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pugwash

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going on a business trip to Utah in a few weeks and i find myself with a free day or two.

I have an option- i either spend a day in Moab, or spend a day in Vegas- what does the collective think?

has anyone been to moab- are the trails well worth it- i'm really not too keen on just hiring a jeep and driving round by myself- god konws what sort of recovery kit they give you- it would seem that most trucks have a 3" raise, 33" rubber, lockers all round. Quite enough to get me into a lot of trouble, but no way to get out of it. or is it the case that as the whole place is one big rock you can't actually get yourself into a lot of trouble?

has anyone been and driven trails around there?

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Guest WALFY

Jim

Stumpy2268 on here went a few yrs ago. Him and his wife hired a Jeep and did a bit solo. Seemed to be able to do a fair bit on their own without the need to bother others. As far as I'm aware you get no recovery kit with your hire car, they seem to assume that you won't get stuck.

I looked at going there later this year but you need to either drive a long way to get ther or take a small cessna type plane to get you close then drive a bit.

Nearly forgot to stay Stumpy is in Spain this week and next offroading so that wasn't really much help to you was it. Sorry

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Drive through Vegas to find a nice girl then go wheeling around Moab with your new co-driver,lockers or not

^_^

lol! We're heading out there in... er not long now! and have done quite a bit of research. Few links for you, looks like there's loads of trails easy/moderate:

http://www.4x4now.com/mu4wd.htm

http://www.gomoab.com/moab_4x4.html

http://www.moab-utah.com/

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Hi Pugwash,

4 of us went to Moab for a week in April for the first time. Go there if you have the chance, you will not regret it :D

The place is fantastic, friendly and geared up totally for offroading.

There are a number of places you can rent J**Ps, I would recommend Farrabee Jeep (you'll find them on a web search). Rent a 2007 Rubicon,( standard front and rear lockers, aircon and a coolbox for the beer) for around £50 a day and go and do "Hell's Revenge" - that should give you a proper taste of Moab slickrock and will take all day if you are solo. You will not need any recovery gear unless you blow it BIG time :blink:

There are some organised "tag-along tours" where you can follow an experienced guide, and also "ride-along" tours where you can be chauffered in anything from a J**P to a Unimog!

Vegas on the other hand is an over-priced S**T-hole. Maybe worth viewing from the air. Sorry if that offends any fans of Vegas, it's just my opinion.

Have fun,

Tid

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when you out there jen?

Well, Camel went in the container yesterday and we're flying out on the 15th of this month, should make Moab by about mid/late September (we're taking the long way around! ;):D ). We're quite keen on Mountain biking too, so will probably spend at least a week in Moab B)

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Moab or Vegas???? It's a no brainer. Do it. Do it. Do it.

Also worth a try are Cliffhanger Jeep Rental

Get hold of the Charles Wells Guide to trails in Moab. You can pick them up in any store in Moab. The Tourist information centre sells them too. Yep, Moab is that cool!

You can pick up disposable polystyrene coolers and fill it with ice and 'cold drinks' from the city market.

The scale of the place and the off-road freedom will blow your mnd. Make no mistake you will want to go back.

Typing this reminds me I need to go back soon!

Kev

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Hi Kev,

Cliffhanger have some nicely prepared trucks, generally with larger 35" tyres, but their cars are older and more weather worn (whereas Farabee's are all brand spankers) and Cliffhanger's charges for breakages are considerably higher.

Agree about Charles Wells guide - essential.

great shame the Lion's Back is closed now. You can still get close enough to stand slack-jawed in amazement though!

Tid :)

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Yes.

MOAB

Cliffhanger, get a Rubicon, do Clondike Bluffs/Tower Arch; Seven Mile Rim and/or Onion Creek up into the Manti-La Sal national Forest and the Rose Garden and Top of the World. You can get the Charles Wells trail guide at the rental desk.

Even a day is worth it. make sure that you go out with a LOT of water at least 6 litres per person and some extra coolant. See if you can stay at the Aarchway Inn - that's where Cliffhanger is located and it's closest to the airport and all the trails mentioned above.

Enjoy!

