Moab/Ouray trip coming up as newbee ....... advice wanted

[Dkretden]

If you are staying on gravel/dirt roads you shouldn’t need to air back up, just don’t go highway speeds. I aired down to 15-18psi and it rode fine, I have stock KO2’s on my Rubicon.
As far as 4Hi or 4Lo, if you’re up and down grades, being in 4Lo will make it to where your vehicle isn’t working as hard, and going down grade it’ll help with holding the Jeep back, so you’re not using your brakes as much and overheating them. I ran a few of those trails in Ouray, and I did them in 4Lo. I have a 6MT, so I can down shift, I believe you have similar options in the auto, I’m not familiar with that. You’ll be able to go fast enough in 4Lo on those trails.
On turns, you’ll just have to take it slow and easy, it’ll be harder to turn, but on dirt and rocks it won’t be bad on your vehicle.

Yes, he can use his auto trans in ‘manual shift” mode and click down gears to slow the Jeep. Will really save the brakes coming down those mountains. He can also use Hill Desent control.

when I was out there, I used 18-20 Psi (stock KO2s). Many of the county roads are dirt and I was only going a few miles between trails so I did not air up. Of course, if I was going to jump on the Million Dollar Highway, I would air up and air back down again when I reached the trailhead.

@Hans, there will likely be a lot of buggies out there and all of them will want to go faster than you regardless of your gearbox choice. Pick whatever makes the most sense for you and then just let faster vehicles pass at your closest/safest opportunity.

Sponsored

 

[Dkretden]

@Hans

if you are looking for hotels, I can recommend the Moab Valley Inn. It’s dated but clean and right on the main drag. Reasonable price.

I can also recommend the Box Canyon Lodge in Ouray. Again, dated but clean and quiet. Reasonable price.

 

[Hans]

If you are staying on gravel/dirt roads you shouldn’t need to air back up, just don’t go highway speeds. I aired down to 15-18psi and it rode fine, I have stock KO2’s on my Rubicon.
As far as 4Hi or 4Lo, if you’re up and down grades, being in 4Lo will make it to where your vehicle isn’t working as hard, and going down grade it’ll help with holding the Jeep back, so you’re not using your brakes as much and overheating them. I ran a few of those trails in Ouray, and I did them in 4Lo. I have a 6MT, so I can down shift, I believe you have similar options in the auto, I’m not familiar with that. You’ll be able to go fast enough in 4Lo on those trails.
On turns, you’ll just have to take it slow and easy, it’ll be harder to turn, but on dirt and rocks it won’t be bad on your vehicle.

Okay , Thanks for the info !

 

[Hans]

Yes, he can use his auto trans in ‘manual shift” mode and click down gears to slow the Jeep. Will really save the brakes coming down those mountains. He can also use Hill Desent control.

when I was out there, I used 18-20 Psi (stock KO2s). Many of the county roads are dirt and I was only going a few miles between trails so I did not air up. Of course, if I was going to jump on the Million Dollar Highway, I would air up and air back down again when I reached the trailhead.

@Hans, there will likely be a lot of buggies out there and all of them will want to go faster than you regardless of your gearbox choice. Pick whatever makes the most sense for you and then just let faster vehicles pass at your closest/safest opportunity.

Thx , I was planning to try this gear thing before departure. Now I will do it for sure !!

The buggy and Razor things are one of my concerns. I'm normally a calm type of person, but I can loose my temper in situations when somebody pushes me into something . I'll think you understand what I mean.

 

[Hans]

@Hans

if you are looking for hotels, I can recommend the Moab Valley Inn. It’s dated but clean and right on the main drag. Reasonable price.

I can also recommend the Box Canyon Lodge in Ouray. Again, dated but clean and quiet. Reasonable price.

My wife was 'in charge' of the lodging . Every motel is already booked since a few weeks . But it is noted .
Next year the plan is to do route 66 , and in the drive back to New York State we could be passing again in that area .... you never know where the Jeep will take us .....

 

[Canyonero02]

I would add in Imogene Pass if you can. If you're not up for Black Bear you can take Ophir instead. Some guy behind me made it through in a Dodge dually. Telluride is pretty cool for grabbing lunch. Then take Imogene back. Yankee boy is a nice in and out trail too that's close to town. Just check what's open before you go. We went mid July last year and some trails just opened up from snow the week before. Aired down to 18 psi and never touched it until we left to go home.

 

[MadDog27]

Maybe I’ll see you there. I have a Moab trip planned and will be arriving the same day, 28 June. I’ll be staying for 2 nights, 3 days, leaving 30 June.

I want/plan to hit Hells revenge and Fin and Things since they are both Jeep badge trails and seem doable.

Good luck on the trails and who knows, maybe we’ll run into each other.

 

[Hans]

I would add in Imogene Pass if you can. If you're not up for Black Bear you can take Ophir instead. Some guy behind me made it through in a Dodge dually. Telluride is pretty cool for grabbing lunch. Then take Imogene back. Yankee boy is a nice in and out trail too that's close to town. Just check what's open before you go. We went mid July last year and some trails just opened up from snow the week before. Aired down to 18 psi and never touched it until we left to go home.

