I am planning a trip to Florence to go through Box Canyon then to either The Coke Ovens or Martinez Mine - depending on how deep the river is. Here is the thread I started for it:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f66/.../#post51788123

 

Checking in from Tucson here!! happy to see that there is an arizona thread still going on here, considering I just moved here not too long ago (originally from the northeast) and just picked up my first truck!! AZ gave me rock crawling fever and it drove me to pick up an 85 4runner! Like I said, it is my first and im a newbie to the site so bare with me, but would love to chat with my fellow desert dwellers!! Ill be asking for advice time to time and will post pix up of my beast soon!! shes not running at the moment, but hopefully will be soon enough!! apparently just a fuel pump, battery and a fixed/replaced radiator and shell be back on her feet!!! HOPEFULLY THE DEALER WAS HONEST!!! makes me wanna sometimes thinking I walked into a pit =-( wish me luck and ill get the rig some facetime up here ASAP.. shes ugly- but a crawler nonetheless!! reddington is all ive heard about here in tucson, any other spots i should know about?!?! seems like most of ya are from up north compared to here! CHEERS!!

 

Howdy! Im new to the Phoenix area, can you guys give me some ideas about where there is to go wheelin'? Or if you you would like to show me sometime that would be even better! But take into consideration I have a stock-for-now FJ60

 

Yes...I would like to know where to go also. I heard of a couple of places north. Go north on I-17 to Carefree Hwy...go east to 10 mile marker. I also heard of other places up north but have yet to go look.

 

There are alot of great places to go wheelin around the Phx area. What part of town are you in? I tend to go out to Butcher Jones quite often when there is no other big trail runs going on. And now that the temps are supposed to be going down, I'll be going out more often. This weekend I'm hoping to head out to Florence to go to either The Coke Ovens or Martinez Mine - all depends on how deep the river is and if it can be crossed by everyone in our group. My friend Bill is doing a pre-run out there today to find out - should know sometime tonite what the plan is and I'll updated everyone.

 

I live in north Phx. Im from WA state. I just put some new wheels on 15x10 with 2.5 backspace. I have no rear bumper or mud-flaps so Its not ready to go quite yet. My plan is to order a TrailGear rear bumper and have it modified for my 3 inch body lift. Can sombody cut and weld it for me? Or tell me where I can go to have it done? somewhere close by? Im up on Bell Rd. & Central.

 

You don't need no stinkin bumper or mud-flaps to go wheelin, just ask Roni

There are alot of great fabricators in the N. Phx area, let me get a list together for ya and I'll PM it to you. You might even consider just having a custom bumper made instead of buying one then having it modifed - probably going to cost the same or less to have one made.

 

Butcher Jones sounds fun! Is it something a stocker like myself could hit?

 

My licence is suspended so I dont want to give "Jonny Law" any reason to pull me over. I was thinking the same thing about the rear bumper...about having one fabbed up. Money and time is the issue. I want a reciever on it too, so. $350 to have it shipped to my door and I figure $50 to have it modified. I can always get some cardboard spray-paint it black and screw it on so it "looks" like I have mud-flaps lol

 

tore the peice of crap stock bumper off so I could fiberglass the rust holes...I threw it in the dumpster

 

Butcher Jones IS fun - and can be done by any 4WD vehicle. I saw an AWD Ford Escape make it back to the 3rd cove before so there is no doubt that your LC can do it - as long as you know where you're going, there are soo many trials out there its easy to get lost. I'll let you know next time I'm heading out there and you can come with us - I know that area like the back of my hand.

I haven't had mud-flaps on my 4Runner for over 7 years and have never been messed with for not having them - I have been harassed for other things, but not for that. The most recent was for having tires that stick out beyond the fenders - it was just a lame excuse for them to stop me to see if I had been drinking because it was late on the Saturday of Labor Day. They were very nice and quick about it too since they were only looking for DUI's.

As for a bumper - give my friends a call over at Avid Off-Road, they do amazing work and they stand behind everything they do - Ask for Brandon or Ted:

480.298.1299

http://www.avidoffroad.com/#

I'll still get a list together for you of other places in N.Phx for you and PM it to you.

 

Okay. Yea...Avid...I just found them this morning. I would like to go to Butcher Jones too!!

 

think I'm going to head out to Butcher Jones and do some exploring this Saturday morning. Never been out there but it looks like fun. I've only been up to table mesa recently and that's getting old. people shooting all over the place and what have you.

Do I need any specific permits to go to Butcher Jones? Do i also have to pay a lake/park fee? if so, where can I do that before I head out there.

Thanks for any info.

 

Thats a great question! I hadnt even begun to think about that! Is there a fee?

 

No permit/fee for Butcher Jones once you get beyond the fence.

 

What kinds of 4wheeling are you guys looking to do? Butcher Jones has a little bit of everything, so thats a great place to start, but like Jeff said, its easy to get lost, so I would go with someone that knows the area the first time or at least carry a gps so you can trace your way out. Lots of great trails out toward Florence and Queen Valley. I highly recommend the book Arizona backroads and 4-wheel drive trails by Charles A. Wells, its full of great trails with descriptions and gps waypoints. Also, a lot of guys post up pics from their outings, so you could go through some of the previous pages in this thread and get an idea of some of the trails/areas that you may be interested in. Good luck and welcome to the desert!

 

My friend Bill did a pre-run out by The Coke Ovens yesterday - he said the river is only about 6 inches deep and is crossable by any vehicle that can make it out there. Here is the trip thread:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f66/.../#post51791308

The only thing to had advanced warning of is the Tree Tunnel just on the other side of the river - he said it is very tight these days and to expect alot of AZ Pinstriping if you have a wider vehicle - like and FJ

 

I dont mind a little striping here and there, shows character

 

Quick AZ emissions question:

I'm going to pick up an aftermarket header. Since we smog here, do I need a 50-state verison like Kalifornia even though I'm running a cat? Can I go with the non-50-state version?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Is there really a difference between the two headers? I would just make sure your cat is good.