Over the past couple of years, I've found myself upgrading parts vs simply replacing them with their OEM-spec replacements. As many on this site know, these types of upgrades typically aren't cheap and frequently find themselves being completed when time and funds allow. Fortunately, my fiancee approves of my addiction and enjoys primitive camping/ wheeling as much as I do(!) My decision to go with dual transfer cases would be no exception. It would still be a number of months before I would be able to actually use the dual cases because I was still running worn-out all terrains but I was determined to find more challenging terrain where I could try things out.
In past trips to Uwharrie National Forest, there were two trails which I was unwilling to attempt: Dickey Bell and Daniel. For the past 5 years, I'd been running a larger wheel /lower profile all terrain combo which had worked well for general trail use but as I now had dual cases, I wanted tires which I could air down. I finally decided to bite the bullet and get KM2s in the 305 65 17 flavor (33s) along with a set of Hutchinson Bead Locks which would be equal parts peace of mind on solo snow wheeling trips and new set of wheels since- why not?!
Here's our first camp spot which is on Dickey Bell; one of the trails. Actually it is about 300 feet or so from Dutch John road and is adjacent a small stream which can be used to wash hands, clean cooking utensils and so on so there's some utility in it.
Side Note: I was curious whether I could run a bug zapper off a DC inverter. I'd like to visit Alaska someday and have heard the bugs (mosquitos) are insane. So I hooked up the bug zapper... At one point, there were literally 30-40 beetles swarming around the bug light:
They were too big to fit in the grate so they just kept on clumsily bumping into everything possible and eventually just gave up trying to fly into the light and landed on nearby flora.
But in the morning, we found this guy:
OK, back to the story...
Earlier in the day, we ran into a small group of folks from a local 4x4 club: SE FJ Wheelers who were running some of the trails. One of the folks mentioned that they would be doing a run the next day on Dickey Bell and the back side of Daniel- perfect! So there we had it- vehicle mods complete and even found a group to tag along with on the same trails we had planned on running. What are the odds of that?
It had rained earlier in the week so not quite as dusty as it could have been.
A little further up, the trail get a little interesting but again, nothing too dramatic.
Here is one of the obstacles on Daniel. It doesn't look very challenging but with a little bit of mud or water, it can get a little slipperly.
All made it safe:
A littler further up, Ana found a spot to take some video of the dual transfer cases in action:
[video]https://youtu.be/OGmMu3HmAkY[/video]
None of the other vehicles had any issue here but they had automatics and V8s. I was a bit outgunned with my 3RZ and 5spd but the lower gears helped make everything we came across pretty non-dramatic.
Once atop Daniel from the easy side, we had a chance to see someone who wasn't having such a good time. Those who saw the incident said that the jeep had bounced on a rock which damaged its brake lines resulting in a total brake failure. The jeep then careened down the hill in reverse and actually went off the embankment before slamming into a tree some 30 feet off the trail. In this picture, we see the recovery in process:
After assessing that all was well and under control, the group opted to head back and run some other trails.
Here's another view of the rock slab in a previous pic:
A few hundred feet from the slab, there's this rock obstacle which I used to get a feel for descending using dual transfer cases. On the way up, we had to take the bypass as a Jeep was making its way down. This time though, I wanted to give it a try:
[video]https://youtu.be/2odnWuX8_yU[/video]
Lesson: The rock slip caught me off guard and I had to step on the brakes- next time, I'll just activate the lockers...
I thought this might be a place where the sliders would be needed but there didn't come close to touching:
Also, I wanted to see whether my 'new' front bumpstops would prevent the new taller tires from contacting my fenders and found the perfect place to do so: "Poser Rock"
Note: One of the big concerns I had with running IFS w/ dual lockers + dual cases was busting CV joints when running difficult trails en route to the perfect campsite. By intentionally limiting travel via keeping F+R sway bars connected and lowering bump stops accordingly, I believe I am able to keep driveline components within safe parameters. In addition to limiting travel, I'm also running heavier duty CV joint to help keep things together. Up front, we have Wheeler's Superbumps (front position) and left the factory ones in back position. Out back, I am running a 3" drop spacer which prevents the rear tire from munching on the fender upon full compression. The downside to limiting suspension travel is a lot of wheel lifting and on a number of instances, I had either a front or rear tire in the air. Running lockers though, I couldn't always tell when.
