Off-road towing porn.....

[ProtonDecay]

Here are three videos of us towing our Black Series HQ 15 up a fairly steep (12 degree) boulder strewn section. First video we get a bit of side slippage due to coming off of a boulder a bit fast - a bit slower might have worked better. Second video is us trying to mantle a shelf with the trailer wheels (locker is on) - this resulted in a broken drive-shaft, which you can hear at the end of the video. Third video is us coming back down that section as after removing the drive shaft and getting the trailer turned around (thank you McHitch!). Post-repair autopsy of the broken u-bolt revealed substantial wear over time from axle-wrap causing the u-bolt to bind against itself. Currently in the hunt for Calvert or similar traction bars that fit our Rangers - open to suggestions.

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[Cmar]

Yeah I would have moved fast in that first video too! Nothing like the sickening sound of a mechanical part going pop. There seems to be a fair bit of wear on that U joint journal.

 

[Joeiconic]

The phrase “biting off more than you can chew” comes to mind.

 

[ctechbob]

I think I'll stick to paved roads and graded sites.

Props to you though, I love the effort.

Ol buddy in the red shirt (Dad?) had a bit of pucker going on there!

 

[dtech]

What do you think the gross weight of your rig was? Parris rv had some black series a few months back at attractive prices but for me the weight was a concern, decided on a nobo 19.5 and was pulling it up a steep gravel/dirt road going hunting a few weeks back and had to go into 4 wheel low to keep wheels from spinning . Nobo is 4172 dry and if anything wish I'd bought something sub 4k lbs.

 

[9zero1790]

ehh slap in some upgraded u joints and give it hell!

 

[ProtonDecay]

What do you think the gross weight of your rig was? Parris rv had some black series a few months back at attractive prices but for me the weight was a concern, decided on a nobo 19.5 and was pulling it up a steep gravel/dirt road going hunting a few weeks back and had to go into 4 wheel low to keep wheels from spinning . Nobo is 4172 dry and if anything wish I'd bought something sub 4k lbs.

The HQ 15 fully loaded is just under 6K - so yeah, kind of heavy, but still within the truck specs. We've got 47K now towing from the Arctic Ocean to the tip of Baja and lots of western states in between. The road in the video is on par with the toughest trails we've taken, but we've made it up there before, and would have this time but for the u-joint mishap. I'm going to head up in advance of our trip next Summer with a demo hammer and a rock chisel to slim down some of those knobs and fill in the crevices. There are a few sections like this, but it shouldn't take more than a weekend's work to make it much more passable. Here's what it looks like at the end.....

 

[airline tech]

I need to get my but out of a free airplane seat and see views like this in my truck. (Tranquil)
More detailed statement, get my truck off paved roads, not as brave as you but baby step into a nice off-road tour. I have not seriously looked into areas around me yet, but it was 1 of my reasons to finally getting a truck to take it (4-wheeling) or mudding, I have only ridden along with my friends dad as a kid. I loved it and as a teen with a friend (VW-Bug) shocked the heck out of me that that little thing could climb boulders. (I lost a bet on that one)

 

[MarioCart]

I'm going to head up in advance of our trip next Summer with a demo hammer and a rock chisel to slim down some of those knobs and fill in the crevices. There are a few sections like this, but it shouldn't take more than a weekend's work to make it much more passable.

you leave it alone mister.
im heading up there next year and i want to conquer it in its natural form

 

[Joeiconic]

I'm going to head up in advance of our trip next Summer with a demo hammer and a rock chisel to slim down some of those knobs and fill in the crevices. There are a few sections like this, but it shouldn't take more than a weekend's work to make it much more passable.

Please don’t do that. Modifying the landscape for your singular need is terribly selfish. You’re not the only one using those trails.

 

[MountainGoat]

The old guy is about as spry as a penguin.

