancing, and disposal fees in the total price. Merchants Tire also includes with the price of the tire, an alignment check and tire rotation, however, my truck will not fit on their alignment rack, so I don’t get that benefit.
Nitto Terra Grappler LT235-80R17 tires
My first set of tires reached about 40,000 miles before I had to start changing them out for inspection reasons. I’m sure I could have gotten another 10,000 miles out of them, but with dual rear wheels, you don’t want to change out individual tires if you can avoid it. I bought my second set just a few months ago. I’m still happy with the tire. I will try to remember to get these rotated about every 10,000 miles or so, and see if I can get a few more miles out of them.
Wrapping it Up
My truck is a very heavy-duty truck. Many of the accessories on it were installed in the interest of increased fuel efficiency. I have kept a very strict and consistent record of my fuel purchases and mileage since I bought the truck in March of 2009, at 208,000 miles. It recently passed 256,000 miles. I expect to own it when it passes 500,000 miles and beyond. With that in mind, when I buy an accessory or after-market replacement part for my truck, I look for the best part I can find. I don’t look for gold-plating or pretty polish. I look for durability, serviceability, and availability (read established and reputable manufacturer/supplier). While I never object to an inexpensive part, I have never bought a part for my truck based on price alone.
I have learned from experience and from real numbers and calculations that there is no magic part or combination thereof that will turn a 7,000 lb truck into a fuel efficient diesel sipper. No matter what combination of parts you put into your truck, or how much money you spend on them, you simply cannot increase the fuel mileage more than about 3-4 miles per gallon over the way it came from the factory. As the miles on your truck increase, it is likely that your fuel mileage will slip a little. That’s normal, and it’s simply fact. There’s no cure for it unless there is a particular part that is failing. If you can find that part and replace it, you might get back up to factory mileage.
My 2000 Toyota Tacoma next to my 2005 Dodge 3500
My 2005 Dodge 3500 DRW gets very close to the same fuel mileage as did the 2000 Toyota Tacoma, with the 4-cylinder gas engine and five-speed manual transmission, that I owned before it. I’m happy with that.
My truck regularly gets about 14 miles per gallon in city driving, about 15 miles per gallon in town/rural driving (fewer stop lights), and 16-17 on the highway. In 2011 I hauled a car on a flatbed bumper-pull trailer from Virginia to Utah, at speeds up to 80 miles per hour, and averaged 12 miles per gallon. On the way back, I hauled a different, but similar car and about another 2,000 pounds of heavy tools on the same trailer. This time I kept my speed under 70 miles per hour all the way. I also added 1/2 ounce per gallon of 2-stroke oil to every tank of fuel. I averaged 14 miles per gallon. I once had a 1996 3/4 ton Ford pickup with a 360 CI gas engine and auto transmission that got 15 miles per gallon on its best day, and dropped town to between 6 and 9 miles per gallon with a full-sized camper on the bed. I’ll go with 14 miles per gallon anytime over that.
When I first bought the truck, I had hopes of getting it up to the low 20s on the highway with some of the accessories I added, but I’ve since accepted the fact that I have a big, heavy, heavy-duty truck, and that’s about as good as it is going to get. I’m ok with that.
I have also learned that when most folks talk about how they are getting 25 or 26 mpg from their trucks, that in general they are either looking at their “lie-o-meter” or they are simply making conversation and have no data to back it up. I have quit letting that kind of information bother me. I have been keeping hard numbers now since 2009 and I’m pretty comfortable that my numbers are real and not anecdotal. My truck has over 256,000 miles, four-wheel drive, dual rear wheels, sits high, and has a big, heavy front bumper, all of which combined costs me some fuel mileage in exchange for the benefits they provide. I also have added some accessories that reclaim some of that for me. About 17 miles per gallon is the best I have come up with as a solid average for highway driving, by hand-calculated numbers over the past four years. That drops to between 12 and 14, depending on my speed, when I’m hauling.
