I'll keep with the I can'ts....it my wife's birthday tomorrow and I fear not being able to out for a llloooooonnnngggg time if I did go tomorrow. Plus there's always Monday..I seriously doubt ANYONE would be on any trail on labor day.

 

We took that trail from 4 Peaks to Saguaro Lake. It eneded up dropping us at what I would refer to as the 5th cove - some would call it 4th because there is this little cove area that most people bypass and not ever consider it. So for anyone who has gone out to the coves with me before, this is the farthest cove I go to.

The trail from 4 Peaks to the lake was fairly easy - narrow at some spots, but we did 99% of it 2WD. There was this one spot at the very end of the trail just before the final wash to the lake that was washed out and rutted but was nothing any of us haven't done a hundred times before.

Other than the water being over run with seaweeds, it was great. I was reminded of the good old days when we were able to drive all the way back there from Butcher Jones. We took the trails back to Butcher Jones and stopped at all the coves in between. I don't feel that we violated any of the trail closures since there were no signs heading towards Butcher Jones. I would do that again in a minute.

I'll get the pics off the camera and upload them soon.

AND - this happened on the way out there:

 

Cool Jeff. Were there other people there? Or did you own the place?

And on the 200K--Always cool to turn a milestone mileage doing something fun rather than something mundane.

 

What?? You went 5 MPH?

 

Hahahahahah

 

There were a few people at the 4ht and 5th cove that were camping but they came in by boat - they were pretty surprised when they saw up pop out from the trees in trucks. The 3rd cove is really small and there was no one there - the 2nd had 3 or 4 trucks and the first cove - I have never seen it so packed before and there was a forest service law inforcement truck out there poking around some of the groups out there. The trails were empty though - the only other people we saw was 2 bikes between the 2nd and 3rd cove, even the Butcher Jones parking lot was fairly empty.

We're down to do some wheelin next weekend if anyone has anything going on or wants to set something up.

 

And you only took one pic?

 

I took about 20 or so, I just haven't had a chance to download them yet. I'll get them tonite and put some up.

 

Nate-....Really??...dude you know how Jeff likes to take pictures....some might even say a picture whore! But if he didn't take em'... we wouldn't have any proof of us wheeling right? At least I wouldn't...I seem to break every camera I've been given through out my life..seriously. Thank goodness I don't have the same effect with mirrors.

Jeff- Thanks for always being prepared to document our trail runs...cause somebody has to.

 

I know man, I was kidding. Just thought it was funny that he only posted one picture, of the inside of the truck nonetheless.

Jeff- We really do appreciate all the pics, keep 'em coming!

 

alright alright, man you guys are pushy

I didn't take as many as usual because I was distracted by the poorly marked trails and extremely slow driving of the other people who went with us.

Here ya go:

At the 4 Peaks parking area:










The only time I had it in 4WD:




Where the trail ended:




The trail heading to the other coves:


The ride home:

 

Nate- There was no doubt with the humor, I was just trying to get in on it..you know.. stir the pot a little more...and 2nd the motion of Jeff being our official photographer on the wheeling trips..? All those in favor..???

 

I

 

I/aye/eye

Nice pics Jeff!

 

Damn East side....if gas wasn't $4.01 a gallon I'd hit one of these runs with you guys again!

 

What!?! It's not that high on the "East Side"

Seriously though, is that the price in your neck of the woods?

 

Great pics Jeff.

Something to consider about the Zuk mod since your 4Runner is not your daily driver. Knowing money is always a factor, aftermarket leafs may be a better solution for wheeling:



Your LR wheel is likely off the ground due to the increased spring rate (read: less flex) from the ZUK mod. I think its a great mod for trucks that haul or DD's that do not wheel and want leveling, but too stiff for wheeling. Spring rates are cumulative so you added the coil rate to your leaf rate.

Just a thought...

 

Thats great advice Bob - Thank you!

I did the Zuk mod a few years back before I had any kind of lift. At one point I had a set of aftermarket leafs, but they ended up being way too much lift at that time so I went back to the stock ones. I would definately be interested in going to some aftermarket leafs and removing the Zuk mod as long as I can retain the same ride height, still have the ability to load up all my camping gear without alot of sag, and still have good road manners since I do alot of highway driving to and from trips.

Do you - or anyone else for that matter - have any recommendations of an aftermarket leaf that would be a good fit for my situation? I have considered just removing the Zuk springs when I go wheeling then putting them back when I plan on loading it up for a trip.

 

There is only one down side to aftermarket leafs - they are expensive.

I was lucky in that the PO installed the Downey Offroad (R.I.P.) 2" lift leaf springs. Since Northwest Offroad bought them out, its probably the second set down on this page. First suggestion is to call them and see what they say.

With the 2" springs, my rig was level when empty and sagged a little loaded down. I then added the Nissan Frontier mini-leaf pack from Deaver instead of the ZUK mod or an Add-a-leaf. This is a pair of flexible leafs that replace the stock overload spring (the thick, bottom-most leaf). While the overload spring is also an anti-axle wrap helper, I have never experienced axle-wrap without it. Don't drive like a douche and you won't have axle-wrap

It also gave me another 2" of lift on the back. The back was 2-3" higher and looked a little muscle car'ish, but it was a mod for future considerations.

Now when empty, my back end is just higher than level (I added a full tube bumper and weight of the spare off the back) with the front and a little bit under level when loaded down for camping + 4 people.

But...super flexi on the trail.

I can post some pics of the setup or how the rig sits (empty) if you want. Our front ends are very similar so it should be close.

With all of the above stated, it may not matter very much now that you are locked in the rear. More contact is better, but how much actual wheeling improvement may be tough to judge.

 

Thats great info Bob - I really appreciate it.

A few years ago, a friend gave me a pair of 63" Chevy springs. I have kicked around that idea for a while but I hear so many different stories about how much lift you get and how super flexi they can be - I have heard a few times that they are so flexi that they make it very difficult to drive on the streets. I think if I were to go that route, I'd have to really commit to the idea and dive in for a serious amount of research to see if the ones I have will really do the trick for me.

Our trucks are very similar - I have a swing out tire rear bumper also, and I would guess that my front bumper weights a bit more than yours - but then again, don't you have a winch? I don't. But all-in-all, they are about the same with the softopper and such. With the current set up, the rear is just a bit higher in the back when empty.

NWOR is closed on Fridays I'm on opposed to dropping a few bills on aftermarket springs if they are going to do what I want/need them to do. I might already be above the annual Truck Budget for this year with having a few things repaired plus the Softopper but I figure its a one time expense that will last for years so why not just go for it.

If you have any pics you can share, I would appreciate seeing what you have.

Thanks!