I thought it would be handy if other people in or near Colorado with interest in taking their trucks off-road had a Tundra-specific guide to some of the trails in the state, and even if you wouldn't ever take your Tundra off-road you still can enjoy hearing about it .
I had my truck in 4WD beginning the very day I drove it off the lot...picked up a friend, and we headed off to the dirt roads in the mountains over Boulder, CO. Since then I've started taking the truck out whenever I have a spare moment--it's a lot of fun.
The main resource Eric and I have been using is a set of books by Charles A. Wells, entitled "Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails". There are two editions for CO and one for Moab, covering trails from Easy (washboard, dirt roads, RAV4 territory, even a Civic could probably make it), Moderate (some stock SUVs with good clearance, read "Toyota"), to Difficult (heavily modified vehicles). Tundras do fine on Moderate trails, and I suspect a couple of the easy(!) Difficult trails, but I am waiting on a few mods and better driving skills before I attempt a Difficult trail in my 25K$ truck.
Most of our trips have been on trails listed in these books, however the more interesting trails are only listed on the For Sale maps and found through exploration and word of mouth.
If you have a favorite trail in Colorado, please post its location, difficulty, description, and any details you think we should know or would like to hear!
Forest Service road 397A is listed as the Mt. Baldy trail in book 1, trail 61. It's West of Colorado Springs, in Pike Nat'l Forest.
It's rated Moderate, however it has no obstacles and is primarily a smooth dirt fire/access road leading to the top of Mt. Baldy. There is one rocky section near the top which must be taken slowly. The views are great, and the trail can be done entirely in 4HI, start to finish. Use caution if the trail is muddy, and be aware of the danger of falling rocks near the top of the trail. We didn't have any problems on this trail, it's a great route if you are new to off-road driving or are looking for a relaxing trip with a view. Looked great for mtn biking as well, but we only saw two or three people on bikes on the route. Do the route just like in the book and you won't have any problems. For (much) more of a challenge, continue on 397 past the 397A switchback.
Forest Service road 397 as it continues straight past the switchback for 397A is not listed in the book, but should be listed on the Forest map. If I had thought of writing this at the time I would have noted the mileage...next time. 397 becomes a much harder trail at this point, I would recommend skid plates, decent tires, prior off-road driving experience, and going with another vehicle. Right after a clearing is the first obstacle, a very short rocky section which can be cleared by staying to the outside of the turn. Watch your tire placement to avoid damage and crawl through in 4LO. This is not a difficult obstacle. Cruise around the meadow. After the left turn around the meadow begins a series of rolling moguls, watch your line to avoid dragging anything. You should be fine. After a clearing (a good turn-around point)is the first major obstacle, a boulder-strewn, pitted, rolling uphill on pea gravel. Please do not use the unofficial bypass to the left, stay on the main trail. Scout the obstacle first and use a spotter to negotiate the hill. Keep your momentum and drive smoothly. If you spin your wheels, consider backing down and trying again, or turning around at the meadow. This obstacle is not easy, but you and your Tundra can do it. After the hill, negotiate a little more rolling terrain before beginning the descent to a dirt road. The descent is steep in places, with pea gravel, boulders, and one spot with a minor sidehill on loose terrain. Crawl down in 4LO/L to avoid trouble, allow the vehicle in front to pass each obstacle and "land" before proceeding. There was one shelf-like spot at the time which required careful tire placement, we spotted each other and descended without trouble. The trail crosses a dirt road at this point; you can exit by going left at the road, this brings you back to Gold Camp Road. R takes you to a longer paved route back to ColoSpgs, L is a shorter washboard route back to the city. Washboard will murder your ride faster than any obstacle on this trail, and the highway route has some nice views.
Going straight through the water crossing and continuing on 397 is "Unfinished Business", we turned around since there was so much traffic at the time, but it looked driveable.
"The Forest Service on Monday closed the Pike National Forest indefinitely for the first time in at least a quarter century. Gov.Owens issued a statewide ban on fires and fireworks and closed three state parks."
I'm sick today, so I might as well add a couple of trails I've done.
