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North Carolina Roll Call

ThirtyOne

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Is Hurricane Creek doable with a stock Rubi?
It's absolutely doable stock. There isn't a trail in NC that can't be done in a stock Rubi.
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ThirtyOne

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Is this a plausible day trip from the Charlotte area? And looking at the map on google maps it looks like there is a fork that goes south (Wesley Creek Rd) . Is that road ok to drive as well if you are not looking to go all the way up to Max Patch, so as to make a loop back toward I40?
Yes you can take both ways out.

As far as a day trip from Charlotte it's doable. But it's real nice up there. I like to spend a little more time.
 

cschlosser01

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Yes you can take both ways out.

As far as a day trip from Charlotte it's doable. But it's real nice up there. I like to spend a little more time.
The day trip would be more of a scouting mission before dragging the whole family up there for a camping trip.
 

swimman

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Never been to Hurricane but definitely want to try it. Any nice places to stay in the area that are recommended? I'd be with the wife and kids and my wife is not a fan of camping.
 

ThirtyOne

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Never been to Hurricane but definitely want to try it. Any nice places to stay in the area that are recommended? I'd be with the wife and kids and my wife is not a fan of camping.
It's about an hour from Asheville. If I talked my wife into going we would stay in Asheville.

But who am I kidding. I'm never talking my wife into going.
 

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UNC Rubicon

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UNC Rubicon

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The day trip would be more of a scouting mission before dragging the whole family up there for a camping trip.
Youā€™re looking at a solid 8 hour day - not accounting for stops to eat and scout. Itā€™s doable, like @ThirtyOne said, but itā€™s a lot of seat time.
 

ThirtyOne

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Youā€™re looking at a solid 8 hour day - not accounting for stops to eat and scout. Itā€™s doable, like @ThirtyOne said, but itā€™s a lot of seat time.
Yea I was thinking plan for 10 hours. Like 8am-6pm.
 

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So glad to see that Hurricane Creek is open. I had heard that gates were installed at both ends of the trail. Is this the case and they were open? Or are the gates not there? How was the condition of the trail?
There are gates on both ends, but they were open. The trail was in pretty decent shape. Looks like someone had moved a fairly large tree off the trail recently. We passed 5 other vehicles on the trail in 3 hours (1 jeep, 2 4-wheelers, 2 motorcycles).

If you take the entrance off I-40, do you know if there is another exit besides Wesley Creek, which ends at Max Patch Rd? It took us over 3 hours from start to finish with maybe one 20 minute detour (forks in the trail aren't marked to the exits), which was a dead end. I had read on at least one other forum it was an hour to hour and a half.
 

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Is this a plausible day trip from the Charlotte area? And looking at the map on google maps it looks like there is a fork that goes south (Wesley Creek Rd) . Is that road ok to drive as well if you are not looking to go all the way up to Max Patch, so as to make a loop back toward I40?
If you leave early, I would say you could do a day trip from Charlotte. You're probably at least 2.5 hours away and plan on at least 3 hours if you go the Wesley Creek route. Wesley Creek turns to pavement. But I'm telling you, the Max Patch sunrise/sunset should be on your bucket list. It's incredible!
 

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Never been to Hurricane but definitely want to try it. Any nice places to stay in the area that are recommended? I'd be with the wife and kids and my wife is not a fan of camping.
It's near Maggie Valley, Lake Junaluska, and Waynesville just west of Asheville. Of course, there is plenty to do in Asheville especially if you like breweries. I highly recommend checking out Sierra Nevada in Asheville. They have a really nice campus. But Waynesville is a charming little mountain town with a neat downtown area and a few good restaurants and breweries.
 

ThirtyOne

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There are gates on both ends, but they were open. The trail was in pretty decent shape. Looks like someone had moved a fairly large tree off the trail recently. We passed 5 other vehicles on the trail in 3 hours (1 jeep, 2 4-wheelers, 2 motorcycles).

