Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Moab Bound

12K views 153 replies 16 participants last post by  Twojump36 
#1 ·
I've decided it's time to take the jeep on a trip... my youngest son is going to be 16 this summer and the wife and I have decided to head on a road trip to Moab and see some of the things we've only read about or seen in pictures.
The jeep will be our 95 YJ and we'll tow it down there along with the mountain bikes for a week in the SW.
We live in the Pacific Northwest and I have no idea what to expect. I have read a few threads on here that some guys have done the trip too and documented the journey. I will do the same...

The trip is planned for June 20th... (first weekend after school lets out) arriving in Moab on the 22nd and hitting the trails on the 23rd 24th and 25th. I know June is hot down there but it's the soonest we can get there.
I'm not sure if there are any Jeep tours then or not... I've called a few guides and heard nothing.. I do know there is the big Easter thing but we'll miss that.
I bought a book from Charles Wells Guide to Moab. I have figured out by reading it and watching youtube that I am looking at driving the "easier" but difficult trails that are shown in the book...
Seven Mile Rim
Fins & Things
Lockhart Basin

Jeep will be as capable as I can make it...
2.5 liter 5 speed with 31 x 10.50 BFG's
2 1/2'' Rough Country lift
Dana 30 front with ARB or OX (undecided)
Dana 35 rear with 30 spline upgrade and ARB or OX
Swaybar disconnects
Custom front bumper with a 9500lb winch
Custom rear bumper with tire swingout and all the goodies I can fit (water, gas, shovel, Hi-Lift)
52 inch LED light bar and 6 inch rear LED's
CB Radio

Looking for any advice or equipment upgrades I might have missed... I know lots of people don't recommend the Dana 35... and if I can find a ford 8.8 and get it modified in time, I may go that route.

Does anyone recommend anything else?
Does anyone know of a Jeep site seeing type tour on those dates?
Does anyone recommend a specific guide?
Does anyone want to go with?

The adventure begins.....
 
See less See more
#2 · (Edited)
I've decided it's time to take the jeep on a trip... my youngest son is going to be 16 this summer and the wife and I have decided to head on a road trip to Moab and see some of the things we've only read about or seen in pictures. The jeep will be our 95 YJ and we'll tow it down there along with the mountain bikes for a week in the SW. We live in the Pacific Northwest and I have no idea what to expect. I have read a few threads on here that some guys have done the trip too and documented the journey. I will do the same... The trip is planned for June 20th... (first weekend after school lets out) arriving in Moab on the 22nd and hitting the trails on the 23rd 24th and 25th. I know June is hot down there but it's the soonest we can get there. I'm not sure if there are any Jeep tours then or not... I've called a few guides and heard nothing.. I do know there is the big Easter thing but we'll miss that. I bought a book from Charles Wells Guide to Moab. I have figured out by reading it and watching youtube that I am looking at driving the "easier" but difficult trails that are shown in the book... Seven Mile Rim Fins & Things Lockhart Basin Jeep will be as capable as I can make it... 2.5 liter 5 speed with 31 x 10.50 BFG's 2 1/2'' Rough Country lift Dana 30 front with ARB or OX (undecided) Dana 35 rear with 30 spline upgrade and ARB or OX Swaybar disconnects Custom front bumper with a 9500lb winch Custom rear bumper with tire swingout and all the goodies I can fit (water, gas, shovel, Hi-Lift) 52 inch LED light bar and 6 inch rear LED's CB Radio Looking for any advice or equipment upgrades I might have missed... I know lots of people don't recommend the Dana 35... and if I can find a ford 8.8 and get it modified in time, I may go that route. Does anyone recommend anything else? Does anyone know of a Jeep site seeing type tour on those dates? Does anyone recommend a specific guide? Does anyone want to go with? The adventure begins.....
The difficulty ratings in the Charles wells books are pretty scued for people who have never been wheeling. I recommend hells revenge also. It's a cake walk if you avoid escalator and hells gate (both have bypass loops ). Plan on 1-2 gallons of water per person per day. And in June it's gonna be hot 100*+ And no shade. Dan mick is supposed to have a decent guide but I have heard he's a Asshole also. To meet with groups going out they usually meet at city market (grocery store in downtown moab) at 7-8am then head to trails. moab diner has great food and good portions. They are one of my favorite food places and avoid Eddie mcstiffs they are not fond of off-roaders. Moab brewery is pretty good but service is hit or miss. Most Utah locals avoid moab June-August Due to temps.
 
#3 ·
The difficulty ratings in the Charles wells books are pretty scued for people who have never been wheeling. I recommend hells revenge also. It's a cake walk if you avoid escalator and hells gate (both have bypass loops ). Plan on 1-2 gallons of water per person per day. And in June it's gonna be hot 100*+ And no shade. Dan mick is supposed to have a decent guide but I have heard he's a Asshole also. To meet with groups going out they usually meet at city market (grocery store in downtown moab) at 7-8am then head to trails. moab diner has great food and good portions. They are one of my favorite food places and avoid Eddie mcstiffs they are not fond of off-roaders. Moab brewery is pretty good but service is hit or miss. Most Utah locals avoid moab June-August Due to temps.
Thanks for the advise... yeah while reading the Guide to Moab book, I figured out that the trail rating was a little on the conservative side... but this being our first trip out there, I sure don't want to over do it....