After a day of toying around, we set up camp:
And on the way back home, another milestone:
All in all, a nice trip and an opportunity to try out new mods. Next time, I might try out some of the other more interesting lines out on Uwharrie's trails...
In past trips to Uwharrie National Forest, there were two trails which I was unwilling to attempt: Dickey Bell and Daniel. For the past 5 years, I'd been running a larger wheel /lower profile all terrain combo which had worked well for general trail use but as I now had dual cases, I wanted tires which I could air down. I finally decided to bite the bullet and get KM2s in the 305 65 17 flavor (33s) along with a set of Hutchinson Bead Locks which would be equal parts peace of mind on solo snow wheeling trips and new set of wheels since- why not?!
Here's our first camp spot which is on Dickey Bell; one of the trails. Actually it is about 300 feet or so from Dutch John road and is adjacent a small stream which can be used to wash hands, clean cooking utensils and so on so there's some utility in it.
Side Note: I was curious whether I could run a bug zapper off a DC inverter. I'd like to visit Alaska someday and have heard the bugs (mosquitos) are insane. So I hooked up the bug zapper... At one point, there were literally 30-40 beetles swarming around the bug light:
They were too big to fit in the grate so they just kept on clumsily bumping into everything possible and eventually just gave up trying to fly into the light and landed on nearby flora.
But in the morning, we found this guy:
OK, back to the story...
Earlier in the day, we ran into a small group of folks from a local 4x4 club: SE FJ Wheelers who were running some of the trails. One of the folks mentioned that they would be doing a run the next day on Dickey Bell and the back side of Daniel- perfect! So there we had it- vehicle mods complete and even found a group to tag along with on the same trails we had planned on running. What are the odds of that?
It had rained earlier in the week so not quite as dusty as it could have been.
A little further up, the trail get a little interesting but again, nothing too dramatic.
Here is one of the obstacles on Daniel. It doesn't look very challenging but with a little bit of mud or water, it can get a little slipperly.
All made it safe:
A littler further up, Ana found a spot to take some video of the dual transfer cases in action:
[video]https://youtu.be/OGmMu3HmAkY[/video]
None of the other vehicles had any issue here but they had automatics and V8s. I was a bit outgunned with my 3RZ and 5spd but the lower gears helped make everything we came across pretty non-dramatic.
Once atop Daniel from the easy side, we had a chance to see someone who wasn't having such a good time. Those who saw the incident said that the jeep had bounced on a rock which damaged its brake lines resulting in a total brake failure. The jeep then careened down the hill in reverse and actually went off the embankment before slamming into a tree some 30 feet off the trail. In this picture, we see the recovery in process:
After assessing that all was well and under control, the group opted to head back and run some other trails.
Here's another view of the rock slab in a previous pic:
A few hundred feet from the slab, there's this rock obstacle which I used to get a feel for descending using dual transfer cases. On the way up, we had to take the bypass as a Jeep was making its way down. This time though, I wanted to give it a try:
[video]https://youtu.be/2odnWuX8_yU[/video]
Lesson: The rock slip caught me off guard and I had to step on the brakes- next time, I'll just activate the lockers...
I thought this might be a place where the sliders would be needed but there didn't come close to touching:
Also, I wanted to see whether my 'new' front bumpstops would prevent the new taller tires from contacting my fenders and found the perfect place to do so: "Poser Rock"
Note: One of the big concerns I had with running IFS w/ dual lockers + dual cases was busting CV joints when running difficult trails en route to the perfect campsite. By intentionally limiting travel via keeping F+R sway bars connected and lowering bump stops accordingly, I believe I am able to keep driveline components within safe parameters. In addition to limiting travel, I'm also running heavier duty CV joint to help keep things together. Up front, we have Wheeler's Superbumps (front position) and left the factory ones in back position. Out back, I am running a 3" drop spacer which prevents the rear tire from munching on the fender upon full compression. The downside to limiting suspension travel is a lot of wheel lifting and on a number of instances, I had either a front or rear tire in the air. Running lockers though, I couldn't always tell when.
After a day of toying around, we set up camp:
And on the way back home, another milestone:
All in all, a nice trip and an opportunity to try out new mods. Next time, I might try out some of the other more interesting lines out on Uwharrie's trails...
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