If you take the entrance off I-40, do you know if there is another exit besides Wesley Creek, which ends at Max Patch Rd? It took us over 3 hours from start to finish with maybe one 20 minute detour (forks in the trail aren't marked to the exits), which was a dead end. I had read on at least one other forum it was an hour to hour and a half.
There are 2 exits. I remember two forks. The second fork you can go either way. Iā€™ve taken both. But i donā€™t remember one being significantly shorter than the other. I think 2.5 hours sounds about right. @UNC Rubicon may remember better.

edit: the max patch exit drops you off halfway up a mountain. So getting out of there will take a lot longer. But the trail itself is pretty similar i think. @mgroeger is very familiar with the trail. Maybe he will weigh in.
 

UNC Rubicon

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There are 2 exits. I remember two forks. The second fork you can go either way. Iā€™ve taken both. But i donā€™t remember one being significantly shorter than the other. I think 2.5 hours sounds about right. @UNC Rubicon may remember better.

edit: the max patch exit drops you off halfway up a mountain. So getting out of there will take a lot longer. But the trail itself is pretty similar i think. @mgroeger is very familiar with the trail. Maybe he will weigh in.
Take a right at the first fork to continue up Hurricane Creek. At the second fork, right is Wesley Creek Road. Left continues Hurricane Creek which will drop you out a lot closer to Max Patch.

Fairly certain taking a left at the second fork is quite a bit shorter. Last time I was there, our group split off in two. Half went Wesley Creek the and I (along with a 4Runner) went left to finish Hurricane Creek (Wesley Creek was a little much for the stock 4Runner). We finished up 30 min quicker or so than the other group.
 

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Hello Gentlemen,

Iā€˜m close to pulling the trigger on purchasing a Rubicon or a Rubicon Recon. I have noticed that the majority of you went with the 3.6. I plan to do some frequent TN/NC off-roading and I was wondering if any of you have known of or observed any issues with the 2.0? Iā€™ve read through the forum and it seems a lot of the hardcore off-roaders advise to stay away from the 2.0. I have test driven both and I didnā€™t like the 2.0ā€™s turbo whine, but I did like itā€™s response when passing on the interstate or going up hills in comparison to the 3.6.

Also, should something catastrophic like a broken axle or such occur when off-roading, is it difficult to find a company that can recover the vehicle? I googled for off-road recovery near the smoky mountains and did not find any companies that advertised off-road recovery. Iā€™m just trying to get an idea of what Iā€™m getting myself into before I purchase.

Thanks Gents.
 

stormymk

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Hello Gentlemen,

Iā€˜m close to pulling the trigger on purchasing a Rubicon or a Rubicon Recon. I have noticed that the majority of you went with the 3.6. I plan to do some frequent TN/NC off-roading and I was wondering if any of you have known of or observed any issues with the 2.0? Iā€™ve read through the forum and it seems a lot of the hardcore off-roaders advise to stay away from the 2.0. I have test driven both and I didnā€™t like the 2.0ā€™s turbo whine, but I did like itā€™s response when passing on the interstate or going up hills in comparison to the 3.6.

Also, should something catastrophic like a broken axle or such occur when off-roading, is it difficult to find a company that can recover the vehicle? I googled for off-road recovery near the smoky mountains and did not find any companies that advertised off-road recovery. Iā€™m just trying to get an idea of what Iā€™m getting myself into before I purchase.

Thanks Gents.
For your engine question, I went back and forth for awhile with this decision. I can say I was very happy with my choice of the 3.6. I have a loaner 2.0 that I have had for over two weeks and I hate the whine.

I installed a HIKEit Throttle Controller on my 3.6 to give me more of a response on the gas, it makes it so there is no noticeable difference with that installed vs the 2.0. The JLs really are quicker then any of the past stock models.

Honestly, I never thought there was that much of a lag in any case even without the controller. If I had to do it over again, I would still pick the 3.6 or Diesel. I can't speak to performance yet with larger tires, my plan is to go up to 37s and probably regear long term. If you plan on going up to 40s or something, you may want to check the Diesel.
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