10-17-2022, 09:15 AM
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#1
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Taking my “Overloader” down a hard Jeep Trail (Slickrock, CA Trail Report)
People used to write up trail reports in the early days of T4R but I haven’t seen much of that recently. So I thought I would try to revive that trend by doing a quick write up of my last adventure.
Two years ago a group of friends decided to try running a difficult Jeep trail we have here in Northern California called Slickrock. If you look it up on OnX or Trailsoffroad it is rated 7 (Severe). It definitely lived up to that as we got about 25% through and one of the trucks decided to grenade it’s aluminum driveshaft on a rock ledge. Forcing the group to turn around and drag a 2WD truck off the trail over very technical terrain.
After that experience we knew we wanted to come back for a second shot and last weekend that is what we did.Our group this time around consisted of a first gen Tacoma, 2nd gen Xterra, an FJ80, a freshly built Jeep XJ and my 5th gen. Everyone was on 35s and at least locked in the rear with the FJ80 being locked up front as well.
We started the trail with a nice chunky descent that acts as a gatekeeper keeping the uninformed from getting into trouble.
After crossing a bridge we were at our first rock wall with multiple lines. We all decided to take the fun line which meant climbing some smaller sized rock walls. As usual I was lacking in departure clearance and had to drag my rear bumper through.
Now it was onto one of the more sketchier parts of the trail, the descent down “The Stairs”. As usual the pictures don’t really tell the tale of how steep and chunky this thing really is. It is also a place where you can get REAL tippy once you get past the first rock chute. I had a former work colleague roll his Land Cruiser here a few years ago. Everyone in the group did a great job navigating this obstacle and most of us made it down with no issue.
The exception was the FJ80. Unfortunately the driver made an error and moved forward when he thought he was in reverse. This made him go right into a large rock with a ton of force. We knew we had to pay for that mistake and a few feet after finishing the first major obstacle we soon realized we had a damaged truck.
After examination we determined the problem was a severely bent tie rod. What we didn’t know until later was that he also cracked his axle housing. Which was a pretty impressive feat given how beefy FJ80 axles are. After about an hour we were able to repair the tie rod and do a quick field alignment to get him going again.
The rest of the trail had miles of fun rock gardens, open slickrock sections and V-notches leading up to the final obstacle.
A few years ago a land dispute required the trail to be rerouted up a pretty steep and chunky ascent that was aptly named “The Gauntlet”. I knew this would be the hardest part of our day. After a few attempts it was clear that my truck’s weight and low clearance was really working against me. So I decided to pull some line and winch myself up the hardest rock wall.
The other rigs in my group all got up unassisted which was pretty impressive. I’ll make it back there again one day when my setup is a little lighter.
Once we got to the top we decided to do an optional section of the trail called “Rock Pile”. It definitely lived up to its name and had a nice tight gatekeeper in the beginning.
We finished the day with some cold beers at a nice campsite and continued on the next day to the Deer Valley trail for one last run before heading home.
The trail was definitely a little easier than Slickrock but ironically it damaged the majority of our trucks. The FJ80 was first when it bashed in a door after its passenger slider slid off a rock.
We did a nice lateral winch recovery to pull it off the rock safely.
I was next when I slammed into a rock that was underwater in a mud bog. Bent my steering knuckle real good on that one.
At some point I also landed on a rock ledge that bent my stock rear lower control arms and mangled the frame mounts even more.
It was all worth it thought. I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend. Tough trails, great teamwork, amazing problem solving and really putting our setups to the test. One thing I was a bit disappointed about was how my KO2s gripped the rocks. I knew there was a trade off when running these things but the loss in off-road traction was really evident on this trip. I’ll have to look at something a bit more aggressive next time around. I'm also using these trail repairs as an opportunity to upgrade my rear lower control arms and frame mounting points.
Next up is the Rubicon in a couple of weeks! I'll be sure to do a write up on that as well.
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'12 Silver 4Runner SR5: 14+ facelift, CBI front, CBI Rear, Warn EVO 10-S, ARB Snorkel, Baja Designs 30" S8, Squadron Sports, S2 Rack Lights, King 2.5 Suspension, OME 899, 33" Cooper ST Maxx, Full CBI Skids, Metaltech Sliders, GFC Tent, ARB Awning
Xtremluck's 2012 SR5 Build Thread
Last edited by Xtremluck; 10-17-2022 at 09:28 AM.
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10-17-2022, 09:49 AM
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#2
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Great write-up, looks like y’all had a blast! Thanks for sharing.
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10-17-2022, 10:30 AM
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#3
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Great write-up, brother. Thanks for the great pics and excellent narration. Save a spot for us next to y'all at the campsite, we'll be the ones crawling at .5 mph.
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2019 TRD Offroad | Dobinson's suspension/UCA | Warn bumper | M8000 winch | Victory4x4 Strike bumper |BFG 33’s | 4xInnovations sliders/skids | Frontrunner Slimline 2| Safari snorkel | Rago Fab molle panels/shelf | ICECO fridge slide | AJC cargo Plate.
Last edited by bigdaddy2021; 10-17-2022 at 11:13 AM.
