NEWBIE WENT MUDDIN!! WHAT SIZE LIFT?? NEED HELP..

[ronknott32]

OK, I went muddin 4 the first time, I LOVED THE SH#@ OUT OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!
I am going to take pics tommorrow, I am thinking of going back there tommorrow, and taking camera this time.. If not, I will just take pics of trk @ my home.
I was scared, being new to all this, but once my adrenaline peaked, I JUST COULDN'T help myself, MY FOOT JUST HIT THE GAS MUD FLEW< AND I GOT A NVT,(peanut) WWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe just how fun it is, it's scary and fun at the same time, man I LOVE IT!!!!!!
I went to the place by my house I found last week, it is a powerline right of way, I stayed away from the power lines, but took out a COUPLE of evergreens, didn't even remember it, with the adrenaline rush I WAS GETTING :-)))))
There was a wide path with deep rutts, a CHEVY BLAZER w/ 31's and 8"s of lift got stuck, so i took a B-LINE to the right taking out some evergreens, trying to get off the trail narrowly missing him :-O
When I got to the end I stopped and talk to a guy who was giving me directions to some easy trails, when he said "TREE", I asked hime what the heck he was tal;king about, he said I had a 4' evergreen stuck under the front :-)
It didn't stay there much longer though, the next trail removed the tree for me. Where we went next was through some rivenes, DEEP GULLIES!! this one trail went down and around to the bottom of a 100' rivene this little 87 model s-10 blazer made it up & over the lip, this Yukon with about 12" of lift & 33's took 5 tries to get over, I tried twice, the 1st time I made it to the top but slipped off to the left of the trail, nervous, I let it come back down. The 2nd time I attemtpted it, I made it to top but didn't have enough momentum to get over the lip, I gave up beacause yes, I CHICKENED OUT!! remember THIS WAS MY 1ST TIME mud in my own 4X4.. My experience level is not up to theres YET :-)) there were several people there, from toyo's with 4 bangers & street tires,to CJ's with 350's & Swampers, and blazers with HUGE lifts. Oh yea, and some NUT on a 4 wheeler. My tires felt really good, they cleaned off well, they got me home....The only complaints are:
1.Carter AFB flooded 3 diff. times when I went through MAJOR whoops in the trail.
2.TIRES RUBBED only under hard stress, e.g. when I went through deep holes, and turning @ same time.

SO that brings me to the final thing "CLEARANCE."
I have 33x12.5's on my 77 RC w/actory lift.
I AM buying a lift system (shocks, stabilizer, new rear springs, all the goods), but the question is WHAT SIZE LIFT??????? 4" 5" 6" those are my choices I can AFFORD.....
As always I turn to you guys for help, and experience.
Ron


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HOWDY DUDE / 4 INCH TUFF COUNTRY with out shocks $297.95 buy rancho shocks later

<font color=blue>DODGEBOYS</font color=blue>/84 RC/LOCKED/35BOGGERS

[ronknott32]

Is that what u have on your rc??

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[The_Sandman_454]

I have to ask you a few things. The first thing I must ask you is what right do you have to tear up the power line right of way? Do you own the property? If not, then you have no business there. The only one who would have a right to access that area would be the property owner and the power company. Now think about this. With the power line right of way all torn up from a bunch of inconsiderate fools out playing in their trucks, how do you possibly expect the power company to be able to access their property (the power lines)? I seriously doubt they have a huge 4x4 truck to access it. This is what gets trails closed, inconsiderate and idiotic actions such as this. I love the mud. But you have to play in it responsibly. Get the owner’s permission, and be prepared to undo any damage you do by churning up their property. If this is on your property, you should perhaps still be a bit more gentle with the power line access for the reasons of easy access by the power company. I am not blaming you as being the sole problem in this instance, anyone and everyone who takes part in shredding that power line access is the problem. That is what will end up getting that trail closed and ruin the experience for everyone. Environmentalists enjoy when OHV users do things like this. They enjoy it because it gives them more ammunition to use against the OHV community. They want to ban our sport and have already vowed not to stop until they have banned our sport. As such, we do not need to be giving them more ammunition such as this to use to shoot us down.

In Texas an oil company shut down a series of trail systems due to damage to the oil equipment, as well as damage to the trail system caused by inconsiderate or unthinking users who ruined it for everyone. Please think and act responsibly with your 4x4. Help us get a good image back instead of a bunch of rebel yahoo’s out there tearing stuff up. I don’t know about whether the rest of the trails you rode on were also accesses to power lines, however I certainly hope that you asked for permission to use them if they’re private property and if they’re public land, then I hope you didn’t shred them to pieces. That is how trails get closed.

