Rubicon Trail Recap : I underestimated it... (1 Viewer)

[XploreOffroad]

Bunch of buddies and I decided that we where ready to do some real off roading and tackle the Rubicon Trail.....

Welp, we definitely underestimated the trail and over estimated our abilities!

Took us roughly 2 days to complete the entire trail (Loon Lake -> Lake Tahoe).

Will be posting most of my content on my instagram : xplore.offroad
Damage report:
- My power steering blew out right around Rubicon Springs (~ Mile Marker 7.6) so I had to power through and arm pump the rest of the way out.
- I rushed my winch install and never put in an inline fuse.... so my winch cable was rubbing slightly and eventually caused an electrical short... which SPARKED A FIRE on my front end, melting my AC condenser fan and an AC line. Put it out quickly with no other damage.

All 7 rigs made it out alive with minor damage and we were all able to drive back home to Sacramento and Fresno.

Enjoy the photos!

 

[Tak555]

that looks awesome! i will go check it out over on IG.... good stuff!

 

[kbahus]

Nice work and a great looking GX!

 

[XploreOffroad]

that looks awesome! i will go check it out over on IG.... good stuff!

Yeah, I'm posting most of my content up there.

Nice work and a great looking GX!

Thank you !

I still got plenty of ideas for the rig like a high clearance rear bumper w/ wheel carrier (Rubicon straight up destroyed my stock rear bumper), gas tank skid plate, maybe some beadlock wheels,

 

[James C]

Glad you made it through! Rubicon's on my list after a few more mods.

maybe some beadlock wheels

What psi did you run?

 

[XploreOffroad]

Glad you made it through! Rubicon's on my list after a few more mods.

What psi did you run?

I'm glad too!

I had my tires at around 14-15psi , could have gone down to 10psi but there were certain sections that were really squeezing the tires and i was worried of breaking the bead and having to do a trail fix.

Some beadlocks would be a nice upgrade given that you can run those around 3-5 psi without the worry of poppin a bead.

 

[Bluetribal]

Your first photo looks like you doors took some damage. Is that just reflections?

 

[XploreOffroad]

Your first photo looks like you doors took some damage. Is that just reflections?

Luckily just reflections !

No body damage was taken (other than scratches)

But there was definitely some sketchy lines that I had to take as not to bang up my body panels on other obstacles.

 

[Whiskerz]

More pictures

 

[CarolinaGX]

I'm jealous! I wish those kind of trails were close to me. I am curious as to how often you used/needed your locker.

 

[GXO]

When I did it last year. Used rear frequently. Front about once a mile.

 

[XploreOffroad]

I'm jealous! I wish those kind of trails were close to me. I am curious as to how often you used/needed your locker.

As @Vlad mentioned, you use the rear frequently. Basically any off camber obstacle or hill climb, its a very useful thing to turn on and be certain of traction.

As for the front, I turned it on 1 time through a section that I really didn't need it on, i just wanted the peace of mind.

 

[GXO]

As @Vlad mentioned, you use the rear frequently. Basically any off camber obstacle or hill climb, its a very useful thing to turn on and be certain of traction.

As for the front, I turned it on 1 time through a section that I really didn't need it on, i just wanted the peace of mind.

I also ran it backwards. Tahoe to Loon is very different than Loon to Tahoe

 

[XploreOffroad]

I also ran it backwards. Tahoe to Loon is very different than Loon to Tahoe

Are you the same Dan Kunz on Facebook GXOR who gave me all those great tips ?!

Would you say the trail would be more difficult Tahoe -> Loon ? or they are pretty much the same.

 

[GXO]

I am the same (GXOverlord lol). Tahoe to Loon is harder. Have to go up sluices, etc.

 

[XploreOffroad]

I am the same (GXOverlord lol). Tahoe to Loon is harder. Have to go up sluices, etc.

The Sluices were the biggest pieces of s*** i never want to see again!