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05-06-2019, 12:34 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Franktown, Colorado
Posts: 939
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Moab Report
For those of you thinking of coming to Moab, UT in Sept for the DX3 get together, we went to Moab last Wednesday and just got back.
From my house SouthEast of Denver to Spanish Trails campground is almost exactly 400 miles. I topped up with fuel Tuesday night but left the Aquahot on set at 60 degrees since it was supposed to get down to 30 degrees that night, so I'm not sure how many gallons of fuel were burned before we hit the road.
We left at 8am pulling the smaller 16' RAZR trailer, which fully loaded weighs about 4200 pounds. It was snowing lightly, approaches to the Eisenhower tunnel were just wet but Vail Pass had some snow packed stretches. No chains needed and I never spun a wheel. Rig handled the long steep grades well, by manually shifting I never went below 45 mph on the climbs. I used 4th gear with jake brake set to high and never had to touch the brakes on the steep descents. I did turn the jake off and gear down to 3rd for a short stretch of snow packed road.
We pulled into the campground at 3pm or total travel time of 7 hours with 1 quick fuel stop. Note, I could have made it easily to Moab without filling up but stopped in Grand Junction, CO to top off before entering Utah because fuel in COLO is about 25 cents per gallon cheaper. Lots of places in Moab to fuel but not easy getting in and out of them in a big rig. I got 7.87 mpg, not bad I thought with the mountain driving and pulling the trailer. Interesting note, my friend with his 2018 F350 diesel pulling a 5th wheel & RZR trailer only got 10.5 mpg.
Spanish Trails CG is beautiful and spotless clean. I was in space 308 which is the row were all supposed to be in come Sept. Space was a full W/S/50a hookup. Each space has a sidewalk, grassy area and picnic table next to it along with a shade tree. Entire area is graveled except for the grassy areas to keep the dust down. CG bathrooms have individual rooms with toilet and showers with unlimited hot water. They have a great pool and hot tub, plus there is a covered pavilion at the rear of the CG with about 10 picnic tables for a group get together area. CG sets back away from the road so very little traffic noise. All the spaces were pretty level. They do have a section in the CG with reserved spots for trailer storage, be sure and reserve 1 if you are towing a trailer, you can't keep them hooked up in your space. There is a spot at each space to park 1 vehicle.
If you're bringing a RZR/UTV, get plates on it and you can legally drive every where in Moab and to all of the trail heads. Its a blast and makes it much easier than hauling a trailer around. You need headlights, brake lights, turn indicator, horn and 2 rear view mirrors. You can register online with state of south dakota as a non-resident and get plates for like $60, thats what I did. Then just make sure you proof of insurance card and you're good to go.
For those that know the trails: We ran Golden Spike on Thursday which is probably one of the longer trails, left at 9:30 and got back at 5 and we didn't get delayed on the trail. I have a RZR Rocks & Trails, friend had a RZR 900 trail version. We also ran with a Toyota FJ40 and 80 series both lifted on 35's, locked front & rear with winches. There are some challenging obstacles on this trail but we did them with no drama. The RZR's both had to winch across the Golden Crack and all 4 vehicles had to winch up the Butt Scratcher climb because it has gotten so dug out by the big buggies.
On Friday we ran Hell's Revenge and Fins & Things, fun trails with obstacles that are pretty easy because its all slick rock so no traction issues. We bailed out midday just because there were so may rigs and long wait times on some of the obstacles.
The rest of the day we drove up to Chicken Corners via Hurrah Pass. You can drive this trail in any rig and can do it all in 2WD. Very dusty if you're in an open rig but you will see some of the most amazing scenery in Utah. Many movies have been filmed in this area and you go past the butte where Thelma and Louise drove their car off the cliff.
On Saturday we did Kane Creek. The first half of the trail only has a few obstacles that dont have bypasses. Those obstacles are a cinch in a RZR because you are small enough to weave between the rocks. If you are in a Jeep or similar vehicle you will need 33's minimum, 35's are better, and locked front & rear. Once you get past those its on to the canyon floor where you have literally 50-60 creek crossings, all easy with solid rock bottoms. We hit a few deep holes but by Sept it will be much shallower water. We started up the 2nd half of the trail to climb out of the canyon and ran into a huge traffic jam. I had heard that the 2nd half had gotten really bad since I ran it last 8 years ago because it is so dug out. All of the RZR/UTV's that started up turned around and came out, only the bigger built rigs kept going and they were struggling judging by the traffic back up. So we just played in the creek more then came back out the way we went in. Note if you are in a RZR/UTV you will get a little wet & muddy but you will have a smile on your face all day. The weather in Moab was clear, dry and 70's & 80's every day.
