Golden Spike in an unlocked Land Cruiser. Part I: Poison Spider Mesa
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มิ.ย. 2024
- Join us as we tackle the Trifecta of Moab's Poison Spider, Golden Spike, and Gold Bar Rim technical trails in an unlocked 100 series Land Cruiser.
With lockers and bumpers costing upwards of $8,000, we decided to test the limits of the ATRAC system in a mildly modified cruiser and determine for ourselves which modification should be next.
We've done this trail many times before, and I do not recommend it without armor and lockers. We were prepared for a long day on the trail, multiple recoveries, torn up bumpers, and major mechanical failures.
Part 2: • Golden Spike in an unl...
0:00 Introduction
0:33 Trail Description
2:54 Preparation
5:38 Dead Horse Point State Park
6:23 Descending Long Canyon
7:09 2020 Long Canyon Recovery
8:40 Poison Spider Trailhead
10:12 The Waterfall
15:06 The Wedige, Wedge, or V-notch
18:28 Poison Spider Mesa - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
On the tougher sections, were you able to do the brake slightly on with throttle trick to keep the front end from bouncing?
Actually, I didn't try that. Typically, I'd approach at a crawl and it'd bounce so fast and I'd shut it down immediately, I didn't try to brake modulate to get through it. Once the obstacle proved to induce bouncing, I found that if I applied more throttle than a crawl, ATRAC would be "less-aggressive", to put it mildly, and require more slip to actuate......this is probably what is happening when you apply some brakes manually, the system backs off and you don't bounce.
Then you could throttle modulate to get ATRAC to actuate and get you over the hill. This is why a lot of my climbs at first are bouncing because I'm crawling and using Atrac typically, and as the video progresses (and more later on), you will see that I'm going up in a squeal of rubber and noise and it looks horrific, ugly, and that I don't know what I'm doing; BUT, if you look closely....you'll see the front end isn't bouncing and the non-slipping wheel will be slowly grabbing via ATRAC at a crawl's pace.
This was the theory I was using to hopefully save my CV shafts and front diff.....was I ultimately successful?? You'll have to wait for the final videos! I'll have to try the brake trick, that's a good idea.
Another trick we had in our arsenal was to disconnect the front ABS sensor completely and drive over the obstacles using the center diff alone and brake modulate old-school way. This way, you could prevent ATRAC from even starting the bounce, but then you were on your own as far as traction was concerned. This was our plan for going up the Waterfall at the end of Gold Bar (plenty of vids of cruisers and FJs snapping diffs and CVs on that obstacle and I didn't want ATRAC at all).
To me, even on 6-rated Poison Spider, you are clearly seeing the limits of an Atrac-only system. Having just a rear locker would have made some of those climbs so much easier and less impactful on the front suspension.
I just dropped 16k on a beautiful 2000 lx470, same color, same old man suspension and tire set up in great shape with low miles so this video is perfect for me!
Minivan driver was legit.
just now finding this video, but makes me super excited to wheel moab again this summer! Got a group of slightly more built out cruisers so it'll be a blast - great video!
Let me know how it goes. I want to go again once I get my front locker (the rear has been great so far!)
Awesome narration and filming 😁 thanks for sharing
Well done. That's some good driving/spotting.
That scenery in the valley around the 7-minute mark is absolutely breathtaking. Love the video!
I’m super impressed! The LX took that on without issue. Crazy how capable they are! Loved every second of this video can’t wait to see part 2!
Thanks for helping the lost Van Lady! Great Job!
Thank you for this awesome video! Just purchased a LC 2006 and want to do this now.
This looks like so much fun!
It's one of my favorite trails. It was a great adventure
What an impressive machine.
Great video! I hear so many people talk about how great Atrac is so its nice to see an honest opinion about its limits when compared to a locker. I belive its still a great system but everything has its limits. Looking forward to the next video.
I totally agree!
i really liked the narration, i want part 2 now lol
Part 2 is up!
th-cam.com/video/Z5Wa4onCjPc/w-d-xo.html
Awe, no problem. As long as you have the sliders and capacity for recovery, you're golden.
Hey great video I have been on the fence about some of the larger more expensive mods this makes me feel less rushed.
So badass. We have an '06 LC but don't nearly do the stuff you're doing. Love that you had your kids with you and had dad as a spotter. These videos will serve as priceless memories.
The ATRAC is impressive. Thanks for sharing. I am running a rear locked LC with 33s and it gives me some confidence in seeing how well you did.
You can see on both the first climb on the switchback and the climb after the waterfall that a rear-locker would have been a game-changer. A rear-locker with Atrac is even better, fully locked would have reduced the challenge considerably, even with IFS.
Many claim, myself included, that Atrac and traction control is "90% or more the performance of a locker", and it's true. But this video shows you the remaining 10% and how much of an advantage a locker is in those situations. I was clearly outclassed on these obstacles, and the fully locked rubicons was nearly point-and-shoot.
