1515Art

Thought about leaving the key in mine after ditching it in a parking lot when the guide pulley for the serpentine belt fell off but the thieves wouldn't have gotten far enough away with it before frying the engine. Dont know how this always works this way, 6 months ago craigslist was loaded with good deals now things are a little thin. I just missed the 2003 rubi that had 63k miles ang no lift it sold for 15k in just a few days, this at least gives me some info on actual sales, the prices are high, but not that much seems to be moving you guys are making me think hard about the taco, made a offer of 29k on a 2012 trd off road double cab 5 ft bed, didn't really like the black color. Dealer was firm at 31k so, I figure I can look back at that anytime, that price was just fair not special enough to make me jump on it right away. another guy has a 2006 rubi very clean 155000k towing behind a motor home, completely fresh build not broken on a trail yet asking 22.5k but should need nothing and all the build stuff is tops, so may at least give it a drive.

At slow speed, just after pulling out of the sellers driveway it felt like I was piloting my boat the steering linkage was tight but the ride was very loose and the tires were only equal to 32's from what the guy said not giant, could have been the way the tires were built, or worn. Needing new tires, full brake job in front as it had a little pulsing/shudder and pulled to the left on braking, possible driveshaft vibration he was telling me about and although the cooling system was all upgraded when I checked the reserve tank was clean but empty, pulling off the radiator cap... No visible water, I could see the fins, they were very clean as everything was new and clean for the most part. He said it just liked to run like that, he could fill it but it would just seek a lower level and ran very cool. Seemed strange to me but the radiator was very over size and sat a little high so it could have something to affect the fluid level?? Still strange and a bit concerning, but it ran cool on the test drive and although gutless drove ok going 65 on the freeway, a long road trip might be just that, so not sure how much I like the jeep, think I gonna have to test a few. Anyway, I think I'd a been ok at 19k for that one, but even with all the goodies it had not the 21k he wanted, since running the actual rubicon course is not on my to do list. I love driving around in the gold areas and seeing where the road leads, but rolling my rig climbing a giant rock lost its luster a whole bunch of years ago. there's a few more to check out, one is a clean stock 2003 rubicon new tires with 63000 miles guys asking 15.5k b/o. I really don't need the extra stuff, although the winch is good insurance. 2007 Toyota fj's are in the same ballpark as is the trachoma so it will depend where I find the best deal and what feels the best in the end. Main thing is I don't want to be denied trying to navigate " Rucky chuckey" and a few other claims with roads like that I can't get to now. i'm kind of surprised the guy didn't go for my offer of 19k, I think it was more than fair, but I'm pretty sure the money will be good someplace else and I can make the excitement last a little longer of hoping I'm hunting for a good buy instead of winding up with something different.

Drove south to salinas a little over an hour and checked out the jeep. It looked great the engine was spotless and sounded great... The suspension felt a bit sloppy to me, but I've never driven a lifted jeep before so that could be normal. He said he thought there might be a little vibration in the front drive shaft, I didn't feel it but the ride was rough enough that it would be tough to tell without knowing the vehicle , tires needed replacing and it needed the front brakes redone. All things easily fixed I'd guess,but I wasn't in love withe the way it drove although I'm sure it was more my not being used to driving a lifted jeep. This jeep has done the rubicon twice, that also gave me a little concern some of the miles may not have been easy, i offered 18k he declined and I bumped my offer to 19k... The best he was willing to go was 21k so I figured it was better to walk cause I didn't feel comfortable going over my offer, knowing I will easily fall in love with something else, Chuck the Toyota is on my list and I may end up going that way after all.

Thanks tom, I'll definitely keep an eye on the cooling system and the other items. i really love my boat but it's heavy, a Grady white 208 over 5000# with fuel and gear, but it tows very easy with my old ml500 with a 7500# tow rating. This boat is small enough for 1 person to handle but will go anywhere 82 gallons of fuel will last, lots of electronics, electric down riggers, crab pot puller big live well and fish boxes, luckily I stole it a few years ago when the boat market was dead, so I should have no problem getting my money back as these are pretty well sought after fishing boats... As boats go

