Mopartist

Did you end up going down to Utah for the Jamboree? Sorry to hear your voice is still not recovered. Hope you get better soon! Maybe we can meet somewhere in the Northwest some time. I still need to check out Morrow County OHV park. We liked Sumpter (my wife especially did because of the quiet) Stayed in a little cabin right at the foot of the OHV trails. No TV; No radio; but so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I'm sure my Trooper was the noiseyest machine in the forest. Sounds like a bucket of bolts coming down the road.

Alright; it finally worked! If mellow trail riding is what you enjoy; Eastern Oregon has 350 miles of scenic groomed trails. Believe it or not; that hill at the end was about 45 degrees steep. As usual; the Trooper will climb just about anything. I was kinda bored so decided to try some trails cut by ATVs to shortcut the switchbacks. (Not really legal; but fun) We put on about 100 miles Weather was 75 and afternoon thundershowers. Nothing much to do in the town. Mostly locals. Felt kinda out of place. I'd go back again though. Very nice mountainous scenery. We used a Garmin Nuvi 500 GPS unit to keep track of where we were. Most of the trails showed up on the GPS. You could get lost without one I would think.

I just thought of something else. The stock "Far East" tires with 30 psi in them was like driving a Flintstone car. You hear and feel EVERY bump. I upgraded my tires to Maxxis BigHorn 2.0 with about 8 psi in them. That also contributed to a softer ride. Plus it floats on dunes now where it was digging trenches in the sand before.

I backed off the pre load almost all the way to the top on the front shocks. WAY better ride ! However; the metal to metal clashing is the shocks topping out after rebounding. Mine does it too dropping off a rock or ledge. Maybe limiting straps would help; I may try it.

Sounds pretty fun! We have "NoSeeUms" here in Oregon too! Pesky lil bastards! I'm lookin forward to seeing some pics and video. I'll post a video soon if I can figure out how YouTube works again. I've done it once before a year ago. Shouldn't be too hard. I forgot that we did do ONE challemging trail. It was actually a shortcut up some switchbacks that ATVs had made. My wife got out to video it from the bottom, and again from the top. It was about a 45 degree incline, but I found that the video doesn't really reflect the angle that much because you don't have "level" to compare it to. Anyways; the Trooper went up it in 1st gear without using the lockers. Those new tires really made a difference over stock. And last week at the dunes; they performed WAY better than the stock tires. The local area has mostly ATVs and Razors. Everybody was looking at the Trooper like we were from another planet! It was a wierd little town; and they have lots of UFO sightings around there!

Wow; you guys are back already? How many attended? Good rides? Smoke any RZRs? Our trip was pretty boring. Lots of scenery; but only groomed snowmobile trails to ride on. Nothing challenging. I do have several minutes of video, but who wants to see 15 mph cruising on a dirt road? Haha! I'm thinkin I might put the Trooper up for sale again. Oregon is just not the best state to have one. Everything is closed to us.

Thats good to know. Thanks 2Scoops! I'm dying to come down and check out the area. Maybe some day........ -Ken

Here's one other problem I forgot. It comes from the PDF you just posted: “Utility type vehicle” does not include an all-terrain type I vehicle, an all-terrain type II vehicle, a motorcycle or a snowmobile. In Oregon; UTVs are considered to be "Type 2" vehicles. But we don't get the same rating as a Jeep because we are not street legal. We can't go where the Jeeps go (because they can drive to their 4x4 destination); and we can't go where the ATVs go either. So there is another problem with the "reciprocal state" law.

