Takin the 100 to Uwharrie, NC

[jgray]

My friends and I have a camping trip planned next weekend to Uwharrie, NC. This will be my first 4wheelin on an organized trail system. I've added a lots of things to the truck but no lift yet and the most recent addition was 285 75 16 MT's... I've had the cruiser offroad quite a bit and always take it on the beaches in NC but this is the first time with these kids of trails... I was wondering if anyone who has been to Uwharrie could tell me what trails I may be able to tackle as they are rated from easy to very difficult... I'm going with 3 other Jeeps so i'm the lone toyota but hopefully I will perform well... Two of the Jeeps are built up pretty large with one of my friends running a stroker motor with 42's so we should be able to go on anything with those... Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated... I will also be towing a trailer with 2 4 wheelers and we will be staying at the arrowhead campground on badin lake... I'm removing my running boards this weekend...

 

[r3run33]

Hey have fun I have not been to uharrie (actually i dont even know where that is but key thing is that the jeep should be able to pull you out if you get into trouble; I also have only dont beach stuff and some mild trails in pa. the biggest thing is do you still have your running boards? ifso they might get trashed. try to take them off before the trip; air down those nice tires and you should be fine. have fun and take some pics

 

[uzj100]

Send me your email and I will send over a pretty good map of uwharrie.

 

[jgray]

uzj100 my yahoo email is jasongrays@yahoo.com...... i just printed a couple other maps i found... thanks!!!

 

[uzj100]

The trails rated as a C, the hardest will be pretty tough for a basically stock 100 because of all the rocks. The A and B's are pretty straight forward. Hopefully someone with more time at Uwharrie will pipe up.

 

[jeffdavis1053]

Used to wheel my 40 there all the time years ago. I don't remember anything being too hard, but I was in a pretty stout 40 at the time. The place is damn pretty this time of year, and the fish should be biting up there on Badin, too. Also when/if the heeps break anything, Galloway's 4wd has plenty of heep parts and they're pretty close by (New London, NC).
Have fun, and make sure you take some pics!

 

[gearguywb]

I did Daniel, Dutch John and a few others last year in the FJC. I would not take an unlifted vehicle on either of those. There are a large number of rocks where quite a bit of care is needed in an unarmored vehicle to prevent body damage.

 

[jgray]

I removed my running boards last night but will not have sliders prior to our trip next weekend. I did just put 285 75 16 mud terrains as my last upgrade. One of the jeeps going with me has a 4" lift and he only has 31" swampers... It looked like some of those trails had fairly stock vehicles running on the easier trails. I do appreciate the advice...

Gearguy I was checkin out your recent add ons in your last thread and wish I could do everything at one time like you but I've been adding one thing at a time cause I'm on a budget... I am planning my lift and sliders as my next upgrade soon probably in that order...

So from the sound of things I will probably be okay on the moderate trail just steer clear of the C's???

 

[NC 100]

i took my stock 60 series truck there about a year ago. I got in with some jeeps that were loaded up and watched what they did. They were helpful and I did end up going one of the hardest trails without too much trouble. It would have been nicer if it had been automatic because bouncing over one spot was hard on the clutch. The jeep blew out its front diff but he deserved by hitting hit hard.

Looking at the map, I looks like we went in at Wolf Den to Slab Pile to the North to Rocky Mountain Loop to the North to 553. There was only that one section that was touchy.

I will email you because I was going to try to take my kids and go next weekend as well...

 

[jgray]

If anyone else is going to be up at Uwharrie this weekend PM or email me... Hoping to see some other Cruisers on the trails!!! We should be there around lunchtime Friday...

 

[LandCruisers4Life]

Everybody who isn't made of money is on a budget. These vehicles are expensive, and the mods are expensive. I am sure a total build up of my cruiser will take probably 2-3 years total. I hope sooner, but I can only do so much at a time and want to build it up right.

 

[cruiser4life]

Uwharrie is a fun place, you'll have a great time. It can get a little crowded on the weekends, especially this early in the year after reopening.

I've had a 100 on every trail there and you can avoid damage by having a good spotter, taking your time and being patient.

That being said, removing your running boards was a good idea as well as upgrading your tires. You also might want to consider relocating the spare during trail time as it can and will drag and bump on the jagged rocks on various trails.

I'd let the vehicles with more clearance go in front of you so you can get a better feel for needed clearance when things get more difficult.

