Jeeps at Burning Man 2023

[Mike_Hawk]

After seeing burning man in the news with the torrential downpour and mud, how did the Jeeps do out there?

Any first hand accounts of Jeep performance on the mud flats?

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[Stetson]

I just keep seeing pictures of the white rubicon that is buried and the yellow TRX scrabbling out with the travel trailer

Stetson

 

[Reinen]

Desert mud is absolutely brutal. Even Jeeps need to avoid it. It's not at all like elsewhere mud. Tracked vehicles often get stuck in it. The only thing that has a chance of navigating it is an ultralight buggy with balloon tires. Even they need to be careful.

When it rains on a dry desert lake bed the surface stays firm because of mineral deposits left by evaporation. The water trickles through that layer and collects under it. It forms fine sticky goo that can be several feet deep. It's like driving on a frozen lake. Break through that crust and you sink down until you're floating on the frame. You're done. It's like a Jeep glue trap that can extend for hundreds of square miles.

The moment I heard the weather report for burning man I started making popcorn. Anyone who knows anything about the desert would read that report and GTFO before the ground turned to goo. That crowd was definitely not going to do that.

 

[Gangplank]

Actually that white Jeep is bogus and not from burning man. The posts are just to get clicks and likes It was posted on X-Twitter before burning man.

https://www.reuters.com/article/fac...n-mud-predates-burning-man-2023-idUSL1N3AJ1UJ

 

[Stetson]

Actually that white Jeep is bogus and not from burning man. The posts are just to get clicks and likes It was posted on X-Twitter before burning man.

https://www.reuters.com/article/fac...n-mud-predates-burning-man-2023-idUSL1N3AJ1UJ

Wait! Are you saying something in the internet is not true?!?

 

[bjm00se]

Wait! Are you saying something in the internet is not true?!?

I don't believe it.

...oh ...wait...

 

[BobW]

Desert mud is absolutely brutal. Even Jeeps need to avoid it. It's not at all like elsewhere mud. Tracked vehicles often get stuck in it. The only thing that has a chance of navigating it is an ultralight buggy with balloon tires. Even they need to be careful.

When it rains on a dry desert lake bed the surface stays firm because of mineral deposits left by evaporation. The water trickles through that layer and collects under it. It forms fine sticky goo that can be several feet deep. It's like driving on a frozen lake. Break through that crust and you sink down until you're floating on the frame. You're done. It's like a Jeep glue trap that can extend for hundreds of square miles.

The moment I heard the weather report for burning man I started making popcorn. Anyone who knows anything about the desert would read that report and GTFO before the ground turned to goo. That crowd was definitely not going to do that.

Absolutely accurate! Ask me about lost boots...

 

[Cyber_Jeeper]

The way I heard it described is that lake beds just work differently. Normally when you think of rain on normal dirt, you imagine the rain soaking through, making the surface wetter than the dirt 12 inches down. But in a dried lake bed the opposite is true. Imagine the surface of a “lake” that just happens to be 6 inches below the surface of the dirt. When the top layer is dry you can float on through. But when it rains the top layer gets soft, allowing you to fall through to the even wetter layer below.

Of course, I read that on a random comment on the internet, and we all know that the internet never lies.

 

[Reinen]

The way I heard it described is that lake beds just work differently. Normally when you think of rain on normal dirt, you imagine the rain soaking through, making the surface wetter than the dirt 12 inches down. But in a dried lake bed the opposite is true. Imagine the surface of a “lake” that just happens to be 6 inches below the surface of the dirt. When the top layer is dry you can float on through. But when it rains the top layer gets soft, allowing you to fall through to the even wetter layer below.

Of course, I read that on a random comment on the internet, and we all know that the internet never lies.

See it for yourself then. Check out Sevier Lake in SW UT. It's always like that.

It's a terminal lake (no outflow) fed by the Sevier River but the lake rarely has any surface water. Evaporation keeps the water level several inches below the dry ground surface. Walking on it is like walking on a sponge. Drive your Jeep on it and you're guaranteed to get just far enough to be out of reach of recovery vehicles, broken through the thin dry surface and stuck in a sea of fine, thick sticky clay goo. This pseudo-dry lake bed is a 170 square mile Jeep glue trap.

 

[Cyber_Jeeper]

See it for yourself then. Check out Sevier Lake in SW UT. It's always like that.

It's a terminal lake (no outflow) fed by the Sevier River but the lake rarely has any surface water. Evaporation keeps the water level several inches below the dry ground surface. Walking on it is like walking on a sponge. Drive your Jeep on it and you're guaranteed to get just far enough to be out of reach of recovery vehicles, broken through the thin dry surface and stuck in a sea of fine, thick sticky clay goo. This pseudo-dry lake bed is a 170 square mile Jeep glue trap.

I actually drove out to the edge of Sevier lake last fall. All of the warning signs kept me off of the lake itself. But we did walk around on it for a bit. During October it was probably a bit drier than normal, but it was a fun experience.
A while ago there was a Matt’s off-road recovery on that lake. All I could think about was the giant metal signs telling you NOT to drive out on the lake that they must have ignored.

 

[Reinen]

I actually drove out to the edge of Sevier lake last fall. All of the warning signs kept me off of the lake itself. But we did walk around on it for a bit. During October it was probably a bit drier than normal, but it was a fun experience.
A while ago there was a Matt’s off-road recovery on that lake. All I could think about was the giant metal signs telling you NOT to drive out on the lake that they must have ignored.

Not to mention they're the strongest worded signs I've ever seen in UT.

The lake bed is NOT dry!
You WILL get suck!
Recovery is VERY expensive.
Yadda yadda yadda.

They were so written by someone sick and tired of dealing with people doing stupid shit. ?

 

[Reinen]

For the lurkers, here's the vehicle recovery from Sevier Lake. The conditions were rather dry for Sevier Lake.

 

[Starboard M]

Wait! Are you saying something in the internet is not true?!?

Dont look into it, but Im a model. Bonjour....

 

[AFD]

Dont look into it, but Im a model. Bonjour....

It still gets me that insurance companies have been raising rates like crazy just the past few years and they now expect you to diagram and photograph your own damn claim like an insurance adjuster is supposed to. Our rates are sky-high with Allstate and they basically refuse to mail you out a paper bill or proof of insurance without begging them each renewal.

I pay my premiums and drive safely, but c'mon, get your employees to actually do their own damn job.

/rant

 

[Centurion07]

It still gets me that insurance companies have been raising rates like crazy just the past few years and they now expect you to diagram and photograph your own damn claim like an insurance adjuster is supposed to. Our rates are sky-high with Allstate and they basically refuse to mail you out a paper bill or proof of insurance without begging them each renewal.

I pay my premiums and drive safely, but c'mon, get your employees to actually do their own damn job.

/rant

Similar to the self-checkout arenas manned solely by an elderly person in a walker? You scan your own stuff, run around the store for your own price checks, search for the produce you want, and still pay rising prices.

How much do retailers care? Not. At. All. They even have the audacity to give you a satisfaction survey as the machine spits out your receipt.

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