. But here is the catch; (the way I understand it anyway)....in Oregon (for instance) there is no such thing as a "street legal" UTV. Therefore.....I would have to go to the Utah DMV and have an inspection done in order to get a Utah temp "pass" . This what I was told by some of the organizers of Rally on the Rocks. In Oregon, we have OHV stickers; for off road use only. Another "for instance"....This week; my wife and I are exploring Sumpter, Oregon; a small mining town in Eastern Oregon. Local Police there tell me that I can cruise the buggy on the side residential roads all day long because on dirt roads, Police do not have jurisdiction. (I live on a dirt road and we can drive ANYTHING on the road as fast as we want.) But the minute I hit pavement; I'm creating an infraction of the law because of jurisdiction. (I tried to have a neighbor busted years ago because he almost ran down my daughter as she was walking and he was going about 50 mph. I was told they could not do anything because of no jurisdiction. My brother in law has a Rhino that he keeps in Bullhead City at his vacation home. We use that to go to the store and as long as we stay off the city paved roads; we're fine. What I was told about Moab is that sure; I can ride my Trooper around back roads that are not paved; but there is no way to get to the staging areas for the 4X4 trails without going on the highway with a Police escort. (Except for Arches View RV Park at the Nwest end of town) Fortunately in Sumpter Oregon; the trail head is across the street from where we are staying. If you look at some of the conversations I posted about the Rally on the Rocks; people who are not from Utah or Arizona that do not have "street legal licenced" side by sides had to trailer their SXSs to the Spanish Trail Arena the night before because that is where the Police escorts were starting up; and there was several miles of paved highway travel that had to be driven to the staging areas. So this caused a big ruckus that the local law inforcement had to handle many irrate calls because many people were stranded. Anyway; I'm not rying to argue about it with you; I just want to have a complete understanding of what this catch 22 situation blossomed in to. Maybe they fixed it... I don't know. But from your prospective ; being an Arizona resident; things fair better for you and any other states that have "street legal" UTVs. An "Off Road Permit" does not cover anything other than the Police Escort in Moab. (Which evidently does not happen except for the UTV Rally and the Jeep / Crawler annual events. Honestly....I hope I'm wrong . I really want to come to Utah and experience some of the incredible trails. Seriously! I'm really looking forward to you guys showing me I'm off track on this. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the awesome scenery too! I only brought this up because of so many people who had a crappy experience due to KOA or wierd Moab rules. Oh; and by the bye..........In Oregon; we are not required to have insurance on our toys either. I do; but just for theft because we're not street legal. -Ken

Just trying to be helpful. http://www.rzrforums.net/rally-rocks/35485-2011-rally-rocks-moab-may-11-14-a-7.html http://www.rallyontherocks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2 I hope you are right; My wife and I are wanting to go late season (like October) if things work out. Arch View comments are from their advertizements in that they claim to be the ONLY RV park that you can ride from without need for towing. Sorry if I was wrong about that. I'm just going by what they advertize. Like I said; I don't live there; but I've read about a lot of complaining about the "non event" atmosphere of Moab. Yes; please post pics and vids of the Jamb. That'd be cool!

I thought I might chime in here as i have done a ton of research for Moab. I was trying to make it to the annual UTV jam "Rally On the rocks" meet in May; and talked to many of the organizers . For what it's worth; They tell me that the Arch View Resort http://www.archviewresort.com/ is the ONLY place in Moab that you can ride right from the camp ground on to the trail system without driving on the highway; otherwise you must trailer your side by side, or have a police escort to get to the trail heads. (which they don't do for anything other than big organized events) I don't live there; so I don't know first hand; but they were pretty adimate about his. Oh and the KOA campground at the SE end of Moab is run by anti off roaders who will hassle you. That came from many sources who did attend the Rally On the Rocks UTV Jam. Just my 2 cents. Man I sure wish we could make it .

I hear "DUMMY" and I automatically consider I'm being addressed. Heh hee! Oh....By the bye.....Me and 4 other guys figured out how to wire those aftermarket LED tail lights! I was the inspector after the fact....... YEP......They work! (It only took about 4 hours and 3 fuses)

We're not gonna be able to make it. I did erase what I had posted (Mostly because if I have a couple of glasses of wine before I post, I get "I love you man" syndrome) But we are gonna do some riding in honor of the Jamboree in Eastern Oregon. I'll post pics. Have fun guys! -Ken EDIT, THE dummy erasing every thing was kinarfi,

PEARBLOSSOM! Wow, that brings back memories! I grew up just south of Pasadena, and my brothers and I used to camp at Camp Fenner/ Devils Punchbowl area. One of my favorite places to go! DARN; I wish we could make it to the Jamboree; I'd be in the running for the 25 bucks for the longest distance traveled!