Since you've never been, you may want to ease into the ride, start slow and build from there. In uzj100's post #5, look at the very bottom of the map near the Haltwanger Retreat. You can jump on Falls Dam trail right there (blue color on map, category A, about 2 miles) and take it to 516. From there jump on Wolf Den and take that over to 576. That's an easy warm up that should help you gauge your comfort levels and help you decide how much you want to increase your challenge from there.

 

[r3run33]

good luck wish i could attend

 

[wareagle]

I think an unlifted UZJ100 will suffer quite a bit on two of the trails. Rocky Mtn Loop and Daniel will be pretty tough. There are a couple of ledges that I think will hang you up. I've run them with stock 2nd gen troopers on 285s, but never tried the 100. I'm betting that the weight, width and wheelbase will limit you greatly on the obstacles on these trails.

I think the other trails (Wolf Dens,Dickey Bell, Slab Pile, Dutch John, etc) should be very simple unless the width of the 100 gets in the way.

 

[uzj100]

ANy pics from Uwharrie? What trails did you run?

 

[wareagle]

ANy pics from Uwharrie? What trails did you run?

Ditto. There's a planetisuzoo - An Isuzu SUV Club run this weekend. I'm debating on whether I should make it over there. Just need to put my skid plates back on and fix an issue with intake (snapped EGR bolts after cleaning tube )

I heard the ledge just below Kodak rock on Rocky Mt loop has gotten worse. ALso, I heard that ledge on Daniel has gotten pretty rough.

 

[jgray]

Uwharrie was great!!!

Sorry about the late responses but I didn't get back until late Sunday night and its been a very busy week...

We had a blast a Uwharrie!!! I was extremely impressed with how the Cruiser performed and everyone else in my group was as well... At times I felt like others were watching us and didn't think I had a chance at making some things... That said I was trying to be careful and take my time through difficult areas...

The first day we arrived was Friday and we decided to leave the campground (Arrowhead) and setup camp in a location with more room since we had 9 guys, 2 4 wheelers, 4 trail vehicles, 2 trailers and one tow vehicle... We figured this was better call since we knew we'd be up late and it put us right off the trails... It's also free to camp anywhere in the Uwharrie national forest but we paid for our camp sites anyway so we had use of the facilities if anyone needed them... Anyway I was anxious to try out the trails so we took the trucks out Firday evening just before 5 and didn't get off the trails until almost 10 pm... Apparently you can do night runs which I thought was crazy but also very cool... Anyway we kinda dove into the trails and I was following my friends that arrived earlier than myself that day... I'm not sure of the exact route we took initially but we entered at Wolf Den and I ended up on most of the trails Friday night and Saturday during the day... I wanted to start easy so we took Wolf Den to Falls Dam which was a good easier route and a nice long drive.... Again I'm not sure of our exact route but I know I ended up doing Wolf Den, Falls Dam, Saw Mill, Slab Pile, Rocky Mtn Loop, Dickey Bell and I made it up Dutch John including the Steep hill climb which I didn't think I would make... There was a group of local guys or people experienced with this part of the trail watching and encouraging us to go; but of corurse said they hadn't done the steep hill climb this year (what???)... We dedided it was getting late and I didn't want the long route back home... Time to tie one on... Anyway I sent my friends Jeep Cherokee with 42" tires and a winch up first and decided I would try to follow... I think those guys were laughing when we headed for the climb... Especially at me in the 100... Anyway it was here that I locked the rear diff for the first time and made it midway before slipping to a stop... After a few attempts and everyone else out of the cruiser I just powered up it... It also helped when everyone walked off and I concentrated and drove myself without a bunch of people telling me what to do... I've got to say getting to the top of that hill climb was a great feeling and the look on everyones face was a mix of shock and disbelief.... We were preparing to try to winch me up when I came bouncing up the climb... I'm hoping someone ended up with a video clip or some pictures of this part because it was hairy... I am still waiting on pictures from others that went on the trip but will post a couple of the ones I had... I spent a lot of time driving so I didn't get as many pictures as I would've liked... I'm definitely going back... Would like to see more Cruisers next time or go with a Yota Club... I only saw a few Cruisers and none on the trails... Saw a couple 80 Series that were camping and a FJ40 plus the first 200 Series I've seen on the Interstate (much better in person than the pics online)... Tons of Jeeps, Landrovers (Discoverys, Range Rovers, Defenders; maybe a club was there) and lots of tricked out crawlers were up there... Anyway I am going to try to post a couple pics below... I will post more as I get them from my friends but I highly recommend this trip it was great!!!

 

[uzj100]

Sweet. It sounds like you had fun!

 

[pint]

Very nice. Sounds like fun!

 

[uzj100]

What tires are you running and what year is your 100?

Thanks,

uzj100