mild wheeling???

[skeptic]

Been in Utah a few months, traded my TJ for a stock XJ with street tires the day I drove here from FL. It's safe to assume I have not seen as much as a dirt road in Utah. Tomorrow (if the parts finally arrive), I'll be sporting a 4.5" lift and some 32" mud terrains. I'm still stuck with open diffs and basically no real armor for now. I need to get front and rear tow points before I go, but that should be easy enough.

I'd like to take my boys (6 and 2) out for a bit of offroading fun, but I have no idea where to go or what trail rating I can tackle. I'd much rather go with others so I started looking through the Upcoming wheeling trips forum, but other than the occasional "trails range from 2.5 to 5 difficulty" most are just described by the name of the trail or area as most people here know the areas. I'm looking to get out and play, not push my rig until it breaks, but I don't want to limit myself to dirt roads either.

Any suggestions?

Almost forgot - are there any good books/trail guides describing places to go with maps and such?

 

[Herzog]

Check out the trail ride in Price this weekend. There's an opening for a trail called Diff Hanger that you would probably enjoy.

 

[Houndoc]

Pick most any canyon and drive.....Farmington, area above Bountiful, 5 mile Pass (drove some areas that sound like they fit your needs well on the east side last winter with Utah Off-Road and Outdoor Club. You head towards the mountians just south of Fairfield). Fun trails leading to some old mines in the Tintic Mountains also.

 

[skeptic]

Check out the trail ride in Price this weekend. There's an opening for a trail called Diff Hanger that you would probably enjoy.

Not sure I can make it this weekend. I need to come up with tow points and get my CB installed, which means buying an antenna and mounting bracket. Plus short notice on making hotel reservations and such. I also installed a water pump yesterday and since I work remote out of the house, I won't have hardly any miles on it which I'd like to do before hitting the road for a 3 hour each way drive.

I was actually looking through the Price thread, isn't Diff Hanger rated a 4?? I'm the first to admit, I have no idea what various trail ratings equate to, but I wouldn't expect open diffs, 32's, and no armor to be a good match for a trail rated a 4. Is there some kind of guide with recommended setups for various ratings?

I'll try to scramble and get my Jeep ready, what is the latest I can sign up and get in on a ride?

Thanks for the suggestions Houndoc. Sounds like I could find things just by driving toward the mountains and looking for roads that go up.....

 

[Brett]

I was actually looking through the Price thread, isn't Diff Hanger rated a 4?? I'm the first to admit, I have no idea what various trail ratings equate to, but I wouldn't expect open diffs, 32's, and no armor to be a good match for a trail rated a 4. Is there some kind of guide with recommended setups for various ratings?

Well, on my Cherokee, I am just running a 4.5" RE kit with some 33" MTR's. This weekend I ran Rusty Nail....I am pretty sure that it's rated a 4.5 or something. Anyway, I don't have lockers or any armor and I did fine. The only thing that I hit was the "frame rails" and the trailer hitch. You just need to try a trail first and see if you feel you and your Jeep are capable of doing it before saying that you need lockers, bigger tires, armor, etc. I've done a lot of trails that people "recommend" that you have a locker with no problems.

 

[skeptic]

Well, on my Cherokee, I am just running a 4.5" RE kit with some 33" MTR's. This weekend I ran Rusty Nail....I am pretty sure that it's rated a 4.5 or something. Anyway, I don't have lockers or any armor and I did fine. The only thing that I hit was the "frame rails" and the trailer hitch. You just need to try a trail first and see if you feel you and your Jeep are capable of doing it before saying that you need lockers, bigger tires, armor, etc. I've done a lot of trails that people "recommend" that you have a locker with no problems.

Hey thanks. I definately want to get out with what I have for now and work my way up to more. If I never need lockers then I'll never buy them. I will eventually add armor if I play in the rocks at all, piece of mind if nothing else. At the same time I don't want to hold up a group by being pulled through every obstacle because of open diffs. It just SEEMS like open diffs and 32's would be good for at most a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5..

