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First time offroad today

7K views 35 replies 10 participants last post by  Jsta 
#1 ·
So I have had my completely stock 2012 Wrangler Unlimited for about 6 weeks now, and, given the amazing weather for January, after lunch my wife and I drove out to Potawatomi Offroad Park near Fulton, MO. After about 10 minutes I got stuck. Fortunately a guy with a really jacked up Ford pulled me back 10 feet, and then I could drive again.

I had a lot of fun (probably wouldn't have been as happy if the Jeep was STILL sitting there).

So, I basically have two questions. First, how crappy are the stock Bridgestone Dueler A/T tires that came on it? The guy in the Ford thought if I just put a decent pair of mudders on it I wouldn't have had any problem, even without any additional lift (his Ford pickup was lifted pretty crazy though). Can I get by at all with the stock Duelers, or do I really need mudders, or do I really need mudders AND lift?

Second, how often do people from here go to Potawatomi? If I had a buddy with me, I would have been out a lot quicker, and probably a lot more fun in general. I'm coming from St. Charles, so a closer place is even better, but that place seems pretty good other than the 70-mile drive.
 
#6 ·
both add me on facebook and you can join the club i am starting. i am going to have stickers made. $5.00 for stickers. no cost to join. i have me mtnman18 and stuckinwater going and also a facebook freind of mine going. would love for you to go as well.
 
#10 ·
Mostly light forest and mud around here (American Midwest, just outside of Saint Louis). I might be able to get some sand driving in around the river banks, but I don't know if any of them are open for driving. Sounds like fun though.

I wasn't having any real problem until I got into a big patch of mud though, so I might be okay as long as I stay away from the real deep gunk. Not really sure.
 
#9 ·
cgore said:
Any idea when/where you guys are going to meet? (All my contact info is on FB.)
We are meeting at Mobil bass pro on 5th street at 830-9. Leaving at 9-15 to get there by 10. Having a little fun. Then driving to Herman for lunch. Then go through again and head on out.
 
#11 ·
TBrownSTL said:
Me and 3 others are going to lost creek road on the 14th. It's about an hour down highway 70. Lost of fun. Lot of water crossings.
Just joined this forum, I am looking for a nice trail to explore. I have a 00 wrangler with 31's would I be ok? I will have a 2 inch budget boost on as soon as I can find some time to install it.
 
#31 ·
It all depends on where you are going, but yea you should be fine, check your clearance, if money is an issue go pick up some 7/16 " pins and take the hardware off your sway bar connects and install the pin. So when you do go offroad you can pull the pins and have your drop and tire articulated motion( makes off road driving way more smooth). I too have a 2000 TJ with 31x10.50 ATT's 2" lift. just put a snorkel on too, cant wait to test it
 
#13 ·
When I got my 11' JKU the first thing I did after leaving the dealership was hit the closest trail. Theres a great off road park near sullivan, MO (about 45mins from stl). Its called moonlight. $15 per vehicle for all day, and even all night if you choose to camp out. Theres something for everyone, from easy trails, to mud bogs, and even a lil rock crawling. Take it easy driving into this place, you almost need a 4x4 just to get down the drive way lol. but come summer time its only about 10 mins away from Muddville USA.
 
#15 ·
Sounds good, I'm actually going there next weekend (21st). I've seen some other people talk about it on some other forums, one guy posted about how he attempted a hill climb no one had made before, he made it, only to roll his rig on the way back down :( now the hill is named after him "Jay's Bluff". There are no difficulty markers, so I sudgest going with some one who knows their way around the place. I've been there a few times, but I still take a buddy with me who knows the place like the back of his hand. And a spotter is always nifty too.
 
#18 ·
And to get back on topic for OP, You really only need a lift if your going to do some harder obsticles and need the extra ground clearence, or if your getting 33''+ tires. I found a cheap set of wheels for $100, and im gonna throw some Nitto Mud grapplers on em and just swap wheels when I hit the trails. And yea, the tires make all the difference. But you gotta get the right tires for the job. If your riding through sand, get dessert tires, mud, get mud tires, snow, get snow tires, ice get ice tires, etc etc.. Some one once told me all terrain ment their not good on all terrains lol. So I plan on getting what I can out of the stock wrangler tires on the street then swaping them out for Dura Grapplers.
 
#20 ·
Jsta said:
And to get back on topic for OP, You really only need a lift if your going to do some harder obsticles and need the extra ground clearence, or if your getting 33''+ tires. I found a cheap set of wheels for $100, and im gonna throw some Nitto Mud grapplers on em and just swap wheels when I hit the trails. And yea, the tires make all the difference. But you gotta get the right tires for the job. If your riding through sand, get dessert tires, mud, get mud tires, snow, get snow tires, ice get ice tires, etc etc.. Some one once told me all terrain ment their not good on all terrains lol. So I plan on getting what I can out of the stock wrangler tires on the street then swaping them out for Dura Grapplers.
The stock A/Ts did pretty good today. I think it is just in major mud that they aren't very good. I'll probably get a second set of cheap wheels and put good mudders on them, just to switch into on weekends, eventually. Until then I'll avoid the deep goopy stuff. I had a lot of fun. I'll probably get a winch first I think. There were three of us, only one had a winch, and he pulled us both out.
 
#21 ·
I was suprised how well my stock A/T's did in the snow and ice the other day. My street has a very steep hill with a turn half way through, proud to say I am one of 10 people who made it out, and well over 20 cars tried lol. only 1 car on car accident, but about 5 people were stuck in the ditch on the hill. The rest didnt get up the hill far enough to get stuck lol.
 
#29 ·
Went out to moonlight today, gotta say a lot has changed. theres a few new trails, most of them are now crudely marked for difficulty. The trails are marked with smiley faces, :) for easy to moderate, :| for moderate to difficult, and >:| for difficult to stupid... lol theres also a map available at the office/barn, but it doesnt show all of the trails. Didnt notice the smiley faces till I stumbled upon a >:| and about 5 mins into it realized this was not the trail for me.

Most of the trails are fairly tame, but watch out for the ones with no marker, they can go from easy to rough with little to no warning.
 
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