So, I've done the Rubicon a whopping ONE time, buuut, we ran it in September and it was awesome. The weather was perfect, the trail was all but deserted and we crossed about a half dozen trucks while on the trail. The only negative was the fire ban, but we can work out some solution to that. Another advantage of September is that water levels are also typically lower.
I think I mentioned it before to a few of those on this thread, but I've wanted to participate in the actual Rubithon event for many years. I thought the way to do Rubithon is to drive in from Tahoma, down Cadillac Hill (the exit) on Friday, set up camp and spend the weekend socializing, then roll out to the trail head Sunday (approx 2.5hrs)and run it the week after Rubithon. That way its the best of both worlds, you experience Rubiton (without the trail crowds and traffic jams and dust) and then running the trail with the people you wanted to run it with at your own pace.
As far as truck setups go, my 40 was setup thusly: 4" lift, 35" tires, 4:10 gears w/ ARBs front and rear, STOCK POWER STEERING, and anH41 trans with ORION t-case (80:1 final ratio in 1st).
My truck had no issues, other than getting a chunk of something in the fuel line AFTER coming off the trail, likely from stirring up junk in the tank when dumping a jerry can of fuel in as insurance (I did not need any fuel while running the trail and had plenty left over at the end and blowing air back down the line solved the issue. My buddy's truck had a rear leaf spring issue, coolant boiling issues, due to having a rad cap with too low a pressure) and he bent a stock relay rod from his mini-truck PS box to the center arm and had carb issues the whole time, due to the altitude.
My advice: If you are going to run a carbed rig, make sure your carb is in top shape, you read up on high altitude setup (especially if desmogged with the HAC removed) and you bring a few sizes of jets, just in case. Also, check your radiator cap and make sure you have a 14lb cap and a good coolant mixture to raise the boiling point. Also get a good finned power steering cooler. Even with a good cooler, mine boiled over a few times because I had to do so much steering in some of the tighter spots.
My pictures tell a decent tail of what to expect
Rubicon Sept 07
Steph and I rolled comfortably gear-wise in the 40. I did build a rear rack extension to carry our cooler, since the lower bumper basket was full. I could have cut down considerably on our gear too, as I learned after the fact.
I am down with whatever the collective decides.
