TR: Lake Powell and The Smoky Mountain Trail
Three weeks ago, we returned from our three-week getaway in the truck and camper. If you've been following along, you know our first stop was in Sedona followed by the 2015 Overland Expo at Mormon Lak...
Forum Discussion
Mike,
All good stuff. Wonderful pix and spiel. I"ve been on some of those clay-laden roads in the S.W. during downpours and can attest to their goo-ey-ness. I don't care how good your mud tires are, the voids will fill instantly making those knobby jobs into spinning slicks. The worst tire for this type of mud is an all terrain. If the mud is bottomless, I've come around to lowering the pressure on the tires trying to promote more floatation. Coming down a very muddy road toward Telluride one year in the TC, we spied a subaru pulled over before the descent. Why did he not just keep going, I thought? I smugly pointed the 10K pound white box on wheels down the steep, one lane muddy road and found it hard to steer as the rig wanted to slide closer to the edge, no matter where the wheels were pointed. That was my first clue. Then I tried to slow down even more. No dice. Second clue. The rig wanted to keep going downhill even with all wheels locked up, edging closer and closer to the precipice. Now in full panic mode I gave the worthless (at that moment) Cummins a little pedal and powered over toward the uphill side of the cut and slowly, inexorably oozed to a stop. I got out and my shoes became encased in cement overshoes (like the Mafia is going to drop you in the East River) and lowered the pressure in all four tires down to 25 pounds. That was just enough to give the tires especially the biter sidewalls, now spitting out goo, a little more tooth on the roadway. We very slowly made our way down to Telluride in low/low and pressured up at the gas station. Meanwhile, I could barely make out the subaru: still sitting there at the saddle, waiting for the mud to dry enough for passage. Don't you just love life's lessons?
jefe
All good stuff. Wonderful pix and spiel. I"ve been on some of those clay-laden roads in the S.W. during downpours and can attest to their goo-ey-ness. I don't care how good your mud tires are, the voids will fill instantly making those knobby jobs into spinning slicks. The worst tire for this type of mud is an all terrain. If the mud is bottomless, I've come around to lowering the pressure on the tires trying to promote more floatation. Coming down a very muddy road toward Telluride one year in the TC, we spied a subaru pulled over before the descent. Why did he not just keep going, I thought? I smugly pointed the 10K pound white box on wheels down the steep, one lane muddy road and found it hard to steer as the rig wanted to slide closer to the edge, no matter where the wheels were pointed. That was my first clue. Then I tried to slow down even more. No dice. Second clue. The rig wanted to keep going downhill even with all wheels locked up, edging closer and closer to the precipice. Now in full panic mode I gave the worthless (at that moment) Cummins a little pedal and powered over toward the uphill side of the cut and slowly, inexorably oozed to a stop. I got out and my shoes became encased in cement overshoes (like the Mafia is going to drop you in the East River) and lowered the pressure in all four tires down to 25 pounds. That was just enough to give the tires especially the biter sidewalls, now spitting out goo, a little more tooth on the roadway. We very slowly made our way down to Telluride in low/low and pressured up at the gas station. Meanwhile, I could barely make out the subaru: still sitting there at the saddle, waiting for the mud to dry enough for passage. Don't you just love life's lessons?
jefe
