Rubicon: Expeditions West Tacoma and EarthRoamer XV-JP

[Scott Brady]

Next week, a small team and I will be "crossing the con" in the Expeditions West Tacoma and the new EarthRoamer XV-JP.

Crossing the Rubicon is one of the final milestones for my truck, something I wanted to do as a proof of concept, showing that a vehicle could drive 80 on the highway, be configured to drive RTW, travel to Arctic conditions and still have enough capability to cross the famous Rubicon.

The same basic concept applies to the XV-JP, but it takes another step up on the base camp comfort scale with inside shower and toilet, heater, inside cooking etc.

We will be documenting the crossing on HDV (two shooters) and with DSLRs.

I have been over the 'con a half dozen times now (4 times in the last two weeks), and know it will not be that easy in my LWB, but we will just take out time, drive conservatively and preserve the drivetrain.

For the most part, I will be driving the XV-JP, Chris (BajaTaco) will be driving my Tacoma.

Pictures soon.

 

[cshontz]

Pictures soon.

Tease.

Awesome, Scott! I'm looking forward to your pictures and stories!

 

[Ryanmb21]

Awesome, looking forward to the story and pictures!

 

[7wt]

Sweet! I can't wait to see the pics and the video when it comes out.

 

[articulate]

Crossing the Rubicon is one of the final milestones for my truck, something I wanted to do as a proof of concept, showing that a vehicle could drive 80 on the highway, be configured to drive RTW, travel to Arctic conditions and still have enough capability to cross the famous Rubicon.

Rick Springfield wrote the song Jesse's Girl and won a Grammy for it in the early eighties.

Your truck is the Jessie's Girl of 2007.

The chorus would go like this:

You know, I wish that I had Scotty's truck
I wish that I had Scotty's truck
Where can I find a truck like that

 

[kcowyo]

Congrats on finally getting the EW Taco to the Rubicon. Such a milestone should be celebrated. I'm sure Chris will be gentle....

In addition to photos, I'd be interested in hearing more about the XV-JP.
Will there be different floor plans for production or are they all equipped the same?
All of 'em gonna be green?
How does the Loftop affect the trail handling?
What's the ride like on the highway at 75MPH with a crosswind?, etc.


*Please excuse F'n quoting Lao Tsu and Rick Springfield in the same post. Too much baby, not enough sleep.

 

[adventureduo]

Right on Scott! If you need any video tape, fire me a email and i'll take care of you guys.

Your Taco wont have any problems... people have been doing it on 31"-33" tires for the last 20 years open with no lockers.

 

[ujoint]

Good luck, can't wait to see the JK-EV in action! Don't break it!

 

[Scott Brady]

The trail is pretty rough this year. The Property line is wicked fun.

It is pretty easy in a 90" WB Jeep. It will be quite fun in my nearly three foot longer WB Tacoma.

I am not worried about it though. We will just take out time and work towards little to no damage.

After this, we will be in the Whites and then Mono Lake area. Maybe we will bump into you.

 

[Howard70]

White Mountains

Hello Scott:

You mention going to the White Mountains after running the Rubicon. If you're looking for some challenging trails there I can suggest two. We tried both in July in our DC Tacoma but we were alone and probably more timid than we needed to be so we were unable to complete either of them. They can be run together if you do 2N05 first.

1. Forest Service Road 2N05 - loop. N end White Mtns, off Hwy 6, S of Montgomery Pass. W end of the loop in high Pinyon forest. E end in sage flats & rolling foothills, lots of wild horses in the area, but not always easy to find. The loop is generally old mine roads, some graded, some were graded and have now deteriorated into washed out two tracks. W end and E end not really challenging, but the connection between the two up N Pinchot Canyon is great, then up Sugarloaf Canyon there are some steep climbs, but nothing really tough. The obstacle that turned us was some off-camber sections across an old mine tailing at where the trail starts to climb up towards Sugarloaf Canyon from Pinchot Canyon. ATV had been going through there and it just seemed a bit chancy for us by ourselves with the Maggiolina up on top. Some shovel work and time would have been enough.

If you do this one, head S on largely unmarked trails after reaching the top of Sugarloaf Canyon to the top of Mustang Point for spectacular views of Boundary Peak and the E face of the Sierra Nevada.

2. Forest Road 2N07 to 1S61 to the Trailhead for Boundary Peak, then connect to IN14 by climbing over a 10,000 ft pass (well 9,900) just S of Kennedy Point via a side canyon of Trail Canyon and exit NW through Queen Canyon. At the trailhead there is a great trout stream and a pond honestly filled with trout. We made it to within 200 vertical feet of the saddle from the E side, but it was late and the final vertical feet were really loose & torn up so we didn't complete the climb. I walked to the saddle and the views are incredible - great old stamp mill down in Queen Canyon. If you take this route from the east, there is a cut off from 2N07 that is a spectacular way to get to 1S61, it appears without a number on the Inyo National Forest map. Basically look for the cutoff that crosses Mustang Canyon high up in the canyon rather than down at the foothills.

There are many more great old mine roads & trails to explore at this end of the White Mountains. Delorme Topo USA 2006 shows most of the numbered Forest Service Roads as does the Garmin Topo 2008 which can be uploaded to your GPS if you have a Garmin that accepts maps.

If you want GPS tracks for our routes there let me know. We had a great time in the area for two days and saw one other vehicle.

Howard L. Snell

 

[Scott Brady]

Just a few more days and we are off to the con. I put the skid plate back on the Demello front skid frame (the frame itself is one hell of a skid). I am considering removing the front swaybar again.

The biggest challenge will be fitting all of the gear in the truck along with Chris and Pasquale with no trailer this time

 

[adventureduo]

The biggest challenge will be fitting all of the gear in the truck along with Chris and Pasquale with no trailer this time

One way, Take MRE's and leave the cooking tools at home.

 

[awalter]

One way, Take MRE's and leave the cooking tools at home.

With Scott & Pasquale, never. Chris doubtful.:steak: :eatchicke :chef:

 

[p1michaud]

Exciting times!

Next week, a small team and I will be "crossing the con" in the Expeditions West Tacoma and the new EarthRoamer XV-JP.

Crossing the Rubicon is one of the final milestones for my truck, something I wanted to do as a proof of concept, showing that a vehicle could drive 80 on the highway, be configured to drive RTW, travel to Arctic conditions and still have enough capability to cross the famous Rubicon.

The same basic concept applies to the XV-JP, but it takes another step up on the base camp comfort scale with inside shower and toilet, heater, inside cooking etc.

We will be documenting the crossing on HDV (two shooters) and with DSLRs.

I have been over the 'con a half dozen times now (4 times in the last two weeks), and know it will not be that easy in my LWB, but we will just take out time, drive conservatively and preserve the drivetrain.

For the most part, I will be driving the XV-JP, Chris (BajaTaco) will be driving my Tacoma.

Pictures soon.

I'm fully confident you guys are up to the challenge and will make it with minimal damage. Don't skimp on the pics and videos for us desk warriors that will be waiting for your every tid bit of advendure drooling...:chowtime:

The chorus would go like this:

You know, I wish that I had Scotty's truck
I wish that I had Scotty's truck
Where can I find a truck like that

You just crack me up! :jump:

Cheers and best of luck!
P

 

[kcowyo]

bump....