Rubicon 2021... (1 Viewer)

[kreiten]

I can't believe y'all let @Canyonero play in that FCA crapbox! Lol, I'm just giving you a hard time, it is the only vehicle out there with the trails namesake plastered down the side lol. My father just randomly picked up a Gladiator Rubicon and I'll admit that I am kind of excited to help him build it out. Any plans to get back into a Toyota/Lexus product in the future?

A little back history on our group this year and Greg aka Canyonero. Way back in 2015 before LCDC was ever heard of 9 rigs met up in a small little town in Colorado by the name of Ouray. This was the very beginning of what today is known as the LCDC, just a bunch of strangers meeting up in the middle of the country to run some trails. Greg was one of those 9 and his 200 was one of the most equipped 200's in the country and he knew what he was doing! Over the next 2 years I ran tons of trails with Greg in our 200's along with Kamal and my Brother Jay to include the first 200's through the Trifecta in 2017! Greg along with Kamal are 2 of the most composed and best spotters I have ever wheeled with! Funny side note we had 4 of the original 9 drivers on this trip from the original LCDC back in 2015!

Lots of beers and chats about Greg jumping back in a Cruiser at some point while at camp on the Rubicon, let's just say there is maybe a chance(fingers crossed) we see @Canyonero in a 300 series on 35's triple locked in the future!

 

[kreiten]

@Atwalz dropping into the obstacle I call Sabretooth

 

[Tex68w]

A little back history on our group this year and Greg aka Canyonero. Way back in 2015 before LCDC was ever heard of 9 rigs met up in a small little town in Colorado by the name of Ouray. This was the very beginning of what today is known as the LCDC, just a bunch of strangers meeting up in the middle of the country to run some trails. Greg was one of those 9 and his 200 was one of the most equipped 200's in the country and he knew what he was doing! Over the next 2 years I ran tons of trails with Greg in our 200's along with Kamal and my Brother Jay to include the first 200's through the Trifecta in 2017! Greg along with Kamal are 2 of the most composed and best spotters I have ever wheeled with! Funny side note we had 4 of the original 9 drivers on this trip from the original LCDC back in 2015!

Lots of beers and chats about Greg jumping back in a Cruiser at some point while at camp on the Rubicon, let's just say there is maybe a chance(fingers crossed) we see @Canyonero in a 300 series on 35's triple locked in the future!

Yea I've seen his signature and I remember his short stint with the GX/150. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter what you drive/own, bring what you've got and have a good time doing it because after all that's what it's all about. Lastly, one can't deny how the JK/JL/JT's make short work of such terrain, they were built for this stuff. Once I can get momma into a 300 LX or possibly the new Ford Bronco I can finally start building the 200 and use it as my daily, until then I'll just have to enjoy it stock and drool over rigs like those in this thread lol.

 

[kreiten]

Yea I've seen his signature and I remember his short stint with the GX/150. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter what you drive/own, bring what you've got and have a good time doing it because after all that's what it's all about. Lastly, one can't deny how the JK/JL/JT's make short work of such terrain, they were built for this stuff. Once I can get momma into a 300 LX or possibly the new Ford Bronco I can finally start building the 200 and use it as my daily, until then I'll just have to enjoy it stock and drool over rigs like those in this thread lol.

This is exactly what we talked about at camp also, I said "I don't care if you bring a Geo Metro to the trail, if you have a positive attitude and are fun I will roll with you!" Greg's rig did really well and he is a pro driver so that helps, but the rig that did the best for the mods it had in my opinion was the Tacoma, it just rocked that trail!

 

[Tex68w]

This is exactly what we talked about at camp also, I said "I don't care if you bring a Geo Metro to the trail, if you have a positive attitude and are fun I will roll with you!" Greg's rig did really well and he is a pro driver so that helps, but the rig that did the best for the mods it had in my opinion was the Tacoma, it just rocked that trail!