Accessories I would still like to add:
8-ton electric winch in the front bumper
Exhaust brake
Under-the-hood arc welder
Heavy-duty rear bumper with water-proof tool storage compartments
Low-profile bed tool box
Large capacity (60-75 gallon) fuel tank, either in bed under tool box or underneath.
So, there you have it. I truly enjoy my truck. In fact, there are few possessions I have ever owned that I have enjoyed more than my truck. I hope I have provided information that will be helpful to you as you look for your perfect truck and that may help you make more informed purchases of accessories and not be disappointed when you hear some folks talk about unrealistically high fuel mileage figures.
So many people enjoyed the fictional story my son wrote about a horse pack trip he, my father, and I took back in 2001, that I thought I’d write up the non-fictional story of what really happened on that ill-fated trip. Sadly, I don’t have any photos of that trip.
What got the whole thing started was a trip I took with the youth from my church way back when I was 16 years old. We were hosted by the Wit’s End Ranch at Vallecito Reservoir, near Durango, Colorado. Their wranglers packed us in to Emerald Lake, in the Weminuche Wilderness Area, on horses, left us for five days, then packed us out. It was a great memory and one I simply could not shake. Many years later I found myself living within an hour’s drive of the trail head. Naturally, I began making plans to head back to Emerald Lake on horseback, and I wanted my father to go with me. Dad, then age 67, and I, age 42, had spent some of our best memories on horses, and I wanted him to take this ride with me. Knowing my oldest son’s love for fly fishing, I invited him along as well. Despite his healthy dislike for horses, and their apparent reciprocation of those feelings, Nate couldn’t resist the chance at casting a line into the crystal clear waters of Emerald Lake.
Me on Max, 2002
At the time, I owned one horse, a mustang named Max. Max was about 14 hands tall, stocky and uncommonly strong. He could carry me and all the gear I could pack on him all day long for days on end. I borrowed another mustang from a friend for my son. This one, named Roany, was around 20 years old, from what I was told, but he was tough and solid as a rock. Nothing in the world could rattle this little gelding. He stood about 13.2 hands and was only about 600 pounds or so, but he was a tough little horse to whom I could trust the well-being of my son.
Now for Dad’s horse. Dad brought his horse up from Eagar, AZ in a stock trailer, about a four-hour drive. Dad’s horse was a registered Quarter Horse, out of a mare we used to have. That mare had carried me through some of the roughest country I’ve ever traveled, and her son, Royal, had proved to be a good trail horse as well. The problem was that Dad hadn’t used Royal for a trip in several years. He was now 17 years old and had spent the past several years at pasture. He was fat and sassy and out of condition. That proved to be the undoing of our trip.
The pack horse I had been trying to borrow fell through at the last minute, so rather than scrap the trip, we decided to cut down our supplies and pack everything behind the saddle and in saddle bags. We figured we could cut down on our food supply, counting on fishing to supplement our dehydrated meals. We bought a pump filter for water and carried simple aluminum mess kits for cooking utensils. With our sleeping bags and ground sheets tightly wrapped we were able to make room for our pack fishing rods, waders, and minimal tackle. We were optimistic and looking forward to fly fishing and dining on fresh trout.
I tried right up to the last minute to borrow a pack horse, but was unsuccessful. We ended up packing up and leaving Farmington late, and arriving at the trailhead near Vallecito Reservoir around 3:00 pm. We unloaded and packed up the horses. It was past 4:00 by the time we headed out.
Grandpa Henrie, 2012, age 78
Our first hint of a problem was when Dad’s gelding balked when Dad mounted. He really didn’t like all that stuff loaded on his backside. After a bit of correctional instruction, Royal headed out in the right direction. About 200 yards down the trial, however, Royal simply exploded! Round and round he went, finally falling over backwards, pinning my dad’s leg against the ground and getting his own back legs tangled in the lower strands of a loose barbed-wire fence. While Dad tried to get his leg out from under the floundering horse, I leaped off my horse and dove on Royal’s neck and head to keep him from getting up before Dad could get loose, and to keep him from getting more tangled in the barbed-wire.
