The House Doctor

Dos Sete Diablos trail review

Post Reply
User avatar
Panda
Location: Bethlehem
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 4 times
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:26 pm

Dos Sete Diablos trail review

#1

Post by Panda »

Hi guys so i thought i should share this with you, this is how i did the trails required for Dos Sete Diablos

Here are the details of the challenges.

Vehicle. PANDA
2012 Jeep JK(2dr) Rubicon
33" tyres
2 inch bds/fox suspension.
Advanced front and rear bumpers.


So to start off here is a summary of the events.

1. Moolmanshoek...... Closest

Here I was fortunate that we had a "mannekamp" and the Saturday's activity was some 4x4.
I did the trail the previous year with my Jimny, so Sampie(the horse guide) was not going to let me off easily. It was one hell of a scenic trail with some moderate obstacles. It was really a fun outing.
The challenge was with the Sandstone...... it is brittle in some places and then you lose traction like you can't believe. The wet sand stone was even worse. Another hidden problem was grass patches; growing on the sandstone their roots can't go very deep, so once you land on them they pull out or the roots rip off.

2. Koos Se klim .... Moegatle

What an experience.....to be really honest it was the car and not me.... engage both lockers, 1st low, point and crawl.............up you go.
Down is a different story, even flat on the brakes it still slides forward so the trick was not to lock the wheels but to do a controlled descent.

3. Carnage canyon......crap just got real

Rocks, wet rocks, rocks and sand, rocks followed by bigger rocks and no facilities whatsoever. No toilets,water or power(awesome).

This was very very technical and made you gatvol of klippe.... Get the perfect line and whoops you slide off a wet rock. Ask oom Sakkie and Neon Deon.
I made it to Dead Dog Gorge and back to the campsite. It was a great event.

Not to be taken on with 33" tyres and 2inch lift. Damage was plentiful. I even managed to bend a ratchet strap that holds the spare wheel steps for the roof rack, while on the wheel.
The rock sliders,bumpers and standard underbelly took the brunt of the nocks.... and then the steering damper, that was actually hiding a few issues with my suspension. So I met with mr Death Wobble all the way back to JHB. It was thereafter that I became good friends with Corne from Zone. I had to replace almost the whole front suspension. Its was more to do with a lack of torque services on the suspension that some brackets had elongated holes and needed to be welded up.

4. Briekmerk.... AT se gat.

I did this with the 4x4 Action group. Nerves were high for this one; the last time I was there was with the first event after the Late Master Willie tried it on one wheel, be it the spare.

Before me went a 2dr Sahara that made a mess of the obstacle getting stuck for 45 min, this did not go well with the nerves.
So I strapped in and Anthony Forgey guided me. It was a breeze, the Rubicon does it without any hassles.

I must admit this obstacle is NOT as it use to be...... it became a lot easier than it use to be. On the first event Flip with his Jimny took a while to get up, being the most experienced Jimny driver I know. Now a few near stock Jimnys have conquered the obstacle.



SO ENTER 35" Tires, Cut Flares and small adjustments to the suspension.

Ultimate Adventure Swaziland........ what a flippin AWESOME trip. On route back home...... NO 5.....


5. Hells hoogte............. 3 provinces

THIS WAS BY FAR THE WORST ONE.

We first came from the top and did it down..... Not too bad but a lot of loose rock... We got to the bottom and deflated more to 0.8 with no issues with clearance...Turned around and up we went.
Drove sliding to the steps on top, and tried going up a few times but kept losing traction on that step, even with both lockers on. When the right front starts to lift the left rear just gives way on the loose rocks. A few bumps later I decided to gun it a bit, it worked but lifting the right front wheel with a slope downhill to the left...... not fun in the end, but got up and drove back to camp.

6. Baboons pass.

Went with the Nissan patrol club. I was told a lot of stories of how they were going to tow the Jeep, make it bigger etc...........We started the trail at 9am and finished by 4:30pm. It was intimidating but not difficult with 35"s doing their job...

After the weekend 2 quotes remained: " I am never following a Jeep down to a waterfall again"(Alex) and "Follow the Jeep they said, it would be fun they said" (my wife)

7.Brakkeduine.

Went so see the in-laws in PE, but bailed for a day and went to finish the Challenge. It was very interesting, especially as it was my first time playing on sand. I made my name arse after getting stuck in 4h. I could not get out, Choppie came to have a look and the dumbass that I am, I had shifted in to 2h instead of 4L to get out. Corrected the error, into 4L and Panda was on the move again.

