Gsmtr 2012 (27 Viewers)

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I really enjoy the event being at GMP but I don't really know anything about the other location. Unfortunately, I will be unable to go to the park when you guys have your test run. I will be listening eagerly to the replies from people that are familiar with CC and the people that go on the test run. I personally (for my truck) would rather have some more challenging trails close by than to ride 100 miles on a dirt or gravel road. That being said, I can see how it would be discouraging for someone who has a mild rig to try to tackle GMP. Some of the trails are pretty intimidating.

Are there going to be any other opportunities to check the park out? What are the fees like if I (or a small group) just went up for a weekend?
 
I will be happy with either location. I've loved GMP the past 2 years for GSMTR, trails have been great and the amenities are awesome. Only been to Windrock once (trip tkinze mentioned) and we had an awesome time once we figured the park out. You can wheel all day and maybe run into 1 or 2 groups at most, because the park is huge. My only complaint about Windrock was cost, passengers pay the same price as drivers. I know someone else mentioned this, but unless this is changed or modified, it takes away from bringing the family or friends just to ride along.
 
I think one thing that we as STLCA are interested in is ensuring that we have the most participation and that everyone goes away satisfied. Based on a discussions earlier in the week (and being reasonable people), we know that we will not satisfy all the people all of the time.

The question was posed to us, "What do you (STLCA) want out of the event?" As a member of STLCA I want the largest group of satisfied Toyota enthusiasts to come out with as many of their family members and friends to wheel and have a great time. If that means staying at GMP I am for it. If that means moving to another venue, I am for it.

There have been some behind the scenes issues that have made us consider the move. I will not go into that (except to say they are based mostly on facilities issues) since I was not involved in the issues first person and will let them be addressed by the members who have been if they feel like doing so.

I was one of the first to think that the venue could use a change for a few reasons, one being that it has been at GMP for quite a while. I have only been to GMP a few times and only to two GSMTRs. I look forward to helping out next year once again and hope that after the brief hiatus, the members of STLCA can continue to improve the event, get more support from our members and sponsors and are able to increase participation in the event and the sport in general especially in the East.

No - I am not running for anything.
 
I will have to agree with some that some of the trails marked easy can be hard for stock rigs. throw a little rain in there and it can test unskilled drivers to the point they dont want to go out.
Thursday was the first time I had my 9 month old son out on the trails and I wanted to stick to some easy trails. A few of us hit trail 2 and got half way around to a incline that we slid down backwards sideways and I aimed the back for a tree so we could stop. Mama didn't like it and I pulled the little guy and her out and got them to safe gound with the help of Andy and Rance. While I got the 40 back on the trail. Once we got back in She was pretty much done and little man fell asleep on the trail. They headed back home that night and I got to hit up the harder trails.

I had a buddy and his wife come down from va and We met them at the gate and on our way back up there were some tow rigs stuck going up and Rance pulled one up and I pulled the other one up. While we were doing that my buddies wife freaked out and made him take her back down to the bottom.


But I can say for myself and probably the Iron Pig group we have had a blast at GMP the last two years and we wheeled all day and almost all night. So much I ran thru 20 gallons of gas in the old 2f. I ran out twice on the trail. But luckily we were close to trail 2 and had gas back in the truck with in minutes and we were wheeling again. Another PLUS.
 
Obama/Heifer 2012:flipoff2:
 
Matt -
These are the experiences that we want to hear about and weigh them against the favorable ones. We heard little from dissatisfied customers but most were with regard the the trail ratings and number of easy trails available.
I will say that sometime around 3AM on Sunday morning two trucks went out led by a half locked 40 on 35s SUA and the one following was a more capable 80. The pair rode for about an hour or an hour and half, were not challenged much and had a pretty fun time in the dark to end the weekend - though I was super tired at 6:30 when I got up to start packing :hillbilly:
 
I will also say this - sometimes it's nice having bunk houses / cabins / whatnot to stay in. Sometimes it's nice to have a shower / bathroom that you're responsible for and keep clean. Sometimes it's nice to be able to hang you stuff up and let it dry out. Sometimes it's nice to have power so you can enjoy watching videos/movies of other past events. Sometimes it's nice to have running water to clean your cooking pans and stuff.

