Anyone planning on running the trail in August with TLCA on the Rubithon Wagon run?
Been thinking about it. It’d be myself, my dad, and maybe my middle daughter.
Reading the requirements list, i think i’m doing pretty good with a few questions:
* 2.5” lift - check.
* Winch - check
* 33’s - hmmm, do 265/75 R16’s count? Or are those 32’s?
* 2m/ham comms capable - will GMRS suffice?
* front/rear locker - if i need a front locker or if rear locker/ATRAC would pass inspection? If so, need to plan on one, i guess?
Rear locker plus ATRAC/MTS will work. I did not have a front locker when I did it either trip. (I did have an ARB front locker for a while but had issues and ultimately ended up removing it.) You may need the winch for a few spots. Front locker would help in a few places, but it's such a tight trail that a lot of places the ATRAC works better by letting you steer tighter. Sometimes you'll want the full locker too. It's just a mix of different challenges that are different so you'll end up using every tool in the box. I would say 70% of the time I used rear locker and MTS in "ROCK" mode and the other 30% was open rear and in "ROCK" mode. Lots of stop and go with a group of wagons, so don't forget to re-set your MTS every time you turn the 4R off. I wish Toyota would fix that.
I would find some taller tires. Most 265/75/16 tires are about 31.5" tall. I think it'll be a struggle. I don't know what Steve (the guy who organizes teh wagon run) will think. You could ask him on Mud. He's a really nice guy and very helpful in giving you candid guidance.
The difference in the absolute isn't a lot between a 31.5" tire and a 285/70/17 that typically measures around 32.8. But it's meaningful on the Rubicon and some other similar trails because the trail is chewed up by people with bigger tires. If everyone else was using 265s, then the condition of the trail would be good for 265s, but since almost everyone else using it is on bigger tires, it'll be in a condition where 265s will drag a lot more than 285/70s. You really do need all the clearance you can get.
Toyota did it on stock size tires. And it surely can be done. But it'll be a lot slower because you'll get hung up where most other people in the group don't. Part of the minimum requirements are to make sure that the group of 20ish vehicles can move through the trail at a reasonable pace. If you're running solo and need to winch across a rocky area it takes maybe 15-20 minutes. If 20 vehicles need to all winch, not everyone waits for each vehicle to winch, but it still ends up being more like an hour or two of net delay. You'll see what I mean if you go. It's a very tight trail, so the bottle necks are really time consuming.
I don't think having wider tires on that trail probably helps much, so if you didn't want to do as much clearancing for bigger tires, tall skinny tires would work well too. Maybe you can find a used set just for the trip? The only flats we had in our group was ripped out valve stems from spinning in rocks. Trail/TRD OR wheels are pretty good for that. But you'll probably damage every wheel face some amount spinning against rocks.
The biggest issue I had was ground clearance. The first trip was a lot worse than the second, mostly due to having too much weight. After loading up with a all my gear, I lost most of my lift height. I have rear air helpers and they did help a lot to max them out on some sections to get the butt up in the air. Consider that you're around a net of 1,000lb/in of height, so if you have a 2.5" lift now and you add 1500lbs of gear and people, you'll be sitting at around 1" lift vs stock.
Second trip I packed light, but ended up picking up two people to ride along at the last minute, so I was basically fully loaded up again. Second time I set my front coils up to about 3" height and used 2.5" rear springs with a heavier spring rate. The extra height along with going from 285/70/17's at 32.5ish to 285/75/17's at about 34" height made a huge difference in how much I ended up dragging. I would almost never recommend maxing out the lift height, but this is one trail where I'd go up as high as you can with tires and lift.
Good armor underneath is a must on a 5th gen. I would make sure you have protection for your rear control arm mounts (I didn't and they took a lot of abuse) and the rear shock mounts if you don't already have them protected. They also get a lot of abuse. Especially if you run wheel spacers, they'll be more exposed.
Weirdly - the muffler was totally unharmed despite being exposed and made of tin foil.
As far as radios - everyone in the group will communicate on HAM radio frequency. Pretty much everyone will use a Baofang handheld HAM radio. I do not have a license. So far the FCC has yet to show up at my door to arrest me. HAM works better for the conditions. It's a windy canyon and HAM travels well for longer distances in that terrain. You don't need to know anything about the HAM radio to join the run. Buy a $20 Baofang and bring it. Someone there will program it for you to the correct channel and lock it so it stays on that channel. If you're in Utah - you're welcome to borrow one of mine.
It's annoying you can't buy a single radio for every trail run. I need a HAM for some, CB for some, FRS for some, and then I also have to have VHF marine band radios for boating. IMO - the baofang hams are the best handheld radios I've used for distance, price, and clarity. I like them enough I bought a couple and use them for my personal group trips. I keep one in each of our cars in case of a natural disaster.
One person in each group on that trip will have a satellite phone for emergencies.
I would buy the insurance for the flight out. One person each time has needed to be flown out. Neither were in our family run group. Usually it's someone falling while walking. The dust on the rocks can be slippery. It's cheap insurance if something happens. And it's good for a year. So if you go next year and the timing works, it can last you for two year's Rubicon runs.
I brought a spare front axle assembly. I have yet to use it. If you happen to be in Utah, you're also welcome to borrow my spare axle and bring it back when you come back. You can buy one for about $50 from a junk yard and it's nice to know you have it if you needed it.
Other tips:
bring all of your beer in cans, not bottles. Broken glass sucks to clean out of your cooler. Or pack lighter and bring hard liquor. DO NOT drink and drive. There is law enforcement out there almost every day. They are not doing DUI checkpoints, but it is a county road and you can get a DUI. I doubt they'll be ticketing for open containers for passengers, but still wait to get to camp. The days on the trail aren't that long.
There's plenty of water all along the way, but you'll need a filter. Don't plan on using the outhouses. I'd just bring a groover or whatever you have and plan to use that most of the time.
Get your fire permit. They'll have instructions for that.
You can fill up gas on your way out of south Tahoe. You shouldn't need any extra fuel. I think I used around half a tank or so. Maybe less. The older LCs will run out and need some extra fuel.
Do some hiking. It's great to get out and see what's away from the trail when you can. Watch for snakes. Lots of rattle snakes around that area. You'll likely see them around the streams and wet areas. Especially for kids, I'd keep a close eye on them playing in and around the water's edges.
I know that's a lot more than you asked. But I hope it helps point you in the right direction. I hope to get back to regular trips once my kids are a bit older and can ride along. It's a lot of fun. Mostly because it's a gun group of folks to hang out with for a week. Good luck!
