MOAB 2014 RV FORUM RALLY, MAY 11-17, 2014

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Kim, was this the couple that we met last August in Ouray that you and Christi were with?

Mike.
 
skyking4ar2 said:
Yep, the very ones! Your folks got her and Christi their new career in the zombie movie!

Awesome.  They seemed like great people.

Mike.
 
FYI, I posted in a Astronomy thread, If anyone is interested I can bring my Telescope. It's big and bulky but has a auto GoTo  function and autotracking. If anyone would like to get together for some stargazing let me know and I will bring it!
 
I just received my copy of Guide to Moab, UT Backroads & 4 Wheel Drive Trails by Charles Wells. It has 60 maps of trails and such from easy to difficult. It might give me an idea of what to look for while in Moab, I'm hoping.
 
captsteve said:
That's the book i have! It is awesome!

I read through the book yesterday, and it is chocked full of good information. It was good to get a little trail protocol refresher course in the introduction too.
 
Another good resource is a website called Traildamage.com.  They list the trails by state and have a pretty good description as well as rating scale.  You can click on the scale and it will tell you about the criteria they use for rating the trails.

Granted it is subjective but I have found them to be fairly accurate to how I would have rated them.  But then again, I am not saying I am right either. ;D

Mike.
 
zmotorsports said:
Another good resource is a website called Traildamage.com.  They list the trails by state and have a pretty good description as well as rating scale.  You can click on the scale and it will tell you about the criteria they use for rating the trails.

Granted it is subjective but I have found them to be fairly accurate to how I would have rated them.  But then again, I am not saying I am right either. ;D

Mike.

Thanks for the website, I will never ceased to be amazed at what exists for free on the interweb.
 
I was just wondering if the rally includes any "organized" trail rides and if so, which trails are being considered. I've got this new book and I was hoping that some of the trails everyone is interested in might be in the book.
 
Oscar Mike said:
I was just wondering if the rally includes any "organized" trail rides and if so, which trails are being considered. I've got this new book and I was hoping that some of the trails everyone is interested in might be in the book.

Define "organized". ;D

There is a discussion at the first of the rally on what trails and when people would like to do them throughout the week.  Suggestions are thrown out and discussed.  Keep in mind these are not set in stone as from day to day people may opt to do something else or another suggestion may arise.

Each evening at Happy Hour the days activities are reported on and each "next days" activities are generally solidified so there is a solid plan for the morning.  For off-roading trails we generally meet and line up at the road heading out of the RV Park @ around 9:00 for a driver's meeting to inform everyone exactly where we will be going just in case anyone gets separated from the group due to turns or lights, etc.

Keep in mind also that there are a ton of other things to do in Moab if you and your wife don't want to wheel every day.  Some of us do but some don't.  There are other groups that seem to be doing other things simultaneously with the off-roading for those that want to see other aspects of Moab.

The group activities are awesome as the people are what make them great, but if you don't want to do the things the groups are doing don't feel like you have to, you can take off by yourselves as well.

Mike.
 
Also, most of the trails that we run are in the Moab Off-Road Trails book and sometimes they may be "altered" a bit depending on time and/or recommendations.  There are several in the group that also attend the FMCA Four-Wheelers Rally (lucky buggers) the week prior and they get good ideas for trails that are incorporated into the RV Forum Rally.

Last year we did a great version of Behind the Rocks without all of the extreme hardcore obstacles.  Terry and Frank led the group based on a version that they did the week prior.  It was not listed in the book but they had mapped it out during the FMCA Rally the week earlier.

Mike.
 
Organized loosely defined: "not going out alone". I have matured enough to know not to go out alone in an area that I am unfamiliar with. Nor would I want to inhibit anyone's fun, if you know what I mean.
 
I'm with ya Mike! I think we will be in good hands at the rally and am as excited as can be to learn from the members that do this stuff on a regular basis.

DW is leery about going on the trails, I guess I should not have shown her the You Tube videos of jeeps flopping. LOL  She will go at least once and most likely be out of the Jeep taking pictures as much as in the Jeep riding.
 
I guess I should not have shown her the You Tube videos of jeeps flopping.

On the trails I've done that were led by Terry and/or Frank, that's not even remotely been a problem. Unless you're careless in your driving (in bad spots you generally have spotters to help), it takes more extreme trails to do that.
 
    CaptainSteve
    After a bad experience offroading in Quartzsite, where the trails were chewed up by UTV's, we showed up at the 2010 Moab Rally adamant that we were not going to do any offroading.  We went to the Sunday night Happy Hour, and were convinced to try the Monday run up Onion Creek and over the LaSalle Mountains.  At no point did we feel uncomfortable or at risk, and we were so impressed with how well maintained the trails were that we went on some type of trip every day while we were there.  Our favourite was going up via Gemini Bridge, hiking the bridges, then up until we hit the return via Long Creek Valley, where there is I'd say around a mile of switchback ending through a rock tunnel.  Taken slowly, coming down, it was a breeze!
    We saw normal sedans, mountain bikes, halftons with lawnchairs on the flatbed, and all sorts of not specially equipped vehicles.  All you really needed was a vehicle that had decent clearance.

Ed
 
Don't worry about the trails, no one wants to see someone hurt or damage their Jeep.  The group does a wide range of various rated trails.  Some as easy as Onion Creek where a 2-wheel drive sedan could go, and some more difficult rated trails such as Hell's Revenge or Top of the World.  Even on the more difficult rated trails, a competent driver with a good spotter can get through with no body damage and have a great time pushing themselves and their Jeep a little.  Actually Wendy and Mike have a VW Beetle that they flat-tow and they routinely take it out on various easy rated trails.  There was one trail we did two years ago that I don't think was accurately rated as it should have been a moderate, but their little Beetle did great, only drug bottom a couple of times. ;)

At the Happy Hour discussions they are very forthcoming with information about the trails and want everyone to be comfortable with the trail choice(s).

I can also tell you from a fairly new member of the forum that the entire group will make you feel very welcomed regardless of whether you have Moab experience or not or any off-roading experience or not.  Our first time to the RV Forum rally was in 2010 and we were welcomed as if we had been long time friends.  Absolutely a fantastic group of people who want nothing more than for everyone to enjoy themselves and be safe.

Mike.
 

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