 

[myota]

you could build your rig up as much as you wanted to, and still not be able to do every trail in utah!!!

check out this Linky!

the bountiful B is fun, corner canyon in draper is good (don't trespass though unless you want a ticket ), and there's tons of stuff in American Fork Canyon (AF)

just search the forum for locations, and if you really can't find it then I guess you could ask...

 

[mud hound]

The only problem with corner canyon is the only place that is not trespassing is the road that goes to the top, then it is blocked by construction.

 

[Brett]

Hey thanks. I definately want to get out with what I have for now and work my way up to more. If I never need lockers then I'll never buy them. I will eventually add armor if I play in the rocks at all, piece of mind if nothing else. At the same time I don't want to hold up a group by being pulled through every obstacle because of open diffs. It just SEEMS like open diffs and 32's would be good for at most a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5..

See, that's kind of what I was worried about on Rusty Nail...holding back the group (even though it was just Cody and I.) I thought that I would need a strap, but never even had to get it out. About the only problem I had was getting crossed up where I didn't have enough traction front or rear to keep moving forward.

I did use to run a Cherokee with 32's and a Detroit though....made things a bit easier

 

[MOODY]

For what its worth, I have run 4+ trails in my cherokee with 4" of lift and 31" tires, open diffs, no armor, and no breakage/issues. You will be suprised what a relatively mild lift and larger tires on a xj can do...

 

[Marshall]

I also wheeled my XJ with open diffs and a 5.5" lift for a long time, did Golden Spike, which several people swore to me was impossible without a locker, sometimes people make trails seem harder than they are, especially in some of the guide books that are available. It is all about how comfortable you are with your abilities and your rig. It was easy for me because I don't really "care" if my Jeep gets banged up, and as a result, I haven't taken any damage yet.

 

[skeptic]

I've never done rocks before and my jeep is my daily driver. It's also a '99 which is still fairly cheap, but not a $1,500 beater. That's how comfortable I am with my abilities and with potential damage.

 

[Jay5.9L]

can you still wheel in corner canyon? I thought it was totally off limits.

 

[Houndoc]

Another place to watch is the UOOC site- they try to get out monthly and we generally hit mid-level trails.

Site is utahoffroad.com (I would make that a link if I had a clue how to )

 

[Gravy]

I have a '99 also, with a 5" in lift, 33" tires and open diffs... I know a few trails you shouldn't have a problem on...

You could probably do Rattlesnake (I saw a couple guys with bone stock xj's do that Sat) or there are all kinds of lines that aren't too hard out at Little Moab (both are out by 5 mile pass on the west side of Utah Lake).

If you want to try to make it to Price on Sat (12) you could do Curse Canyon no problem too (it's like a 3). click on this for details

If you can't make it to Price there are a few guys here that are going to Rattlesnake Sat or Sun Here's the link for info

Good Luck, and welcome to the forum
Also I'll probably be headed to Price Sat... if not I'm going to Rattlesnake lemme know if you want to come too

 

[way2nosty]

Hotel reservations aren't a problem most of the time in Price, and if you can't find one, there is a hotel in wellington, and one in huntington if you are in a world of hurt.
If you are just getting into the sport, I would seriously recommend coming down this weekend to Price, but I would recommend Cursed or Allreds Canyon, they are 2.5-3.5depending on weather, if you are a competent driver you should be able to navigate either with no problems, I have seen stock ( I mean Bone stock)trucks run both. Its a great atmosphere Last year I can't remember any problems - I mean People problems, don't worry about the CB, We'll let it slide for now. If you're up to it we meet at the chevron next to the first Price Exit.

 

[MOODY]

It is the heavy foot that causes most peoples body damage/breakage...know when to let off, and try a different line, and you'll be set! I was scared out of my poop (so to speak) when I ran some of those tougher trails, but it builds confidence in your rig. Sounds like Price is a good intro. I also agree with Houndoc-Utahoffroad is a great group of people, all levels of rigs