My only trip through the Rubicon was in a 2001 SAS Tacoma XtraCab on 36's back in the day and it straight up owned the trail. I still like the Tacoma a lot, I just wish they had fully boxed frames, four wheel disc brakes, better payloads and a few more inches leg room in the back seat. Maybe this next generation Taco will come through, if it doesn't they will only fall even further behind in the mid-size truck game.

 

[TeCKis300]

So at what tire size does the 200-series need to make the trail enjoyable? 33s are doable but probably not enjoyable? 35s enjoyable? 36+ owns trail?

Then what aspect of the rig makes it less capable than other rigs say with similar diameter 35s? Size? Clearance? Lockers?

 

[kreiten]

GoldieHahn on the attack!

 

[kreiten]

So at what tire size does the 200-series need to make the trail enjoyable? 33s are doable but probably not enjoyable? 35s enjoyable? 36+ owns trail?

Then what aspect of the rig makes it less capable than other rigs say with similar diameter 35s? Size? Clearance? Lockers?

We had a mixed convoy and was great to watch different rigs, wheelbases, tires etc go through different obstacles.. We had obstacles that the the Jeep walked and the 100 and 200's struggled a bit, we had obstacles that the 100 and 200 walked and the Jeep struggled a bit. I could go on and on, but at the end of the day the width of the rig, tire size and wheelbase really play a huge roll on Rubicon. Yes I know they play a huge roll on a lot of trails but it was just very apparent on the Rubicon, partially because we had such a mixed bag of rigs proly. I think as the 200 series platform gets older you will see more and more of them on the Rubicon, what size tires are needed? I would say it could be done with 33's forsure, but likely body damage. 35's would be very doable with lockers and full skids, 37's you can drink your coffee without spilling I think Kamal could have run it easily on 35's! And I know this is not what you want to hear, but all 100's and 200's ran zero offset wheels, without that we would have all taking way more body damage from the Rubicon, just my 2 cents man, hope all is well!

 

[Tex68w]

And I know this is not what you want to hear, but all 100's and 200's ran zero offset wheels, without that we would have all taking way more body damage from the Rubicon, just my 2 cents man, hope all is well!

In regards to the larger offset, what all must be done aside from an aggressive BMC and trimming to clear 35's or larger?

 

[TeCKis300]

We had a mixed convoy and was great to watch different rigs, wheelbases, tires etc go through different obstacles.. We had obstacles that the the Jeep walked and the 100 and 200's struggled a bit, we had obstacles that the 100 and 200 walked and the Jeep struggled a bit. I could go on and on, but at the end of the day the width of the rig, tire size and wheelbase really play a huge roll on Rubicon. Yes I know they play a huge roll on a lot of trails but it was just very apparent on the Rubicon, partially because we had such a mixed bag of rigs proly. I think as the 200 series platform gets older you will see more and more of them on the Rubicon, what size tires are needed? I would say it could be done with 33's forsure, but likely body damage. 35's would be very doable with lockers and full skids, 37's you can drink your coffee without spilling I think Kamal could have run it easily on 35's! And I know this is not what you want to hear, but all 100's and 200's ran zero offset wheels, without that we would have all taking way more body damage from the Rubicon, just my 2 cents man, hope all is well!

Thanks for that!

Point well taken and you guys surely know what you want your rig to do. Built for purpose. Kudos.

 

[kreiten]

In regards to the larger offset, what all must be done aside from an aggressive BMC and trimming to clear 35's or larger?

body mount chop, possible KDSS relo kit depending on where ya set your alignment and then bumpstops to control the tires a bit or trim/roll the fenders a bit...

 

[Atwalz]

@kreiten you plan on taking your 200 through Rubicon in the near future?

@Atwalz how did ur 200 do with the 37?

200 did great. 37s were rubbing generally but not an issue. I fixed whatever I could in a day to reduce the rubbage. I am glad I did 37s before the trip. wider, large tires and sliders protect the rig from body damage. My sliders were homemade which I purposely set them out more than anything available on the market. skid plates and heavy-duty rear LCA played a good role in this. Slider and zero offset wheels with large tires, protected rig from body damage. I am happy with the outcome.