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10-17-2022, 10:54 AM
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#4
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Thanks for reviving this idea! Fantastic idea. Looks like some good fun
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'13 TE w/ KDSS, 4:56 Gears, Dobinson's IMS C59-352/C59-701V, Sonoran Steel KDSS Trac Bar, Overland Custom Design Control Arms. Fuel Revolver 17x9 +1 mm 5" Backspace, Falken Wildpeak A/t3w 285/75r17, Hefty Fabworks Aluminum Front Bumper and Full Skids, C4 Fab Dual Swingout Rear Bumper, MetalTech OPOR Sliders, Northstar, Off-Grid Engineering, SPod, Blue Sea, Rigid, Baja Designs, KC HiLites, Stedi, Aplharex, National Luna, Drifta, Goose Gear, RAD Rubber Designs, Viair, Bandi Mount, URD, Gobi, ARB, Warn, Factor 55, Fourtreks, Axia Alloys, Desert Does It, Agency 6
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10-17-2022, 10:56 AM
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#5
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nice writeup....that kind of stuff is a huge no thank you from me tho lmao.
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10-17-2022, 11:03 AM
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#6
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I've lost most of my enthusiasm for trails like that, after years of damage to vehicles, and figuring out a way to get back to civilization. But man I still enjoy reading about it.
Thanks for the report.
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10-17-2022, 11:38 AM
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#7
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That looks like an amazing ride. Good thing you did that front fender trim!
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10-17-2022, 11:45 AM
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#8
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Wow that looked wild. I've sadly lost my desire to do trails where damage is likely to occur, too much anxiety...
Good to see what the Toyota breaking points are.
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10-17-2022, 11:58 AM
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#9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdaddy2021
Great write-up, brother. Thanks for the great pics and excellent narration. Save a spot for us next to y'all at the campsite, we'll be the ones crawling at .5 mph.
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For sure, if you're ever up in NorCal I'd be happy to take you out to the fun stuff we have around here.
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'12 Silver 4Runner SR5: 14+ facelift, CBI front, CBI Rear, Warn EVO 10-S, ARB Snorkel, Baja Designs 30" S8, Squadron Sports, S2 Rack Lights, King 2.5 Suspension, OME 899, 33" Cooper ST Maxx, Full CBI Skids, Metaltech Sliders, GFC Tent, ARB Awning
Xtremluck's 2012 SR5 Build Thread
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10-17-2022, 11:59 AM
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#10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by honda250xtitan
nice writeup....that kind of stuff is a huge no thank you from me tho lmao.
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Haha it isn't as bad as it looks. In some way I like the problem solving aspect of having mechanical damage/break downs on the trail. It's cool to see the team come together and help each other out.
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'12 Silver 4Runner SR5: 14+ facelift, CBI front, CBI Rear, Warn EVO 10-S, ARB Snorkel, Baja Designs 30" S8, Squadron Sports, S2 Rack Lights, King 2.5 Suspension, OME 899, 33" Cooper ST Maxx, Full CBI Skids, Metaltech Sliders, GFC Tent, ARB Awning
Xtremluck's 2012 SR5 Build Thread
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10-17-2022, 12:01 PM
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#11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by baldrik78
That looks like an amazing ride. Good thing you did that front fender trim!
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100%, I would be ripping off my fenders and flares if I didn't do that. I have a tiny bit of rubbage at full lock on my body mount which I will fix. Other than that it looks like I took off enough for rub free action!
I still dont get how so many people run 35s with stock fenders and flares.
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'12 Silver 4Runner SR5: 14+ facelift, CBI front, CBI Rear, Warn EVO 10-S, ARB Snorkel, Baja Designs 30" S8, Squadron Sports, S2 Rack Lights, King 2.5 Suspension, OME 899, 33" Cooper ST Maxx, Full CBI Skids, Metaltech Sliders, GFC Tent, ARB Awning
Xtremluck's 2012 SR5 Build Thread
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10-17-2022, 12:03 PM
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#12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Forgetful
Wow that looked wild. I've sadly lost my desire to do trails where damage is likely to occur, too much anxiety...
Good to see what the Toyota breaking points are.
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Yup the steering knuckle and rear LCAs are known weak points. I will be addressing the rear LCAs with beefier ones but I'm not sure if I am going to gusset my knuckles. I'd rather have them bend like that vs. full breakage. So I can at least drive off the trail like I did.
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'12 Silver 4Runner SR5: 14+ facelift, CBI front, CBI Rear, Warn EVO 10-S, ARB Snorkel, Baja Designs 30" S8, Squadron Sports, S2 Rack Lights, King 2.5 Suspension, OME 899, 33" Cooper ST Maxx, Full CBI Skids, Metaltech Sliders, GFC Tent, ARB Awning
Xtremluck's 2012 SR5 Build Thread
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10-17-2022, 12:22 PM
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#13
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Great pics and write up, you should send this to Sidekick Off-road
Also,
@ fourwd1
, do we want to move this thread to the offroading section for increased visibility?
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Last edited by octanejunkie; 10-17-2022 at 04:37 PM.
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10-17-2022, 01:08 PM
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#14
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Nice writeup. Thanks for sharing!
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10-17-2022, 01:12 PM
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#15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xtremluck
100%, I would be ripping off my fenders and flares if I didn't do that. I have a tiny bit of rubbage at full lock on my body mount which I will fix. Other than that it looks like I took off enough for rub free action!
I still dont get how so many people run 35s with stock fenders and flares.
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I don't understand it either. I've got narrow 35s and the first time I flexed even a little, I crunched my passenger side fender. I have to get my body mount re-chopped too.
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2017 TRD ORP KDSS IG
Dobinsons IMS w/ 314/325 Coils - JBA UCAs - Durobumps - Firestone 4108
DRKDSS Disconnect Switch - Treaty Oak KDSS Spacers - Eimkeith PCK
SSO Roof Rack - SSO Sliders - SSO Slimline - Smittybilt X20 10k - RCI Skids
TRD Pro Wheels - Spidertrax Spacers - Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T 255/85 R17
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