White Rim Trail, Canyonlands NP 2014.4 TR
White Rim Trail TR 2014.4 First, I must say Wow! The White Rim Trail (WRT) is BIG. When you are down in the canyon, it is difficult to gage the scale of the formations around you until you see a t...
Forum Discussion
Bertram,
I think your own personal history with off-road vehicles has a lot to do with your attitude on trails like the WRT. Those that come from a hard-core, rock crawling, expedition travel background have a leg up because they know what the stresses and strains to expect and purchase and prepare the rig for such torture. And, this type of person likes to feel the edge, the ozone of adventure before the lightening strike, motating like this. It's all perspective. I thought driving the WRT in a Land Cruiser was pretty dull (except for the scenery, of course) as there was NO challenge. Just point and shoot. With a light-weight (and even lighter weight with just one person traveling in it), less tall, less wide hard side TC with nothing on the roof, all weighty items down low; one side rear anti-sway bar disconnected; small tanks; a bullet proof, heat resistant drivetrain with lowered pressure in the wide, floatation tires, and a way to get said tires back up to road pressure at the end; camper centering brackets; loosened front tie-downs; very much loosened rear tie-downs, camper shocks removed; and tiers of recovery gear you can face the challenge of the WRT. Personally, I thought it was a piece of cake as I could 'feel' the rig and it's interplay with the trail in a way I was taught by trails past in Jeeps and Land Cruisers. For instance: the worst thing to do to your TC when off-road is to twist up the axles. Because of the weight and relatively stiff suspension components to carry that weight, it puts tremendous torque stress on your frame/suspension/truck bed/TC frame. This is why real off-road Truck Camper adventurers select a tray or flat bed with a 3 or 4 point pivoting system to keep the TC flat while allowing the frame and suspension to flex away with impunity. When moving over undulating trails i am constantly on the lookout for the 'best' route through to have the least amount of axle-twisting possible. I'm thinking this has led to the tight condition of my old Lance. It will still stand on 3 legs without changing shape or racking. This is why is loosen the rear tie downs when the going gets rough as the truck bed drops away on one side with the suspension when racking and there is no pressure to pull your camper's frame in concurrence. Even at my age, I'm still looking to 'smell the ozone' when faced with rough jeep trails.
BTW, I live near the Rubicon and it is in terrible shape having been loved to death by thousands upon thousands of jeepers and there is NO WAY a truck camper of any type can get over the trail. None. I remember the first time someone drove a full size pick up over the trail. It was like sausage making. You put it in one end in a rather large format and it comes out the other end a bit narrower. The truck was about 8" narrower of sheet metal at the end.
I think your own personal history with off-road vehicles has a lot to do with your attitude on trails like the WRT. Those that come from a hard-core, rock crawling, expedition travel background have a leg up because they know what the stresses and strains to expect and purchase and prepare the rig for such torture. And, this type of person likes to feel the edge, the ozone of adventure before the lightening strike, motating like this. It's all perspective. I thought driving the WRT in a Land Cruiser was pretty dull (except for the scenery, of course) as there was NO challenge. Just point and shoot. With a light-weight (and even lighter weight with just one person traveling in it), less tall, less wide hard side TC with nothing on the roof, all weighty items down low; one side rear anti-sway bar disconnected; small tanks; a bullet proof, heat resistant drivetrain with lowered pressure in the wide, floatation tires, and a way to get said tires back up to road pressure at the end; camper centering brackets; loosened front tie-downs; very much loosened rear tie-downs, camper shocks removed; and tiers of recovery gear you can face the challenge of the WRT. Personally, I thought it was a piece of cake as I could 'feel' the rig and it's interplay with the trail in a way I was taught by trails past in Jeeps and Land Cruisers. For instance: the worst thing to do to your TC when off-road is to twist up the axles. Because of the weight and relatively stiff suspension components to carry that weight, it puts tremendous torque stress on your frame/suspension/truck bed/TC frame. This is why real off-road Truck Camper adventurers select a tray or flat bed with a 3 or 4 point pivoting system to keep the TC flat while allowing the frame and suspension to flex away with impunity. When moving over undulating trails i am constantly on the lookout for the 'best' route through to have the least amount of axle-twisting possible. I'm thinking this has led to the tight condition of my old Lance. It will still stand on 3 legs without changing shape or racking. This is why is loosen the rear tie downs when the going gets rough as the truck bed drops away on one side with the suspension when racking and there is no pressure to pull your camper's frame in concurrence. Even at my age, I'm still looking to 'smell the ozone' when faced with rough jeep trails.
BTW, I live near the Rubicon and it is in terrible shape having been loved to death by thousands upon thousands of jeepers and there is NO WAY a truck camper of any type can get over the trail. None. I remember the first time someone drove a full size pick up over the trail. It was like sausage making. You put it in one end in a rather large format and it comes out the other end a bit narrower. The truck was about 8" narrower of sheet metal at the end.