Switzerland Trial is just West of Boulder, close to Sugarloaf Mountain. It's on the old railway bed from the Eldora Railroad. In book 2 (see below), it's trail 20. It's very easy, a great trail if you're new to driving off-road, and the views are beautiful. It's pretty short, 2-3 hours to find the trail (it's well-marked), drive it and return to Boulder. It's marked on maps as route 93, not an For Sale trail, so you know it's gotta be easy . Take a lunch, there are a lot of great places to picnic, including an old resort campground near the beginning of the trail--all that remains is the chimney, and during the summer it's the site of quite a few outdoor parties. If you stick to the main trail, you won't need to worry about skid plates, thrashed tires, or paint scratches, it's very open and rather smooth, and the entire main trail can be driven in 2WD. If you drive one of the offshoots, please stay off the grass, stick to the most established routes.
The best thing about this trail is the number of offshoots to more challenging terrain. This is in my opinion one of the best places to bring your truck if you've never been off-road before. The first offshoot is a small roundabout to the left, with a trail leading back in to the woods. This is a great place to get used to 4LO, as the uphill to the right is very easy. Coming down the left side is more challenging as there are several pits and whoops to descent around. For more of a challenge, come back up this way. It's very open, hard to get stuck unless you're trying, and no danger to you or your truck.
Further down the main trail is another offshoot to the left. I have driven up and down this once, however I would not recommend it again as it is not well-established at the top, and it's better to leave it as untouched as possible. Damage resulting from "unofficial" trails can lead to closure of the main trail...please don't make the same mistake I did, stay off this route.
As you pass through Sunset, you will see a sign pointing to a trail labeled "Pennsylvania Gulch". You can do this in 4LO, however it is very tight and overgrown and you will scratch your paint. Save this offshoot for the beater truck, the better offshoots are further along. After you ascend out of Sunset, you'll see a short, easy trail leading back to the left. This takes you to a beautiful view, a campsite, and a place to turn around to return to the main trail. Further along, just before a left turn, you'll see an offshoot leading to the right. This is well established, but after the initial open area the trail becomes much tighter; look before you drive as you may scratch the paint through here. It leads to more challenging terrain, be careful. After returning to the main trail, there is one more offshoot to the right like this, also leading to some interesting terrain. This and the last offshoot will take you to terrain which you will only be able to drive with a modified vehicle, but there are plenty of places to turn around. Watch your exit angle and tire placement, and one off-camber whoop which will leave you with opposing tires off the ground if you're not careful ...it's not dangerous, but if you find yourself in this position, try again...the correct line through this obstacle does not require picking up wheels.
Once you get to the parking lot at Sugarloaf, check out the trail to Sugarloaf Mountain to the East, it's a short hike for a great view.
Take Sugarloaf Road back to Boulder, it's the left turn at the parking lot that looks more like someone's driveway than a road. Turning right puts you on Sugarloaf Mountain trail, #19 in book 2.
Here is the First trail I did in Colorado with my Truck.
From I-25 or US 287; head west on US 34 toward Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park. Turn N'West on Larimer Co. Road 43 (this LCR 43 is approx 15 miles west of US 287). Approx .5 miles N'West of US 34 on LCR 43, Turn North on For Sale 128. Approx 1mile away is the connection to For Sale 153. For Sale 153 will take you to LCR 27. See Map.
FS128 is well maintained, but some wash board areas exist. For Sale 153 is where you would kick in the 4wd. Your Tundra is very capable of this route. The terrian is steep in some places. You come accross some beautiful scenic overlooks and wild life (Elk especially) are a plenty. As always, a second vehicle is needed due to some tight and slippery turns. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NEVER OFF ROAD ALONE!!! A RECOVERY VEHICLE IS HIGHLY RECOMENDED ON ANY OFF ROAD OUTING.
I needed a recovery vehicle because I did not have decent tires when I did this route and got stuck High Centered on a mound of Dirt getting out of some safari wagons way.
Any how the most challenging aspects where the few tight 75-90 degree turns and MUD. Your TUNDRA is capable, a dually F250 flat bed did this route on the same day I did.
"Starfish". Noun. 1: Multi-limbed sea creature which eats by expelling its stomach to envelop and digest its prey. 2: The mark left on the driver's or passenger's seat when a particularly nerve-wracking spot causes you to hold on tight with everything including your sphincter.