@@ForgottenWaypoints I definitely agree with you. Pretty impressive rigs for what they are especially being such a comfy ride. I am waiting for my front diff to explode sometime and then I will replace with an ARB front locker. That should change the approach to most obstacles. No matter what it will never flex like the solid axle machines, but I am OK with that.
Thank you for sharing your off road adventures from Moab Utah. It’s like a hands on experience on would be tackling this kind of difficult trails . It’s a machine and skills vs the natural wonders. Btw your spotter is one of the best , hats off to your Dad .
I owned a LC 09 model bone stock and thinking of upgrading my tires and suspension , no hardcore set up . Maybe a plus 2 or 3 sizes on the tires . Can you pls shared or recommend a simple yet proven cost effective set up . Any advise is highly appreciated. Good luck to more adventures and more power . Thanks
Check out our short Imogene Pass review. I'm keeping my GX stock, just upsized e-rated all terrain tire, but no lift.
I'd suggest maybe removing the steps and put on real sliders to protect the body panels....other than that, go explore and see if you even need a lift.
8:40 it looks like you got Cheryl into overlanding XD
Hahah. I wish I hadn't accidentally deleted the video footage. It was fun guiding that thing down without hurting it.
Awesome video with great narration and information! Out of curiosity and by comparison, how does the technical aspects on Poison Spider compare to the technical aspects of Elephant Hill?
Great Question! The technical aspects are quite different. The National Parks Service does maintenance on Elephant Hill to keep it "stock friendly" for serious 4wd vehicles. It's a technical trail (and one of my favorites), but the difficulty is kept within the realm of most lightly modded (or even stock) overlanding type rigs. You really don't need a locker or a lift if you pick your lines correctly.
Poison Spider, on the other hand, is rated significantly more difficult. At least a rear locker is highly recommended, the climbs are taller with holes that if you are the wrong wheelbase cause "traps", where having a locker is recommended to get out. Because of the incline, the traction control actuation on IFS vehicles causes the front-end to bounce, which is a serious CV axle failure condition. You can see this on one of the early climbs, watch as my front end "bounces" up. I hate that. I get better later on at controlling my throttle to keep the front from bouncing, but now you are adding speed, which can also cause damage. Having a rear locker would have been much easier on the vehicle and my stress levels.
Red Rock 4 Wheelers (www.rr4w.com), the local Moab club that runs Easter Jeep Safari, keeps a rating and rating scale (which I try to use) of trails. Elephant Hill is listed as a 4 and Poison Spider a 6. The differences are actually quite significant.
just found this channel! like and sub. keep it up
Awesome video, that was some impressive wheeling in the LX! Did I see some form of sticky residue on your sidewalls at the end of the Wedge section? That is something I had not thought about for use on wall walking before. Nice!
No, we didn't apply anything to the sidewall. I could have benefitted by dropping another 5psi though.
@@ForgottenWaypoints Agreed on the lower PSI
That's epic from Australia
I'd love to come explore your country sometime!
@@ForgottenWaypoints same let me now #phils_offroad
Great to see you posting again, btw do you still own the discovery?
Yes. It has been a bit neglected lately, I'm hoping to get some time to freshen it up, or I'll have to sell it and find her a new home.
I wish I could see what it could do with stock AHC and the biggest tires that fit with that suspension set up (I think 32/33s?) AND off-road mods like lockers, like a sleeper off-roader. Kinda the opposite order that you’re doing things with this one. It just would be a unique set up because normally the first thing people do is lift and tires so I have never seen one like it
Breakover issues would be an issue on Golden Spike and clearance would hurt your bumpers more on the drops on Gold Bar Rim, but you could make it through. I've done this trail in a ZJ Grand Cherokee with 2" spacer and 31s and not even a center diff lock (I did have to get pushed through the crack, you'll see a photo of it in part 2!)
If you did the AHC lift you would mitigate some of those issues and could run tires as large as mine. But that's the beauty of your suggested build. For a lot of poison spider, your build would perform 10x better than mine in this video. With AHC at a factory height and smaller tires, you'll get more articulation up front. You'd also have less stiff springs which should translate to better traction over the rocks. With lockers added to the mix, it's night and day vs. what I did. You'd crush it.
On the Golden Spike leg, you'd be in trouble. My rear bumper is barely hanging on as it is, I damaged/destroyed every rear bumper mount for the plastic. It's hung on by zip ties now. There is a reason why many 100s have rear bumper mods.
@@ForgottenWaypoints I never even thought about bumpers! Hmm well, I think I am going to operating much further from my rigs ceiling than you are. Do you think it is fair to say you can get pretty close to rigs ceiling without major risk of body damage, if you are careful, do to the nature of the wheeling in your area?(grippy) If your rig can do a 7 and my slightly less capable rig can do a 5 or a 6 and I am really staying closer to a 4 or a 5 maybe bumpers are less necessary, and the lockers would allow me to go through smoother to make breakage of driveline components less likely, while also not needing bumpers because I should have more than enough clearance? I want to stay a bit further from maximum effort because I feel if I get CLOSE to my rigs ceiling it’s gonna get shredded due to mud slipping sliding bouncing, doors would be trashed, mirrors would be gone. I’m not sure if my mindset makes sense on this… (When I say “my rig” I am talking about my hypothetical rig that I don’t even own yet😂)
@@joeymalin , In my experience the bumper becomes an issue around the 6 or 7 level. I've never had an issue with the front bumper on the LX, the approach angle is suprisingly good, and the plastic has a lot of give if you gently climb an obstacle and scrape it. You really only need a front if you want the winch mount.
