You’ve built your rig, take a trip, and then complain about the trails being too rough…

@backpacker

@Trident904

I think both of you miss my point. We are saying the same thing, use your tools to the capabilities you are comfortable with.

But I see people that seem to take pride in their ability to tear something up. As in, “man did you see that, I tore that exhaust clean off!” Or, “I ripped the bumper entirely off”

why?

edit, and I’m speaking generally. I’m not referring to any poster here

 

A good fraction of those guys operate on the principal that if stuff isn't breaking, they haven't really put it to the test. And if it is breaking, they found an opportunity to get their rig beyond what it was. The whole process of doing that is what they enjoy.

 

I get what you’re saying, however, there is a small bit of trial and error to wheeling. But, to go out and purposely break your vehicle is just stupid and wasteful.

 

My observation is that so many DON'T BUILD their rig and pay to have it done to be "cool" and have no idea what they are doing off road. They only want to post selfies and show off. Usually if you work hard to build your vehicle and enjoy going off road you are not whining about the little stuff. Also if value the dollar and your rig, you ain't looking to break it, you just like having fun out of the rat race. I know for me it amazes me the number that buy a $60-$80 thousand dollar vehicle then have a shop put another $10-$20K into it. I have a shop near me that builds rigs and I see quite a few MALL CRAWLERS built just to look cool. I remember a few years back a guy bought a brand new Hummer and got it buried deep down in the Minnesota River and it cost him several thousand to get it out. He figured because it was a Hummer he could go ANYWHERE.

 

I laugh all the time at the Jeeps on 26” wheels and super low profile mud terrains that have a winch, recovery boards, and a hi-lift mounted.

There’s a lot of these shops that only know how to build for cars n coffee meets but claim they’re an off-road shop and try to push Rough Country lift kits on you. It’s why I build my own shit.

 

I got a brand new 2007 2-door Jeep JK Rubicon years ago, put 33" tires, a small lift, & bumpers on it. Even though it was brand new, I wheeled that thing in and all around Ouray, Silverton, and Telluride CO, including Black Bear several times, for several years. I got my off roading money's worth out of that Jeep, and wish I'd never sold it. My '19 4Runner in stock form is pretty much capable to do just about anything that Jeep could do. Those years of doing that pretty much scratched the off-roading itch, though, and I more enjoy getting to off road places and not so much going up and over any more.

I always subscribed to the "do the trails you're comfortable with" plan, and took bypasses anytime something looked beyond my comfort level. I did want to get home.

I did have to dodge the SxS crowd from time to time also.

 

Perhaps the people that complain about the trails being too rough have a fantasy vision that doesn't match the reality of off-roading. I'm not sure what their fantasy is but the reality is that your rig does have it's limits. It won't go everywhere and they have to realize that. On the 4R, the approach and departure angles are major drawbacks. I've pushed my 4R to the limits (see my avatar) of my ability and perhaps the limit of the truck. Obstacles I used to freak out about, I now walk up without a spotter. Experience is key. I haven't broken anything....yet. The rear bumper was replaced before it was torn off. Was just a matter of time before I would have trashed it. Again, realize the limits of your truck and adjust accordingly.
If they think the trail is too rough, they should do a different trail.

 

Bottom line, there's talking the talk and then there's walking the walk. LARPing is a sad reflection of larger society today. People fake the funk in any hobby, in life and all over social media these days. It's easy (albeit not inexpensive) to build out a rig that looks the part and has that "wow, you must be a serious off roader" look. But when the rubber meets the dirt, the truth comes out.

I see it at the shooting range, ALL THE TIME. Guys with all the gucci gear, $3k guns and dressed like CAG/DEVGRU who miss targets at 7 yards. It's software over hardware, guys - and you're out of your swim lane.

 

Don’t get me started on the “tacti-cool” folks.

 

Whenever I go to the range or go hunting and see these guys, I laugh so hard. Most of the time (at the range), they barely shoot. They spend most of their time talking to their buddy about how pricey the gun is they brought to the range and how "Bad ass" it looks.

 

Laughed at this comment because it's absolutely true. Daytona Beach can be a fun city but man, the tweakers can be a bit much. You also don't want to bring home anything you can't wash off if you catch my drift.

I was watching YouTube vids of a guy named Kevin (I think) who was a Tacoma guy who did a lot of camping in the ONF. Sank his Taco in mud/water halfway up to his doors. Pretty sure he traded his Taco for an AWD Maverick, which kind of surprised me. Had to wench his way out of a lot of situations as well.