This trail begins at an For Sale campground Southeast of the Estes Park area, and it's trail 12 in book 2. To get there, the easiest way is take 36 towards Estes Park, then cut off on 7 and take a left on 72. After driving through a canyon, you'll come to the Camp Dick/Peaceful Valley Campground entrance, turn in and follow the one-lane road with pullouts all the way back to the entrance to the trail.
It's rated moderate, but when wet can be a pain in the backside in places. You'll want skidplates, the Skid Row setup (skidplates.com) is definately your best bet. If it doesn't cover the engine, steering, xmission, etc., save your money for these skidplates, they're the way to go. I did this in my stock Tundra, but I'd recommend a suspension lift and aggressive tires to make it easier on the truck. I'd also recommend a recovery device (tow strap, winch, or buddy to push) just in case, also lockers would be helpful in one section but are not necessary, and make sure you've got another vehicle with you as capable as yours. I did need a push at one point to make it through the worst obstacle on the trail, but most of the above equipment is only necessary at that single location, and only under wet/muddy conditions. A suspension lift would just reduce the topout I felt all along the trail, and make the overall ride smoother. Remember, you don't need this stuff unless it's wet, but go as prepared as you think you'll need to be, or as prepared as you can. You can do this stock, just be careful.
You may as well drop in to 4LO at the beginning, you'll need it the majority of the way even though it isn't steep. The first minor rocky section is only a few feet up the trail, where you'll find two large rocks with a dip between them. Put the center of the truck over the dip between the rocks and crawl up, it's very easy. If this worries you, turn back now, it only gets worse.
Easy going for a while, to about 1 mile in. There are two logs closely spaced across the trail, don't go too fast or you'll put wheels in the air like my friend in his Jimmy. Not healthy. Crawl across slowly and at an angle if possible, less chance of getting stuck that way. Clearance was not a problem for my Tundra. Don't be fooled by the following smooth, open section...you're about to hit the worst obstacle on the trail. If it's dry, this shouldn't be a problem, but if it's wet you'll be in for an interesting time. I arrived at this obstacle in time to watch a lifted Taco make some drivetrain noises that don't come from healthy vehicles, however the driver had taken a terrible line through the obstacle. Five other vehicles came up and down that same obstacle in the time we were waiting for our turn, all had difficulty regardless of modifications (lockers, lift, etc.). Be extremely careful mounting and descending this rocky spot. The correct path for a vehicle as large as a Tundra is to the right, then S-turn to the left between the large boulders and turn right after the front clears the second rock. Descend the same way. Use a spotter, and let the most capable vehicle with the best driver go first in case you need to help other vehicles through. I saw a Bronco land the rear bumper on one of these boulders on the way down, and it wasn't pretty. The Grand Cherokee with lockers almost ripped a body panel coming down the far right, but spotters prevented the mishap. I mounted the obstacle with very good spotting (important in a vehicle this large), but was bounced around quite a bit on the wet and loose boulders, not to mention the mud puddle at the beginning of the obstacle. If you spin, get off the accelerator, back up and try it again. This should be substantially easier if it's dry. Don't power through this obstacle, you'll break either your truck or your heart when you bounce a body panel off one of these boulders. Coming down, watch the descent line of the rear tires, compensate by making "farmer turns" through the obstacle so the rear tracks correctly. Doing this correctly will prevent your rear from landing on the rocks. This obstacle when wet causes starfish and has a high sphincter factor for a large, expensive, beautiful vehicle like this. Be careful, go slow, and you won't have a problem.
After this obstacle, the rest of the trail is pretty mellow. There are two mudholes, a creek crossing, and numerous puddles on the way up. Stay away from the first mudhole, it's even been dug out at the front and side to let you know you need to stay out. The second mudhole you don't have a choice, stay to the right entering, come back the same way, no problem. Be gentle with the creek crossing. There are plenty of places to camp, and the trail leads up to a hiking and camping backcountry area leading to the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It's 6 miles on foot to the top of Buchanan Pass. If you have differential and xfer case breathers as well as large tires (33s at least), you can do the round trip down to Coney Flats, which includes a two to three foot deep water crossing depending on the season. I have neither, so I skipped it, but my stock truck could have made it up the trail as far as I was willing to jog in and look. It's much tighter than the Middle St. Vrain trail, but doable. Again I'd recommend lockers and recovery equipment. The Coney Flats trail is rated Difficult.