Langbult was a hell of a challenge, did it after a few attempts.

The roller-coaster was really fun driving on 0.4 bar that was...


So as usual a few people to thank.

1. thanks to the Lord for giving us such a stunning country and the privilege to see it all whilst keeping us safe

2. My Swambo she did all except the Brakkeduine with me.
3. Mad Manny for arranging this.
4. The 4x4Community forum for support and motivation.
5. All the people I tagged along with and got to meet along the way..... it was awesome

Neon Deon, Oom sakkie, Manny, David with his Mog, Vic with his Jimny @ Carnage, Ronald 2 trips in a year, Buchner, Pieter Zeus, Mitch, Flip (especially at Klipdrift), Anthony, The Patrol club - Alex and his cronies, Henk 'die Pajero oom' also 2 trips. Choppie.

A special thanks to Corne and Nonette from Zone offroad for maintaining and repairing PANDA.

User avatar
Apocalypse
Location: Cape Town
Posts: 809
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2018 2:40 pm

#2

Post by Apocalypse »

Nice report and well done!
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes

User avatar
Wooky
Location: JHB
Been thanked: 7 times
Posts: 335
Joined: Mon May 28, 2018 9:46 am

#3

Post by Wooky »

Well done. Good write up.

One from Carnage Canyon....
Panda_small.JPG

User avatar
KurtG
Location: London
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 13 times
Posts: 2405
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 12:52 pm

#4

Post by KurtG »

Very good Francois, lekker story
Flex is overrated

User avatar
Rabbiddog RIP 7/6/21
Location: Johannesburg
Posts: 281
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 11:00 am

#5

Post by Rabbiddog RIP 7/6/21 »

Nice Panda

Nice to hear you enjoyed doing it.

User avatar
Mad Manny
Location: Johannesburg
Has thanked: 439 times
Been thanked: 882 times
Posts: 6423
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 9:31 am

#6

Post by Mad Manny »

Carnage Canyon is actually not one of the 7 Diablos.
But Francois asked if he could do it instead of one of the others.
I agreed as long as he got as far as Dead Dog Gorge.
I then went along to ensure he complied.
It was a great trip.
"No one ever got stuck - in mid air!"

2010 Fortuner D-4D 4x4 'Fearless'
2006 Conqueror Conquest 'Gearless'

Anthony Forgey
Location: Johannesburg
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 31 times
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:01 pm

#7

Post by Anthony Forgey »

what a great write up!

and congratulations !

User avatar
Mad Manny
Location: Johannesburg
Has thanked: 439 times
Been thanked: 882 times
Posts: 6423
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 9:31 am

#8

Post by Mad Manny »

Panda wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:45 am
So as usual a few people to thank.

1. thanks to the Lord for giving us such a stunning country and the privilege to see it all whilst keeping us safe
2. My Swambo she did all except the Brakkeduine with me.
3. Mad Manny for arranging this.
4. The 4x4Community forum for support and motivation.
5. All the people I tagged along with and got to meet along the way..... it was awesome
Unfortunately the 4x4Community Forum was against this initiative from the start & did everything to stifle it.
Eventually deleting the UTM Thread all together in a paranoiac outburst.

But UTM is now here, where it belongs, on a 4x4 related Forum, for people who are interested in 4x4'ing...
"No one ever got stuck - in mid air!"

2010 Fortuner D-4D 4x4 'Fearless'
2006 Conqueror Conquest 'Gearless'

User avatar
Panda
Location: Bethlehem
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 4 times
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:26 pm

#9

Post by Panda »

When i wrote the review we were still active on there. Then they went south.... but this shows the info they lost

User avatar
KurtG
Location: London
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 13 times
Posts: 2405
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 12:52 pm

#10

Post by KurtG »

I sincerely believe that this thread would be against the TOS of that Forum.
Flex is overrated

Mike Nel
Location: Cape Town
Has thanked: 43 times
Been thanked: 81 times
Posts: 1460
Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2018 7:22 am

#11

Post by Mike Nel »

KurtG wrote:
Sat Oct 13, 2018 12:22 pm
I sincerely believe that this thread would be against the TOS of that Forum.
Every thread is against TOS on that Forum 😂😂

Nice writeup Panda
2017 Land Cruiser 200
2022 Corolla Cross (Yes. It's a Hybrid)
BushLapa Ratel nr 731

Post Reply