Moab trails

[leonard_nemoy]

I am heading to moab this next weekend. We will be taking my dads 93 fzj 80. It only has a 2 inch ome lift and 33 inch tires. I am not familiar with moab and I was wondering if anyone on this forum would know of any trails I could do without worrying about hurting the car, but would still present a challenge and be fun. thanks

 

[NorCalDoug]

I don't recall scraping much, if at all on Hell's Revenge. I had the same set up last year when I ran on CM04. I'll assume there are no sliders...

I haven't run it, but have seen pics of Fins and Things...doesn't look too bad.
How much would he care about scraped bumpers? The underside of the bumpers that is...

 

[Riley]

I think Fins and Things should be ok with the stock bumpers (or so I'm told). Search for Moab and beginners in chat and you should find a thread there on this topic. This thread is heading there anyway.

Also try to pick up the book - Guide to Moab UT..... by Charles Wells. It's got some good info but needs to be calibrated in regards to difficulty.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

depends on how bad, we actually don't have a front bumber right now so that might help angle of approach.

 

[Isotel]

most any 3.5 rated and under you should be able to do fine... Gold Bar rim, Posin spyder mesa, you could do.. Or connect all the way thru via the Golden Grack..

Cliff Hanger is Paved, so its like a 2 or somthing now... (something about work crews going up there) but its a great scarry trail still

 

[ginericLC]

I think Fins might actually be worse for scraping than Hell's Revenge. Almost all of your scraping will be the rear bumper. If you have a hitch you'll be fine as that is what will hit. Just do some touch up paint.
I wouldn't do Kane Creek as the brush really shreds the paint. Poison Spider is nice and pretty tame. Then you don't have to worry about the obstacles later on Golden Spike. Golden Staircase can be tricky if you aren't used to driving a particular rig. It is really hard to give advice on trails there. Because depending upon your level of experience and comfort of driving that particular vehicle you could have a really easy time on some hard trails or you could completely screw up the rig on an easy trail. My advice would be more on the caution side because it isn't your rig. The Charles Wells book Guide to Moab Trails..... would give you some good insight. It is well worth the money. Much better than any map or any other trail guide.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

What weekend are you going? There's several of our club heading down over the 22nd-24th. You could definitely putz around with them, they're mostly all in 80s and doing easier trails.

 

[NorCalDoug]

I definitely recall a time or two on the Golden Spike/Gold Bar run where my sliders touched (slammed on) ledges. If you do not have sliders, you might want to think twice about running this trail.

 

[racerdave]

As Cory mentioned a hand full of us will be down the 22-24. You are welcome to hit the trails with us. It is just a mellow family trip; we won't be doing anything too difficult.

What are the dates of your trip?

 

[leonard_nemoy]

We are leaving on the 21 and probably returning the 24 or 25. That would be great if we got together, I will talk to my dad.

 

[cruiserman]

Besides the trails mentioned, Steelbender is another fun one. Here's a review from the '88 jeep safari. Take your mountain bikes.

 

[IdahoDoug]

That's a tough question without knowing the driver's ability. The truck is easily up to 3.5s with a lift and tires. Locked? Try something lesser the first day and see how you feel. Whatever you do, don't promise your Dad it won't come back with any scrapes or minor dents as you won't have any fun the entire time. He's gotta sign on to the program. JMO.

DougM

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Yes It has the stock locking diffs front and rear, plus we installed a switch that allows you to lock the center diff in high range. By the way my dad will be with me.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Being with you, and telling you in advance that some dings and minor scrapes are OK are two different things. As the son of a father that would not tolerate this, which made lots of activities a stress-fest, I suggest you guys speak directly about it or neither of you is gonna have much fun. That will be an incredible experience for you guys, but don't let this issue be unresolved.

Once over that issue, you'll probably not suffer a ding....

I've taken brand new stock vehicles (puny 30" street tires, no lockers, etc) through Poison Spider, Steel Bender (whew) Porcupine Rim, Fins, and a few others. But at any given moment, the wrong rock can roll at the right moment.

I suggest you remove all four mudflaps, and the rear bumper tips (a trailer hitch makes one bolt tough to get to, but just loosening it will give you room). But the 80 can easily handle Moab - a great and fairly benign place to learn to wheel. Just address the damage issue in advance.

DougM