Take food/water/clothing for the day, start early, go with another vehicle, and don't forget to enjoy the scenery at the top of the trail.
Oddly enough, I only saw two Jeeps, one a heavily modified Cherokee, and one not-so-obviously modified Grand Cherokee. Rest of the pack was Toyotas, almost all modified from standard (lift + tires) to ludicrous (37" boggers + the works...drool), Tacos and 4Runners all. I was the only Tundra, I think people were very surprised to see me there! Saw two unmodified vehicles the entire way, both new Tacomas w/TRD package. This trail is fine for a stock Tundra provided you have another vehicle, recovery equipment, and experienced drivers.
Rated Moderate, very mellow easy 4LO cruise up to the top of Resolution Mountain, starts at Pando, ends at the Vail Pass Rest Area. Great views, and you get to flex the iForce.
E.Amado and I are meeting at Pando (North entrance to Camp Hale) at 10:00AM, directions below.
Take I-70 to exit 171 (just West of Vail), and take US24 to Pando/Camp Hale North Entrance. The entrance is on the left side, with a large open parking area and a log "entrance" gate structure. Look for a white SR5 TRD with a grille guard (Eric) and a debadged silver SR5 TRD with the TRD decals peeling off (Me).
**phone # deleted** See ya round then Todd, have fun with the Supra
All right then, here is the scoop on McCallister Gulch,
The Trail is fairly tight and can get steep, but is easily done in 4low. This trail takes you through the area where the rugged 10th Mountain Divison (U.S. Army) used to call home, before they packed up and headed for New York. The trail is kind of narrow and in many places there is no place to turn around (you cant use a chain saw either because of the fire danger). However, the views will take your breath away. DeepStealth and I had a couple of Jeeps and a couple of dirt bikes behind us all the way up
I'll leave the more techincal info for Sean to right about.
Check out the photos for E.Amado
As always every one is encouraged to join us in the Colorado back country, just drop sean or myself a line.
Better Directions: Take I-70 to Exit 171 (Just west of Vail), take US24 (turn right) about 14 miles and look for the sign that says "PANDO" on the left. On the right is an ATV rental and paintball area. Take the dirt road straight (don't take the right turn to Camp Hale), follow as it curves to the right, then back left, and take a sharp left where the sign points to FS708/McCallister Gulch. Stay in 4HI, and STAY ON THE ROAD...eventually you'll be up on the side of the mountain, and you'll see a fork to the right with a sign indicating McCallister gulch and maintenance by the Holy Cross 4WD Club. You need to be in 4LO from here on, unless you have a spare supply of Tundra transmissions. It looks tight, but opens up quickly. Brush may contact the sides of your truck in places, but only during this short first section before the forest begins. The trail gets steep in a hurry, and take note of the pullouts you pass as well as which ones would be easiest to back in to. You will be going up, so you have the right of way, but because backing is difficult in places along this trail, please be courteous and use the pullouts if someone's heading down and you know you have a good pullout close behind you.
There were two places during the ascent which gave me a moment's pause. One was a short, rocky, stairstep-like section about 5 feet long. Point and shoot if dry, be careful if wet. The other was a hole in the trail...straddle it and you're fine. The rest is point and shoot, just crawl up steadily in 4LO.
