Moab first timer question

JKJason

JKJason

Caught the Bug
I'm leaving the muddy Midwest behind in April and going to Moab for Easter Jeep. This will be my first time out to Moab and I want to make sure I'm prepared so that I can take full advantage of Moab. I've been looking at trails and their ratings and have a question for the Moab experts. My Jeep is a 13' JKU on a 3.5" Rock Krawler lift. It'll be on 37" STTs by April (currently on 35" Mud Graps). I have a winch, rock sliders, truss/gusset and a few other things. My question is around lockers. Currently it's open diffs. There are two trails that I really want to hit while I'm there. Poison Spider Mesa and Top of the world. I cannot go to Moab and miss the grave of Mary Jane Francis or get a pic of my Jeep on the ledge of Top of the World. Should I make getting lockers a priority or will I be okay without them? I have no problem locking the rear, but I'm a bit hesitant to lock the Dana 30 because I plan to eventually get a Dana 44 for the front too. Thanks in advance for the info!
 
JKJason said:
I'm leaving the muddy Midwest behind in April and going to Moab for Easter Jeep. This will be my first time out to Moab and I want to make sure I'm prepared so that I can take full advantage of Moab. I've been looking at trails and their ratings and have a question for the Moab experts. My Jeep is a 13' JKU on a 3.5" Rock Krawler lift. It'll be on 37" STTs by April (currently on 35" Mud Graps). I have a winch, rock sliders, truss/gusset and a few other things. My question is around lockers. Currently it's open diffs. There are two trails that I really want to hit while I'm there. Poison Spider Mesa and Top of the world. I cannot go to Moab and miss the grave of Mary Jane Francis or get a pic of my Jeep on the ledge of Top of the World. Should I make getting lockers a priority or will I be okay without them? I have no problem locking the rear, but I'm a bit hesitant to lock the Dana 30 because I plan to eventually get a Dana 44 for the front too. Thanks in advance for the info!
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You can probably run top of the world without lockers so long as you bypass widow maker. some of the climbs up will require good solid bump commitments without at least a rear locker. it may not be the smartest thing to do solo though... but hey, you have a winch. :beer:

I didn't run Poison Spider Mesa last week, so no comment on that.
 
I’m no expert but I think you’ll be fine on those trails with your setup. I didn’t use lockers for top of the world. I wouldn’t throw another dime at the dana 30. Save that for stronger front end.


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I did both of those with open diffs and 35s on a dana 30. No bypasses either. I had good spotting though, without that it would have been a totally different story.
 
Stotch said:
I did both of those with open diffs and 35s on a dana 30. No bypasses either. I had good spotting though, without that it would have been a totally different story.
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I'm impressed. Got any pics of you on Rock Chucker?
How about coming up the left side of the tree on the undercut ledge early on in the trail :thumb:
 
I’m in same boat, I’m trying to fit Easter Jeep in next year for first time. I’m on 35”s now w/ D30 up front. I just swapped in a rubicon rear end and the locker is awesome. I’ve never owned one before and used it for the first time today. I’d definitely try to squeeze it into budget if you can! I feel a lot more comfortable going there next year having one, that being said I don’t have a winch, yet.


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rl206 said:
I’m in same boat, I’m trying to fit Easter Jeep in next year for first time. I’m on 35”s now w/ D30 up front. I just swapped in a rubicon rear end and the locker is awesome. I’ve never owned one before and used it for the first time today. I’d definitely try to squeeze it into budget if you can! I feel a lot more comfortable going there next year having one, that being said I don’t have a winch, yet.


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With a rear locker you should be fine on Poison Spider and other 6 and under trails. You will not need your own winch on those trails at EJS either. As a first timer you may want to look at lesser rated trails too. They all have their features, interest and scenery. It is a blast whatever you run.


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wayoflife said:
I'm impressed. Got any pics of you on Rock Chucker?
How about coming up the left side of the tree on the undercut ledge early on in the trail :thumb:
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Rock chucker was on Metal Masher. I watched a guy much better outfitted than me break there.... We were talking about Top of the World and Poison Spyder, those I had no issues on. I bypassed a lot on Metal Masher lol Still fun though!
 
