Events/Trails 80 Rubicon Trail Report (1 Viewer)

[Noahrob]

Why write a recap of my trip on the Rubicon? Well, mostly for the guys/gals that aren’t in California or for those new to the 80 platform like I am and trying to figure out what mods need to be done to accomplish specific goals. I am not suggesting the path I took is the correct or only path, only what I did.

I’ve had other trucks so am not new to wheeling, but I’ve certainly never had a truck with leather seats that weighs ~7,000lbs. My goal was to have a rig that my wife could drive every day, but that I could also wheel. My stated objective was to wheel the Rubicon as the hardest trail I would tackle in this truck. Said another way, I have no delusions that I am going to take on Jack Hammer at Johnson Valley…J

My truck was a non-locked stock LX450 about a year ago. Since then:

- 4x4labs rear bumper with a spare tire holder and triple fuel tank carrier

- Trail Gear Tube Bumper and Tacoma sliders

- IPOR Skid plate

- 4.88 Gears with ARB front and rear

- Rebuilt the axles with new wheel bearings etc…

- CDL Switch

- 9.5k winch

- 315 pro comps

- 75mm slinky springs with icon shocks

- Caster correction plates

- Baseline maintenance

- Sway bar disconnects

So, how did the truck and the trail get along? Well, first and foremost as I am sure everyone realizes, the truck is heavy and low. With that said, the guys I was with called my truck the grader as I did more rock grading than rock crawlingJ The truck surprised me, I only got stuck once and to be fair, it was just past Buck Island where there are some big rocks that twist up a lot of trucks and I got hung up on the driveshaft. I don’t feel too bad about getting yanked off as at least I tried, all other 35” tired trucks I was with took the bypass…

Damage? Well, not too bad. I ripped the front sway bar off the sway bar release tabs and had to take it off. The rear sway bar is pretty bent out of shape, but it looks like most of the damage can be quickly remedied with a BFH and some curse words. Sliders, belly pan, and bumpers, especially the one in the rear, are all scratched up, but that is what they are for. The rear cladding on both sides are scratched up and a few of the clips need to be replaced, but no biggies. The radius arms (aka other sliders) are scratched up and the control arm buckets are bent, but all still functional.

My conclusion is that the 80 platform is big and heavy, but a LOT of fun to wheel, capable of carrying a family to, through and back from the trail. Although I love mini trucks, it was fun to be the only 80 around (I know there were more, but I didn’t see them) and forced me to really drive. If you are new to this truck, congratulations, you have an awesome truck that with not too much work works well. The only thing I am going to change after cleaning things up is to get lower gears as that alone would have avoided a lot of the bumps and bruises.

Thanks to the folks on mud for all the great info and help!

 

[cybrstar]

Gonna run it for the first time in the big pig the end of September. All pretty much the same as your set up except already de-flared and came non locked model with only a rear Spartan.

Things I'll install before I head out:

disco's with the front and rear swaybar with compensated bump stops so that I don't bottom out the shocks.

Slee transfer case or IPOR belly plate.

And maybe ARB front locker (do you think it's necessary?)

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[baldilocks]

@cybrstar- Rear sway bar disconnect? Just leave your front sway bar at home, it's much safer there. I really like my cruis'n off road skid plates. I installed both, for trans and transfercase. I'm not crazy about my skidplate also being the tranny cross member.

On 37's, 4" lift and ARB's front and rear my 80 eats the Rubicon up. Last month we trekked from Loon lake to Rubicon springs in just under 4.5 hours and that included a 20 minute stop at spider lake and multiple slower moving vehicles I had to overtake.

I suggest getting armored up and just going for it. You should do fine with one locker and a good spotter. Just be sure to give the vehicle a good once over making sure all your nuts are torqued like the steering knuckles, hubstuds, driveline's, lug nuts, large suspension bolts, etc. getting stuck a few times is nothing compared to a catastrophic failure especially due to unchecked hardware.

I would go with you but I will be out seeing some other states over most of September. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[nukegoat]

@cybrstar-Last month we trekked from Loon lake to Rubicon springs in just under 4.5 hours

That is flying. I don't think I have gone that fast

 

[half k cruiser]

7000lbs cruiser, I'm assuming that's with your 1000lbs of camping gear ?

 

[surfpig]

Sounds about right.

 

[baldilocks]

That is flying. I don't think I have gone that fast

I was on a mission to get to the springs and everything just seemed to be working out that day.