Royal continued struggling for a few seconds, during which my forehead came into sharp contact with a conveniently located rock several times. So here we are, Dad stuck under a struggling horse, who is stuck in a barbed-wire fence, with me on top of his head, banging my head against a rock, and blood streaming down my face. I can only imagine what Nathan must have been thinking about his choice to come on this trip in the first place, as he sat there on good old Roany, just watching the show.
We eventually got both Dad and Royal back on their feet. Dad had a badly bruised leg, but nothing was broken. He must have been hurting more than he let on, but he insisted he was ok. Royal had a couple minor wire cuts on his hind legs, but nothing that required attention under the circumstances, so we mounted up again and headed on up the trail. A few short yards down the trail, Royal again began to act up, so Dad dismounted and walked for a while, which kept his leg loosened up. We finally decided to mount Dad on Max while I walked and lead Royal.
By now it was getting on to evening, so we started looking for a camp site. A little before dark we found a nice little camp area down about 30 feet or so lower than the trail, right next to Pine River. It was a beautiful spot. There was a steep trail down from the main trail to the camp, but it was no problem for the horses. Having carried little feed with us, planning to let the horses graze, we turned them out on what grass there was in the small area, which wasn’t much. Three tired horses and three sore and tired men settled down for a dry camp. We spread the ground sheets and sleeping bags, then sat down and had cold pork and beans right from the can for dinner. After dinner we gazed at the stars, talked a little, and finally slept.
I remember that one of my last thoughts before I fell asleep that night, was a feeling of foreboding, sort of a warning from the Lord that this trip was not going to be an easy one. I often wonder how things might have been different if I had just called the whole trip off at that point and headed home the next morning. Maybe it was just a warning that we needed to be careful. Regardless, it was a powerful feeling and one to which I have since learned to give more heed.
We arose the next morning to a glorious day. It was simply beautiful. There we were, in the mountains with our horses, waking up to the sound of Pine River chuckling along next to our beds. What could be better? We ate a quick breakfast of instant oat meal or something. Whatever it was, it wasn’t very memorable. Shortly thereafter we were packed and ready to head out.
We sent Nate up the trail on Roany first. Like I said, it was a steep trail 30 feet or so up to the main trail. After Nate, I went on up. No problems so far. Then Dad mounted Royal and started up the trail. Just before reaching the main trail, Royal stopped and froze in place. We knew what was coming next. Just like before, he simply exploded! Over backward he went, tumbling head over heels down the hillside strewn with granite boulders and fallen trees. The last I saw of my father were his eyes, wide open, looking at me, as he disappeared beneath the horse. I watched in horror as Royal tumbled, rolled, and tumbled some more, down and down, until he came to rest at the bottom where we had camped the night before.
I jumped out of the saddle and threw the lead rope to Nathan, who was off his horse and looking down in disbelief at where Dad had disappeared. I told Nate to hold my horse because I figured if Dad was alive, he would be hurt badly and would need help. I figured I would have Nate go for help. I stumbled and ran down the slope and found Dad unconscious on the downhill side of a huge log. It was apparent the log had saved him from being crushed by the horse. As Royal had gone over backwards, Dad had landed next to the log, which had taken most of the weight of the horse. The horse had passed on over Dad and tumbled on down the hill.
Dad started coming to his senses as I got to him. I told him to just lie still until I could determine whether he had any broken bones. To my indescribable relief, as incredible as it seemed, Dad appeared to be uninjured, other than being shaken up and bruised a bit. Royal, as well, had escaped serious injury, and was standing, shaking, at the bottom of the hill. I was able to get Dad up to the main trail with some help from Nate, after which I went down and led Royal up the trail to where Nate, Dad, and the other two horses were waiting.