Okay, thx for the info about the tire pressure .
Imogene ..... difficult decision .... I'll see when I get there if we do it or not ...
Maybe first see how it goes in Moab and the first days in Ouray .....

 

[Hans]

Maybe I’ll see you there. I have a Moab trip planned and will be arriving the same day, 28 June. I’ll be staying for 2 nights, 3 days, leaving 30 June.

I want/plan to hit Hells revenge and Fin and Things since they are both Jeep badge trails and seem doable.

Good luck on the trails and who knows, maybe we’ll run into each other.

Checked Hell's Revenge and the Fin and Things trails...... NO GO for me , they are rated both as difficult in my 'Guide to Moab, backroads and 4WDtrails' . With a LMV from the BEL army , I would try it , but not with my own stock Willys. Ain't gonna happen. It looks like there is no room for a little mistake on those trails. How beautiful the scenery will be, I'm not confident that I can do that .

I'll keep an eye on a yellow Rubicon with the red hooks in front

Mine looks like this :

 

[B_AIRS]

You will have a blast. I did many of the Ouray trails last year. At the time my JLUR was stock with the exception of skid plates and I had no issues on any of the trails that I ran. You can find the write up I did here:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-in-the-san-juan-mountains-of-colorado.57620/

 

[dogbreath650]

MOAB - the trails you listed are great for sightseeing but if you miss the "slickrock" experience you're missing a lot, it's amazing (and safe) to see/feel what your jeep can do on that sand paper they call slickrock. I recommend Fins n Things and Hells Revenge both of which are located in Sand Flats Recreation area just outside MOAB. It's a county rec area with lots of other vehicles around and well marked trails, its an experience you shouldn't miss while you're there.

For OURAY I would add Imogene trail. My favorite trail for scenery in Colorado and not too difficult. I recommend traveling it from Ouray to Telluride. It will get a fair amount of traffic during the time you are there and if you wait around the trailhead a bit you can probably tag along with another group if you ask nicely. Make sure to ask around to make sure those trails are open before heading out as many passes are still closed by snow in early July...

You must understand that just because a trail may be rated difficult in your book you need to read the descriptions closely before making any decisions.. Many times the rating is based on a single point or obstacle along the trail. In many instances these have easier bypasses which you can take to get around the difficult part. Chuck Wells (the author) does a pretty good job of pointing these out.

Don't stress too much, you'll have a great time!

 

[grimmjeeper]

Moab: Do Fins N Things. It's easy with even a stock Jeep and gives you the real iconic "slickrock" experience.

Ouray: You may want to check trail conditions as you get there. The snow tends to be deep and it lingers. Some trails don't open until July. I would absolutely recommend Imogene pass. It's not intimidating or difficult. You can combine Ophir pass and Imogene in one round trip that takes a day.

Absolutely get these two books:

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Moab-B...ild=1&keywords=funtreks&qid=1623276129&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Colora...ild=1&keywords=funtreks&qid=1623276129&sr=8-4

These contain good descriptions of all of the trails and give you GPS coordinates. They also have an iPhone app that will guide you. I think they don't have an Android app. They also sell microsd cards that you can plug into a Garmin (and maybe others) GPS. They are great for making sure you can follow the trail.

 

[MadDog27]

Checked Hell's Revenge and the Fin and Things trails...... NO GO for me , they are rated both as difficult in my 'Guide to Moab, backroads and 4WDtrails' . With a LMV from the BEL army , I would try it , but not with my own stock Willys. Ain't gonna happen. It looks like there is no room for a little mistake on those trails. How beautiful the scenery will be, I'm not confident that I can do that .

I'll keep an eye on a yellow Rubicon with the red hooks in front

Mine looks like this :

Sounds good. Enjoy your trip as well. I’ll keep an eye out for you just in case. Here my lasted pic of my Jeep over the weekend. Can’t wait to get to Moab. Pretty excited myself.

 

[Hans]

Moab: Do Fins N Things. It's easy with even a stock Jeep and gives you the real iconic "slickrock" experience.

Ouray: You may want to check trail conditions as you get there. The snow tends to be deep and it lingers. Some trails don't open until July. I would absolutely recommend Imogene pass. It's not intimidating or difficult. You can combine Ophir pass and Imogene in one round trip that takes a day.

Absolutely get these two books:

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Moab-B...ild=1&keywords=funtreks&qid=1623276129&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Colora...ild=1&keywords=funtreks&qid=1623276129&sr=8-4

These contain good descriptions of all of the trails and give you GPS coordinates. They also have an iPhone app that will guide you. I think they don't have an Android app. They also sell microsd cards that you can plug into a Garmin (and maybe others) GPS. They are great for making sure you can follow the trail.

These are the two books I have !!
And they are indeed very clear and a contain a lot of info about the trails.
Thx !!

 

[Hans]

You will have a blast. I did many of the Ouray trails last year. At the time my JLUR was stock with the exception of skid plates and I had no issues on any of the trails that I ran. You can find the write up I did here:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-in-the-san-juan-mountains-of-colorado.57620/

Great story !!! I can read it was an amazing time !!
Hope we have the same experience after our trip !

Sponsored