I'm not so sure a stock rig could have survived GSMTR on any of the trails without coming away with damage this year, especially after that short bit of rain. 42 turned into a slip-n-slide, and as such a few new rocks showed up that would have taken out some low-hanging underbelly stuff.

Just some thoughts to add to the conversation. I can't complain with the event - I had a tremendous time, and really look forward to next year.
 
It's the package you guys are looking for and that's a tall order. GMP provides a pretty good argument for private rides with facilities and camping so close to the trail system. Being able to run back to camp for food, gas, parts or whatever is perty darn nice, you're gonna have a tough time doing this at Windrock unless you stay on some of the easier trails.

I gotta throw out there also that Burgess Falls does offer an attraction for kids and families, something of a selling point when we "nutball rednecks" try to make the argument for going out and breaking our expensiveness toys.

Most of my info from Windrock came from Pirate and youtube before we went late last year. As usual only the difficult sections get the air time but it's worth looking into for those who have never been.
 
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Have you guys been to Tellico? Where we held this event for what? 18 of the 21 years?

Tellico could eat a stock truck for breakfast. There were nature drives on pavement to the waterfalls to accommodate stock trucks. I am not saying everything should be hard, but it seems like we want to neuter the dog.

Keep it real!
 
DanKunz said:
Have you guys been to Tellico? Where we held this event for what? 18 of the 21 years?

Tellico could eat a stock truck for breakfast. There were nature drives on pavement to the waterfalls to accommodate stock trucks. I am not saying everything should be hard, but it seems like we want to neuter the dog.

Keep it real!
Click to expand...

got to agree. I cut my teeth at Tellico and as one of the last new guys to run the trails there Tellico made me want to build a rig that was capable.

No disrespect but stock vehicles are going to get just as eaten at Windrock as anywhere else. For those guys it's just time to build. :steer:

That said, I still loved Windrock :flipoff2:
 
Windrock is the reason I cut the body of my 80. If I wanted to be able to wheel the fun sections without worry of quarter panel damage or glass breakage...
 
I've been to GMP twice now for GSMTR and I have had a great time both times. The first time, I was surprised at what it could do in the rocks up until I flopped my truck. I went home and started playing with springs to help with my articulation. I knew what I was getting into before I went and I had a lot of fun while learning new capabilities. This time, I hardly took any damage and i'm only on 35's.

There are trails out there that are pretty mild with the exception of 1 or 2 large rocks that usually seem to be in an unavoidable spot. The easy solution is to get with the owner and get permission to take down a few trees and even cut a few by-passes. The trails could even stand to be better marked with explanations of where lockers are needed, tire sizes, width restrictions, etc. so that people don't get themselves into a bad situation. Many GMP trails start off moderate and get worse later. When you hit that hard spot, you may be in a bind trying to get out the way you came. Maybe the map could do a better job of highlight obstacles that a driver may want to check out before committing to a trail.

I really love the trails and facilities at GMP. I think that it is one of the more comfortable events that I go to and its very easy to get to town for parts, walmart, or even the drugstore when your wife gets covered in mosquito bites.
 
Sounds like I missed a heck of a week. I have only been to GMP once, last fall for the ACC ride. Even open-open on 35s I had a great time and was able to make it thru the day without any damage. I agree that the trail marking and rating system could use some work, but from what I understand the owner is kind of distant and even the guy who is local is kind of hard to run down. Having lived in Cookeville for several years and talking to Brian a little, I know that they have a hard time with the locals and it seems they don't want to put alot of effort into property.

