Utah_Jay
New Member
- Location
- Murray, UT
I went to Moab this last weekend spare of the moment. Decided at 8pm Friday night to head down there first thing Saturday morning. I posted this over at jeepforum so some of you may have already seen it. But for those that haven't here it is.
Well on Friday night at 8pm got a call from a friend telling me he was leaving for Moab first thing Saturday morning. Decided what the hell I will join and make a weekend out of it last minute.
First a couple of things, I just bought this 07 JKU a couple of weeks ago and I don't have it Moab ready imo, at least I have only started on everything I want to do to it but I went anyways. I didn't even have a correct size spare tire yet but threw the stock one on there just in case.
We left 6am on Saturday and got into Moab around 10. On a side note I think the OD in this Jeep is way underpowered. I drove most of the way with the OD off, it just felt a lot better that way but the gas mileage is horrible. Also at high speeds 70+ is it normal for the hood to bounce a bit when you pass a semi or in wind? Since this report I have ordered Daystar hood wranglers to fix this issue.
Anyway, hit the city market for lunch supplies and headed straight to Sand Flats area. As always I like to start off at Baby Lions Back. I was first followed by 3 of my friends (me JKU, WJ, WJ, FJ Cruiser). Got to the end and there was water at the bottom. The most I have ever seen in this spot. I figured it couldn't be that deep and decided to head down instead of turning around like I should have. I am not sure what happened as I have done this many many times in several vehicles but as I started down I slid just a bit and panicked maybe, but I hit the brakes and my rear tires left the ground for a bit. I almost crapped my pants and my wife was freaking out. Yes I have this on video and will post it later. Proceed into the water and realized it was way deeper than I thought. I would guess 24-30 inches deep. I just floored it and made it out with no problems. First WJ made it through with no issues. Then.....2nd WJ hits the water and hydro locked it. I have this on video as well. I thought our trip was over right there. We towed him out and when he opened the door it was like something you see in a movie. His jeep was completely full of water. Believe it or not we took the air filter out and it started right up. Off to the car wash to vacuum it out, get a new air filter and pop the drain plugs in the floor.............
................So an hour later or so it is back to Sand Flats to hit fins n things. Right before we get to the start of the trail the WJ that had the water issue stopped driving, it had developed some sort of tranny issue. We parked it and decided to let it dry out some more to see if it was something electrical. It would not shift into gear.
Proceeded to run the first half of fins n things without any issues. Went back to the parked WJ and it started up and was driveable. Took it back to town and left it at the hotel.
Back to sand flats to finish the trail. There is not a lot of excitement to report on the 2nd half of the trail. Ran through it without any issues. When I got to Kenny's Climb I did the bypass on it while WJ and FJ when up it with no issues. The are both locked and I am open in the front and rear. I probably wouldn't try it anyhow as I was still a bit on edge from earlier in the day. Got to Frenchy's Fin and I am not sure what the big deal is I keep reading about, but I didn't think it was that bad at all. My wife and daughter told me it was very steep and maybe I was too focused on driving to pay attention but no big deal there.
Got back to Sand Flats road and decided to pull over and let my dogs run for a bit before heading back to town. What happens? My dog runs through a cactus and trips and falls into it. Spent the next few hours pulling needles out of her. Never a dull moment on this trip.
Today (Sunday) went and ran Dome Plateau for the first time. Easy enough trail with a bit of everything. If you haven't done this trail I recommend it as there are some great sights and hikes on it. There is a lot of sand stone and rocks to play on as well as a cave. It is about 30 miles from Moab but well worth it.
Well on Friday night at 8pm got a call from a friend telling me he was leaving for Moab first thing Saturday morning. Decided what the hell I will join and make a weekend out of it last minute.
First a couple of things, I just bought this 07 JKU a couple of weeks ago and I don't have it Moab ready imo, at least I have only started on everything I want to do to it but I went anyways. I didn't even have a correct size spare tire yet but threw the stock one on there just in case.
We left 6am on Saturday and got into Moab around 10. On a side note I think the OD in this Jeep is way underpowered. I drove most of the way with the OD off, it just felt a lot better that way but the gas mileage is horrible. Also at high speeds 70+ is it normal for the hood to bounce a bit when you pass a semi or in wind? Since this report I have ordered Daystar hood wranglers to fix this issue.
Anyway, hit the city market for lunch supplies and headed straight to Sand Flats area. As always I like to start off at Baby Lions Back. I was first followed by 3 of my friends (me JKU, WJ, WJ, FJ Cruiser). Got to the end and there was water at the bottom. The most I have ever seen in this spot. I figured it couldn't be that deep and decided to head down instead of turning around like I should have. I am not sure what happened as I have done this many many times in several vehicles but as I started down I slid just a bit and panicked maybe, but I hit the brakes and my rear tires left the ground for a bit. I almost crapped my pants and my wife was freaking out. Yes I have this on video and will post it later. Proceed into the water and realized it was way deeper than I thought. I would guess 24-30 inches deep. I just floored it and made it out with no problems. First WJ made it through with no issues. Then.....2nd WJ hits the water and hydro locked it. I have this on video as well. I thought our trip was over right there. We towed him out and when he opened the door it was like something you see in a movie. His jeep was completely full of water. Believe it or not we took the air filter out and it started right up. Off to the car wash to vacuum it out, get a new air filter and pop the drain plugs in the floor.............
................So an hour later or so it is back to Sand Flats to hit fins n things. Right before we get to the start of the trail the WJ that had the water issue stopped driving, it had developed some sort of tranny issue. We parked it and decided to let it dry out some more to see if it was something electrical. It would not shift into gear.
Proceeded to run the first half of fins n things without any issues. Went back to the parked WJ and it started up and was driveable. Took it back to town and left it at the hotel.
Back to sand flats to finish the trail. There is not a lot of excitement to report on the 2nd half of the trail. Ran through it without any issues. When I got to Kenny's Climb I did the bypass on it while WJ and FJ when up it with no issues. The are both locked and I am open in the front and rear. I probably wouldn't try it anyhow as I was still a bit on edge from earlier in the day. Got to Frenchy's Fin and I am not sure what the big deal is I keep reading about, but I didn't think it was that bad at all. My wife and daughter told me it was very steep and maybe I was too focused on driving to pay attention but no big deal there.
Got back to Sand Flats road and decided to pull over and let my dogs run for a bit before heading back to town. What happens? My dog runs through a cactus and trips and falls into it. Spent the next few hours pulling needles out of her. Never a dull moment on this trip.
Today (Sunday) went and ran Dome Plateau for the first time. Easy enough trail with a bit of everything. If you haven't done this trail I recommend it as there are some great sights and hikes on it. There is a lot of sand stone and rocks to play on as well as a cave. It is about 30 miles from Moab but well worth it.
