Went down to Rausch Creek for the first time ever on Thursday for a weekend of wheeling. Kurt (VTBlazer) and his wife met up with me on the drive down and we caravaned into town...
It's been about 3 years since I've had a chance to wheel, and I hadn't done anything on the East Coast before so I was curious to see how it compared to places like Hollister Hills and Moab. I knew I was pushing my luck by bringing my truck in the condition it was in (not very prepared), but I was really "jonesing" to get on the trails, and figured I might be able to at least get out and enjoy the truck a little bit. After one afternoon in the park, I can tell you that my truck is NOT ready yet for East Coast wheeling.
Lesson 1: - 2 Lockers are Better than One....
I've been getting away with a single Detroit out back and an open D60 up front for many years. The Eaton e-Locker was supposed to be up front by now, but due to their quality issues, I've continued to wait. Rausch has a lot of areas with freshly cut trees and rocks everywhere. The problem is that whoever has been cutting the trees down leaves about 18" of stump sticking up when they're done.....just enough to catch your diff, or just a little too high for a tire to climb. Almost immediately, I got the front diff caught on a stump and the soft dirt prevented me from getting enough traction to get myself unstuck. Kurt had to double-back and pull me out with a tow strap. Once I was freed, I also realized that my front driveshaft had pulled apart at the splines (yep, it's still too short!). More delays, while I put it back together.
Lesson 2: - 4.10s and an NP205 are not "Low Gears"...
Being on a rocky, loose surface requires control and a nice slow pace to keep the tires working. The best I could do (at my 40:1 crawl ratio) was to bounce around WAY too much. A small amount of throttle produced too much movement, and I just couldn't make delicate or precise moves. It was at around this time that all the bouncing and jarring caused my battery to jump out of it's tray and land upside-down on top of my passenger side highsteer arm. I'm not sure how long it was there but apparently I drove a good distance down the trail that way before I finally lost 100% electrical power and discovered it.
More delays for the group as I lifted the battery back into place and secured it with a ratchet strap. At this point (after two failures in about an hour) it was politely suggested that I "park it" and maybe ride along with someone else.....which I did.
Lesson 3: - Rollcages, Skidplates and Rock Sliders are not "Optional"...
The group that I was riding with is definitely a hard core group, and there is no such thing as a "warm up" trail for these guys. We went into the park and immediately got right into some severe steep rocks and ledges. Driving with NO top and NO rollcage immediately felt like a bad idea. I took a couple bypasses right away to avoid the worst stuff, but even the bypasses are narrow and have enough rocks to bash your underside components and rocker panels....
The nice thing about the trip, was that Kurt (and Shelley) offered me a seat in their truck the next day (Friday), so I was able to see a lot more of the park than I would have ever been able to get to in my own rig. It was also amazing to experience how a well setup truck performs compared to my own. Kurt's got a doubler and low axle gears, great flex and good rock protection. Being able to travel so much slower, the ride was a lot more comfortable and smooth. The truck was climing everything almost at idle, with no drama or crazy throttle goosing....it made me a believer in EFI also. Near vertical climbs were still effortless and stumble-free.
Rausch Creek is definitely a challenging and fun place, and I can't wait to get more prepared and then go back to try it again....
More Pics:
This was a VW diesel-powered Suzuki....pretty cool
S-Shaped Springs for sale.....CHEAP!!!
This arrived at my house while I was down at Rausch Creek this weekend..... revenge (at 110:1) will be mine!!!
It's been about 3 years since I've had a chance to wheel, and I hadn't done anything on the East Coast before so I was curious to see how it compared to places like Hollister Hills and Moab. I knew I was pushing my luck by bringing my truck in the condition it was in (not very prepared), but I was really "jonesing" to get on the trails, and figured I might be able to at least get out and enjoy the truck a little bit. After one afternoon in the park, I can tell you that my truck is NOT ready yet for East Coast wheeling.
Lesson 1: - 2 Lockers are Better than One....
I've been getting away with a single Detroit out back and an open D60 up front for many years. The Eaton e-Locker was supposed to be up front by now, but due to their quality issues, I've continued to wait. Rausch has a lot of areas with freshly cut trees and rocks everywhere. The problem is that whoever has been cutting the trees down leaves about 18" of stump sticking up when they're done.....just enough to catch your diff, or just a little too high for a tire to climb. Almost immediately, I got the front diff caught on a stump and the soft dirt prevented me from getting enough traction to get myself unstuck. Kurt had to double-back and pull me out with a tow strap. Once I was freed, I also realized that my front driveshaft had pulled apart at the splines (yep, it's still too short!). More delays, while I put it back together.
Lesson 2: - 4.10s and an NP205 are not "Low Gears"...
Being on a rocky, loose surface requires control and a nice slow pace to keep the tires working. The best I could do (at my 40:1 crawl ratio) was to bounce around WAY too much. A small amount of throttle produced too much movement, and I just couldn't make delicate or precise moves. It was at around this time that all the bouncing and jarring caused my battery to jump out of it's tray and land upside-down on top of my passenger side highsteer arm. I'm not sure how long it was there but apparently I drove a good distance down the trail that way before I finally lost 100% electrical power and discovered it.
More delays for the group as I lifted the battery back into place and secured it with a ratchet strap. At this point (after two failures in about an hour) it was politely suggested that I "park it" and maybe ride along with someone else.....which I did.Lesson 3: - Rollcages, Skidplates and Rock Sliders are not "Optional"...
The group that I was riding with is definitely a hard core group, and there is no such thing as a "warm up" trail for these guys. We went into the park and immediately got right into some severe steep rocks and ledges. Driving with NO top and NO rollcage immediately felt like a bad idea. I took a couple bypasses right away to avoid the worst stuff, but even the bypasses are narrow and have enough rocks to bash your underside components and rocker panels....
The nice thing about the trip, was that Kurt (and Shelley) offered me a seat in their truck the next day (Friday), so I was able to see a lot more of the park than I would have ever been able to get to in my own rig. It was also amazing to experience how a well setup truck performs compared to my own. Kurt's got a doubler and low axle gears, great flex and good rock protection. Being able to travel so much slower, the ride was a lot more comfortable and smooth. The truck was climing everything almost at idle, with no drama or crazy throttle goosing....it made me a believer in EFI also. Near vertical climbs were still effortless and stumble-free.
Rausch Creek is definitely a challenging and fun place, and I can't wait to get more prepared and then go back to try it again....
More Pics:
This was a VW diesel-powered Suzuki....pretty cool
S-Shaped Springs for sale.....CHEAP!!!
This arrived at my house while I was down at Rausch Creek this weekend..... revenge (at 110:1) will be mine!!!
