Dusy Ersham trail on 33s?

[jmaddocks]

Question for those who have done the Dusy Ersham trail -- would it be doable on 33s?

Long story short, our 4wd club is doing the trail in a couple of months, and my wheeling buds want me to come along. I had originally planned to install 4.88s this fall and upgrade my tires to 35s this winter. Goal was to do the trail next year. If I go this July, I'd have to do it on 33s w/ stock gearing.

Every post I saw talking about Dusy had some mention of body damage, LOL. I don't mind gouging my cladding/flares or scratching the paint from trees/brush, but I'd like to avoid sheet metal damage. Thoughts? TIA

Jason

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Dusy is extremely narrow, with rocks and trees preventing the "good line" through most of the tight spots. The likelyhood of some sheet metal damage is high, but I doubt it will be too bad. Well worth it for that high quality of adventure. You will feel like you are on a mission, not a trail run. There are no bail outs, no bypasses. You have to psych yourself for going from one end to the other, since there really is no alternative. The trail itself is not super hard, but it has a few challenges, and wears you out because it is so long. Watch out for fatigue in the afternoon of day 2. I have run it in 3 days and 4 days-4 is better.

You will loose a fender flare or two.

Dusy-Ershim is the best trail in California. Have fun and don't tell too many people.

 

[cpg]

Shhh!! Drew you need to keep quite Keep everyone on the con.

 

[TUFFTORQ]

Did it last year with the Trail Crew lads in my 40 for the first time. By far the most scenic and fun trail around. Now on to the Rubithon in June... and then Dusy again in September.

p.s. take a fishing pole and catch and release!

 

[cruiserdan]

Dusy is extremely narrow, with rocks and trees......

You will loose a fender flare or two.

Not me...................


Geeze Andy, you really want me to wreck my truck.....

 

[NorCalDoug]

Not me...................


Geeze Andy, you really want me to wreck my truck.....

...which is exactly why Andy does Dusy in his 40

 

[Tapage]

I thought Alvaro keep in his page some Dusys video or pics sequence .. with this you get better idea what are talking ..

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Not me...................


Geeze Andy, you really want me to wreck my truck.....

If you listen to your spotter, it will improve your chances! This trail is so great that it is well worth an 80 series fender flare.

Remember that Rubicon is a harder trail, and you want to do that don't you?

 

[cruiserdan]

Remember that Rubicon is a harder trail, and you want to do that don't you?

Not with my truck..........

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Well-Back to the original poster...

The trail is definitely doable on 33s. Jeff A. did it with us on OME standard lift, 33s and factory lockers. he lost 1 flare and 1 tail light. (see pic)

This trail is an amazing experience. My frist time through I had an engine fire that nearly took out my FJ40. Since it burned through the ARB airlines, I went through without lockers and it wasn't all that bad. Much of the trail is high altitude meadows and lakes, but with numerous boulder fields thrown in for good measure.

Remember the 80 has lots of expensive sheet metal, unlike the FJ40. There are many, many narrow spots where trees and rocks will try to block your path. The rocks tip you into the trees, and the trees prevent you from avoiding the rocks.

Here is the man himself, holding the "prize"
Photo credit: Alvaro Rodriguez

 

[Photo_Cruiser]

Dang Andy,

You are quick on the photo draw. I don't even have that image. For the poster, yes you can do it. To put it in perspective, the Dusy was my first real wheeling trip ever. I loved every minute of it. There were times where I was sketched. The Norcal guys were just so patient, and fun. We had to do a bit of stacking here and there, but really not that much. The gate coming out is pretty damn gnarly, for a beginner anyhow. Walker Hill had it's moments. I lost two flares, but I have lovely liner in their place now and it looks sweet. Lost the tail light in a moment of just not paying complete attention. It could have been avoided...oh well. I did have the lockers, and used both quite a bit. I was also on AT's but that wasn't really an issue either, lots of granite...I would love to do it this year if it fits with my stupid-busy self employed workaholic retard schedule...argh

But like Andy said, that trails uhm...really ugly and uhm...way over rated...yeah

Jeff

 

[mickey_rubicon]

You can do a lot on a good set of 33s like GYMTRs but it is exactly on the exterior of the body where you may pay the price. I know this too well from experience. My 80 is a living example of this trade off, I have tried to beat my 80 through pretty much anything with 33s and open diffs, and if you are trying to keep your exterior in good condition, you will have to be very careful on tight trails where your line becomes a different line as soon as you proceed with your initial line. That rear end sure likes to wonder at times.

 

[jmaddocks]

Thanks for all the feedback you guys have given me.

We've turned our exhaust into a pretzel, destroyed a driveshaft, bent control arms, and dragged our LX's cladding across boulders, but my wife still isn't too keen on bending sheet metal (she still likes it when I wash/wax the truck so she can drive it to tea parties and such... ). Good news is that she's talking about possibly getting a dedicated trail rig to do this run and others like it, which might be the best of both worlds.

 

[cruiserdan]

The rocks tip you into the trees, and the trees prevent you from avoiding the rocks.

That's when I'd pull out the gas-axe and solve that problem.....

 

[jmaddocks]

Talked it over w/ the wife and decided to install 4.88s and 35s over the next few weeks and take the Lexus. I'm also going to remove the aft cat, tuck the forward one higher (it's already clocked, just going to shorten the downpipe a bit), and fab an over-frame piece to connect to the factory muffler. Edit: goal is to modify the right Slee slider to move the under-cat bracket a couple of inches higher or replace it w/ a flat piece of 1/2" steel. May also consider fabbing a "trail exhaust" w/ just a muffler and turndown under the vehicle for trips like this -- just worried about exhaust fumes during slow speeds w/ the windows down...

For those who have done this trail: did you need to bring extra gas, or was the factory tank sufficient?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

For those who have done this trail: did you need to bring extra gas, or was the factory tank sufficient?

You need extra gas, probably 10 gallons. Do not do this trail alone. Make sure there is at least 1 other truck with you. In my FJ40 I take 15 extra gallons and usually end up with about 1/4-1/2 tank by the return to Shaver Lake.

 

[Tapage]

You need extra gas, probably 10 gallons. Do not do this trail alone. Make sure there is at least 1 other truck with you.

With winch, spares and tools ..

 

[justagirl]

Question for those who have done the Dusy Ersham trail -- would it be doable on 33s?

If I go this July, I'd have to do it on 33s w/ stock gearing.

Same question, but 33's, stock gearing, and rear Aussie locker only. I'm thinking hard about taking the Beast II off Matt's hands, but it only has a rear Aussie locker--a concern for me.

Heather

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=97615 (Beast II)