You'll eventually come out above the treeline at a great viewpoint, you'll be able to see the Ptarmigan Pass Road (I think) below. Great place to stop and check anything you might want to check. The best view is actually up above, continue a short distance on the trail and take the right turn leading straight up the mountain. Park at the open area just before the summit, right after the loose, rocky final ascent. Be careful not to get sideways here, the soil is very rocky and loose. From the top, you can see Mt. Holy Cross to the West, a 10th Mtn Division cabin below to the East, and if you look carefully, old sniper positions on the mountain to the East from when Camp Hale was an active installation. It was clear when we were there, but occasionally you might find yourself in a cloud or even snowed upon (happened first time I was there, in late July). Check for traffic headed up the hill before you go back down. Turn right at the bottom. The trail follows the ridgeline, then drops back in to the trees. Take a right at the T, and stay on the ORIGINAL trail (the worn one) when you find two trails side by side on the downhills. The trees are a little tighter in a couple places, but turn wide and you'll be fine. You'll eventually come to a (very!) sharp left turn right before a creek crossing. You'll probably have to make a 3-point turn. Drop in and across the creek. You'll cross the creek in a few more places. Eventually the trail comes out at a wooden bridge and Ts off at Shrine Pass Road. Turning right leads you to the Vail Pass rest area, left brings you back near where you started. It's all dirt road from here, inevitable washboard included. Turn left where a spur road leads straight and to the right, left curves up through a switchback and continues to Vail Pass. Right should take you to Ptarmigan Pass, back to Pando/Camp Hale. Back on Shrine Pass Road, there's a rest stop with a viewpoint to Mt. Holy Cross, and an For Sale bathroom if you need one. The Vail Pass rest area was closed when we went.
Wait until late summer for this trail, snow lingers in the trees. If it's wet, lockers and a winch might be a good idea, but if dry your stock truck will be fine. In general, avoid this trail if it's wet or snowy, it's steep and loose enough that driving the trail wet would cause some pretty major damage, if you were able to ascend at all. When it's dry (usually the case), this is a great trail for a day trip, with beautiful views, great picnic spots, and terrain which is fun and challenging as opposed to nerve-wracking and challenging. The entire trail is point and shoot, and appropriate for a first or second time, and definately worth returning to regardless of your skill level. You can take a full-size vehicle there, but I'd hesitate to bring the long-bed dually or anything wider than a Tundra. Stock Sequoias would do just fine here as well.
Total time on trail, with our long rest stops at the viewpoints to chat with the guys on the bikes was about 4 hours. It can be done in 2, but the views are way too nice for that .
Minor correction regarding the Jeeps and the bikes: The bikes passed us, then got stuck, and we passed them...beat them to the first overlook by about five minutes . We were also the first ones to the top of Resolution Mountain, just under 12000ft...we were later joined by the two bikes, both jeeps, and a Land Cruiser...but the Tundras were there first that day !
If my lift is on by next weekend, we're going again then. If not, I'll be in the garage .
Upcoming trips--Sunday 8/11, and weekend of 8/23-8/25
Trail run this weekend, Sunday 8/11, area around St. Mary's glacier, Blackhawk, Central City. PM E.Amado or myself for details. On Saturday, I'll be up around the Switzerland Trail area in the evening, PM me if you'd like to drop in.
Over the weekend of the 23rd, I'd like to finally go to the San Juan mountains, that's the Ouray/Silverton/Gunnison/Million Dollar Highway area. The majority of the trails in the area are rated "Moderate", or appropriate for a stock Tundra with 4WD. Lotta fishing, hiking, biking, camping, and photo ops.
So...I know this forum doesn't get much exposure, but I thought I'd mention this here anyway. Our stock 4x4s and particularly the lifted trucks with greater ground clearance are capable of traversing a couple of the more difficult trails, which include water crossings which will submerge the differentials. Listed in the 'Garage' forum is a modification to extend the differential breathers so we don't get gunk in the diffs during water crossings. The breather extenders are only 4 bucks each from the dealership, plus probably about 8-10 bucks for some hose, a couple of small hose clamps and a few zip ties. I'm planning on doing this mod soon, I thought if anyone else in the area was interested in doing this we could get together some afternoon and do it. PM me if this interests you, it looks like a very easy and inexpensive mod, and is very useful anytime you sink the diffs, including the occasional boat launch as well as 4wheeling.
Yankee Boy Hill--Kingston Peak--Apex Road (and a hike to St. Mary's Glacier)
This sunday was incredible. While we got on the wrong trail coming from Central City over to Fall River Road and never made it to the top of Yankee Boy Hill, the rest of the day more than made up for the minor loss of direction.
We did the trails in the order above, though it can be driven the other way with a little more difficulty (nothing you can't do in 4LO). You can do this on a stock truck, but make sure you have a full-size spare, since the rocks on the Kingston Peak trail are awfully chunky. We didn't have a problem, but "Go Prepared". Give yourself an entire day for this trip, and don't forget a camera like we did !