I tied Royal to a tree next to the trail and began to get his packs re-secured to the saddle. As I did so, Royal again blew up, jumping forward against the lead rope, which pulled him back toward the tree, he spun around, knocking Dad to the ground with his rump, then leaped forward again, off the trail, down the hillside on top of a jumble of granite boulders, where he came to rest with his neck outstretched against the lead rope. After quickly checking Dad, I jerked loose the lead rope from the tree, releasing the pressure on Royal. Royal, afraid to move, laid there in an awkward position on a pile of boulders below the lip of the trail. I descended to him and began stripping the gear off him. As soon as I released the cinch, Royal bolted up the hillside, clambering through the granite rocks. He reached the lip of the trail, terrified out of his mind, just as Dad stood up at the edge of the trail to see if he could help. Royal hit Dad full tilt with his chest, as he scrambled up onto the trail, knocking Dad off his feet and into the bank on the opposite side of the trail, as Royal tromped all around him.
Again, unbelievably, neither Royal nor Dad was seriously injured, although I could see with one eye that both were hurting. I got to the trail, left Royal to stand where he was, and helped Dad to a sitting position on the side of the trail. We just sat there for a few minutes while we considered our bad fortune at the wrecks and equally good fortune that both man and horse were still in one piece. I remember looking at the place where Royal had fallen and wondering how it was that he escaped without a broken leg among all those huge boulders.
At this point, I decided the feeling I had experienced the night before was a warning to turn back before someone got killed. I told Dad I was ready to turn back if he wanted to. Nate was more than willing to head home. Dad, however, worried that he might ruin a great experience for Nathan and me, said he would rather continue on. He promised that if anything else happened, or if he began to feel he was more injured than he thought, that we would turn around and head for the trailer.
Rather than be absolutely stupid and try to ride Royal again, I put Dad on Max and moved my pack to Royal’s saddle along with Dad’s packs, and I walked, leading Royal. Good old Roany never batted an eye at all that happened, for which I was grateful. At least I didn’t have to worry about Nate.
I walked the next seven miles or so from about 6,000 feet elevation, to Emerald Lake at about 11,000 feet. It was quite a hike, but at least I wasn’t carrying a back pack. We took several breaks en route, where we let the horses graze and fill their bellies. Dad was getting sore, but the movement of the horse seemed to keep his bruised muscles from stiffening up and was a relief to him.
At one point we came to a narrow wooden bridge, that was quite elevated above a roaring tributary of the Pine River. Being early summer, the spring runoff was still in full swing and the water was running high and loud. Neither Max nor Royal wanted anything to do with crossing that bridge. Luckily, we had Roany along. Roany hardly even noticed the roaring torrent of water, as he calmly walked across the river. Upon seeing Roany cross the bridge, Max decided he could do it as well. Royal, however, having been left ground-tied while I got the other horses across, decided the trailer was where he wanted to be, so he turned around and headed back down the trail with me in hot pursuit.
One thing I have learned, that has saved my bacon several times on pack trips, is to ride with a halter under the bridle, with a loooong lead attached. I keep the lead coiled over the horn while riding. I had been leading Royal by the lead rope and had his bridle hanging over the horn. When he walked off, the long lead trailed behind, causing him to step on it several times, thus slowing his progress. After about 50 yards of chase, I was able to get close enough to grab the end of the lead. With the other two horses waiting on the other side of the bridge, I was able to coax Royal across,
We arrived at Emerald Lake late in the afternoon. We were tired. We picked out a camp site were we could dump our packs and relieve the horses a little, while we looked around for a place to graze the horses and maybe find a better campsite. After unloading the horses we mounted and rode down to the lake. There were signs indicating no camping within 1/4 mile of the lake and that grazing horses was prohibited, except at a place at the other end of the lake. We decided that under the circumstances, if we could find a patch of grass, we would graze the horses regardless, and set up camp were we had dumped the gear, outside the 1/4 mile radius from the lake. Dad decided he would try Royal one more time, since he had carried a light load and been walked all day long.
