Hello from the Great Lakes area

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ronaprhys

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Hello all - Ron here. A Buckeye currently living in MI (but not from here) and one who's done an okay amount of camping. Lately, most of it's been in KOAs, but I have managed to camp off the grid.

Current set up:
  • 2007 Nissan Xterra (lifted, armored, locked front and rear, etc)
  • M416 trailer with a CVT RTT on it
  • 2006 Suzuki V-Strom DL 650 with Outback panniers, bash guards, crash bars, etc (girlfriend has a 16 BMW F700GS) that I want to upgrade to the R1200GS Adventure.
  • Scarlett motorcycle trailer that'll carry both bikes and gear, for when we're not taking the M416
  • Most of the normal gear one would expect

Last real camping trip off the grid was Lockhart Basin in Moab. The M416 made it down that like a champ.
 
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Jake Wettern | iamjake

Jake Wettern | iamjake

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ronaprhys said:
Hello all - Ron here. A Buckeye currently living in MI (but not from here) and one who's done an okay amount of camping. Lately, most of it's been in KOAs, but I have managed to camp off the grid.

Current set up:
  • 2007 Nissan Xterra (lifted, armored, locked front and rear, etc)
  • M416 trailer with a CVT RTT on it
  • 2006 Suzuki V-Strom DL 650 with Outback panniers, bash guards, crash bars, etc (girlfriend has a 16 BMW F700GS) that I want to upgrade to the R1200GS Adventure.
  • Scarlett motorcycle trailer that'll carry both bikes and gear, for when we're not taking the M416
  • Most of the normal gear one would expect

Last real camping trip off the grid was Lockhart Basin in Moab. The M416 made it down that like a champ.
Click to expand...
Hi Ron, and welcome to OB! Nice rigs, trailers, and bike! Safe travels and enjoy those open roads!
 
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aearles

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Welcome @ronaprhys [emoji1309], there are a few of us here from/in MI, there's a thread in the regional section and a Michigan Overland page with some local events from time to time.


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ronaprhys

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Thanks, all - appreciate it. I think I've got a few posts in before I can post pics, but I'll get some up of our travels soon enough.
 
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ronaprhys

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aearles said:
Welcome @ronaprhys [emoji1309], there are a few of us here from/in MI, there's a thread in the regional section and a Michigan Overland page with some local events from time to time.


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Click to expand...
I see that your avatar has your rig parked on what I believe to be Top of the World. If I'm correct, what was it like getting a full-sized truck up there? And how long ago was that? I've been wheeling in Moab for years and have done that trail in my X, but have heard that the trail keeps getting worse and worse.
 
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ronaprhys

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I think I've got enough posts to do this up properly.

This is the rig as it sits now (on the left). Beth was acting as the gunner for us running Fins n Things in Moab during our annual goneMOAB event. Specifically, this was Ladies Day and the only drivers were female - I was only there for fun, never drove.



An actual action shot. This one from Top of the World a few years ago. Since then I've upgraded the lift, gotten the M416 so I don't have to haul the RTT around on the top, put a snorkel on, and upgraded to LEDs for the lights.




Here are the bikes after running from Glenwood Springs down past Carbondale, on our way to Black Canyon. That was a very fun trip.



The rig as she normally sits when we're traveling. We always bring the bikes and to keep weight modest, we've not brought the RTT on the last few trips. Looking to change that in the future.



And here we are after the hike up to Hanging Lake in CO. I70 from Glenwood to this exit is lots of fun on bikes.


 
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aearles

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ronaprhys said:
I see that your avatar has your rig parked on what I believe to be Top of the World. If I'm correct, what was it like getting a full-sized truck up there? And how long ago was that? I've been wheeling in Moab for years and have done that trail in my X, but have heard that the trail keeps getting worse and worse.
Click to expand...
Yes the trail was pretty tore up compared to last year, this was May 2017. We went up the hard (left) side and got to the top shortly after the group that went the easy route. It was pretty rough, lots of time hung up on skids and backing down to find new lines, lockers definitely required. We went down the easy way and it was still fairly bad, nothing really challenging but slow going and lots of getting tossed around by mid sized rocks and mild ledges. Not an enjoyable trail for me, but of course the top is incredible. We did Golden Spike that week too!


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ronaprhys

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Edit - cleaned up the pics (no duplicates, got the code right).

Aaron - thanks for the info. I'm pondering whether or not I get a Titan and build the hell out of it so I can tow the motorcycle trailer easier or get a one ton and a 40' trailer to tow the X and bikes in. I'm thinking that solely because at over 200k miles, the X is long in the tooth to be hauling that trailer up and over the mountains AND wheeling hard in Moab and UT, then driving back to MI.
 
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aearles

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Here are my conflicting perspectives on that, to help make your decision more difficult. :laughing:

I tow a 30' travel trailer full-time, but if I didn't, I would be in a Wrangler. The Power Wagon is extremely capable, it's stable and does really well in a lot of places that the shorter wheelbase vehicles have trouble, but it's still really tight in a lot of places and just not as fun to wheel. It is comfortable and quiet, and carries all of our tools and gear with plenty of room to spare.

On the other hand... I tow a 30' travel trailer full-time... and I HATE towing something that big. Given the choice between wheeling a full size that tows a small bike trailer and towing a 40' rig to carry a dedicated vehicle, I'd go with the single compromise truck for sure.
 
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ronaprhys

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That's getting at part of my concern. I might end up limiting myself on the trails I can do, but I'm already self-selecting against those harder trails anyway (I've done Kane Creek, Hell's Revenge, Steel Bender, etc). My only real concern is whether or not I could do Elephant Hill (I lead that trail for our event every year). Pretty sure I could as the park service uses full-size rigs for trail maintenance. I also worry about parking, KOAs, and the like.

Plus the cost. A brand new Titan XD diesel, properly outfitted, will cost about $70k (that's at retail, true cost will be lower). A decent one ton coupled with the long trailer is north of $100K. Plus, if I wasn't driving the X as my daily driver, I'm sure I'd be wanting to SAS the thing (once I'm done restoring my MGB).
 
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aearles

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Yeah, the Titan will fit through Devil's Pocket, @BoldAdventure has a good photo of his Wagon in there. It's tight but fits.

I backed out of Kane Creek at one of the squeezes, I just couldn't make the turn and didn't have rocket protection at the time. I've learned a lot since then, and have more armor so I'm curious to get back out there again but it was a nightmare backing out along the canyon edge and turning around so I'm not in too much of a hurry lol. Other than that one, I've run Hells, Steelbender, all of Golden Spike, most of the big trails in Moab no problem at all.


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ronaprhys

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Kane Creek has gotten much, much worse since I ran it 5 years ago. Back then I just had a 2" spacer and shackle lift and, with the weight I was carrying, I was at stock height. Had skids and sliders, but the stock bumpers (which took damage).

Now, with 4" of lift and lockers front and rear, I could make it, but it'd be a hella difficult day.

Glad to hear your experience, might make my decision much easier.
 
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