The trail starts just outside Central City. Make sure you have plenty of gas, since it's easy to get off track in the first section, and the only gas is about 5 miles down the road from Blackhawk, and it's 20 cents a gallon more expensive than Denver . Total gas for the trail was 1/4 tank, and that included some driving around on Fall River Road.
If you're going this route, get a copy of the book listed at the beginning of this thread, or have a very good For Sale trail map. Once you get to the cemetary just outside Central City, you're pretty much on your own, the trails are not well marked and the trails actually seemed to have been renumbered from what was listed on the map and in the book. If you can start at the cemetary and end up back on Fall River Road, you did well enough . For the moment, I guess the best description is...follow the trail from the first cemetary to the second cemetary, take the middle trail when you come out of the trees to a clearing and have a choice of left or right (this is well-marked in the guidebook), then stay to the left at the forks beyond as well as staying on the main trail, then take a right where the trail t's off. To immediately get back to Fall River Road, take a sharp left at a switchback. Going straight might take you to Yankee Boy Hill, we'll try this next time. The trail is narrow and rocky, but not a problem. No sphincter clenchers. Great scenery.
Come out on Fall River Road wherever, and I highly recommend driving up to the top of Fall River Road, and hiking the 3/4 of a mile to St. Mary's Glacier. It's beautiful.
To get to Kingston Peak, you'll need to find your way through the small community of Alice...it's not difficult as long as you find the first turnoff. Alice is marked by a row of mailboxes and a wooden signpost with an arrow. As soon as you make that turn (it's on the left if you're going up Fall River Road), there's a right hand turn at about 0.1 miles in, Silver Creek road I think it was, but you're better off following the directions in the book. You'll take a few switchbacks higher and higher on the hill, eventually coming to Hillside road, which peters out at another, rougher switchback. This unmarked switchback is Hilltop road...turn right. If you continue straight, the road dissolves off the edge, so you'll know you went the wrong way. Hilltop road is effectively the start of the trail. You may as well drop in to 4LO at this point--you could do it in 4HI or 2wd, but you'd really put the hurt on your truck. You can't really get lost at this point, there aren't any offshoots. Enjoy the view, stick to the road more traveled, and get out and walk around a lot. It's beautiful up here. Sign the guestbook. On the other side, you'll find a wide open parking area, and if you're lucky, there will be two not-terribly-deep mud puddles.
We played in the mud for about 1/2 an hour. Eric demonstrated that 4x4 Access Cab V8s can fly (I'll let him explain), and we both turned our trucks a new color, which we think Toyota should start using...Eric figured they could call it "mountain sand" and it would sell . We saw a few people who I think we made feel bad...a group of older folks in a jeep (one of which immediately said "oh, don't splash us!" as if we were about to...I think her husband wanted to drive through, but...too bad ), and a family in an F-250 (he felt the need to flex, and tore off up the road either out of anger or embarassment, guess that big, capable truck wouldn't cut it in a mud puddle). Mud is fun. Never, ever take your truck in a mud hole in an alpine meadow...that's rude. Stick to the mud puddles in mountaintop parking lots, and you're ok. When you hit the puddles, keep moving...the wings you'll send up will go several feet over the top of the truck, and your truck will be a uniform tan color. Might want to drain the pumpkins after all this, and now I'm installing those breather extenders first chance I get.
Eventually, just like Kermit and Fozzy, you'll come upon a fork in the road. This is actually Apex Road, right takes you to Apex and back to Blackhawk, left takes you to Rollinsville. Follow whichever road you like, they're both easy at this point.
This is the route we're taking on August 24th or 25th. Come join us . The driving and the hiking are both incredible, and you certainly don't have to play in the puddles unless you want to.
8/17 (Saturday)--Offroad Solutions (www.offroadsolutions.com) in Wheat Ridge is having an open house, BBQ and truck show. I was thinking this would be a great time for a few CO people to meet up. Sounds like Tracy (T's Toy) is already planning on dropping in, I'll be there, come join us.
8/24 (Saturday) or 8/25 (Sunday)--Same loop as the previous post, trails up by St. Mary's glacier. Nothing a stock truck or 1st time driver can't do. I'm thinking Saturday might be a better day, more people might be able to make it. Come see A.J.'s (PnkRck13) Tundra on 35s . This is an all-day trip, and requires 1/4 tank of gas for the trails plus gas to and from...FYI, don't expect to gas up in Blackhawk . They forgot a gas station when they put in all those casinos, and you don't want to get it 5 miles down the road where you'll be gouged so bad you'll want a band-aid.