I am not intending to flame you, only to show you some error in your ways. Yes I have done that in the past, however, that was before I had been shown how much it really does harm our image and sport, as well as anyone else who has the right to access that area out of necessity, meaning in this instance, the power company. Please don’t go out and rip up that power company’s right of way anymore…


Tim
ORC Land Use columnist
My August article on ORC

http://www.off-road.com/land

[ronknott32]

I sincerely appreciate you showing me the errors of my ways, as I am new to this, and always appreciate advice for more experienced individuals.
As far as the 1 trails by the power line tower through the power line r-of-w, I will make it a point to stay away from that one. The rest are on public property as far as what I gathered from the others that were there, I do have enough common sense to ask if it is public or private land, as I AM NOT AN INCONSIDERATE FOOL. The ADULTS that I spoke to before I ever entered the land said it has been public off-road use for at least 3 yrs they knew of, and the police regularly patrol the area, occasionally stooping and watching the action.
I have learned that expensive lesson, several yrs ago from when I use to MOTOCROSS, we would just ride wherever we felt like, and I paid a price for my actions then.
Thank you again for informing me of the r-of w problems, I will never do that again, as I DO NOT WANT TO contribute to the closing of public sites.
I also have land that I and a few others LEASE from the Gov. in a floodplane, I will do my mudding there, until I find another more sutable place to go.
As for your first question, I don't have the right to go on private land, now I know about the r-of w , but I do have the right to use public, and WILL. Atleast until the eco-geeks take care of that......

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[The_Sandman_454]

I'm sorry, I didn't intend it to sound that you are an inconsiderate fool, only that there are inconsiderate fools out there who don't care. Sometimes I don't proofread what I type enough and something like that slips through...

And the only other item I'm going to mention (but you probably already know this) is to stay on the established trails and don't go trailblazing new trails, even to go around a particularly torn up or difficult area. That kind of thing also gets public lands closed to us. Not insinuating that you would do that, but something to keep in mind... Make sure when you use public land, not to abuse it (making trails, etc)... Sorry I keep harping on that and probably seeming like I'm insinuating you will abuse it, I don't intend it that way. I just feel pretty strongly about this subject since OHV use is about my only hobby and I want to be sure the importance of things like this is stressed... [img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif[/img] With that, I should probably welcome you to the sport [img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif[/img] Keep in mind that it's a good idea if you see someone doing something wrong on the trail, to try and straighten them out on it, like the trailblazing thing. Explain to them how quickly that crap can get the entire area closed to OHV access... Be sure to do it in a nicer way than my original post probably sounded... That would probably just get them upset and have them ignore you... [img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

Thank you for the time and thank you for being civil (even though at least a sentence of mine didn't sound particularly civil now that I go back and look at it and realize that). There are some people who would get considerably hostile for trying to explain things to them but you didn't (not insinuating that anyone here would, just there are people like that out there somewhere)... Thanks... [img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

Tim
ORC Land Use columnist
My August article on ORC

http://www.off-road.com/land

[ronknott32]

No problem, I know there are some nuts out there, I USED TO BE one. When I used to drink, I didn't care who or what got offended or hurt.
That wound up costing my everything, moto-X racing, home, vehicles including race car, my bikes (12)-from 550 to 1000cc Suzuki's, and last but most important, my fiance' and son.
I understand what passion is, you just have a strong passion for OHV. I respect that.
I used to have the " PASSION " for alcohol. I am a recovering alcoholic with 2 yrs sobriety in Sept. of this yr. I now have the passion for this sport and truly do not want it to die. I have learned alot in this short time I have been here, believe me. This is another lesson in "Ron's book O' life experiences."
Take it easy, and KEEP 'EM DIRTY>>
enough RAMbling, Latre'. :-)


"The only way I can keep what I have, is by giving it away."

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I drive thru the power lines too but i've never seen them in this small area ever. The police get mad at the people that dump crap and stolen cars there. For alot of power lines they would need a serious truck like an army 6x6 due to swamps, overgrown spots, steep inclines and rocks and not to mention spring thaw where every spot is a problem. There trucks here are 6 wheelers, rear-wheel drive only and they even once got stuck in a friends yard during a thaw in late winter. I can't wheel anywhere local legally so screw them as long as you don't damage property...etc. Need to move to a place thats not so developed with houses and businesses.

WESTERN MASS / please vote for BUSH / gore is a green meany tree hugger leaf licker

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[ronknott32]

I HEAR YA!!! That's what I am doing, trying to find a new place to go. I ran into an old friend, who I used to go moto-xing with. He reminded me about a place called 360, it's near Arlington west of Dallas. They still are allowed to go off-roading there. I might try there, after I install a lift. Probably after the first of the year. IF ANYONE OUT THERE KNOWS WHERE YOU CAN GO MUDDING NEAR DALLAS TEXAS PLEASE LET ME KNOW :-)))

AND YYYEEESSS PPLLEEAASSEE VOTE, FOR BUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!
HE'S PRO-GUN TOO!!

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