We left Sunday morning with an uneventful drive home, again 7 hours total. One comment is going Eastbound the grades are steeper and longer so you work a bit harder but no issues. Plus, climbing I-70 east out of Vail is horrible. Huge pot holes and long gouges in the pavement where trucks dug it out in the winter spinning chains. Your suspension will get a work out, hopefully its repaired by Sept. We did have 1 near miss. We drove through Debeque Canyon on I-70 East of Grand Junction before stopping for fuel at exit 162. About 45 minutes after we got back on the road there was a rock slide back in the canyon at mm 157 that closed I-70 east and west. As of this morning the Eastbound side is still closed. Glad we didn't stop in GJ for fuel, would have made for a really long day taking alternate routes on 2 lanes.
__________________
Randy & Dee
2018 DX3 37TS
"Orange Crush"
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05-06-2019, 01:35 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: SoNV
Posts: 277
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We’re heading to Moab in June. We booked Archview RV Resort. From the reviews I’ve seen about Archview, the sites are kinda close, but they have bike/utv trail acesss from the campground. Good info on all the trails, I’ll be re-reading your post again before we head down there so I know which trails to take. Thanks!
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05-06-2019, 01:54 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Central, Fl.
Posts: 1,330
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Pics ?
__________________
2018 Forester 3011DS (Purchased 04/26/17)
2010 Flagstaff 26 RLSS (Sold 05/16)
2012 Ford F-150 Ecoboost, Screw, H/D, 3.73
1930 lbs CCC
2014 Jeep Rubicon JK
Going where the weather suits my clothes.
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05-06-2019, 02:01 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Franktown, Colorado
Posts: 939
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steeljag
Pics ?
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No pics. Blame my wife . I'm horrible about taking pictures so if she doesn't then they don't get taken. Sorry.
__________________
Randy & Dee
2018 DX3 37TS
"Orange Crush"
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05-06-2019, 02:29 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 2,990
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Nice report, Randy. Glad to hear you enjoyed Spanish Trails. I've had mediocre camping experiences thusfar in Moab so looking forward to giving them a try. They've been nothing but a class act in terms of planning this little get together. I think I'll reach out to them and see about reserving that pavilion area for us for a couple of nights. Even though we'll all be in the same area might be good to have somewhere to congregate and chat.
Speaking of the campground, I'm going to send an email out but thought I'd post here, the campground called me concerned that most of our sites are not in the 'satellite friendly' area of the park. They do have cable with about 70 channels but wanted to offer to move anybody that needs a satellite friendly site. I assured her that we're probably going to be fairly busy during that time and it shouldn't be a problem but that I'd pass it along to everyone to see if there's anybody.
__________________
2016 Dynamax DX3 - Big Blue
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05-06-2019, 03:41 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Franktown, Colorado
Posts: 939
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I was in space 308 and our SAT worked OK. I'm OK if they just put me back in 308 again or move me to one of the SAT friendly zones. The place isn't so big that if were a little scattered around its really going to impact anything.
__________________
Randy & Dee
2018 DX3 37TS
"Orange Crush"
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05-06-2019, 03:45 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 2,990
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Looks like youre in 201 and CrystalDX3 is in 308. Maybe I'll have them swap you guys if thats ok?
__________________
2016 Dynamax DX3 - Big Blue
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05-06-2019, 03:49 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Franktown, Colorado
Posts: 939
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FOURWHL
Looks like youre in 201 and CrystalDX3 is in 308. Maybe I'll have them swap you guys if thats ok?
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Fine with me if the others are OK with it. I just like to be able to use the SAT to get the local Denver channels so we know whats happening at home when were away.
__________________
Randy & Dee
2018 DX3 37TS
"Orange Crush"
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05-08-2019, 08:50 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,564
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FOURWHL
Looks like youre in 201 and CrystalDX3 is in 308. Maybe I'll have them swap you guys if thats ok?
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I don't use Sat TV so move me anywhere you like to accommodate someone with Sat.
__________________
Old Navy Chief
2019 Isata 5 36' DS 4x4
2015 Jeep Rubicon Toad
Days camped 2021 = 25
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