I did have an icon shock failure on the trails on the second day. I removed the shock to avoid further damage. I also had one of BDS KDSS links bent and unthreaded. I was able to trail fix the KDSS link at the springs campground. I have to build a beefier version of the KDSS links (Refer to build thread).

I plan to add a 1/4" skid to the BDS drop bracket. Skid that came with the kit is only a 3/16" plate, which was smashed but protected the front diff. I also plan to add armor to the rear diff.

 

[Atwalz]

BTW, 40 gallon LRA tank never touched anything on Rubicon.

 

[Atwalz]

My plan was to ride with someone as I did not intend to take the 200 thru Rubicon as I was getting nightmares about two rigs I saw last year. I had snapped a side gear shaft on the front diff two weeks before the trip at Hollister Hills. I replaced the shaft on Thursday before the trip. On Thursday I called Ken and said, hell with it I am bringing 200 and I hope I don't regret that decision. On Friday before the trip, I called few local tire shops looking for 37s but no one had them. I was able to find a set of 5 Ironman MTs on local CL. I had them mounted on Saturday and trimming began on Sunday with a quick flex test on a local dirt road for validation. Monday morning I show up to do the trial and the rest is history.

 

[kreiten]

@Atwalz

 

[Markuson]

And I know this is not what you want to hear, but all 100's and 200's ran zero offset wheels, without that we would have all taking way more body damage from the Rubicon, just my 2 cents man, hope all is well!

Was thinking that very thought with Kamal’s offset. Rubicon pinch points seem like the perfect case for poke creating a nice buffer zone so you don’t need as much buffing later (see what I did there? lol).

 

[kreiten]

GoldieHahn year 2 completing the Rubicon...

 

[Canyonero]

So at what tire size does the 200-series need to make the trail enjoyable? 33s are doable but probably not enjoyable? 35s enjoyable? 36+ owns trail?

Then what aspect of the rig makes it less capable than other rigs say with similar diameter 35s? Size? Clearance? Lockers?

What @kreiten said. Basically, on 35’s you can choose to scrape in the middle (Jeep) or scrape in the back (LC). A 200 on 37’s does still scrape and bang a lot. There is no escape on the Rubicon. @Atwalz ’s 200 was uniquely prepared with: A) him as an excellent driver and B) wide rock sliders that kept his 200’s body clean.

35’s are the bare the minimum tire size IMO, the Taco being an outlier on 33’s based on a narrow wheelbase, rear locker, great armor, and a very solid driver. The lightness of the Taco was a significant factor, his traction-to-weight ratio was outstanding.

Everyone had rocks stacked for them, or were pulled, or winched at one point or another. Everyone has battle scars underneath their rigs at a minimum.

It’s a tough trail, and definitely my favorite trail I’ve ever run. I’d venture to say it’s best reserved for expert drivers. There are so many opportunities to really damage a rig.

Absolutely gorgeous trail though and an experience to remember.

 

[kreiten]

What @kreiten said. Basically, on 35’s you can choose to scrape in the middle (Jeep) or scrape in the back (LC). A 200 on 37’s does still scrape and bang a lot. There is no escape on the Rubicon. @Atwalz ’s 200 was uniquely prepared with: A) him as an excellent driver and B) wide rock sliders that kept his 200’s body clean.

35’s are the bare the minimum tire size IMO, the Taco being an outlier on 33’s based on a narrow wheelbase, rear locker, great armor, and a very solid driver. The lightness of the Taco was a significant factor, his traction-to-weight ratio was outstanding.

Everyone had rocks stacked for them, or were pulled, or winched at one point or another. Everyone has battle scars underneath their rigs at a minimum.

It’s a tough trail, and definitely my favorite trail I’ve ever run. I’d venture to say it’s best reserved for expert drivers. There are so many opportunities to really damage a rig.

Absolutely gorgeous trail though and an experience to remember.

I would struggle through an obstacle and then look in my review mirror to see the Tacoma just drive right through LMAO WTF It's def my favorite trail I have ever run, can't wait to do it again!!!

 

[LX5708]

crazy how times have changed. I grew up going threw the rubicon in stock YJs and 33inch tires were big