OVERLAND ADVENTURE: Finding Oregon Settlers Homestead Sites

Wow! Sorry to hear Brian. Hopefully only minimal damage. Please keep us posted. Tim

B MIller

Hello All,

This trip was cut short because the sage brush on the skid plates caught fire melting a hole in the fuel tank. That video will be out in a week or so. Here's the trip before everything went south. Beautiful homestead sites and views!

Brian

Happy to see you and the Bronco will live to explore another day!

TK1215

Wow! Sorry to hear Brian. Hopefully only minimal damage. Please keep us posted. Tim

Thank you TK, they had to replace the fuel tank. Caught it with a fire extinguisher just in time. After a week, the Bronco is back in the garage.

Sven

Happy to see you and the Bronco will live to explore another day!

I'll be out again next week for a group event. The fire video will show some gear upgrades I've made in the event of another fire. Plus, some insurance info in case anyone else goes through it.

B MIller

I'll be out again next week for a group event. The fire video will show some gear upgrades I've made in the event of another fire. Plus, some insurance info in case anyone else goes through it.

Again glad you are OK and great catch....can't wait to see the upgrades and info.

Wow - Glad you're OK and your Bronco's good to go again!.. We've all probably heard of hot catalytic converter in tall grass can burn your vehicle down, but that doesn't seem like your event..

Also, am interested to know more about those Oregon homesteaders. I mean, throughout alot of the west, the earliest 'whites' were fur traders, then prospectors looking for gold/silver, etc. Why do you think those homesteaders were there?

Thank you for another entertaining video!

Cheers

Kenneth

Wow - Glad you're OK and your Bronco's good to go again!.. We've all probably heard of hot catalytic converter in tall grass can burn your vehicle down, but that doesn't seem like your event..

Also, am interested to know more about those Oregon homesteaders. I mean, throughout alot of the west, the earliest 'whites' were fur traders, then prospectors looking for gold/silver, etc. Why do you think those homesteaders were there?

Thank you for another entertaining video!

Cheers

Hi Ken,

The fire was in a weird spot, sage was up on the skid plate in front of the fuel tank. Not sure how it caught a spark...but something sparked it. Thank God for a 2.5 pound BC Purple K extinguisher. Made fast work of a fuel fire.

The desert in Oregon is very special. When it was originally settled, it happened to be a strange wet climate. So everyone was thinking it was paradise and began soaking up land building small homes and farming / ranching. Over the next 5-10 years, the climate retuned to normal (dry desert) forcing the homesteaders to move west. Everything I film is what's left of that time period. Basically, what they walked away from. Very cool history!

Brian

Gotcha, thank god you’re really alert! I’ll admit to being uncomfortable on those few occasions I’m alone in remote terrain. Heck, every trailside boulder, every steep ledge, every overhanging deadwood - All seem a little more threatening.

Interesting history there in Oregon’s desert. I’ve read our west coast has history of periods of very wet weather followed by long periods of drought. In some cases, these timeframes are thought to be couple hundred years too.

Cool stuff, Thanks again!

Cheers

Climate change...

B MIller

Hello All,

This trip was cut short because the sage brush on the skid plates caught fire melting a hole in the fuel tank. That video will be out in a week or so. Here's the trip before everything went south. Beautiful homestead sites and views!

Brian

Happy to see that you and the Bronco came out of this relatively intact, @B MIller. Here’s where the prep with what gear to bring - including a fire extinguisher - really makes sense. Looking forward to the info on gear upgrades and insurance.

Yeah, we're glad Brian's fiery experience wasn't more serious. Obviously, his preparedness & quick action saved the day!

Since seeing his video I've noticed while airing down & up, that our Bronco seems hottest on the passenger side. Specifically, that front passenger tire area is always noticalbly warmer than the other 3 corners.

Also, when lifting the hood to attach our 12v compressor to battery, same thing - passenger side seems warmer.

Sure, I know Brian's fire started in front of the fuel tank, also on the passenger side, so I may not be totally objective on these observations. I'll bring along the temp gun on our next trip to see if there is any significant temp difference.

I mean, it maybe good to know so if we're forced to drive over tall dry grasses or shrubs, we could protect the hotter side. Or, since the fuel tank's on passenger side, perhaps we should avoid driving over combustibles and only if forced to take 'em on driver side .. just thinking out loud here..

Cheers

Despite what Brian wrote above about not knowing how the fire started and what caused it, both those questions are what I’m still mulling over. Also am curious if he noticed any foreign material that could‘ve started the fire. 🤷‍♂️

UserError

Despite what Brian wrote above about not knowing how the fire started and what caused it, both those questions are what I’m still mulling over. Also am curious if he noticed any foreign material that could‘ve started the fire. 🤷‍♂️

After cleaning out the fire area, I didn't notice anything foreign. Only sage brush. I just got back from another long desert trip and I must say, I was pretty jumpy at the slightest smell of hot brush. I scrapped out the skid plates regularly, but still...ugh. Still waiting on the insurance to get settled before I post the whole video.

B MIller

After cleaning out the fire area, I didn't notice anything foreign. Only sage brush. I just got back from another long desert trip and I must saw, I was pretty jumpy at the slightest smell of hot brush. I scrapped out the skid plates regularly, but still...ugh. Still waiting on the insurance to get settled before I post the whole video.

I have no idea how long a clump of sagebrush burns, but looking at photos, I’m unsure if it’s enough to burn through the Bronco’s gas tank.

If I were in your shoes, I’d probly also be jumpy and more than a bit sensitive to burning smells, especially with not having a clear cause for the fire… still, I’m more than happy to see you’re back in the saddle and went back out again this quickly.

UserError

I have no idea how long a clump of sagebrush burns, but looking at photos, I’m unsure if it’s enough to burn through the Bronco’s gas tank.

If I were in your shoes, I’d probly also be jumpy and more than a bit sensitive to burning smells, especially with not having a clear cause for the fire… still, I’m more than happy to see you’re back in the saddle and went back out again this quickly.

Indeed sir, I'm not sure if the fuel was involved as well. I didn't notice the fuel leak until about 4 minutes after the fire was out. I've made some positive changes that will be coming out soon!

B MIller

Indeed sir, I'm not sure if the fuel was involved as well. I didn't notice the fuel leak until about 4 minutes after the fire was out. I've made some positive changes that will be coming out soon!

Yeah, happy your OK!! It's not really intutave, but liquid gasoline doesn't burn - It's gotta be vaperized. Given that vapors quickly flash off the surface of liquid gas, this is usually an irrelevant detail. Not sure about combustion of a ruptured poly fuel tank, but think ignition source was gone before the tank leaked fuel.

However, I am sure Brian's a VERY lucky fellow!!

Cheers

B MIller

Indeed sir, I'm not sure if the fuel was involved as well. I didn't notice the fuel leak until about 4 minutes after the fire was out. I've made some positive changes that will be coming out soon!

Out of curiosity, does your Bronco have a skid plate for the gas tank or is that part of said positive changes?

UserError

Out of curiosity, does your Bronco have a skid plate for the gas tank or is that part of said positive changes?

The fuel tank has it's own skid plate. Runs the entire length of the tank.