Dad mounted and Royal was the perfect gentleman as we made our way down to the shores of the lake. The trails had been changed since I had been there many years earlier, so we could not get to the place I remembered, where there was grass and a very nice campsite. We dismounted and tried to find a way through, but the Forest Service had very effectively blocked all the old trails and there was no way for us to pass through. We headed back to the horses and I mounted. I looked over as Dad mounted Royal and saw that Royal had tossed his head and had flipped his bit upside down in his mouth. As dad mounted and gathered the reins, Royal began to back and act up, due to the bit problem. Dad, however, was not waiting around for Royal to explode again, and he left the saddle in a long dive as Royal spun around. Dad landed flat on his back on a rock about the size of a football. I don’t know how he did it, but he sat up, hung his head for a minute, and simply said, “Tony, I don’t think I can take another fall like that.”
“Dad”, I said, “We’ll head back up the hill, make a dry camp, and head down the mountain tomorrow morning. I put Dad back on Max and I walked Royal back to camp.
Once back where we had dumped our gear, we simply laid out our sleeping bags and laid Dad down to rest. I gave him a handful of Ibuprofen from my first-aid kit for the pain and to keep swelling down. Nate got a fire going while I went to the lake for water. We cooked a dehydrated meal and settled in for the evening. I can remember how surprisingly good that dehydrated meal tasted. The horses were restless at not having feed for the night, but they were tired as well and eventually settled down. We spent the evening talking and enjoying each other’s company, as we talked about our disappointment at the problems of the trip and not being able to spend our three days fishing, as we had planned.
Nate on Rufus, 2009
The next morning we packed up and headed down the mountain, Dad on Max, Nate on Roany, and me on foot, leading Royal. About half way down the mountain, we came upon a lush green pasture, where we unpacked the horses, loosened the cinchas, and let them graze until they were filled. We napped and rested while they grazed.
We made our way down the mountain by early afternoon and were back home by nightfall.
Back at home, Dad went to clean up. Shortly thereafter he called me into the room. What he showed me scared me to death. He was bruised literally from above his waist to just above his knees. His lower back, rump, and back of his legs were solid black where he had bled internally and the blood had gathered under the skin. No doubt he had suffered some sort of internal injury, as this was not normal bruising. There was no talking him into going to the hospital. He figured that he had survived this long, so what was done was done and wouldn’t get any worse. Had I known he was hurt that bad, or had I seen the bruising while we were on the mountain, I would have cut the trip short long before and gone for help.
Yes, my dad is one tough old cowboy.
The Three Amigos
P.S.
Just for information, I later did some research to figure out just what happened on that trip to Royal. I learned about a malady which is becoming more and more common among Quarter Horses and is also showing up in other breeds. It is called Equine Hyperkalaemic Periodic Paralysis. It is a genetic malady which causes a horse to “bind-up” and become momentarily paralyzed. According to some studies, the disease is currently manifesting in as many as one-in-twenty five Quarter Horses, particularly those descended from a stallion named Impressive. Once a rare disorder, it is becoming more common in recent years. I have concluded this is what happened to Royal. His dam experienced this same problem later on in her life, after having been the best trail horse I have ever ridden. In my experience, I believe it is similar to when an athlete suffers a charley horse. Muscles knot up, causing the horse to “bind-up” or freeze, and the pain increases until the horse simply explodes to try to escape it. After this experience, I tried to “fix” Royal through exercise and training, but was unsuccessful. Eventually it simply became too dangerous to ride him. After a bit of riding, he would suddenly, without any warning, freeze up, then explode, rearing over onto his back every time. He got worse as time went on and I had several narrow escapes. After a friend of mine was killed by a horse rearing over backwards on him, I decided to have Royal put down. There was no sense in continuing to cause him pain and putting peoples’ lives at risk. We had a lot of good trips with Royal. It was sad that our last ride with him turned out to be such a disaster.
Sadly enough, as well, we failed to take even one photograph on this trip. The photos you see with this post are from subsequent trips we have taken.
Folks, I need to apologize for the lack of attention I have been giving the westerntrailrider.com website, forum, blog, and facebook page lately. Suffice it to say that I have been fully engaged in other pursuits recently, since I had to put Penny down.
My family will be relocating out west next summer and I have been working on several remodeling and repair projects on the house, as well as a multitude of other projects I need to get finished before the big move comes. I have repaired and sold two rental properties, finished remodeling our home, done vehicular repair/maintenance, worked on getting our lawn prepared to look good for next spring, when we will put the house on the market, and I have been engaged in several other service projects outside my family.
