Not to hijack this thread and I don't want to start an argument but it was due to all the idiots building the truggy & buggy type rigs with 44"+ tires that has caused the DNR to put up the "GATES" on those trails. In Washington 3/4 of all the trails were built with Jeeps and made for them. Then people started wanting to wheel these monster trucks on the same trails. After the past 20 years of them being tore to hell something had to be done.
The trails should not have to be made to run what you built it should be the other way around. You should build a rig to run the trails. If you want something different then build a Bronco II or a Explorer. Maybe a Amigo or something else.

Wombat your truck is awesome looking too and I like the 1st generation rigs.

 

Not a hijack at all. You bring up a great reality within our wheeling community. I definitely endorse that method of trail management. Especially in light of the designated OHV use. Now, the question is whether they will develop something area for those ridiculously large ones.

With my front ford HP60 the wms will be less than 80".... lol


As for the brackets, you bet I'll have it step-by-step broham.

 

Wh1t3NuKle,
What about for you down in Calif? What are your trails like? Are they all open enough to allow a full size rig? I was stationed at Fort Ord before it was closed but never got a chance to do any wheeling except at Hollister Hills ORV park. I had a chance to run Panamint Valley once and didn't do it and I now kick myself in the butt for it. Someday once my Jeep is back on the road I am going to come down and run the Rubicon and the Dusy. Was suppose to do the Rubicon for my honeymoon but the VA screwed that up for me.

As to building bigger trails for those rigs? Not anytime soon in Washington. They are trying to close down more trails not give us more. There are trails that use to be rated a 7-10 and took you 2 days minimum to get thru them and lockers and a winch were required. Now you can run them in under a day and 75% of the trail you don't even need to be in 4wd because of people cutting out the trees and stuff to fit their large rigs thru. If you can't tell this is a sore point with me. I have caught 2 people trying to cut down a tree to get there rig thru the trail. Of course they stopped cutting when they were approached and told it was illegal.

 

Holy crap land access is a thread by itself!! lol I've had some involvement with this approaching the last 2 years so I can provide a little commentary for my area.

I can totally understand the trail closure stuff. It's now approaching 2 years where the Center for Biological Diversity brought a suit against El Dorado National Forest for effectively not maintaining travel management of the trails. This means in some respects enforcement, maintenance, and more importantly proximity to and/or through terrains defined as a "meadow". This has become a very broad definition, yet the court ruled in favor of CBD back in Spring of 2012 that 42 trails be shut down from public access while the FS conducted environmental impact study and updated travel management plan. Fast forward to this past September and 24 of the trails were reopened. The remaining are pending as they require maintenance plans and the work to resolve the "meadow" or other issues with them.

This type of lawsuit has been filed in other National Forests or coming soon. I have to admit that some of the points by CBD are credible, but many others are not and overzealous. There is a pending review by BLM (I think) where habitat for a particular frog breed(s) that is being attempted to put on endangered species list (iirc). If that happens it has the potential to shut areas down with trails through them......even if those trails show no evidence of impact on such populations. HA!! I'm not sure where that topic is nowadays. Now just think for a moment and step back and look at how these kinds of "tactics" can come to your place....


I know Fort Ord from back in college time, but to the extent of Collegiate Bike racing. Love that place. Trails down here in my region do support fullsize rigs. Not all, which is fine. Rubicon can have fullsize rigs easily. July 2012 I ran in 1/3rd of it to Little Sluice. Fordyce trail is much more difficult but can also take fullsize rigs, yet it needs to be very built and in some cases exo-ed. The Dusy, in my mind right now, is the pinnacle trail. For me, I am incorporating an ExPo style to my build. My long **** will have to be bobbed for Dusy. So far this year a standard cab short bed dodge on 37s ran it. There are some tight places and so far my encounter is manzanita. They stuff doesn't bother me too much, but damn the sound it makes giving pinstripes. Makes me want to camo paint it!!! hahahahah

here are some pics

Within the last couple weeks this big Chevy, linked front and rear on 42 MTRs



Around same time old school Wagoneer/Cherokee -- Love them as I grew up in one as a kid.




Here is the most difficult section of Rubicon called Old Sluice. I was supposed to meet this guy up on the trail, but timing didn't work with family activities. I was able to text him enough up front details. He also ran Fordyce after.




Just like Rubicon, there is so much to show for Fordyce. I am not ready for running this trail, but I do know a similar Dodge Truggy like above that built his rig to make Fordyce his playground.

Here is Winch Hill #1 (out of 6)


I have some video from Oct 2012 showing some portions of Fordyce. Find the 4x4Him playlist.

Dusy --

This is the tightest portion that I'm aware of for width. The other issue is just clearance from long body.




Wildman....let's get it together b/c another great place is down in SoCal....for Johnson Valley and running King of the Hammers trails.

 

Johnson valley is on my bucket list too. Back in 06 when I was building my Jeep I had wanted it to be a build that would last me for 10-15 years before I had to do anything major to it. Well things didn't work out that way. I had to replace the STaK's transfer case 3 times, tranny had to be rebuilt after the first 6 months and then I just could never get the 5.2 to run the way it should. Between the plenum gasket to it overheating I was pulling my hair out.

So my hope here now is to get this thing running again with a new tranny and rebuilt engine. At some point I'll have the funds to build the stroker engine I want. While I have the Jeep tore down I want to clean up some of my wiring and reroute the air lines. Since I am going to pull the transfer case with the tranny anyhow I'll have tons of room under the rig. When I was putting it all together I had already installed the drivetrain. Plus I have to fix crap like my weld broke for the support arm on the engine & tranny skid plate. Since everything was custom on the Jeep I couldn't bolt the arm up like I would have if it was a stock 6 cyl Jeep engine.

Someday I will make it down to California and do all these trails that I have been reading about since 1980 when I was stationed in Germany. My grandpa use to take me to Pismo Beach and we'd go run the dunes in his old CJ5. That was before specialty sand tires and such. He used almost bald used tires on it. We would haul them down in this trailer that he had (I now own it) and when we got to the beach it was time to jack the Jeep up and swap tires. Those were the fun old days.

 

^We both have work to do my friend.

 

Yes we do but yours is running and driving instead of like mine that is sitting up on jack stands.
I love the FSJ Wagoneers too. I had a 78 Cherokee and a 64 Wagoneer before so I am familure with them. I'd like to get one and run 35" tires on it with D60 axles. I have a buddy who just swapped a 5.2 into his Waggy that his wife drives. He has a TJ with a 5.9 in it too.

 

I have been trying to find an older Jeep Cherokee Chief. (mid 70's, not the tin can 80's version.) Friend of mine had one when I was in the service, and that thing was just unstoppable. Even bone stock. I loved it.

 

Check this out guys! http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/vehic...-wagoneer.html

hahahah I'd do a frame off resto. I almost got one of these when in CO b/c it was for sale down the street. This was just after leaving the hospital and being informed of our twins. doh! I mean...you know what I mean.


Wildman -- Not that we are competing by any means, but I still have shocks, bracketry, wheels, and tires to obtain plus other misc. It's a tall order yet still. I've already got it picked out....just have to wait! lol I also need to find a generous friend for a build spot or maybe find a place to rent for a whole month and rock it.

BTW -- Do you still have your Stak and what is the status? Have you been following what's been going on with them the last 6 months or so? I'm familiar with the "popping out of gear", yet wonder what yours is about. Message incoming.

 

If that wagoneer was closer...... I would love to have it.

Same for you WK. I have this nice shop out there.... would be a heck of a commute for ya though.