Spring wheeling trip at SMORR

[techieman33]

Glad to see you came around and decided to commit.

I am really happy for your choice of lifting the Mounty!

Some of us are spending a lot of time and $ getting ready for this trip,
and you and your Bro are no exception.

Let me know if your gonna be camping 1 or 2 nights please.

2 nights

 

[gmanpaint]

To commit or not to commit that is the question

Cyber, just do it!

You know you want too!

 

[gmanpaint]

Ok guys.....Question time.

I can get a large BBQ grill from a friend that is a pull behind. It will be big enough for the whole group. Cooks like 200 burgers at a time.

Here is the deal, I get the grill, and you guys keep me fed. LOL!! haha!

Just kidding!! Seriously, if I get the grill, we can all contribute some meat and veggies for it.
It will be one less thing you guys will have to worry about.

What do you guys think?

 

[corkey]

oh man, this is a couple of weeks before a music festival i'm going to in TN.... or else i'd be there!! i don't think i can take that much time off work... but who knows! looks like a good time.

its on a weekend,,,

 

[bt93]

Add me to the maybe list.

 

[seth247]

Well I should be done with my swap by then so I'm a "maybe".

Though I won't be able to do any tough trails.

 

[techieman33]

I'm still coming, but the mounty will probably be staying at home

 

[gmanpaint]

Well I should be done with my swap by then so I'm a "maybe".

Though I won't be able to do any tough trails.

We would be glad to have you along! No matter what your rig is like at the time of the outing, it wont matter. We are going to have a great time camping and meeting a bunch of members from the forum. A stocker can navigate the 1-2 rated trails, so if you have any mods at all, you should be able to try some 3 rated trails as well! Bring a riding partner with you and just enjoy some time away from the daily grind.

Hope to see you out there, and when (if) you decide to join us, let us know.
Putting you down on the "Maybe list".

 

[dkchrist]

Ok, I have though about this long enough, put me down as a maybe, and I a couple of things will fall into place I will be there.

 

[gmanpaint]

Ok, I have though about this long enough, put me down as a maybe, and I a couple of things will fall into place I will be there.

There is not much to think about.

You like to play with that rig you worked so hard on right?

You like to get away from the daily grind right?

You enjoy being around others with similar interests and likes right?

You like to spend days with your heart pumping from pushing your rig to new heights, your evenings conversing with new found friends over a campfire and good food, right?:smoke:

This is a no brainer! Just do it!:biggthump

 

[dkchrist]

yea yea i know but i gotta have money

 

[gmanpaint]

A pre event recon mission is about to happen this weekend. Dislexiclawer and I are heading out to do a little scouting of the park this weekend.

Today is rained out

Tomorrow is going to be warm and sunny

If any of you have questions you want answers to, post em up today, and I will do my best to get answers to you.

Stay tuned for more pictures and information!

Gregg~

 

[gmanpaint]

New pictures in first post!

Dislexiclawyer and I went to do a little Recon at SMORR.
Pictures we took are in the first post with photobucket links.

We got the royal welcome from the park! The staff gave us a guided tour of the facility. They welcomed us with friendly hand shakes, and big smiles.

We wanted to see the amenities the park had to offer, as well as what to expect on the trails.

My rig is a 2nd gen with 2" suspension lift with a 3" body lift sitting on 33" MTA.
My rear is locked.

Dislexiclawyer's rig is a 1st gen, with 2" suspension lift, sitting on 31" AT, LS rear end.

Now the trails are rated from 1 to 5 on the wheeling scale. The main road is rated #1.

We wheeled # 2 and #3 all day. (blues and greens).

My rig had no problems whats so ever on any of these trails, and they were fun!

Dislexiclawyer had only one issue on a #3 hill climb. It had rained for 24 hours before we got to the park and was still wet and muddy. The AT tires had some trouble getting up the hill in deep mud. Other than that his rig did extremely well. For the set up he had, his rig was flat out amazing.

The hills are big! The climbs are long and steep. Along the trails we come up to the #4 and #5 trails. These are for the serious crawlers, and they have a bounty of big rigs that wheel here.

I believe we even did a little shock and awe with our rigs. When we first went out, I could sense that the staff was not sure about our rigs on these trails. As soon as we hopped off a #1 onto a #3 trail, that changed as we tore right through it. The length of these climbs and the spans of the trails make the need for a CB radio a must!

It took us 5 hours to just go through the park, and we did not wheel but 1/3 of the trails we could have done. It is LARGE! There are tons of places to stop and congregate at for a meal, picture taking, and what not. There are picnic tables and even decks throughout the park to use.

The campsites are brand new, and about 90% finished with construction. They will be 100% by the time we get there. The bath house is first class! It is bar none the finest restroom/shower facility in a camping wheeling facility I have ever seen! They even have a deli serving up hot/cold meals! Cheeseburger's in paradise! WOOT! The Pavilion is huge and will be open for use when we are there.

They are allowing night runs as well. Head lights and some mild off road lights will be plenty.

The thing that amazed me most is how clean the 1000 acre park is.
While we were wheeling the staff would stop and pick up anything they seen that has made it's way onto the trails. Everywhere I looked, it was just plain clean! Well maintained, and a lot of new things going on. They hold major wheeling events at the park. King of the Hammers is having a qualifier there.
Toyota is using the facility to promote it's new line of Trucks, and more big names and major events are using this park.

The one thing that was stressed is, it is a family friendly park. That means we will show the utmost respect, and represent our forum accordingly, NO exceptions. Unruly guests will be asked to leave with out refund.

It is still winter here and the green was not in yet. When we arrive, it will be lush and beautiful to look at. Even with no green yet, it was still a very beautiful place to look at. I don't think anyone will complain about anything here whats soever.

Gmanpaint~

 

[dislexiclawyer]

Everything that gman said is right on the money. It is a great facility with a top notch staff. I am still really green as far as offroading goes, but the staff were very helpful with showing us proper lines to take on the trails, and spotting for us on descents. For any of you with rigs close to stock don't worry about not being able to do some tough trails. I am only lifted 2" w/ 31" AT's and I only got caught up once on a #3 hill climb. As long as your 4x4 works and you have some all terrain or mud terrain tires you should do fine. I am disappointed though that a picture wasn't taken of a certain hilltop descent where my driver rear tire was about 3 to 4 feet in the air But the moral of the story is if my very mild 1st gen with stock gearing can do as well as it did, then anything you bring should be able to tackle the majority of the #1 - #3 trails.

 

[seth247]

sweet!

 

[seth247]

Ga lee that place is huge!

hhmmm it says all vehicle must have tow hooks. Where would I go about getting those and putting them?

 

[techieman33]

you can get some from a junkyard, tons of online retailers or your local 4x4 shop. Here's a good thread with lots of info about things you'll want to have with you.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199994

 

[gmanpaint]

Ga lee that place is huge!

hhmmm it says all vehicle must have tow hooks. Where would I go about getting those and putting them?

This is where i installed on the front. It is on the front frame horn, bolted completely though the frame with grade 8 bolts. Mine are Ford D-rings, but hooks are the same thing. What ever you can find will work. Just remember to bolt, not weld! In this pic, the ring is just hanging there with one old bolt, so i could eyeball the alignment for drilling.

for the rear, i use a hook installed in my rear hitch. If you don't have a hitch, the frame rails are in the rear as well. The bumpers attach to these rails.

 

[Metel]

If I had seen this a week ago I would have skipped spending the last 4 days in Gatlinburg and waited for this

 

[seth247]

Ok move me to Im In + 1 maybe 2

My neighbor got him a jeep a few weeks ago. Would you guys rag on him if he came?