Not having a horse right now has actually made things easier for me, as I have been able to keep my focus on other things, but it has taken me away from the preparations for my big trip in 2015, the documentation of which is the purpose behind my Internet efforts in the first place.
I have decided not to continue to maintain the forums on the westerntrailrider.com site. It simply takes too much time. Once I get things going again, if the demand is there, I will resurrect it. My thanks to those who joined and contributed information and photos. The forum will remain on the site and members may continue to post information if they like, however I will not be doing regular maintenance on it.
I will, however, continue to make occasional posts to this page and to my blog, as items of interest come up and time allows. Please rest assured that my plans for the Mexico-to-Canada trip for 2015 have not changed. The goal for the departure date is April 1, 2015. I still intend to make most of my own gear, and, once I get relocated, will be looking at acquiring horses for the trip. You can be sure I will be posting plenty of information to the blog then.
Meanwhile, Horse Trails and Camping Across America (HTCAA) is currently setting up a website and will have a great forum. They currently have over 12,000 members in the facebook group and are growing amazingly fast. I recommend the group highly.
Thanks for your support and I hope you’ll return once I get rolling again.
I bought a grazing muzzle last week to see if it would work for Penny, to cut down the amount of rich grass she eats as I try to reintroduce her to the pasture after her bout with Laminitis. It consists of a headstall with a basket-like muzzle made of woven flat-weave nylon strap and a rubber bottom. The bottom has a hole in the middle, which allows for drainage and to allow the horse to get a small amount of grass through it. Horses quickly learn to eat grass through the muzzle, but it takes them a lot longer to get their fill.
Weaver Grazing Muzzle, purchased at Tractor Supply
I allowed Penny to graze freely for about two hours one morning last week, them put the muzzle on her and left her in the pasture for the day. When I first put the muzzle on her she couldn’t figure out what it was and began trying to rub it off on things like the barn, fence posts, the ground, and her leg. After a while she settled down and began to work at getting what little grass she could through the holes in the muzzle. Once I was satisfied she wasn’t going to snag herself on a fence and get hung up, I left her in the pasture.
When I came back for her evening feeding (I’ve been feeding her soaked grass hay morning and evening to minimize her sugars intake), I was disappointed to find several rub marks on Penny’s lower jaw, chin, and muzzle. In fact, the following day, I found skin sluffing off all over her muzzle. I have decided not to use the muzzle unless I absolutely have to.
This particular muzzle is a Weaver brand, which I purchased at Tractor Supply in Fredericksburg, VA. It ran about $40. It seems to be well made and durable. It is possible there are larger sizes, and it could be that I bought too small a muzzle for Penny, which could be the reason for the rubs, however, it seems to fit and not restrict her jaw movements. If it were any looser she would have been able to rub it off on the ground. It was the only size they had and was marked as horse size. It seems to fit her about the same as horses I have seen in other photographs wearing various kinds of grazing muzzles.
Rub marks on Penny’s chin and lower jawRub marks and sluffing skin on Penny’s muzzleRub marks on Penny’s chin
I have read posts in various forums from people who use grazing muzzles regularly, to restrict their horse’s diet. The ones I have seen in photographs look like the one I bought. I saw one post that indicated they used Vaseline to keep the horse from getting rub marks, but I can’t see how that would be effective with the amount of rub marks Penny incurred in just one 6-hour period.
I was pretty disappointed with the results of my trial use with Penny. If there were no other solution, I guess you would just have to deal with the rubs, and I may have to with Penny, as she recovers from Laminitis, but I will certainly try to find other solutions as I reintroduce her to the pasture.
Arizona shotgun chaps are put on by turning the legs backwards, so that the toe of the boot is toward the laces, The natural bend of the leggings, as well as the way they are laced, allow the boot to slide down into the chaps easily. The leggings are then twisted around and pulled up into place, then secured with the belt.
You must be logged in to post a comment.