Florida B.S. Thread

Inclusiveness now includes people wanting to off road in minivans

 

Raggedy

 

That last one looks more like a challenge than a road block to me.

It'll be back though. When I first started going out there, that first washout was nothing but a little mudhole. It started to become a big washout in just a couple months. Also they tried to do the same thing to trail 11, but it didn't work. My guess is they are probably going to be doing some logging or a burn off.

 

wow nice!
What the heck is there to do in North Dakota!?
My Sister in law lives there with her husband (fracker) and son

sounds miserable when they talk about it lol!

 

Snow wheeling 5 months out of the year...just to get to work and home again? LOL

 

I said the same thing about the last pic as well lol.

But you are right, mother nature will take it over again. I think there was enough gripe from the hunters and non-wheelers that also influenced them to do all this. This is all the more reason to look into some other places for the annual meets.

 

I dunno about the hunters griping. There were go-arounds for both places...although I have a feeling they aren't done with the last one, it didn't improve the passability any. I honestly think they are about to do a burn off and wanted to smooth the trail for their fire control vehicles. Either that or one moron too many rolled their shit and got hurt.

As far as alternate locations, @Trident904 and I looked pretty much all over the state and Citrus is unique. Everywhere else is just swamp or sand and Hardrock isn't 2WD (or OGT) friendly and it's just not big enough for a weekend trip.

That said, I'm not sure how they rate the trails in difficulty, or if there's even a standard method, but before they bulldozed it, I would say for that second obstacle on trail 14, it would require 4WD (or 2WD with ground clearance and a locker), rock sliders, and driver/spotter experience to get over it. I'm pretty sure a stock 4WD with no traction enhancing devices could do it if they had sliders and picked the right line. The question there being, based on the diamond scale, how would we rate that obstacle?

 

I object this statement, I have made it up said obstacle in 2wd open on 33s lol

 

lol, well I have family up here, so it's not so bad. plus, im only 12 hours from Colorado! there is some offroading from what ive seen in the western most part of ND, but most of it gonna be in SD or in WY and CO

 

I don't recall you going up it after it got really nasty. Believe me, I had to pick a line to get the OGT up it on 33s with a locker in 2WD. Dom had to pick a line with his T4R in 4WD with open diffs on 35s. I'm not saying you couldn't do it but you have ground clearance and experience. Timbo could go up it too with 2WD open diff, but then he got rid of his Taco before it got as nasty as it was before they plowed it.

Edit: it's the exception that makes the rule.

 

Well, it depends on which direction you were going. The first washout could be done in 2wd with ease with a locker in both directions (I did it in front wheel drive just to be that guy last time i was out there), the second washout, the one that is graded now, I had to put in 4 wheel to get up, and down it. None of the 2wd with locker guys could make it either going uphill on it. This is all within 2 months ago.

Rating them would depend on whose scale you were trying to adhere to. As far as them being class 2 to class 5 (class one is a paved or gravel road), trail 14 would be a class 2, or a green trail, at any dedicated park. I'd say the same with trail 19 as well.

I've been trying to piece together another annual option but you are correct, options are very limited. Something that would maybe cater to more of a sightseeing across the state trip is all I am able to come up with now. There are some cool spots up in the panhandle that I want to check out in kind of a "Ultimate Adventure" style trip.

 

I checked out the spot off of the turnpike in Minneola a couple months ago and got pretty far back in there and came up on several tents with some “the hills have eyes” central Florida meth fans standing around. I backed out pretty quick since I was alone. Not much in there as far as trails go, just soft sand and trees. ONF sucks, Osceola sucks, Lazy springs sucks, Hard Rock is okay. I’ve heard stories about some stuff in the panhandle between Tallahassee and Crestview in the hilly areas but can’t get anyone to confirm.

 

Well shit. Looks like I left Florida at the right time.
Now I can travel for 20mins and be somewhere. Few hours and hit Moab.

 

The swamp off-road park, and blackwater state forest are the only places I’ve seen with any decent to good wheeling. They are pretty long hikes, but at this point, I don’t care. It’s something different that we all need

 

hey I drove from the panhandle to Citrus every time!!! nobody better cry about driving haha. Blackwater is basically the panhandles version of Citrus. some cool spots, but pretty much identical. I never sadly got to go to the The Swamp, but I've heard it's pretty decent and awesome

 

That's a pity. I've never had to use 4WD on trail 14 (the exception being the follow the leader challenge where we were doing pretty crazy lines). Only places at Citrus I ever needed to use 4WD with the OGT involved mud or the the corner of trail 19 going up and the ledge when it was at it's worst. The places not involving mud, once I put it in 4WD it was no challenge at all, didn't even so much as spin the tires, even on the slippery corner at 8 and 19. It would have been fun to actually have to use 4WD on 14 for a change.

That would be terribly ironic for @Alfuh if we started holding the annual meet in the pan handle now that he's in ND, lol. My intel on Swamp Off-road park might be a little out of date, but IIRC, there's no campground, and their open periods are kind of erratic. On top of being mostly a mud fest location, presumably like Lakeland, although I've never been to that one either. My understanding was that there was a small area in the back that was kinda like Red Rock.

Yeah, but you drover from there to the center of the state, it wasn't like you were driving all the way down to Miami. That said, I don't think we've had too many Dade county folks at the last few meets, so it might be interesting.

That's what I had in mind when I came up with the Fall Camp & Ride, but we kinda failed to come up with something with any appeal.

 

The drive is a non issue with me... plus, I have a base camp up there that I can stay at if need be. The problem is getting the others to drive up there. But then again, that's not really an issue with me either haha

Correct, The Swamp as no camping and is only open the first and third weekends of the months. But, I imagine that there are plenty of other options in that area to camp, maybe even some spots on the coast that would be pretty cool. From what I have seen, The Swamp has a bunch of Trail 14ish spots all over the place and then a mudhole and some other ATV only trails. If you go on their website, they have a very crude map of the place that sorta outlines the property.

I also have places written down that I have found via Facebook of old abandoned bridges, small waterfalls, riverbeds you can ride (depending on the water table), and even a place or two in south Georgia that has some hiking trails. If we were feeling real froggy, I think RiverRock in Milledgeville, Georgia will host weekends, that they are regularly close, to groups like we have. I guess a meet doesn't have to be completely dedicated to just wheeling.

Just throwing out some ideas here

 

The sucky part is I'm probably about to loose access to my uncle's trailer since he's liquidating assets and closing his business down. Wouldn't be a big deal except it's only a matter of time before the OGT's engine fails catastrophically. That time I cooked it destroyed all the bearings and scored the crank slightly. While I did replace the rod bearings when I did the regear, there wasn't anything I could do about the mains and it's already rattling again. Long road trips probably aren't the best idea for it.

I really want to go to Hardrock with someone that knows what they are doing to keep me from getting in over my head so I can find out how durable the front end is now. I'm really hoping that breaking that inner stub axle was a one off, not a pattern.

 

they send me videos of it bright and sunny at 10pm at night.....no thanks!

 

I could see me all bundled up for warmth after having slept all day out there banging around on the Taco...cops pull up, "Sir, we've been getting noise complaints. It's too late for you to be making noise at this hour." Me: "Huh? But it's broad daylight out?!?"