Wheeling a rented H3

People in the four wheeling world are a pretty tight group. This is more so when we all wheel the same type of vehicle. I know people all over the US that drive Land Cruisers that I have never met face to face or talked on the phone. We talk on forums all the time and I feel like I know these people. We are drawn together with our love of the Land Cruiser. This is the beauty of the internet and someday, I will get to wheel with them!

Anyway, in a rare opportunity, I was able to get together with one of those Cruiserheads last night for a drink. He happened to be in Portland on business and I was more than happy to spend the evening getting to know someone that I have talked to on forums for the last three years. As the conversation continued, I found out that he was driving a rented Hummer H3… That was fully covered.

He brought up the idea that we should go wheeling and see how the H3 faired next to our beloved 80 series Land Cruiser. Well, that was all the push I needed! I’m bailing from work at noon and we are heading up to Brown’s Camp! I know that I shouldn’t burn the tank of gas. I know that the conditions up there aren’t very good. I have a meeting that I can’t miss at 7 tonight. But come hell or high water, I’m going wheeling!

This is the reason I do this. It’s not about the challenge or the surrounding. Even thought I really enjoy that part of the experience and I know it wouldn’t be the same without it; that is not the most important part. It’s the people that I get to meet. The understanding that we have for each other and the mutual respect for the environment we are enjoying. The skill of weaving our machines to go see that territory and the process of making them better for what we do. I love this hobby! And hell, it’s cheaper than golf!

What we are drawn to and why...

So today I was playing around on one of my favorite PBBs (www.timbercrawler.com - It's a PBB for off-road enthusiasts in the Pacific Northwest) when I stumbled my way into the classifieds. Now, this is always a dangerous place for me to spend time. Like most people, I have a buying problem. Usually it involves something really cheap or free and at one time was a working vehicle. (If you continue to read my blogs, you will find out just how patient my wife is!) For example, my latest find was a 1979 Toyota Land Cruiser for free! Well, it was a Land Cruiser... Now it's a frame with a rusted out body and a title. I shit you not, that is the extent. No drive train, no wiring, no seats, no tires, no nothing. I think you get my point.

Anyway, so I'm lurking around and I find a Hummer. Not some pansy H2 or H3, a real Hummer... It's even a wagon. And best yet, it's cheap. Now somewhere in my mind, the remembrance of my swearing I would not buy another diesel anytime soon after passing a gas station selling the liquid gold for $4.29 per gallon disappeared. The thoughts of me never owning a Hummer vanished and all that was left was the following: "Wow, that's cheap... Didn't my wife say that she liked those? I wonder if we could swing another car payment. Hmmm..." And that was all it took to find out what the APR on a used car loan would be.... We just bought her a Camry ($600!!! How could I pass that up?!?) that I haven't even transferred the title yet. What the hell am I thinking?!?

I have a sickness. Apparently a lot of people have it... I'm going to look at a Hummer tonight.