Moab

GP NOIR

GP NOIR

Hooked
The Grand Cherokee on Baby Lion’s Back
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The parts for my Wrangler didn’t come for this trip. The silver lining is the new lift in the GC is a game changer on the trail, allowing us to tackle mild to moderate trails without damage. That works out because my son has no experience off-roading.

His 2018 JLU has 33 inch tires and I’m gonna have him run Baby Lion’s Back, then Fins & Things and if He’s up to it, finish the day on Hell’s Revenge. No hot tubs!!
 
We drove out to Rose Garden to check it out. I knew there was no way I’d make it through in the Grand Cherokee and my son wasn’t ready to try in his Rubicon.

Last time I was at Rose Garden was three or four years ago and the rocks then looked much bigger. That didn’t mean the rock garden three quarters of the way up was any less!

We hiked to the top just to take a look, then hiked back down and drove out the way we came in
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Whenever my Rubicon is done, I’ll be back
 
GP NOIR said:
We drove out to Rose Garden to check it out. I knew there was no way I’d make it through in the Grand Cherokee and my son wasn’t ready to try in his Rubicon.

Last time I was at Rose Garden was three or four years ago and the rocks then looked much bigger. That didn’t mean the rock garden three quarters of the way up was any less!

We hiked to the top just to take a look, then hiked back down and drove out the way we came in
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Whenever my Rubicon is done, I’ll be back
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Probably you memory of big rocks is correct and they removed the big rocks so Broncos and Subarus can make it through (during the Biden administration inclusion was very important).
 
If it’s Tuesday, this must Chicken Corners
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Chicken Corners is an easy trail with just enough technical sections that 4 lo was used for greater control to smooth out the bumps. The last time I was here was about three years ago and the upper part of the trail had been gone over with a grader. We kept going after the monument to the end of the trail. Along the way we came across this memorial to Joseph Hills Johnson
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The view at the end is spectacular
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Time for a group photo before heading back
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On the way back, we took a detour to Wind Caves. It’s a pile of large slab boulders with the sand cut away, forming a series of caves. We spent a couple of hours exploring
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I halfway expected to bump into Injun Joe or a Sleestack. I found the caves fascinating, running deeper at every turn.
 
We found some damage to our Jeeps. My son discovered he damaged one of the steps on the “rock sliders” that came with his jeep. We think this happened on the way to Rose Garden
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This is how we learn what works and what doesn’t.

I broke a sway bar link on the GC
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and peeled the rear diff cover on a rock enough to start it leakingIMG_1017.jpeg
I’ve got a spare 44 cover in the shed. I’m going to see if it fits.

Overall, I’m happy with the 2” lift from Rocky Road Outfitters. I wish we were able to get the Old Man Emu shocks & struts instead of the Doestchtech. While Doeshtechs are a big improvement over the worn out factory struts & shocks, they seem primitive and not quite up to the job. The OME were several months on back order and were couldn’t afford to wait. The springs are OME.

Before the lift, ground clearance was the limiting factor on for the GC. Now it’s tires. It has 29” tires which are easily swallowed by ruts. I think 32s will clear without trimming any sheetmetal.

All that said, the GC acquitted itself well. It didn’t scrape bottom nearly as much as I expected. With a little feathering of the brakes, it climbed steps and rough inclines with almost no tire spin.

It needs a couple of tweaks, such as bumpers, sliders and a winch, but it’s now a solid rig for back country camping and exploring
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