waynes world question

I'd wager (with no rocks at the bottom) Eagles Nest is one of the hardest obstacles in the the state and is nearly impossible with a tire smaller than a 37.

I remember when the Eagle's Nest was a brand new obstacle and most people had never heard about it. It was easily twice the size it is now.
 
What I've noticed the most is the weight of the rig matters a ton. I've seen lightweight zukis walk right up it on 35's without spinning a tire, and have seen heavy full-size rigs with 40"+ tires (good rockcrawling tires; pitbulls, krawlers, kreepy crawlers etc) struggle and/or not make it up. I've also noticed that if your tires/axles aren't wider than your body, you are highly likely to suffer damage to the side of your rigs body on both obstacles :D
 
Watching with interest. Been up WW in a TJ with a limited slip in the rear and AT tires, and many other rigs. Water and air temps make a huge difference. Been up EN in 3 rigs, 2 with 100 ish wheelbases and 1 with 112.
 
it's all about weight to me. gigantic motors, transmissions, t-cases, axles and tires mean more weight. that's why i rock a frameless jeep with baby axles ;)

there was a guy in a one ton tj stretched to 100" on 40" mtr's that struggled in mickey's hot tub for like 15 minutes and we ended up pulling him out. my tiny little xj on 33's handled it first try. it's hard to build a rig that is good in every situation, luckily jeep did that for us with the xj... that was a joke :laughing:

i'm also over the 1,000,000:1 gear ratio thing. some obstacles are awesome to just crawl up and make it look easy but others require a little bit of WIN-pedal and that's fine too. build your rig for what you like to do and go out and have a good time!
 
build your rig for what you like to do and go out and have a good time!

Thats the quote I live by and it has done me well.



Last night I was thinking about all the variables we have... And the original question was really for a wheeling buddy/gearhead just getting a lot more into this particular sport.

Overal Weight and weight distribution plays a big part.
Traction via lockers and gearing, tires size, tread pattern, tire compound, Tcase gearing, suspsension.
Wheelbase-wheelbase-wheelbase, motor, fuel delivery......
 
it's all about weight to me. gigantic motors, transmissions, t-cases, axles and tires mean more weight. that's why i rock a frameless jeep with baby axles ;)

there was a guy in a one ton tj stretched to 100" on 40" mtr's that struggled in mickey's hot tub for like 15 minutes and we ended up pulling him out. my tiny little xj on 33's handled it first try. it's hard to build a rig that is good in every situation, luckily jeep did that for us with the xj... that was a joke :laughing:

i'm also over the 1,000,000:1 gear ratio thing. some obstacles are awesome to just crawl up and make it look easy but others require a little bit of WIN-pedal and that's fine too. build your rig for what you like to do and go out and have a good time!

You make a good point but Cherokees are not exactly light by any stretch.

Cherokee gvw= 3800 lbs plus spares tools and what not. I would say most trail rigs would be at least 4,000 lbs.
Tacomas are essentially the same weight according to google resources and they have a frame.
TJ's are 3,300 lbs stock so they are somewhat less and they have a frame.
My CJ-7 comes in about 3,600 lbs with gear and the v8 weighs less than the boat anchor inline 6!

Hard to say that a Cherokee is the lightweight of wheeling vehicles.
 
I would agree ^

I would be willing to bet with bumpers, "frame" plating, winch, tools, 35's, spare ect I am about 4200-4500lbs. I can tell driving it I am a lot heavier then when I bought it.
 
one reason i asked this question is bret and the stater i have been wheeling with bret for over 15 years everything from mudbogging to trail riding to slickrock i have seen this truck on every kind of terrain you can think of and NEVER have i seen it completely shut down like this he did roll it in moab 8 years ago on patato salad hill but he will tell you that was his fault he was playing way left of the run and i think they have even put rocks up there now so you cant get over there not sure havent been there in a long time just what i heard from someone but this video is what made me ask this question

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...6573&set=vb.195336057228457&type=2&permPage=1
 
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The undercut on eagles nest has gotten worse on the little ledges on top but I agree overall it's smaller
Now.. Not nesesseraly easier though

I don't know, I haven't been up to it in a couple years, but the last time I was up there and the pictures I've seen, it's WAY easier now than it ever was when it was unknown.
 
i don't think that xj gvw is 3800+
the numbers i have found are 3,100 lbs-3,400 lbs. i would guess that mine weighs 3,600-3,700 with all the steel i have thrown at it and in trail trim. i carry too much stuff with me cause i'm a scout (be prepared). my old chopped xjuggy weighed exactly 3,200. i need to get mine to the scales, i'll make that a priority and report back.

i never said xj's are the lightweight of wheeling vehicles at all. i was just saying that light is awesome and i think they are pretty light for a solid-axle vehicle with a 6 cylinder. i didn't mean to make this a frame vs unibody discussion or even an XJ vs anything else discussion. i really like tacomas but they're not made for tall people and wouldn't do what i want anyways. TJ's are in the same boat. while CJ's are cool for sure, they might have less of a frame than an XJ ;)

i can't stress enough that any vehicle that gets you on the trail is great but we all have different needs and taste.



You make a good point but Cherokees are not exactly light by any stretch.

Cherokee gvw= 3800 lbs plus spares tools and what not. I would say most trail rigs would be at least 4,000 lbs.
Tacomas are essentially the same weight according to google resources and they have a frame.
TJ's are 3,300 lbs stock so they are somewhat less and they have a frame.
My CJ-7 comes in about 3,600 lbs with gear and the v8 weighs less than the boat anchor inline 6!

Hard to say that a Cherokee is the lightweight of wheeling vehicles.
 
Watching with interest. Been up WW in a TJ with a limited slip in the rear and AT tires, and many other rigs. Water and air temps make a huge difference. Been up EN in 3 rigs, 2 with 100 ish wheelbases and 1 with 112.

yeah, but you're Bart. Your driving skill alone make you the exception to every rule. If we all drove like you, we could do all these trails in a subaru.
 
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Here's a good comparison of what Eagles Nest is as of last month... Im a smidge under 5'8" tall and you can see that before we got there someone had stacked rocks at the undercut ledge (bottom left of the climb)

IMG_2158.jpg
 
First couple times going to ww I just couldn't make it. Then i took my father in law out there who weighs in about 300 lbs. we walked right up it :) he said you just need a large fat man in the pass seat to make the rig better haha Since then i've conquered that obstacle many times but not every time.
another example is i've done Pritchett canyon at least 15 times forward and backward. But that is still a very hard trail. At the same time i was on it with some (built up) zuki locals from moab that made every single stinkin' obstacle look so stinkin' easy that it was just, well, sad and awesome to watch! The guy said when you are from here, and you know the trail it gets easy. Can't argue with that!
 
those MFFW guys know those trails better than anyone, and their little rigs are built just right for those. They're a blast to watch.
 
I have never attempted Eagles Nest since I have an awesome short wheelbase TJ and 35's. I have put my front tires on the top though. It is huge. It would definitely favor a longer rig with bigger tires. I have attempted Waynes World probably 10 times and made it up all but 2. The first time I tried, I was open in the rear and didn't really know what I was doing, and my "spotter" was not reading the obstacle right either. The other time I didn't make it was a few months ago. It was wet and muddy and no one in our group made it up. The only person I know of making it up that day was Tyler Anderson (95zj), and he has stickies.

WW is a fun one though.
 
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