LOL! Yeah; thats a good idea doing something like that on the sides. I still need to fab some doors or "step over" body sides; but putting an 1100 CCs "logo" would be a good idea. Hey, maybe if I paint the hood hump black; I could do a top down view of a V8 motor with a blower on it! That'd work for Lenny's car.

Naw; I did it. I've been airbrushing since the 70s. (OLD school; LOL!) But it's been years since I've picked one up. They've changed a bit but the same concept. Using that water based paint was a pain though. Thats gonna take some more practice. The mix has to be perfect or it won't spray correctly. Add flake to it and it gets really tough. (Sorry; thats probably way more info than you were asking for. I don't get out much. Heh heh!)

if it ever quits raining,& gets warmer Man; your not kiddin! This weather is so wierd ! I'll keep you posted on how those parks are once we check em out.

Thats a "Hushpower" muffler by Thrustmaster. I noticed a little bit of low end power increase (although it's not much quieter)

Sounds good Quig. Hey ; check out these coupla places. Not too far from Boise. In Oregon, private land is about the only place to ride a SXS other than the dunes. I've talked (e-mailed) to these folks and they tell me SXSs are welcome! I know all the pics are of ATVs but I specifically asked about Side by Sides. My wife and I are gonna go take a look in a couple of weeks. http://www.morrowcountyparks.org/ohvpark.asp http://www.sumpterpinesrvpark.com/atvs.html

Yep; they are airbrushed on. I am still going to do something on the big center bump on the hood; but all I can come up with is a skull. But EVERYBODY Has skulls! And I'm not much in to skulls. (Same reason I didn't do hot rod flames. Everybody has flames!) LOL! I dunno; I'll figure something out. Maybe a small mural or something. The square bumps and scoops (what will be scoops) will be gloss black with some kind of design on em. Sure wish we could make it; but like you said; I'm not sure I would want to get it dirty!

Well; as much as I WANTED to make it; it doesn't look like thats gonna be a reality this year. Too many other variables in the way. But I did get inspired and got a few things done preparing for the trip. So there's THAT! I got the paint and bodywork done and bought Maxxis BigHorns for the front and some LED Tail lights. Yes; that is a painters screen used for a "grill". Perfect size............and CHEAP! Paint is Silver metalflake watercolors by Auto Air Colors. (Although it looks almost white in the photo's) This stuff is hard to use! I ran into MANY problems with it (mostly because of the humidity and it stayed pretty cold all through this spring) I hope you guys have a blast! Maybe I'll be able to join up with you next year.

Hey Lenny; if the timing would have been right; I HAD a narrowed Dana 60 with 4:10s I would have made you a killer deal on! (Kidding of coarse) You could NEVER break that! Heh heh! Rated up to 800 HP at the wheels. That was "Pre" Trooper though.

I was checking out the Moab UTV Jamboree website a few months ago and although you CAN register them for the street (with Police escort) Out of staters where they DO NOT register for street use must have an OHV sticker from their own state if under the interstate agreement. I forgot what it's called, but not all states have this interstate privilage. Oregon does. The same with Arizona, California, Idaho, but NOT Nevada. You can find it here ....somewhere http://www.rallyontherocks.com/ By the way; is anyone here going to this? It's in 2 days. A few months ago; this was the event I was shooting for (Not many Joyners come to this one; but last year there was a couple that I heard dominated some of the rock climbing tours. (The Razor guys were surprised!) Some times a long wheelbase and some extra front end weight really pay off!

Oh; one more thing. Will the "Out of Staters" need to get Utah OHV stickers for our Troopers? (And pass highway inspection?)

If we make it; I think the original camp spot south of Hanksville will be easiest to find places to camp. I'd hate to show up after 900 miles of driving and find it completely packed and nowhere to set up. I saw on one of the write ups that Temple Mountain and Goblin Valley is REALLY popular! Close to the road is good. Wife and I put a down payment on a good used motorhome yesterday; but that means i'll have to wait awile before putting new shocks on the Trooper. (A really good salesman got me to put down more than I wanted to) Ha ha! Oh well; it's all good! South Hanksville looks really interesting and following the Google Earth map of the trail looks like it gets REALLY nice when you get down by the river.