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While there are a lot of Utah trails we don't have anything on yet, there some photos of Moab trails, and even a vid or two at http://forum.solihullsociety.org/cphoto/index.php?cat=14 including Hell's Revenge. Also check out the 2004 Rally at http://forum.solihullsociety.org/cphoto/index.php?cat=3 and the 2002 Rally at http://forum.solihullsociety.org/cphoto/th...s.php?album=309 as both were in Moab, and have lots of pics to show what the trails are like.

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thanks for the replies guys.

looks like i'll be making a trip to Moab then- YIPPEE

However, it's a bit embarassing to think that i'll be travelling 5000 miles in order to do my first bit of off roading (where i'm driving) this year- and at this rate it'll be the only off roading i do all year!

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thanks for the replies guys.

looks like i'll be making a trip to Moab then- YIPPEE

However, it's a bit embarassing to think that i'll be travelling 5000 miles in order to do my first bit of off roading (where i'm driving) this year- and at this rate it'll be the only off roading i do all year!

You might also post on the forum at solihullsociety.org when it's getting close to when you will be in Moab as you might see if someone could meet you there. Then you wouldn't need a guide. Also a lot of the time, groups meet in the City Market (grocery) parking lot in the morning, and you might be able to go out with one of them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi

just came back from my honeymoon where i spent around 4 days in Moab. I ended up renting out a jeep from the Moab adventure company. due to availability i could only get a stock wrangler and well I had to be happy with that. At least it did have something like traction control or something at the rear end.

The rental company did have a list of banned trails which pretty much included all the famous trails thus it is a bit limited. Someone mentioned you can get it for 50 pounds a day. Well i found them much more expensive. The stocker cost me 110 USD (discounted on a sunday) plus 35USD for insurance (I am not a US citizen) plus another 30 USD for fuel. So you can do your math. And this was the cheapest rental that I found ( I discovered later whilst browsing the sites to see if i had been had)

Nevertheless it is an awesome experience. It is a lovely place worth visiting. I did some other tours as well like rafting and a Hummer tour on hell's revenge.

One thing I do advise. If you are on your own I would prefer a stock jeep like I did and go on gentle trails. If something happens and the car breaks down you are in trouble. The trails are pretty far from downtown thus it is a long walk back. And mate it is hot. We are talking temps of around 42 degress plus desert dryness. One of the trails I did (top of the world) starts 30 miles out of Moab..If you are alone I would suggest taking it easy and enjoy scenic drives. Gemini bridges is an easy to moderate drive which is pretty simple if you have some experience in 4wd driving. Top of the world is not difficult but very slow going since it is all rutted and broken roads and with a brand new stock wrangler you need to get it back in the same way you took in the morning. It took me 2 hours to do 8 miles. I was really wishing I had my Series 1 special :)

However I think that Moab is a place which one has to visit at least once. It is a nightmare to get there with only one shuttle bus from SLC airport per day or a flight in a small plane however well worth the hassle IMO. If you get someone who is more experienced and knows the trails you can attempt much more even in a stock J££p however alone with my wife (on honeymoon) i was not taking any chances. I had to meet up with a guy from Pirate and i did meet him however he has a fully specced up discovery 1 with 35's and I was in a little jeep with tyres like 205's and I would have never made it anywhere close to him. In fact he did damage in his rear axle on helldorado.. Imagine with the stock Jeep.

Exercise caution and you will have a whale of a time

Cil

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Do MOAB; then go a couple of hours North, and tour the new Great Basin Rovers shop that they are in the process of building. You can hang out with Bill and Shawn, see the 101 and the other two dozen Rovers in the back yard. His collection includes the 101, SI , SII , SIIa , SIII , and Santana models. Plus midgets, MGB's, triumphs, Bugeyes, Mini's, London cabs, and the lot.

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We're headed out there in a month with the Wolf, if only to see the place as opposed to do anything insane. I have yet to do too much research on the place, as we have been concentrating on other parts of the itinerary. Though I hear most of the famous trails have been closed and bought for housing development. Hopefully the place won't look too much like a building site when we get there...

Nick

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