 

[dtech]

The HQ 15 fully loaded is just under 6K - so yeah, kind of heavy, but still within the truck specs. We've got 47K now towing from the Arctic Ocean to the tip of Baja and lots of western states in between. The road in the video is on par with the toughest trails we've taken, but we've made it up there before, and would have this time but for the u-joint mishap. I'm going to head up in advance of our trip next Summer with a demo hammer and a rock chisel to slim down some of those knobs and fill in the crevices. There are a few sections like this, but it shouldn't take more than a weekend's work to make it much more passable. Here's what it looks like at the end.....

Solitude is nice, I used to hike/pack up to alpine lakes in CO and fish, yrs back might not see anyone or just a few.

Yeah Ford rates the tow capacity higher but I'm thinking pulling a trailer over a steep dirt road puts just a wee bit o strain on da drive train.

 

[ProtonDecay]

Please don’t do that. Modifying the landscape for your singular need is terribly selfish. You’re not the only one using those trails.

LOL - I can sympathize, brother, truly. There is a dark place in my heart that actually wants trails to nice places like this to be harder. We rarely go to places like this on the weekends anymore because the Ravers and Militia Member Wannabees either play electronica at full volume until the sun comes up or "go to church" on a transgender case of Bud Light with 100's of rounds of ammunition. Of course, neither group cleans up after themselves. We usually bring a couple extra trash bags out from these places as a result.

Still, you raise an interesting point. If we ever ride together I will take you past trails I used to run that are now behind locked USFS gates because the degradation got so bad. Indeed, were it not for people like me helping to keep this and other trails passable even more would now be accessible only to hikers. And I am sure that this notion would go over quite well in most of the hiker forums. Just to prove my point, here's a pic of me finishing up the rebuild of a washout a few years back.

You wouldn't be getting any Ranger, no matter how well modified, past that point had we not filled that ravine. So, what we have is a question of balance, where your position is in a different place than mine, but still,

Oh, what to do, what to do...... to be honest, I've never really thought about this before - heck, people even maintain the Rubicon. We've always done what we thought best and if anything, people thanked us. Certainly, no one has ever said to me, "Let's wreck this trail further so only people with rigs as hardy as ours can get through!". So, balance.....

I am going to call the ranger on Monday to see what she has to say. Until then, Happy Trails

 

[MarioCart]

I know there is a fair bit of bureaucracy in my country when it comes to the environment.
And most of it is fair.
when you see how people destroy trail systems, some from ignorance, some from misguided opinions, you can understand why it needs to be controlled and monitored.
Erosion is a thing, and so is destroyed habitat, mostly when creeks and rivers are involved.
I'm happy you say you'll contact the Ranger, and I hope he can offer you the best advice for modifying a trail.

 

[dtech]

Tim Kelly was my fishing bible for Colorado back in the 80s. He spent yrs fishing and rating hundreds of lakes and streams in CO and WY, but today it's badly outdated and superceded by Kip Carey's book which I found in some cases just used info from Tim Kelly's book. Anyways some 15 yrs back or so planned a backpack trip to a remote wilderness area where there were 4 good sized lakes, there was no official trail for half of the hike so we used gps. I bought Kip's book to see how he rated the lakes and reached out to him about which lake might be best, Kip responded by saying he wouldn't identify the lake but one of the 4 was his favorite place to fish in CO . We choose a lake and on the way saw eagles, herd of elk, bears , fox, marmots and even a pine marten. We caught cutts all day long, up to 24" , never saw another soul at the lake. Now too often a good remote alpine lake is visited then posted on facebook which brings a lot of additional traffic. About 1/3 of alpine lakes in CO are self reproducing, decades ago remote alpine lakes were stocked mostly with cutts but the DOW doesn't stock many of the remote ones anymore, below a comment that is right on regards Tim Kelly's book.


Tim Kelley's Fishing Guide (Official Colorado & Wyoming ...

Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com › Kelleys-Fishing-Official-C...




This was a neat book for its time. Problem is, time passes. Population of Colorado when it was published in 1983 was 3 million peeps. In 2018 it's 5 mill. The fish have all gone to flowers everyone. When will they ever learn?



Kip Carey's Official Colorado Fishing Guide

Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com › Careys-Official-Colorado-...




Kip Carey's Official Colorado Fishing Guide features specific directions, comprehensive

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