Arkansas Ozark Nat. Forest 9/20/06

[jrsteffes]

I plan to vist the Ozark National Forest for the first run in my new Trooper! It dosent seem that there are to many arkansans on the Expedition Portal so I plan to go it alone (with my wife and dog). We plan to do some exploring on the 20th of September and then camp out that evening at www.turnerbend.com. I have visited this area before but with littel travel on the many OHV trails. I belive that most are fire roads with a few side spurs. I will take lots of pictures and post them up upon return.

http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/index.html

 

[articulate]

I plan to vist the Ozark National Forest for the first run in my new Trooper!...I will take lots of pictures and post them up upon return.

http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/index.html

Super! I understand that the Ozarks are incredible, so I can't wait to see your photos and hear about the trip.

Do you suppose you'll get some fall colors in the vegetation? I have no idea if the trees there are deciduous or not.

A husband, wife, and dog cruising in the "outback." Very cool.

:friday:

Mark

 

[jrsteffes]

Here are a few pic's from a previous trip to the area. Hopefully some of the trees have started to change but its probably a littel early.

 

[rgsiii]

I have been a few times around Cass, AR. The TLCA's Green Country Cruisers has a Poker Run in the spring. Here is a link with some of their pictures in the trails part of the site:

http://www.okoffroad.com/gcc/

Are you planning on staying on the roads or going off road?

The trails will make your new vehicle old quickly.

 

[jrsteffes]

Thanks for the info!!

Could I run Mountain Creek Trail stock? I will be at it alone and do not have a winch.......looks like some serious mud!
I know its not smart to off-road as a single truck so maybe I should wait to find someone else who wants to give it a try? I was planning on mainly fire roads with the wife. I will have a cell phone and some 12 miles FRS radios, but the phones dont work much out there as Im sure you know.

 

[jrsteffes]

Im back from camping. Me and my wife had alot of fun. The Trooper mainly saw forest service roads with a few that required 4 wheel drive. It seems to be quite capable and I am looking forward to some of my first mods! Here are some pics!

 

[rgsiii]

Northern Arkansas is awfully pretty and with the weather cooling down it ought to be nice.

I forgot to mention that for the Land Cruiser casual trips, they allow people with other vehicles to come along.

 

[jrsteffes]

Awsome, I'd love the chance to wheel with you guys some time! I am looking at my Trooper as the poor mans Landcrusier. Since Troopers dont hold there value anywhere near as well as Crusiers I was able to get into a late model suv with true off-roadablity. The mods on my vehical will probably happen rather slowly so I plan to enjoy it in near stock form along the way. Thanks for the info, the picks on your club site were sweet and one day I hope theres a Crusier in my future! I noticed that the write up on the trail in Cass said that stock vehicals were ok, you think the Trooper could make it through?

 

[rgsiii]

I don't think you would have a problem in most spots. In a few areas most people would have trouble. Troopers are nice vehicles--I owned three and other than routine sorts of stuff had something like $400 combined worth of repairs on all of them. I had amazing luck.

 

[Dave]

Nice! The Ozarks are beautiful. Have you guys had much rain the last part of this summer? We've been pretty dry here in Missouri, don't think we'll have much for fall colors.

We'll have to do a Southern MO/Northern AR get together sometime.

 

[jrsteffes]

Nice! The Ozarks are beautiful. Have you guys had much rain the last part of this summer? We've been pretty dry here in Missouri, don't think we'll have much for fall colors.

We'll have to do a Southern MO/Northern AR get together sometime.

Sounds great. I realy want to give the Trooper a good workout! We havent had much rain but I'll be back in Cass next month for a camping trip with my father-in-law so we'll see how it looks!

 

[jrsteffes]

Ok.......two questions/opinions?

1. Should I remove the Westin step bars? They hang low on the Trooper but I thought that they may help protect it till other mods (rock sliders) are in place.

2. Should I remove the spare tire cover? This is more of a looks thing and although the tire that is on the back is a nice new tire, its not a match for the other 4. Also the wheel on the spare is silver but not the aluminum that the rest are. In the end all 5 will match and I will find a rim for the spare, but hard to convince the wife there is a need for new tires when the current tires are almost new.

 

[articulate]

Ok.......two questions/opinions?

1. Should I remove the Westin step bars? They hang low on the Trooper but I thought that they may help protect it till other mods (rock sliders) are in place.

2. Should I remove the spare tire cover? This is more of a looks thing and although the tire that is on the back is a nice new tire, its not a match for the other 4. Also the wheel on the spare is silver but not the aluminum that the rest are. In the end all 5 will match and I will find a rim for the spare, but hard to convince the wife there is a need for new tires when the current tires are almost new.

Good questions. If they don't prevent you from having fun and going on trips....keep 'em! Okay, I jest a little. As far as those Westin bars, they may just get thrashed if you keep them on for a rocky trail. If you pitch 'em now you may be able to get a few bucks on eBay. And without them, you just might encourage yourself to get some steel sliders. I see that as a win-win.

Hey! Nice trip, too BTW.

 

[jrsteffes]

Good questions. If they don't prevent you from having fun and going on trips....keep 'em! Okay, I jest a little. As far as those Westin bars, they may just get thrashed if you keep them on for a rocky trail. If you pitch 'em now you may be able to get a few bucks on eBay. And without them, you just might encourage yourself to get some steel sliders. I see that as a win-win.

Hey! Nice trip, too BTW.

Thanks for the feedback Mark. The trees were all still as green as could be, but I will be back in the area in 1 month so maybe then they will be changing.