I have been to CC a couple of times but it has been a few years. Took the wifes jeep WJ in stock trim and had a good time. The second time was less fun and I pushed the limits of my pickup. I ended up making a 47 point turn on the trail because it turned into a 4 wheeler trail half way up the hill. Then it seemed geared more to the ATV/ UTV crowd. The fee thing does seem a little steep, especially if you have a wife and kids that are riding. A rig of 4 would almost make it not worth going out for the day.

I think the key to either place is a good guide and a good plan for the type of rigs in each group.
 
raevenzero said:
I've been to GMP twice now for GSMTR and I have had a great time both times. The first time, I was surprised at what it could do in the rocks up until I flopped my truck. I went home and started playing with springs to help with my articulation. I knew what I was getting into before I went and I had a lot of fun while learning new capabilities. This time, I hardly took any damage and i'm only on 35's.

There are trails out there that are pretty mild with the exception of 1 or 2 large rocks that usually seem to be in an unavoidable spot. The easy solution is to get with the owner and get permission to take down a few trees and even cut a few by-passes. The trails could even stand to be better marked with explanations of where lockers are needed, tire sizes, width restrictions, etc. so that people don't get themselves into a bad situation. Many GMP trails start off moderate and get worse later. When you hit that hard spot, you may be in a bind trying to get out the way you came. Maybe the map could do a better job of highlight obstacles that a driver may want to check out before committing to a trail.

I really love the trails and facilities at GMP. I think that it is one of the more comfortable events that I go to and its very easy to get to town for parts, walmart, or even the drugstore when your wife gets covered in mosquito bites.
Click to expand...

Very well said about the trails. Easy, intermediate, and difficult mean different things to different people. What if the trail #s were color coded? Green being easy, red is hard, etc. Or, warning signs saying lockers recommended, 35s or larger, body damage possible, etc. Depending on cost I may even be able to help out with the signs.
 
for what it's worth, this was my first GSMTR, first TLC event, first off road park experience. I was one of the handful of 100s at the event. I really didn't know what to expect arriving Friday afternoon with my 13 year old son.

Our first trail was down #2 and, yea, the pucker factor was high. Putting my trust in a spotter I had never met in person, we went down and back up without incident.

Saturday started with a gas/walmart run, followed by the rock race, lunch, then up #42 (the tight trail with the long climb/decline). We didn't need spotting. We did the group photo and afterwards decided to try a few intermediates. We didn't make it very far up #14 (I think) before the thunder; had some damage to one rig, so we packed it back to camp.

Up to this point I had only ran two trails. The rain was mild so two of us decided to try one more run, an intermediate trail that we randomly picked from the map. All I gotta say is I was amazed at what these trucks can do. We went up one trail, winch, then back down. Really pushed my rig to what I felt was the limit (I learned that I don't mind trail rash).

It was an awesome time. My son had a great time. The people were friendly. We did run out of trail options, though, but I'll be back next year regardless of the event location.

:beer:
 
Griffin said:
We did run out of trail options, though, but I'll be back next year regardless of the event location.

:beer:
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Keep wheeling, you'll become more comfortable with what your rig can do, and that alone will open up more trails for you. And get a winch if you dont have one already.
 
Griffin, I ran past you guys on 14.there are definitely easier trails and the park. My suggestion would be to stay on the other side of the race track if you have a stock rig. You guys seemed like you handled it pretty well though.
 
On Thursday AM, we couldn't even get up the START of 14 because the rocks were slick as snot from the rain. We had to take an alternate trail that day.

And somehow I never even had time to make it back there. I'm amazed at how fast the time flew by.
 
got cope? said:
Keep wheeling, you'll become more comfortable with what your rig can do, and that alone will open up more trails for you. And get a winch if you dont have one already.
Click to expand...

Exactly, and I ran out of time more so than trails to run (should have came a day earlier). And I pulled the winch out once, which happened to be the best trail we ran IMO.
 
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