So Eddie McStiffs... is that a restaurant? I'm def down for the brewery!
I think I'll be staying at the Hampton Inn... or I could be camping in the motorhome... just depends on what we take down there...

and you say there are guys that meet up at that store and head out? Can anyone go or is it just local guys?
 
#7 ·
You can only use the light bar if you are leading the trail.

Check out Red Rock 4 Wheelers FB page. You'll find lots of people to hit the trails with during your stay at Moab.

7 mile rim is fun. be sure to check out the dino fossils and the arch.

Hells Revenge is a must do trail.
 
#11 ·
You can only use the light bar if you are leading the trail. Check out Red Rock 4 Wheelers FB page. You'll find lots of people to hit the trails with during your stay at Moab. 7 mile rim is fun. be sure to check out the dino fossils and the arch. Hells Revenge is a must do trail.
That first part of Hells Revenge looks sick.... According to the video I've seen on youtube....
Pretty nuts out of the gste!
 
#8 ·
Fins and things is a fun trail/course. There's plenty to do for the less experienced but still has a few challenges. We were able to do everything with a stock JK with all season tires.
 
#10 ·
Yeah I have another guy that might go with me from Oregon who has a brand new 4-door and never has been off road.... He'll have to do some easy stuff... Me too probably until I get the hang of this jeep and the stuff I'm doing to it ...
Thanks for the tip!
 
#15 ·
Here's what we started with....Until Monday night....

I fabricated a front bumper,
Installed a 2 1/2'' Rough Country lift
Plasti-Dip'd the chrome grill,
Powder Coated the wheels and installed 1 1/4'' wheel spacers,
Installed a 9500 lb winch,
 
#19 ·
Then last night I installed this 50" LED light-bar... Which really measured 52" wide... So I had to modify the Rough Country windshield brackets...

But it turned out... Not sure if I'll keep this on the jeep because it whistles at 40mph...
My buddy said the same thing about his... Said I could just tilt it a bit to change the air flow and it might stop it ... We will see!
 
#23 ·
By the way... I ended up taking the 52'' LED Lightbar off the Jeep.... I just could not get the whistle out of it... and the sound of the air whipping the soft top like a wet towel...
Light bar is gone but I have a couple of custom windshield brackets that allow up to a 52'' light bar for sale...
 
#25 ·
I pull into the driveway last night after work... Notice some steam from the radiator.... This isn't good...
I'd been seeing small traces of the green stuff but could never find where it was coming from... Till last night ... It always runs fine at 200 degrees ...
But I might as well fix it now and replace this 20 yr old with a new Griffin Aluminum.... Might even put in an electric fan.....
Thoughts????
 
#26 ·
I pull into the driveway last night after work... Notice some steam from the radiator.... This isn't good... I'd been seeing small traces of the green stuff but could never find where it was coming from... Till last night ... It always runs fine at 200 degrees ... But I might as well fix it now and replace this 20 yr old with a new Griffin Aluminum.... Might even put in an electric fan..... Thoughts????
I've done it on other jeeps. But I used all metal radiators never saw a need for the griffin radiators . I also run e fans on other jeeps. I'll do it to this one someday.
 
#29 ·
Bought the new radiator... Hoses, thermostat , belt, and stuff....
I'll install it tomorrow... It should help with the high temps while out on the Moab trails....
I did however install the new Bestop Trailmax II Pro seats today.... I posted how the install went on another thread.. Jut happy its over... But I will tell you , this has been the hardest 8 bolts to out in but the best mod so far for the money...
Made a 20 yr old jeep feel brand new...
 
#31 ·
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVpj7sWxlM4

Hey Joe Canyon, bumper level view from a gopro this year at EJS. Have a ball, wish I was going.
That's a great looking trip man... I want to do some moderate to difficult trails.... it looks like I have at least one maybe two other guys making the trip from Oregon with me... one guy has a brand new JK... the other guy has a rock crawler of some kind... if my dad comes up from Vegas he'll be in his stock Cherokee... I would like us all to do at least one trail all together, but I'm leaning a little bit towards the more difficult but not over the top.... I really don't know what to expect... I've been doing a lot of research on almost every trail I can find... I have a book I'm going through on most of the popular trails...
I'm pretty sure I can do Hells Canyon.... I'm thinking the old guy (dad) can make Hey Joe... but if any of us scrape a paint job, it will be a fail... especially the guy in the JK...hahaha
 
#32 ·
I will do Fins and things again next time I go, the more difficult sections have by-passes. Since I was part of an organized run I wasn't allowed to run any trails above the capabilities of my Jeep. Fins seemed to be a favorite among many of the local folks too.
My Jeep has 33" tires and open diffs, ran it with 10 PSI in the tires and had a little trouble making Kenny's climb (wells guide pg. 133) and used the bypass after 4 attempts, lockers would have helped. All the other obstacles were just plain fun.