 

[Noahrob]

As I mentioned, the #1 thing that I was missing was lower gears. Lurching over obstacles just meant I had a harder landing on the other side. We made it from Loon to the Springs in about 6 hours, but stopped for lunch for about an hour and then spent about 30 minutes yanking me off some rocks.

I totally agree with leaving the front sway bar at home. I had disconnects, but ended up taking it off anyway as it was hitting rocks and got knocked loose.

I would love to go with some other 80's if the opportunity ever presents itself

 

[icorradoi]

I would love to go with some other 80's if the opportunity ever presents itself

Look for the Rubithon Wagon Run next year. I'm going to try to make it for that as well. Spotters that know how to get a fat pig through the rocks sounds like it would help to deter some damage.

 

[GW Nugget]

@Noahrob thank you for the great post.
You wrote you want lower gears... since you have 4:88s have you considered the Marlin Crawler Tcase gears?

Yes these fat pigs like to slap their bottoms because baby they got back...

Tacoma slidders? How did you work around the cat converters?

 

[Lumpskie]

Since I am still building my 80, this is a really good thread for me to learn from. If you don't mind me asking.... did you ever scratch or hit the frame itself or just the sliders? (Do you happen to have any pictures?) I am building a set of skids for my rig and I'm wondering how important clearance at the frame rail itself really is.

 

[baldilocks]

The Rubicon is not easy but it's far from the toughest. Let's not over think it. The 80 is a very versatile machine and does surprisingly well.

The 80 is larger than a mini truck but it's not "huge". The rig I wheeled for 15 years before getting an 80 was a 1978 dodge ramcharger. That thing was big and bared the scars you might expect because of its size, so the 80 seems compact to me. I guess it just depends on where you are coming from.

Unfortunately, there is little on the market for getting the 80 geared down really really low. I recently swapped in the 3.12 Marlin transfer case gear set. It did make a noticable difference with the 4.88's but I also stepped up from 315's to 37's at the same time. The larger diameter tire probably offset some of the difference that the gears made but they also offer less rolling resistance over the rough stuff. It's no 358:1 on 40's like my trailer queen was but the 80 offers much more in other ways and I like it for sure.

Yes, a group trip on Rubicon would be great!

 

[retrofive]

I suppose it is driver as well. Don't recall the year (2012? was that the 25th for Rubithon), but anyway joined a friend for the wagon group. Think it was Kevin up in Canada who drove down in his fj45 pickup on splits and swear 28's. He put us wagon people to shame.

 

[jcardona1]

I suppose it is driver as well.

Picking lines is important. Don't do what I did here.

 

[inkpot]

As I mentioned, the #1 thing that I was missing was lower gears. Lurching over obstacles just meant I had a harder landing on the other side. We made it from Loon to the Springs in about 6 hours, but stopped for lunch for about an hour and then spent about 30 minutes yanking me off some rocks.

I totally agree with leaving the front sway bar at home. I had disconnects, but ended up taking it off anyway as it was hitting rocks and got knocked loose.

I would love to go with some other 80's if the opportunity ever presents itself

Learn how to 2-pedal and you can solve the majority of the lurching and hard landings.

 

[Noahrob]

@baldilocks,I agree the 80 isn't huge, I wheeled a '73 K5 for years, which was bigger, but it had tons and 40's so i went over a lot of things that I now go through...you're right, it is all about perspective and exceptions. At this point, I am totally sold on the 80, it is a lot of fun, and I'll tell you, wheeling in leather seats is hard to beat

@GW Nugget
I just got an email from Northwest fab that reads "We will have one available for the FJ80 in the next few months.

Kris
NWF"

So I may hold off on Marlin TC gears, just in case this thing pops.


At the end of the day, like everything else, we all have opinions on rigs and trails. If you tow it is different than if you drive. If you drive with kids, it is different than solo. If you drive 8 hours each direction, it is different than 2. But I think it is cool to find a whole community of folks who want to wheel.

 

[GW Nugget]

Is Northwest fab a doubler or Tcase reduction gears?

 

[DirtScaresMe]

Picking lines is important. Don't do what I did here.

I always tell my kids in the truck "the wheels were made to hit things!"

 

[Noahrob]

@GW Nugget

BlackBox GearBox - The Latest In Underdrive Technology

 

[Sam I Am]

What effect does two pedaling have on transmission temperatures?