Well I guess I have to explain why I did not file a flight plan to the FAA later.
As sean mentioned in the previous posting we came across a couple of mud ponds yesterday and could not resist. After about 10 mins of doing the circle track mud bogging loop. I realized that there was a small incline like the ones we used to ramp our BMX's to try to clear the mud. Well my inner child surfaced and the thought of evil canevil (the stunt bike dude) filled the mind of this 8 year old trapped in a mans body. I decided to see if I could make my tundra AIRBORNE (later I'll talk to those 82nd guys).
I backed away from the brown hole about 150-200ft??? I prepared for take off by sticking the truck in 2 and giving it gas. I had a couple of brown rooster tails (maybe one big dirt cloud, was not looking at it) Released the breaks and before you know it, I hit that ramp and wa la, I was flying!!!
The landing was hard like those 747 pilots landing through heavy cross winds. It felt like I put my fan through my fire wall. I quickly got out of the mud to survey the damage. I was thinking "my God what have I done...oh $#!T, oh $#!T, oh $#!T!!!!!!!!!
I get out of the cab and saw noting at first. Then I began to jump like I was GONZO winning the 2002 world series. After, I did notice that my front bumper angle changed a couple degrees and my left quarter pannle shifted a little, but nothing to cry about and something I can return to normal.
I don't know how much air I took, but Sean seemed to say I had alot of it. This is the only time I will ever do something like this. I am turning in my wings. Four tires touching is the only way to go.
I guess tundras are land critters, amphibious at best!
...my only regret was not getting a baseline ramp test.
Incredible sight, all those heavily modified Toyotas, from old Trucks to 4Runners and Tacomas, the tricked-out Slee Offroad Landcruiser, and the Offroad Solutions Tundra (it's a tow vehicle, but really pretty).
Dangit...I had a good post here, and my browser freaked out...so I'm gonna make this shorter than it probably should be.
An '01 doublecab Tacoma on 3" SAWs in front and 3" Alcans in back with stock tires gets 4 bars on an articulation ramp, same as an older Tacoma with about the same lift and 33s.
A Tacoma with 2" spacers and blocks only gets two and a half or three bars, even on 33s.
Heavily modified rock crawlers get 5 or 6 bars, as do heavily modified Land Cruisers.
I was amazed, the guys at the shop can do just about anything. I don't think they've done anything on a Tundra yet, but I think maybe I'll get a set of their rock sliders (really nice!), and let them poke around with the truck for a few days and explore the possibilities. Now I know I can get a custom rear suspension, something like a live axle with control arms and coils like I want.
It was amazing...bug me sometime, I could talk about this for hours.
Amado & Deepstealth's Colorado Off-Road Thread
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FS 397 & FS 397A
Note from CNN Re: Pike Nat'l Forest
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. Take a lunch, there are a lot of great places to picnic, including an old resort campground near the beginning of the trail--all that remains is the chimney, and during the summer it's the site of quite a few outdoor parties. If you stick to the main trail, you won't need to worry about skid plates, thrashed tires, or paint scratches, it's very open and rather smooth, and the entire main trail can be driven in 2WD. If you drive one of the offshoots, please stay off the grass, stick to the most established routes.
Roosevelt Nat'l Forest: Middle St. Vrain Road
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McCallister Gulch Detailed Info
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Upcoming trips--Sunday 8/11, and weekend of 8/23-8/25
. Total gas for the trail was 1/4 tank, and that included some driving around on Fall River Road.
. For the moment, I guess the best description is...follow the trail from the first cemetary to the second cemetary, take the middle trail when you come out of the trees to a clearing and have a choice of left or right (this is well-marked in the guidebook), then stay to the left at the forks beyond as well as staying on the main trail, then take a right where the trail t's off. To immediately get back to Fall River Road, take a sharp left at a switchback. Going straight might take you to Yankee Boy Hill, we'll try this next time. The trail is narrow and rocky, but not a problem. No sphincter clenchers. Great scenery.
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