 

Half the time they are more than welcoming to allow you/me to give there rifle a ride so they can get a pic for the gram of it in "action".

 

^^^^
Is that English?

 

I've seen a lot of this...and then there's the one guy who shows up with a Hi-point who expects to be taken seriously. "Go home, junior..."

 

Shooting appliances, like a washer/dryer? Combo unit, or individual washer and dryer? Gas or electric? I don't get it?

https://www.hotpoint.com

 

As a native Floridian, I left the state to attend college in NY in 1990 - moved to NC in 1995 - moved back to Florida in 2000 - back to NY in 2003, and now back in FL as of 2013. Florida is a weird place. After living in the elsewheres of the United States, NC is the only place that ever really felt like home to me, probably because that's where my mom's family was from; felt like I had a moral obligation to live there and I miss living there every day. Upstate NY in the Fingerlakes region was a great run as well, but waking up at 4am to clear the driveways of snow got really old after awhile and paying those outrageous property taxes made us leave. Now that we're back in the state where I was born and raised, I really wonder what makes people decide "Holy shit! Let's move to Florida!"

There no reason whatsoever for people to move to this state unless you plan on living near the beach, lake or some body of water, and living near water can be dicey because of hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, etc. that will probably eventually swallow this state whole within, ohh, the next 200 years. All of the above aside, the reason I don't fear Hell today is because I have lived in Central Florida, aka as The Bowels of Hell (not to be confused with Silver Springs, FL.) If you live anywhere inland from the coast, YOU WILL DIE. I'm not kidding. The Florida heat will literally kill you, and the skin on the bottoms of your feet will burn off. If the Florida heat doesn't get you and you dare to venture out into whatever remains of protected woodlands, you've got Florida panthers, black bears, wild hogs, and (I think?) about 7 different types of venomous snakes that are just waiting to ruin your day. If the animals don't scare you, the homeless people living in the wood will, and they're even more dangerous than the animals because they're meth'ed up and (as someone else mentioned on one of these forums) full of STD's.

Trying to buy a home here? Planning to move here and "try it out?" because you need a change of scenery because you think your present state is a bummer? Wherever you're coming from, DO NOT come into this state without having sold your previous home and you can afford to buy a home here IN CASH. The homeowners insurance you'll be required to carry on your home -- that you'll be financing if you can't afford to pay cash for a place -- will bankrupt you, and you'll end up living in the Forest with the meth addicts OR, if you're lucky, you'll have moved to Florida like the ever-popular van dwellers of YouTube infamy and scored yourself a place to park your van down by the river or, at the very least, found someone kind enough to let you park in their driveway to hookup to their utilities so that you can pay them $800...to park. Trying to rent an apartment? Like Jimmy McMillan once said, THE RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH!"

So yeah. I feel ya, man.

Fuggedaboutit!!

 

If all mall crawlers went out and used their rigs off road the trails would be extremely crowded. Does anyone really want that?

 

This whole post had me rolling. Personally, I don’t think van life would be that bad, but yah, tweaker forest people would make for bad neighbors lol. Forests in general can go from beautiful to creepy in an instant.
And yeah, the lethal wildlife is another thing. Forests up north at least has the advantage of winters that tend to keep nasty things to a minimum compared to hotter places. Yeah, we have ticks with lyme disease, but they don’t tend to be as dramatic, and they don’t kill you all at once lol.

 

OP knows about this one. When a jeep club goes to the CWMA, you might as well be in Orlando rush hour. It's painful.

Florida in the 60s and 70s was paradise. There used to be a dirt bike trail that ran the whole length of Brevard County. Power line roads were wide open and in the middle of the state there were sand trails w mild hills everywhere. Never liked the mud scene, hour of fun equated to 2 days of cleaning. Hence the emergence of the "mud truck". Now it's too many people with very few trails left.
My parents moved to AZ in the 90s, so now I have some place to go play endlessly, and I built a rig to out run the Zombie meth crowd.

 

I love your name! McSpazatron! Of course, you can't use the word "spaz" any more because it's on the trigger list of things that might offend someone. Good lord. We're imploding as a society.

 

That was my bad with a typo. I meant Hi-Point, not Hot Point.

 

I built my rig to be trail ready whenever. She is not my daily driver. Stays loaded up. Why would I want load and unload my equipment every time? Unless she'd be daily driver, but she is NOT. Therefore, you are not guilty of anything.

 

It is the community of pavement princesses. People who get together on the weekends in some parking lot, show off hum much they spent on their rigs, gear, and j@#k each other off while they are waxing their vehicles.