I wouldn't hesitate to do Poison Spider without bumpers. Golden Spike is notoriously bad on rear bumpers. I'm not very concerned about the factory rear bumpers, I'm going to keep mine stock until it won't hold up anymore then I'll get a metal tire-carrying bumper.
So yeah, I wouldn't worry about spending crazy money for bumpers on 4-5 rated and moderate 6 trails. Some people go overboard on armor for the 100 series, I guess back east with ruts and mud it's needed, but how here it just seems to add unnecessary weight.
I'd prioritize sliders though, with a poor flexing IFS up front and a tilt-happy compliant rear suspension, your rockers can roll into or scrape over rocks frequently.
Liked and sub!
Love the channel, possibly picking up an '06 LX470 this weekend! Can i ask about your tire wheel setup? Looks great! What brand, wheel specs are those? Nice!!
285/75/17 on icon 6-speed, no spacer, OME heavy lift with HD tbars, slee diff drop, OME LCA reinforcements, and trail tailor extended swaybar links in the rear.
@@ForgottenWaypoints thanks for the reply, looks like there are not a lot of really good looking options for the 100 series fas far as wheels go? Are they 17’s?
Never mind, I see it now… thanks!!!
Yo did you end up getting that LX? I have an '06 LX!!
Awesome video!! Do you run full synthetic oil in your rig? Just picked up a GX with 190k on the clock. Would love to jump to full synthetic, but have been told switching at this mileage could lead to leaks....
I have heard the same for other vehicles. I've always put synthetic in the LX and I do not have any leaks. I put a synthetic blend in my GX (since I have some on hand) and will go full synthetic once I roll through the blended oil. So far no leaks on that vehicle too. I have 160K on the LX and 130K on the GX.
always switch to synthetic. Protect the mechanicals, not your gaskets.
What size tires are you running? Do you have a lift? Maybe I missed that in the video.
275/85r17 on icon rims and OME heavy lift. Thanks for watching!
Wait, I came here for the Mini-van. What happened to it? LOL
Hahah. We got it down. Then I promptly formatted over my camera card. What you got is what I could "scrounge back" using some little digital wizardly extraction tools.
Nobody is more disappointed about it than me. :(
1100 rpm's should do it. sorry, I meant for your traction system to start to energize properly.
Hahah, we did part of poison spider (until my shock broke) again this year with the rear locker....the cruiser climbs much better and much slower. Later I fixed the shock and again dropped the front by 1" to get some flex back and prevent bouncing on the waterfall. I'm itching to get back and do it with the locker.
Are the t bars dialed in in this video? Or over cranked?
Definitely over-cranked. I haven't done anything harder than a 4-tated trail since lowering them.
Hi, is the OME lift 1.5”? 2.5”? I may have missed in the comments but I didn’t see the lift height. Thanks
Mine is 2.5" heavy.
Wow was the Grand Caravan stock?
Hahah. A barebone rental
When do we see part two?
I'm shooting for next week or this weekend if the timing works out!
@@ForgottenWaypoints I have a fourth GEN 4runner ARB lockers front and rear with our CVCV axles. My wife and I want to do golden spike next time we go to Moab. That’s why I’m curious as to how it was for you
mah brah.. why didn't you have it in 4L? seemed like you were gunning it up in 4h... correct me if I'm wrong... peace ✌🏿 from SoCal USA
I was in 4-lo the entire trail.
@@ForgottenWaypoints OK thanks brahh keep up the dope videos!
@@personalfunfest , No worries. Red Rock 4Wheelers requires lockers front and rear for Golden Spike, and at least a Rear on Poison Spider.
You can see ATRAC struggled. You'll see through the video that I do take obstacles faster than I would have liked, that was because slow crawling ATRAC would cause the vehicle to bounce and I didn't want to bust a CV shaft. Though counter-intuitive, for whatever reason more throttle caused less bouncing. But wasn't without risks on it's own. I won't try it again without a rear locker, preferably a front one.
I do admit 5 psi less on the tires would have helped a ton.
Poor mini van ahaha.
She was so happy when we got her down. She was pretty nervous and high centered pretty well.
I wish I had more footage and didn't lose what I did have, that recovery would be the best vid on my channel!
If she can do that in a dodge minivan, I guess I could do it in my gx 😮
Hahahah. Yeah, I'd take my GX470 over Long Canyon any day, it's a beautiful drive!
The GX won't get anywhere near Golden Spike though!
If a minivan can do it then any 4 wheel drive should be able to right? Ha
So where’s the land cruiser? All I see is a 100 series little sister.
You talk too much.... we need to see that LX470 tackles the trail.....