Added photos, 05-20-06
Well, "real" in the sense that serious rock-crawling is still "unreal" to me at this point.
Yeah, my 80 has taken me camping in the San Rafael Swell / Capitol Reef and the Uintas, but this was the first time that the journey was one of the major (THE major) aspects of the trip.
Me, wife, two boys (3 yr. & 9 mo.), my father, brother, sister, brother-in-law (I guess calling a family trip would be quicker) spent 5 days cruising and camping in the Maze District of Canyonlands and the surrounding area. We covered exactly 200 miles between leaving and returning to asphalt and camped in some incredible locations (we moved camp 3 of the 4 nights).
I couldn't be more happy with how my 80 handled the trip.
We ended up hauling a heckuva load of stuff. Water for 5 days 25 extra gallons of gas (between the three vehicles), and all the crap to keep the baby happy and the toddler occupied. The 80 absorbed all our stuff--including 10 gallons of water, 5 gallons of extra gas, and my too-heavy cargo box full of heavy tools, chain, jacks and winch crap--without flinching, and my J-Moose style roof rack did it's job well and was rock-solid the whole time.
The other two vehicles--a Rubicon and a Taco--did not handle their cargo near as gracefully. The Heep just didn't have much room and it's arse was noticeably droopy. The Taco was REALLY sagging, and we ended up swapping bulky light stuff out of the 80 and taking another 10 gallons of water (20 gallons total) and another loaded cooler from the Taco and Rubicon.
The OME Heavy springs kicked butt! My 80 was unfazed and pretty much level with a very significant load.
On the really rough sections (Teapot rock to the Dollhouse was low-range crawling
most of the way) the unanimous verdict was that the Cruiser was the most comfortable ride by far, and I was the only one who didn't scrape anything. I can understand why people end up escalating into serious rock-crawling--what looks like a nearly impassable trail to 90% of the nation becomes almost boring in the 80.
The Terra Grappler tires were great. Didn't feel like I really pushed them, but I never lost traction on dirt or rock, and the ride was very nice.
I can't decide if the CDL switch and pin-7 mod were a pain in the a$$ or a nice convenience. Cruising the mellow sections in high range was much better with the CDL unlocked. When driving through sections where the the open center diff
was compromising traction, low range was much more appropriate than the center diff locked in 4-high.
On the plus side, I get the impression that CDL engages quicker with the manual button than automatic when shifting into low. Might be my imagination.
Ultimately, the best praise I can give my 80 is that it took a toddler, a 9-month old, and all their crap through 200 miles and 5 long days of rough desert trails without any tantrums, fits, or toddler drama. In fact, they were incredibly happy the whole time.
Big Land Cruiser, bigger world:
Crossing the Dirty Devil:
My brother (back seat) has his head hanging out of the truck in at least half a dozen photos. I call it "Look at that tire! II":
Heading down into Hatch Canyon:
Looking beyond the Dollhouse:
Coming out of the Dollhouse:
The view from Panorama Point:
Quote from my father upon arriving at Panorama Point, "That's some straight-down sh1t!!"
The gang below Teapot Rock:
One PS art filter applied to my 80. I think it looks pretty cool:
If you're up to a long download (94Mb!), you might enjoy this video:
Hayes Maze 2006
Hayes
Well, "real" in the sense that serious rock-crawling is still "unreal" to me at this point.
Yeah, my 80 has taken me camping in the San Rafael Swell / Capitol Reef and the Uintas, but this was the first time that the journey was one of the major (THE major) aspects of the trip.
Me, wife, two boys (3 yr. & 9 mo.), my father, brother, sister, brother-in-law (I guess calling a family trip would be quicker) spent 5 days cruising and camping in the Maze District of Canyonlands and the surrounding area. We covered exactly 200 miles between leaving and returning to asphalt and camped in some incredible locations (we moved camp 3 of the 4 nights).
I couldn't be more happy with how my 80 handled the trip.
We ended up hauling a heckuva load of stuff. Water for 5 days 25 extra gallons of gas (between the three vehicles), and all the crap to keep the baby happy and the toddler occupied. The 80 absorbed all our stuff--including 10 gallons of water, 5 gallons of extra gas, and my too-heavy cargo box full of heavy tools, chain, jacks and winch crap--without flinching, and my J-Moose style roof rack did it's job well and was rock-solid the whole time.
The other two vehicles--a Rubicon and a Taco--did not handle their cargo near as gracefully. The Heep just didn't have much room and it's arse was noticeably droopy. The Taco was REALLY sagging, and we ended up swapping bulky light stuff out of the 80 and taking another 10 gallons of water (20 gallons total) and another loaded cooler from the Taco and Rubicon.
The OME Heavy springs kicked butt! My 80 was unfazed and pretty much level with a very significant load.
On the really rough sections (Teapot rock to the Dollhouse was low-range crawling
most of the way) the unanimous verdict was that the Cruiser was the most comfortable ride by far, and I was the only one who didn't scrape anything. I can understand why people end up escalating into serious rock-crawling--what looks like a nearly impassable trail to 90% of the nation becomes almost boring in the 80. The Terra Grappler tires were great. Didn't feel like I really pushed them, but I never lost traction on dirt or rock, and the ride was very nice.
I can't decide if the CDL switch and pin-7 mod were a pain in the a$$ or a nice convenience. Cruising the mellow sections in high range was much better with the CDL unlocked. When driving through sections where the the open center diff
was compromising traction, low range was much more appropriate than the center diff locked in 4-high.
On the plus side, I get the impression that CDL engages quicker with the manual button than automatic when shifting into low. Might be my imagination.
Ultimately, the best praise I can give my 80 is that it took a toddler, a 9-month old, and all their crap through 200 miles and 5 long days of rough desert trails without any tantrums, fits, or toddler drama. In fact, they were incredibly happy the whole time.
Big Land Cruiser, bigger world:
Crossing the Dirty Devil:
My brother (back seat) has his head hanging out of the truck in at least half a dozen photos. I call it "Look at that tire! II":
Heading down into Hatch Canyon:
Looking beyond the Dollhouse:
Coming out of the Dollhouse:
The view from Panorama Point:
Quote from my father upon arriving at Panorama Point, "That's some straight-down sh1t!!"
The gang below Teapot Rock:
One PS art filter applied to my 80. I think it looks pretty cool:
If you're up to a long download (94Mb!), you might enjoy this video:
Hayes Maze 2006
Hayes
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