@bigmike
Since this is my first rubicon trip. What should I expect? My truck is ready. I feel my tire size is on the small end(285) but it will make things challenging. But as far as the itinerary etc. i assume camping each night. Do we have any loose Wednesday night campsite plans? Do i need to bring anything specifically? I just got my fire extinguisher and medical kit. So i have the tlca checklist covered.
I am a rubicon newbie I wanna understand what i am getting myself into haha.
Enjoy Texas!
Hello Fritz, thank you for the questions!
Regarding tire size, so long as you have good body armor you will be okay, the most critical of which is sliders. Ground clearance under the truck will be an issue at times but the good news is that I am expecting for this to be a laid back, relaxed time on the Rubicon. We only need to get to the bottom of the Slabs which we should be able to do many hours before dark. So no pressure at all from me: I am extra happy to take time and stack rocks where ever needed due to ground clearance. The first day shouldn't be too bad. There are only a couple required challenging spots. The second day will pose more difficulty, especially towards the lower section of the Big Sluice. More good news
is that other groups just beyond our first camp will be older Land Cruiser Wagons, which themselves will be on 33s and 35s max. By the time we get to the more difficult sections on Friday I suspect rocks to have already been tossed in for rigs ahead of us. That plus the distance remaining to travel on Friday is less than Thursday. All-in-all I am certain we will be able to run a relaxing pace and enjoy the trail
Question: Do you have a rear locker? If not we could manage, but the struggle will be on Sunday if we go up Cadillac Hill. I would say a rear locker is required if the truck is to make it up on it's own power. Regarding Cadillac and our Sunday exit strategy, I am not apposed to leaving out to Lake Tahoe, especially since this is your first time it would be nice for you to see and to complete the entire trail!
No real agenda for Wednesday. My only goal for the day will be to get to Loon before dark. It'll be about a 6 hour drive for me.
I will be camped Wednesday night before the first Loon Lake damn at the large helicopter landing area here:
https://goo.gl/maps/RYAnC5rsE2Q2Here is a map with reference from Hwy50:
https://goo.gl/maps/HLc3SquCNjS2Finally, here is where our Thursday morning 9am Driver's Meeting will be, right next to the restroom of the Loon Lake Staging Area:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZZfoEiEUSQrIf we are all together and get to the Staging Area before 9, I have no reservations against going in earlier than 9am. The only thing is there is another official run group entering the trail at 8:30a and we're scheduled by TLCA to go in after them
We could tag onto the back of their group and then have more vehicles to watch... but in the spirit of a nice relaxing day, it would be nice to be in our own little isolated group so we can enjoy it at our own pace. (Side note: The next group after us won't be starting the trail until 10am so we'll have a decent buffer behind us.)
Packing list:
Thank you for considering the TLCA safety checklist. For others, here is the link:
https://tlca.org/vehicle-inspection-requirements/I also recommend considering the CAL4WD safety checklist here:
https://cal4wheel.com/events/safety-requirementsIf everyone in our group has both of those safety checklists checked-off, then we'll all be good!
A great additional resource is our close friend Del Albright's "Know before you go" page here:
http://delalbright.com/Rubicon/know.htm#Anchor-23790He has the following list of recommended vehicle mods for Jeep owners here which can help give an overview for Toyota owners:
http://delalbright.com/Rubicon/mods.htmAgain, thank you for your questions! I will be sure to include this information in next year's event page
I am excited and feel fortunate to be the one to show you the trail for your first time!!
Regards,
BigMike