Thanks tom, 19 is what I was thinking and luckily there are a few to choose from that look good down to the 15k range, but none with such low mileage. He didn't buy this one to drive, just was a toy he used a few times with his friends then he got tired of it and his daughter drove it a little here now and then, so it wasn't used much but did not sit for Years either. This is what it's got; With the Rubicon option, this Jeep came from the factory with Dana 44 axles with air lockers, front and rear, 4.10 gears and 4-wheel disc brakes. Upgrades I have done include:-Rubicon Express 3.5" Superflex system with adjustable tubular trailing arms and a double cardan rear driveshaft.-Currie "Currectlync" bullet proof steering system.-American Racing steel "D-hole" wheels, 16x8, including spare.-Pro-comp X-Terrain 285-65R-16 tires, including spare.-Garvin Wilderness rear bumper system with optional trail rack, can carriers, and more.-Garvin Wilderness front bumper system.-Warn 9.5 ti winch with synthetic winch rope and aluminum fairlead.-Kilby dual battery tray with 2 Optima yellow top deep cycle AGM batteries.-sPod auxiliary electrical source system with air gauge.-Griffin high capacity aluminum radiator.-Derale auxiliary transmission cooler.-Poison Spyder Customs Rocker Knockers.-Rockmen corner guards.-Warn gas tank skid plate.-Skid Row engine, transmission and radiator skid plates.-Riddler high capacity differential covers.-Smittybilt neoprene seat covers (all seats are like new).-Bestop Safari top (in addition to the factory hard and soft tops).-Bestop upper and lower soft doors.-Lange "Quick Top" hard top retainer system.-Noah all-weather car cover.-And more....... pretty much everything I was looking for, I'll need to sell my boat as the jeep won't tow it... But I'm not using the boat that much anyway and it should sell easy.

The final straw broke last night on my trusty suv and I parked it and walked away... Sort of, sold it for parts to a friend, no way I would feel ok selling it to someone as a driver although don't get me wrong, I got 222000 miles out of it and the engine and tranny are still strong... Just the rest of it was junk and I didn't trust it anymore going into the wilderness. so, I've got my eye on a very clean 2006 jeep rubicon slightly built 3 1/2 inch lift winch bumpers other goodies with only 19000 miles, $23000 b/o. Guy bought it as a toy, didn't use it but a couple of times and then his daughter put most of the miles on it. Looks like new and I like this model because it's the last one jeep made without all the electronic junk I keep reading complaints about and the same stuff that ruined my Mercedes suv (Daimler/Chrysler) electronics, too close to the jeep electronics for my blood. any thoughts?? Price seems a little high to me, but the jeep is nice.

Mitchel, I think the lighting is better over at my location... and I'd be happy to take another picture for you in perfect light, just send them to me. Very nice gold and great work, congrats!

I think you will eventually end up with at least two detectors anyway so go ahead and get the 7000. Then you can worry about which vlf best suites your other needs...

With the small ws4 headphones it is comfortable to wear one side on the ear and have the other above the ear on the side of your head, keeping one ear completely free to listen to what's going on around where you are hunting if you need.

Really sorry for your loss Jim, everyone of us on here at some point in time or other has been the victim of some #^@&!^? 2$$#*(#$ and would to catch the SOB. This one came up on cl at just the right time, sounded bout right and seemed priced to sell. Anyway we'll keep the old eyes peeled just in case. clark

Is this it?

AMRA is a great group and working hard still and despite this huge setback needs all of the prospecting community to remain focused and continue our support. The AMRA Christmas dinner fund raiser is fast approaching with a growing list of great prizes for the raffle, one of the gifts is a donation from my studio that is a really nice set of pearls. Check it out on the AMRA web site and sign up for their Christmas dinner party, sure to be a great time. also PLP at the Placerville gold show talked about pending legislation having to do with world wide mineral production and national security issues, this was supposedly already introduced into some bill or other, we may possibly see some relief from this?

A sad day...

Actually, I like my trx, it has great depth and I also like that the tip is very directional as this makes pinpointing and finding the target pretty easy and the ground grab works good to quiet things down when it gets a bit chattery... My sensitivity is set to 3, guess I could turn it down, but like I said it is hitting pretty deep on 3.

jeez...sounds like reality TV to me, should have had the camera rolling, season 1 episode 1, our star "tboykn" almost dies in massive rockslide nearly tumbling over a 3000 foot precipice saved by agility, panic and a little luck from a plunge spelling certain death and yet the search for gold continues...

Magic my friend...what great finds, you are playing your machines to perfection. We are going to have to start calling you the jewelry master or king ring, or the grill man cause you been cooking with gas. Very nice and we love seeing those great results, keep it up Chuck and we know a nice lump awaits your swing in them thar hills for sure!

