2018 Rubithon Wagon Run (2 Viewers)

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Jeep claims they ran through with a stock Cherokee. I would love to see how that went.
every manufacturer "makes" it thru with a stocker...what they don't show you is the stacking and team of dudes hauling rocks around to make that happen. I can also take my fat rig to a drag strip, doesn't mean it'll be the right place for it.

sounds like you are prepping for the worst. that's the best plan.
 
They also don't show you that they scrap the vehicle afterwards. That's what Toyota did years ago with the FJC. Those things were scrapped immediately after making it through the Rubicon.
 
I was on the Rubicon in 2001 when Mark Smith herded 25 pre-production Jeep Rubicons through the trail as a promotional deal. The drivers were just dealer reps from different countries around the globe and there was absolutely no finesse or driver skill involved. They just beat those rigs to crap, banging over one rock and then the next. I didn't see them at the end of the trail, but I have to assume those trucks suffered a lot of damage. :D

They also don't show you that they scrap the vehicle afterwards. That's what Toyota did years ago with the FJC. Those things were scrapped immediately after making it through the Rubicon.
 
The only one I've ever seen a pic of the end of the trail was this one. I guess the story was that that isn't water in the dirt underneath... and it went away on a trailer never to be seen again. I would guess a bone stock 2 door Rubicon Wrangler would be easy enough to run through as long as it doesn't break down.
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The 2010 4runner was the one Toyota sent through and then drove it to Colorado and turned into it's baja 1000 race truck. I thought it was pretty decent promo. They don't mention that they rolled it during the Baja - but still finished. I think they wanted to win - not just finish that year. I saw something in the last few years that it was still a test mule at the proving grounds in Arizona.
 
Signed up today! Wish I had any chance of getting time to bring the FJ40, but it'll be the 4runner again.

Also -barring unforeseen problems I'll be heading from SLC, UT. I have a small flatbed trailer that I could haul small loads down if someone needs something. It's only 4x8 deck with a 3500lb axle, so unless you're bringing a Samurai - not ideal for vehicles.
Awesome, @Jetboy, looking forward to another run with you!
 
Since you're on 33s and likely headed bigger, do the transfer case or a doubler first. Changing differential gears can come later.

In an ideal world of unlimited cash, you would always match the gearing to the tires first, and the transfer case to how slow you want to go. But it's all a compromise.

Gearing the differentials is a 10-20% difference
Gearing the transfer case is an 85%-100% difference
Adding a compound reduction box like toy box or black box is a 300-400% difference.
Just pick what you need and what you can afford.

So you just need to decide how slow you need to go, for where you want to go. The Rubicon trail, rewards low gears, everything else being equal. Dusy Ershim or Fordyce even more so.

Let's talk more about this over a beer at Buck Island. Steve @MountNGoat may have some ideas about this as well since he's the 33 inch trail expert.

My first time through the Rubicon I had stock gears in the axles (3.70's) and the Tcase (2.28:1 low range), BUT I had an H55F 5 spd transmission, with a lower first gear and overdrive. The lower first gear set in the H55F compared to the stock H42 was the equivalent of 5.04:1 diff gears with the stock transmission/tcase in first gear low range. And that was still very fast on the trail, too fast, meaning not much slow control without slipping the clutch. The following year I had 4:1 tcase low range gears put in and that was a truly amazing difference. The penalty there is a 0.9:1 (underdrive) high range gear (~11% higher RPM's in high range) and a bit of a gear-induced whine in high range as well. But offroad it was like having 6.5:1 diff gears, a veritable beast. This is why @Cruiserdrew suggests changing your Tcase gears out first as more bang for the buck, and then you don't compromise your high range speed vs. RPM as much. I'm now back to stock gears in my Tcase but I've added a second transfer case for even more gear reduction. Like Andrew @Cruiserdrew said, it's a normal state of affairs with LC's to throw $$ at them, so do what you can afford.
 
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it's not that tippy...bring the RTT, beats raking out granite from under your hip, besides, it's faster and uses less real estate for camp. only 'sposed to be 100 feet from center of trail, remember... or is it fitty?

@PabloVTA , you ended up like that because you were trying to avoid being tipped the other way, lol!!!!
 
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it's not that tippy...bring the RTT, beats raking out granite from under your hip, besides, it's faster and uses less real estate for camp. only 'sposed to be 100 feet from center of trail, remember... or is it fitty?
You have a much nicer RTT one that I have. The one I have is Camping Labs flip over style tent, so it adds a lot of bulk.
 
You have a much nicer RTT one that I have. The one I have is Camping Labs flip over style tent, so it adds a lot of bulk.
I'd leave it behind. If some unfortunate this happens and your 100 goes over on a section of the trail then it'll be a long way back to NM with potentially no glass on one side of your cruiser. If nothing is bolted to the floor pull everything out at night and throw a full size air mattress in the back. Comfortable and no weight on the roof!
 
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this isn't the kind of seat cone you'll get though....where's the fun in that?
 
I have a coupon code for a free premium registration. I’m not able to make rubithon because I live in Louisiana but I won the code at SCC this year. If interested in buying it let me know!

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you are trying to make money off a raffle prize?
Do you know how much effort Eric puts in getting this event to happen?
not to mention the other people that put forth a lot of sweat equity for each of the runs.

Man up and return it to Eric so he can raffle it off at this years event. It's not like it gets any cheaper every year for the TLCA to file for permits, advertise, pay for equipment, get shirts made, get stuff delivered, etc.

Pay it forward...
 
you are trying to make money off a raffle prize?
Do you know how much effort Eric puts in getting this event to happen?
not to mention the other people that put forth a lot of sweat equity for each of the runs.

Man up and return it to Eric so he can raffle it off at this years event. It's not like it gets any cheaper every year for the TLCA to file for permits, advertise, pay for equipment, get shirts made, get stuff delivered, etc.

Pay it forward...
I bid $0.00
 

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