Richloam trip..

Yup. In fairness though, we only hit the one trail and we started on the nasty end of it. If we'd have kept going it probably would have gotten less sketchy. Plus, there were probably other trails we could have rode that wouldn't have been even that bad.

Also, if you look at the Heep video at the beginning of the Richloam Info thread, it was taken only 4 months before our ill-fated trip and it looked a lot drier (I'm thinking it's drier out there in the spring than it is in the late summer/fall).

That aside, are you game for this one? You've certainly got the ground clearance and a decently aggressive set of tires now.

 

I just figured I'd give a heads up to the people that haven't been out there and I might be depending on when its gonna be

 

i have to do the breather mod too haha

 

Just a suggestion...how about we wait until May to do this? I completely forgot about the up-coming Citrus Trail Clean-up and the associated Tamlando 2 meet some time in April until someone posted in that thread. I'd rather have the trail clean up behind us before I risk tearing something up and not be able to make it.

If that doesn't work for everyone, that's fine too. I'll just have tougher decision to make.

 

Heh, I was talking about wanting to go back out there at the Citrus meet.

 

Not for me, I'm passing on this one.

 

Huh?

I was talking about a trip to Richloam to ride the trails there at the Citrus meet. There is a bunch of places that I'd like to go though. Hardrock, N. Georgia, Gulches, Uwharrie, The Rubicon...although those last three would have to wait until the master plan Guy and I came up with comes to fruition. We just need five thousand more TW members to donate $30 to finance our builds and the grand tour of wheeling spots throughout the continental US. Donating gets you a raffle ticket for a chance to win a seat in the tow rig.

 

That's right, for your low low donation you get shenanigans, with video coverage. We're talking content folks, not some lame Expedition Overland footage with boring commentary. I'm talking about real live action, real off-roading, members of your community. Once we achieve our goal and select our lucky winner we will hire a full time videographer(most likely Rick, because we're poor). You will whiteness full body, badass Toyota action. This will be more than worth the cost of admission. I will actually edit a video for the second time ever. This trip, with your donations will be Epic! If you tell your work friends they will think you need to go to HR.

Disclaimer: any views expressed in this post are expressly those of Lee, Guy cannot be held responsible for any broken parts, bail money or hurt feelings, oh yea and hang-overs, Guy may have been drinking while posting... We just need you all to pay for our awesome, epic, bad ass wheeling trip.

Please drive through...

 

I don't own a snorkel and I really don't like scuba diving.

My post before this on should more than make up for me being lame.

 

You've got more than enough ground clearance to stay nice and dry...as long as you don't go through anything I haven't been through first.

My rule of thumb, learned the hard way after many miles of hiking out of Richloam, is that when the water reaches the top of my tires, I back out and look for another way through and if there isn't, then it's time to turn around and look for another trail.

Bear in mind, those videos represent the wettest I've ever seen it out there and my dad took me out there to learn how to drive when I was 14 years old, so I've been going for a loooooooong time.

Really, the only thing you would need to do would be to water-proof your distributor to keep the fan from spraying it with water and you'd be golden. With your ground clearance, 35s, and a smaller pathfinder (someone on 33s, built low for crawling, not a Nissan), there's nothing out there a little rational thinking won't save you from.

To me, the water crossings are fun if you use a little caution and don't try to blast through and fall in a hole with water up to the windows. *cough* Thorny Mike *cough*

And yeah, the previous post almost made up for the lameness, 'cept you left me holdin' the &@#$*@ bag in the disclaimer.

edit: And just think how clean the underside of the 'Runner will be after drving though all that more or less clean flowing water.

 

I go out there with 31s, Highway Tires, 1.75" lift in the front and I've only turned around twice because I was alone and the hole was no doubt 4 foot deep. I probably go to a different section that all of you go to. It really is all water crossing and no real mud. I'm still good for the 29th if that is the date we'd want to set.

 

The videos Thorny Mike posted above were shot on the north end of Lead Place Rd, one of the main trails off the main grade. I've been on both sides of 471 and been bitten on both sides. Oddly enough, never when I was with another vehicle though. It was always when I had the only vehicle and got stuck with a long walk for help. It took a few times but I learned my lesson.

 

I haven't been stuck yet the only reason I had to turn back on a few trails was because either the water was too deep or my buddy couldn't follow me. He has a 80s Toyota Truck with some BFG ATs and I had to pull him out more than once. I also had to pull out a 90s Nissan that thought it was a boat. I enter off of 575 and not 471.

 

Rgr. I'm not as familiar with that side as I am the east side of 471, but that is the side I came within a heartbeat of hydro-locking the engine on my YJ that I'd had for only 2 weeks. We had to wait two hours before someone came by to pull us out and then we were pulling plugs and stuffing rags down the throttle body to get the water out of the intake. Still never got it started. Had to drain the gas tank and put fresh gas in it before it finally fired up. Then a week or so later the computer went tango uniform. Luckily, it was under warranty and they didn't give me a hard time about it. Even gave me an XJ loaner to drive until they fixed it. This was where I learned the top of the tire lesson.

I used to come in from Zephyrhills and took 98 to 471. Now I take the interstate to 50 and come in on Claysink to the North grade.

That said, no offense, but if you haven't been stuck out there with 31" highway tires, you've either been extraordinarily cautious or you've stuck to the dryer trails. I don't care if you're running a 1000hp big block on 6 foot tractor tires, there will be some place at Richloam that will swallow you whole.

 

when did I do that

 

You will eventually.

 

No joke my uncle had gotten stuck on top of another truck out in one of the mudholes we called gatorhole

 

Actually I did have it coming up over my hood out in the highlands that Sunday after I got back from citrus the small pond out there has come way up where it used to be dry is now over my hood almost all the way around I'm surprised I didn't get stuck and my buddy in the xterra was following me and ended up getting stuck

 

lets see here, no diff breather mod, no 4wd, no snorkel and no scuba gear.....i'll pass