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There are tons of trails in Moab you can do on 37s even without lockers. I'd recommend signing up for the ejs trails or find a group to run with. You can have a great time regardless of what you have. I've run many of the trails in a stock sport. He'll I've taken a Grand Cherokee up hells gate. I love Moab.

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I've run both of those trails with 33s and open diffs. However, neither were on my first trip there. It took me a while to get used to what the Jeep could do, and build up my confidence. Also, my spotters are people who've been going to Moab for years and knew the trails very well. Like others have said, if you can get into a group, hopefully with someone who knows the area, and you trust, you should be fine.
 
wayoflife said:
Got any pics of you on Rock Chucker?
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Stotch said:
Rock chucker was on Metal Masher. I watched a guy much better outfitted than me break there....
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While probably not relevant, I gave it a shot 2 weeks ago. Neither myself nor Benito (on 40s) could get the rear up the first rock. As far as I know, we are the only two who attempted it from the 2018 Exodus. Here are some pics:

Bubba (Exodus Jeeps), Tom, Jeff, and Benito scoping out the obstacle with the main group:

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My attempt/s (smaller, slacker group consisting of myself, Kyle7R, and kilroy) :

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I also tried further driver, Trying to land my front driver tire on the rock far left in the first pic, (See the last pic of Benito's rig) I tried the same line, but the gas tank skid contacting the rock face kept the jeep rotating clockwise rather than moving forward in my attempts. I'll be back :hmm:

Benito's attempt/s (with the main group):

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DWiggles said:
While probably not relevant, I gave it a shot 2 weeks ago. Neither myself nor Benito (on 40s) could get the rear up the first rock. As far as I know, we are the only two who attempted it from the 2018 Exodus. Here are some pics:
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Cool shots. It's a crazy obstacle.

Did you guys try Widow Maker?
 
Stotch said:
Cool shots. It's a crazy obstacle.

Did you guys try Widow Maker?
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Widow Maker, Rock Chucker and the Escalator are some serious obstacles these days.

We lined up 3rd for Escalator with the main group. but TexasNick and Kilroy couldn't get Benito up it, and since he is on 40s and My jeep is still on cute 37s, we about-faced.

The next day the three of us (Myself, Kilroy, and Kyle7R) woke up late and left camp after everyone else. we ran Metal Masher anyway, and as luck would have it, met up with the main group on the trail anyway. Apparently, they missed the first trail head and ended up running the trail backwards, so our paths crossed around lunch time. A few of them (Benito included) attempted Widow Maker, and told us they ALL needed to pull line. With Kilroy's wife and daughter in his jeep, my wife in mine, Kyle7R's new driver rear door rock rash, nearly a whole week on the trail, and somewhere around 1250 miles to drive home, we decided to save Widow Maker for another day. :crazyeyes:
 
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DWiggles said:
Widow Maker, Rock Chucker and the Escalator are some serious obstacles these days.

We lined up 3rd for Escalator with the main group. but TexasNick and Kilroy couldn't get Benito up it, and since he is on 40s and My jeep is still on cute 37s, we about-faced.

The next day the three of us (Myself, Kilroy, and Kyle7R) woke up late and left camp after everyone else. we ran Metal Masher anyway, and as luck would have it, met up with the main group on the trail anyway. Apparently, they missed the first trail head and ended up running the trail backwards, so our paths crossed around lunch time. A few of them (Benito included) attempted Widow Maker, and told us they ALL needed to pull line. With Kilroy's wife and daughter in his jeep, my wife in mine, Kyle7R's new driver rear door rock rash, nearly a whole week on the trail, and somewhere around 1250 miles to drive home, we decided to save Widow Maker for another day. :crazyeyes:
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No kidding; we bypassed all three, with no lockers and a D30 I had no chance! We looked at Widow maker from the top, it looked insane. I would pay good money to watch someone go up it in person with without winching.
 
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