I have the trx also and it acts the same way, what I've found works pretty good is to turn the trx on pointing down at the the ground a few inches away from where you think the target is. Pinpoint the target and then before I set the trx down I give the ground grab a quick hit, this mostly keeps it quiet. Frequent use of the ground grab button quiets the thing down when it's acting unstable, which is a lot.

He may not have found any gold with that contraption, but he's captured several hundred thousand Poke-mon with the smart phone interface... And when it gets cold outside all he needs to do is crank up the gain until the blood in his toes starts to simmer, keeps everything nice and toasty on a chilly winter morning.

If I'm getting to dream a little and could combine two technologies that I know little about, although am certain would be scientifically impossible due to interfering with each other's signals somehow, and cooking the operator in the process might be a possible down side as well... I'd like to have a metal detector that also had some kind of XRF technology whereby you could detect for small percentages of various minerals (Au, or host rock) and then you could hunt for indicator trails and the eventual rainbows end

For me it will depend mostly on if XP got it right with the new coil and if this coil works as well across the larger frequency range as the smaller span of frequencies of previous software versions. If not I'll still love the Deus, but not nearly as much. The current gold ability of the Deus is hard for me to comment on much fairly as I'm so new to this, but compared to using the GPZ and running the Deus over some small test nuggets, for now the Deus stays in the car except for when the boredom overtakes me and I just need a break, then the Deus opens some new ground and the possibility of cherry picking something interesting. Like everyone else I'm also wishing the new higher frequency and coil will give me something close to gold racer performance in the Deus package. Combine all this with the lifetime updates, the XP build quality that seems pretty good to my unskilled eye and the redundancy afforded by having that second detector (coil) available if I'm off on a trip somewhere and there is some problem, I could at least still use the Deus because of all the redundancy in a small package with two detectors (coils) and two control units counting the headphones. having all that I think gives the Deus some premium over just adding a new coil to the arsenal I guess and i'm also one who prefers to have as few coils to drag around a possible. Is twice the price reasonable for all the Deus brings to the table and the advantage of all wireless... Depends, I don't need it and could do the same thing for less money for sure, but what the Deus brings adds a lot of value for me by greatly increasing the time I spend out hunting because I like using the Deus a lot, it's a fun detector as you get more comfortable using it and I keep saying this, but it's such a pleasure to pack around and swing.

The crows in my backyard have taken a fondness for one of my plastic gold pans.

thanks fellows, it's always a blast being out on a hunt, and Chuck, great to see you and Lisa out there I hope we get a chance to repeat soon it was a lot of fun to hunt with you out there and your timing was near perfect. I hope someday soon to find us a new patch area so far i've been a day late and dollar short, but i'm seeing a lot of territory and one of these days... till then, low and slow...as much as I can, damn tough sometimes, but you are right... Low and Slow

I've been collecting an impressive assortment of trash the last few months, but the only gold I have been able to count on has been from running my sluice in the creek as my gpz has been fruitless for some time. I was up in the high country for a few days last month, the first day and a half were looking pretty much the same with nothing to show for my time. I decided to pack up from where I had been hunting and drove out to see if gold miner Strick had set up camp as I knew he would be heading up for a hunt for a few days. When I got to his camp Chuck was out for a hike, so l chatted with Lisa for a few minutes and then headed to an old patch to see if my luck had changed. i had fired up zed and had been hunting for about 15 minutes when I picked up a really clean short sweet high low tone when I ran the coil alongside a large tree that had fallen down and partially decayed. I began digging up the target and at about only 3 inches down I spotted a promising lump as in the distance I could hear the approach of prospector strick's utv approaching my location. I hurriedly snatched my prize from it's hiding place, dusted off the dirt and dropped it into my container just in time to show it off to my fellow prospectors. my only conclusion is that an important part of a successful hunt must include at least a short visit to camp Strick, as I went back up the following week for 4 days and was not able to get some luck to rub off on me and lived the skunk yet again, despite destroying two tires on my wife's car the first day, which has worked in the past finding gold.

These are exactly the reasons AMRA, PLP and other groups working to protect our rights are so important and deserve our support and also as had been said so many times before on this forum... Why it is also so important that we police ourselves and give those whom wish to end prospecting no reason to oppose our activities.

Hi Strick, nice gold and a great get, there are always more we hope but that area is getting very tough... excellent find and pretty nugget.