 
#33 ·



Fins pictures, have a great trip!
 
#34 ·
Dang.... Those pics are great.... I will at least have the front locked... Either OX or ARB... Not sure if I will have the rear axel done by then ... In the very least I will have HD axels in the 35....
I was wondering what guys air down to... 10 lbs about the norm?....

Yesterday I got the seats installed... Today a new radiator and cooling system.... Plus I studied another hour of youtube vids....

I also started looking into a better video camera... Just not a big fan of gopro's.... I have all of them... They are just too complicated and difficult to run....
Save the "I'm too old stuff ".... I know it , I cant see the little menu crap... I don't need that "sophisticated " of a camera....
Thinking Sony....
 
#37 ·
Dang.... Those pics are great.... I will at least have the front locked... Either OX or ARB... Not sure if I will have the rear axel done by then ... In the very least I will have HD axels in the 35.... I was wondering what guys air down to... 10 lbs about the norm?.... Yesterday I got the seats installed... Today a new radiator and cooling system.... Plus I studied another hour of youtube vids.... I also started looking into a better video camera... Just not a big fan of gopro's.... I have all of them... They are just too complicated and difficult to run.... Save the "I'm too old stuff ".... I know it , I cant see the little menu crap... I don't need that "sophisticated " of a camera.... Thinking Sony....
Most people here in Utah run 10-12 psi offroad.
 
#35 ·
4Link.... what was it about your jeep that they thought was incapable?... Was it the lack of the lockers or something else?.... and what about Kenny's Climb was giving you problems?.... lack of power or too steep?....
 
#40 ·
You guys are really helping a lot ...
10-12 psi on the tires...
I was wondering how they matched up trails to drivers / jeeps ...
So is this list on the web somewhere so a guy can build a rig that is a 5 or 6 or 7 etc?
If I have front lockers, 31 's, 2 1/2 lift , sway bar disconnects, and new seats and a gopro (haha)... Do I get to a 5?
I ordered a machined hinge pin for the rear bumper build I 'm designing... I decided to scrap the bumper /air tank idea as I 'll likely pull the trigger on the air locker... It should be done by thanksgiving...
Painting the jeep on thanksgiving.... If I 'm not too hungover from the Civil War....

Thanks for staying with me on this guys !
 
#41 ·
You guys are really helping a lot ... 10-12 psi on the tires... I was wondering how they matched up trails to drivers / jeeps ... So is this list on the web somewhere so a guy can build a rig that is a 5 or 6 or 7 etc? If I have front lockers, 31 's, 2 1/2 lift , sway bar disconnects, and new seats and a gopro (haha)... Do I get to a 5? I ordered a machined hinge pin for the rear bumper build I 'm designing... I decided to scrap the bumper /air tank idea as I 'll likely pull the trigger on the air locker... It should be done by thanksgiving... Painting the jeep on thanksgiving.... If I 'm not too hungover from the Civil War.... Thanks for staying with me on this guys !
The best thing you can do is go on red rock 4wheelers Facebook page and tell them how your jeep is built and ask them to recommend trails for the time of year you are there cause in late June some sandy trails are impassable cause the sand is so fine and soft
 
#44 ·
Going from Salem Oregon to Moab Ut.... I'd like to track the trip, find area attractions, and still be capable of going out on the trails...ie topo and trails.

Does anyone recommend good GPS that is "trail ready" ?...

I was looking at the Garmin Nuvi 66LMT, or one of the hand helds... Oregon or Montana...
Need something that is good on roads and highways but want one that will go off road too...
Not sure one unit does it all at a reasonable price
 
#46 ·
I installed the new steering stabilizer on the Jeep today.... I had planned on painting the thing this weekend but the Oregon State University and University of Oregon... Civil War is tomorrow....
Plus it's raining and blowing here this weekend.... have to wait for a dryer warmer weekend...
Moab is getting closer... Jeep goes in for Lockers on the 15th....
 
#48 ·
TwoJump36, I am up in PDX and working on upgrades to my 89YJ so we can go to Moab this spring. Would love to run down to Salem and see what you've done and compare a few things if you might be up for that soon?

Go Ducks!
 
#50 ·
TwoJump36, I am up in PDX and working on upgrades to my 89YJ so we can go to Moab this spring. Would love to run down to Salem and see what you've done and compare a few things if you might be up for that soon?

Go Ducks!
Sure.... I live in Keizer, but work in Brooks.... on the 15th it goes in for the Lockers....
Still undecided on OX or ARB's.... leaning to the ARB's though....

Let me know when you want to come down....
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top