VA Steel Soldiers Rally - Putting it all together!

We're down to the last month of wait till the Virginia Steel Soldiers Rally in the mountains west of Harrisonburg, VA !! Man, I'm looking forward to getting out in the trees and the hills, putting some dirt underneath my tires and having a great time meeting other Steel Soldiers out there who want to do the same!

I will soon be sending out a PM to each person who showed interest in attending within the next day or so. Cost to attend will be $20 per person, to pay for one T-shirt and one free meal provided by myself and whoever wants to help cook it. Meal will consist of the following:

Hamburger/cheeseburger, hot dogs, chili, baked beans, cole slaw, macaroni/potato salad, chips, soda/water/juice/adult beverage.

The terrain covered will be a mix of dirt and gravel roads, difficulty scale of between 1 and 4 at best. Nothing an MV can't handle, and most drivers should be able to conquer the area without any problem.

We have mapped quite a few of the trails in the area, and have found a couple campsites that will support the number of people we have, and the size of vehicles we have. The forest rangers gave us the thumbs-up for our trucks, from jeep size to 5-ton size. We will be staying in the same campsite for both nights, so those who wish to bring a trailer, and leave it in one spot may do so.

Tentative schedule is as follows:

Friday, April 4th
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1100 meet in Harrisonburg, waiting for folks to show up at rally point
1200 travel in convoy to fuel station for final gas-up, leave for George Washington National Forest
1400 arrive at campsite, unpack
1400 - 1800 offroading in woods
1900 dinner at campsite, provided by MadDawg308
2000 movie night (yup, backwoods movie theater!)

Saturday, April 5th
----------------------
0800 breakfest
0900-1800 offroading in woods
1900 dinner at campsite
2000 movie night/relaxing night

Sunday, April 6th
--------------------
0800 breakfast
0900-1300 offroading in woods
1400 break camp, convoy out of GWNF
1500 arrive in Harrisonburg at rally point for fuel-up, departure


Here is the T-shirt for the rally. Since a lot of help has come from L1A1 (Matt) and Opie (Peter), I opted to use their vehicles as "poster childs", at least in clipart form, as a little "thanks". T-shirts are made in USA, screen-printed in Virginia, and are pre-shrunk.

As far as getting everyone there, I will be posting directions and locations before the event. Also, for safety sake, we will be organizing convoys to and from the rally point in H'burg before and after the events. I will be organizing the North Convoy, for those coming from I-81 north and the DC area. Peter (Opie) will be organizing the South Convoy, for those coming from I-81 south of H'burg toward SW Virginia. We still need a volunteer to handle to organization of the East Convoy, who needs to take care of those arriving from east of H-burg, along the I-64 corridor, toward Richmond and Norfolk. PM me if you can help with this.

Here is the list of those who had previously planned on attending:

Coming to the rally:

1/4-ton vehicles:
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L1A1, 1 guest, M151

3/4-ton vehicles:
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tsmall07, 1 guest?, M1008 CUCV
bullitt798, M37

2-1/2 ton vehicles:
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MadDawg308,M35A2 and M38-C
Opie, 1 guest, M109A3
builder77, M35A2C

5-ton vehicles:
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TheBuggyman, 1 guest, M813
M215, 1 guest, M813

Unsure/undetermined vehicles:
-------------------------------------
troll, 1 guest, M35A2 or M1008

Not sure if going (schedule conflicts)
-------------------------------------------
portert0224, 1 guest, M1008/M1009
Adamlee, 1-2 guests, M35A2
ShieldWolf, M37
SierraHotel, M35A2

Mrs. O is looking forward to adding that handsome t-shirt to her wardrobe!

"Since a lot of help has come from L1A1 (Matt) and Opie (Peter), I opted to use their vehicles as "poster childs" "

OOOH! I've been told I should be someone's poster child before...now it has happened!

Glad you both like it, Peter! I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but I can use Paint and Corel Photoshop to make an adequate T-shirt design.

Hope we can scrounge up a few more drivers in the next couple weeks!

We would like to be considered as possible attendees with a '66 M-151A1. We installed an electric fuel pump last year and lost our headlights and need to take care of this between now and then.

My son is leaving for China on 4/14 so our schedule is pretty tight, but we want to try to meet you guys and have a little fun.

Beth Powell
Roanoke, Va

Roger that, Beth. Perhaps you can start a new thread describing the electric problem, perhaps a fellow Jeep owner can help with the diagnosis...

Glad you're interested in coming along, I added you to the list!

Mike,

We have had a new light switch on order from Tom Murray forever and finally got it this week. I got my son to put it in today and we have lights!

So, we are ready. I don't know if we will be camping or making a long day trip. We'll need to watch some other things here and see how things are going that week.

We are happy to go ahead and send you our money. Please let us know where to send it.

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Beth

No problem, whether you decide to make it a day event, or the full weekend, we're looking forward to you being here!

I am going to start a list of gear that people will be bringing as well, to help add to the campsite. I have the following items:

folding 6-foot table
chuck wagon kitchen box (like the Scouts have)
pioneer tools
Mermite containers (2) to keep beer/soda cold
flagpole / American flag
movie projector / sound system

Items I don't have, that someone will need to bring:

BBQ grill with propane or charcoal grill
generator (small civvy type)
propane or gas grill for breakfast

I've got a propane grill with a side burner I'll bring and sheets to convert the shop van into a movie screen.
I've also got a 10'x10' canopy I can bring if the weather turns.

MadDawg308
I've got a charcoal grill that "knocks down" for easy transport and a 1 mermite can and large cooler. if no one else can get one, I may (and that's a big "MAYBE") be able to lay my hands on a small civi generator.
Matt

Great, Matt. Opie said he'll bring his propane grill, but if you want to bring an extra, that's great. I will also be bringing a 10x30 foot pavilion for the main dining area, also may be useful for a movie theater to show the Friday night movie.

How's the concept of the police escort going for the ride in, Matt?

MadDawg308
So far so good. I sent you a PM this morning in regards to a Police escort for the ride in. I'll have an answer for you by the end of the week.
Matt

As the campsite will be "rustic," I'll also bring a bedside commode so the latrine can be a "Pew with a View."

I also just ordered a new 3 lever light switch from OD Iron as well, so I'll have LIGHTS!

Man, I wish I could make this. I'm going to pick up my engine this week for my truck, but I don't think I'll have it in by then.

Truck

More than willing to have you along, Truck. Keep in touch if you can make it,

Thanks to Opie for getting the topo maps of the area.

Getting close to the event, I'm going to back up the final RSVP to March 20th, any later and I can't order the T-shirts. If you RSVP after this, or aren't sure if you are going to go until last minute, you can still come, but you won't have a shirt. Cost will be $5 per person after 3/20, with the meal only and no shirt.

Let me know as soon as you can who is coming, what trucks are coming, where you are coming from, and what sizes of shirts you need.

...finally, something close by. PMed ya' Maddawg.

bullitt798 said:

...finally, something close by. PMed ya' Maddawg.

Click to expand...

Just letting you know I didn't receive any PM from ya. Check twice, there are several on SS with "MadDawg" in their name. Make sure you sent it to the right one.

I really, really like that shirt. I wish the slacker organizer of the Ga. Rally had put together some shirts.

I'm starting a master list of means of communications for the trip. If you think you might be going, pm me with your mode of communication (family radio service, walkie talkie, ham radio, cell number and service provider), and I'lll have a pre-printed list for distribution on the trip. Steelsoldiers names, real names, callsigns will be helpful, too.

Mike,
I shot you a PM also, didja git it?