Grand Slam West (Moab) Cancelled - 2018

[GCWJ]

Grand Slam West (Moab) Cancelled - 2018


http://gsw.mallcrawlin.com/

Quote:
"Since 1998 Grand Slam West has been hosting Grand Cherokee enthusiasts and their rigs in Moab, UT. We have had an amazing 20 years of wheeling with awesome people, and greatly appreciate everyone who has come out with us, and all of our wonderful sponsors over the years. Unfortunately attendance at the event has continued to dwindle as the Grand Cherokee becomes less and less of a viable rig for the level of trails Moab has to offer. Due to our declining attendance the planners committee has decided Grand Slam West as we've known it is no longer viable. We are all saddened by this decision, as Grand Slam West holds a special place in all of our hearts, but we feel the time needed to plan the event and the costs associated with it have simply become too much.

Thank you again to everyone who has come out to GSW and all of our great sponsors who have supported us over the years

The event couldn't have happened without you all and we will miss you.

GSW Planners"
This is very sad. I've only had a GC for two years and I have been making incremental repairs and upgrades in the hopes of attending this event in 2-3 more years' time. I didn't get to go

I posted this in the NAGCA forum and cross-posted it here, in case this was an event someone (like me) had been looking forward to. It's more an off-road event but adventuring people may have had it on their bucket lists like I did.

 

[Weeds]

I can't reach the page. Does it still exist?

 

[bearman512]

Go to the Grand Slam Facebook page for the most up to date info.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Nothing has been posted on the GSW Facebook page since that announcement was made, I'm the admin of the FB page and was a long time member of the Planner's Committee for GSW. I'll probably be shutting the FB page down at some point here soon. It's a weird feeling right now as this is normally when we're either out in Moab or getting ready to go within the next few days.

 

[Hackopotomus]

I've had 5 ZJ's, 2 WJ's and a WK so a big Grand Cherokee fan! Although I have two XJ's now, been thinking about getting another WJ and doing a mild build for running around locally (I have a bunch of parts for the WJ).

I did a Grand Slam in AZ, not sure of the date but seems like 20 years ago and a GSW. Sad that the NAGCA is pretty dead and there are no more Grand Slams. Are Grand Cherokees just not popular anymore? I see a lot of newer ones being built.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Hack, sounds like it was a Grand Slam Southwest (GSSW) that you did in AZ, probably with Kevin and crew? What's your name? I've been to every GSW since 2001 so I'm sure we've met or at least know some common people.

There are some of the newer ones being built, but we never really had any of them come out. One guy brought a WK on 35's with a monster lift a few years ago, destroyed his steering rack and never came back. A lot of people are building the WK and WK2, but more for overlanding type stuff, while the wheeling we usually do in Moab requires a bit more rig than what most with the newer rigs are willing/able to do.

 

[vintageracer]

Sounds like the "Winds" are changing out West in what is considered FUN off-road.

Rock crawling and severe trails = a lot a broken parts and broken weekends. With newer vehicles more capable and EXPENSIVE to build, trails that are more technical and extreme to conquer maybe some of these "Crawler's" have decided it might just be time to look around at the scenery that has always surrounded them and have now "Scene" what they have been missing when their "Soul Goal" was trying to "Crawl" over that one big rock!

 

[craigbru]

My wife and I made it to the 2016 GSW event, and it was one of the greatest experiences we’ve ever had. Dave and crew welcomed us and gave us the confidence to tackle more of the trails and obstacles than we really believed we were prepared for. Although we were in a WK with 3” of lift and 33’s, our perceived limitations were more mental than anything. Day one I was cautious, but by day 2 I was willing to give most anything a shot. After seeing how the WK performed (very well), I came home and decided to address a few areas that would have made things go even better. Namely a few more inches of lift and a move to 35’s. This was only done to keep the skid plates off the rocks a little more. However, those changes were in no way needed, and as equipped for that trip, I couldn’t have been happier.

We weren’t able to make it last year, and had it not been cancelled this year, I’m not sure we’d have made it either. A few mechanical issues I didn’t feel like sorting out, led me to purchase another WK. This time around I’m spending significantly more money on parts, but that’s a personal choice, not a necessity.

I guess the point is this, even in a modestly built WK a great time can be had. Prices are dropping, and you can get a pretty good deal on a Grand with the Hemi and QDII. The downsides are the limited aftermarket support, and some skepticism of IFS up front on the trails. WJ’s and ZJ’s have great aftermarket support by comparison, but finding one in good shape is getting harder and harder. I think anymore, it’s just easier to buy a Wrangler. Parts are infinitely more available and cheaper to boot. They can be built more ‘extreme’ for less cost. That said, I owned a 98 TJ for about 16 years, and I still have had more fun building my Grand Cherokee’s. It takes some extra time and additional planning, but I enjoy the challenge. I don’t find a Wrangler challenging any longer, although we still have a 2011 JKU Rubicon in the family. After my new WK is built however, I’m not sure where that will lead me in the future. The WK2’s aren’t really built for anything challenging, and the needed aftermarket support isn’t there. Even if it was, the expense and overall vehicle limitations wouldn’t make it practical. Bah, I’ll just sit on my porch and complain about how the youngins’ are too soft now…

 

[elliottblackwood]

Bummer... GSW is basically the mecca event for any Grand owner. I haven't been since 2009 but it was a great time.