Other Region The Rubicon or Imogene Pass Next August

[rholbrook]

A friend of mine asked me today if I wanted to do the Rubicon the end of August 2018. I am thinking there or going to Colorado where we can spend a few more days and the girls can play in the shops in the towns there.

My question is am I going to rough up my Jeep on the Rubicon. It is a 2017 Rubicon with a 3" lift and 35x12.50 BFG All Terrains. By the time August gets here I will probably have put on a little bit higher of a lift.

I just need to know what upgrades I need to plan on.

 

[mbryson]

I took my JKU through it about 15ish months ago. It worked it pretty well but I was able to drive the rig there, run the Rubicon with my non-wheeling wife (I was pretty conscious about not doing all the “cool” obstacles) and drive the Jeep home.


If you you have good skids and lockers, you’ll be fine. (Hoping I can go but not sure what next summer brings with “adult” kids)

 

[Bart]

We took a JKU set up the same as you and a TJ and YJ on 33s through last July and they did fine. They were locked front and rear and had aftermarket skids, rockers and bumpers which made a difference.

 

[smfulle]

Ran the Rubicon last summer in my mostly stock 48 CJ2A. Made it through, but took a beating. You have a lot higher clearance and bigger tires than me, but there are a couple of tight squeezes that can cause body damage to bigger rigs.

Here's a video of the damage done to my CJ2A.

No place on the Rubicon for your girls to shop. No beds to sleep in either.

Ouray is an entirely different experience. You can run wonderful trails in the day and have fun at stops and cool restaurants at night and sleep in an actual bed or the KOA campground in Ouray is pretty nice.

[video=youtube_share;r30QEchjqFU]https://youtu.be/r30QEchjqFU[/video]

 

[mesha]

I took my JKU through it about 15ish months ago. It worked it pretty well but I was able to drive the rig there, run the Rubicon with my non-wheeling wife (I was pretty conscious about not doing all the “cool” obstacles) and drive the Jeep home.


If you you have good skids and lockers, you’ll be fine. (Hoping I can go but not sure what next summer brings with “adult” kids)

You forgot to mention you ripped off a fender

 

[Hickey]

The painted flares are at risk, for sure. You might consider just removing them. The length of the JKUR made it a whole different game, compared to the JK length. You definitely need sliders and steel bumpers, and you will probably scratch them.

With that said, after the Jeep Jamboree has run through the trail in early August, the trail is a little easier. They do a lot of trail building and rock stacking to guide so many rigs through in just a few days.

 

[mbryson]

You forgot to mention you ripped off a fender

Oh, this?

Can be tight quarters in some spots


Buck Island lake area (if not there, probably up by Soup Bowl?)

(Cadillac Hill) area.

 

[notajeep]

A friend of mine asked me today if I wanted to do the Rubicon the end of August 2018. I am thinking there or going to Colorado where we can spend a few more days and the girls can play in the shops in the towns there.

My question is am I going to rough up my Jeep on the Rubicon. It is a 2017 Rubicon with a 3" lift and 35x12.50 BFG All Terrains. By the time August gets here I will probably have put on a little bit higher of a lift.
View attachment 110220
I just need to know what upgrades I need to plan on.

Pretty much all of the alpine loop area if Colorado is full-size friendly. Imogene, black bear, engineer, Taylor passes all completed in my dodge. Absolutely beautiful and unique area. Not as a 4x4 destination so much as an experience in the small mountain towns, scenery, and elevation.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Greg]

Yeah, I agree with what's already been said.... the Rubicon will challenge (and possibly beat up) your JKU on 35's. When I ran it the year before last with Jeremy, Marc, Carl, Bryson, Davy, etc.... I felt like I got my ass handed to me. There were many places that were a straight-up challenge, working my JKU as hard as I could to get it thru! If I go back, I'd prefer to be a couple inches taller and on 37's. I beat my JKU up pretty good, more than I thought I would. A big part of that trail is timing though, we ran it not long after all the snow had melted off and it hadn't seen a lot of traffic, meaning very little rocks had been stacked... the trail was in it's most difficult form, IMO. If you hit it after the Jeep Jamboree, it'll practically be paved.... from what I hear.

The San Juans are simply amazing, far as scenery and elevation. There is hardly anything worth engaging lockers. It's an incredible Summer destination and a lot of others know it, too. There are plenty of trails to drive over, easy to get over 14,000 feet several times in a week.

Hope that helps!

 

[lhracing]

When we did the Rubicon a few years ago I had a 3 in lift with 37's and the jeep did very well. There were a few challenges but well worth it. Imogene would be great, I did that road/trail about 30 years ago and would love to go back.

 

[smfulle]

Not all the trails around Ouray are visually stunning milk runs. Here’s a little video from last year when we took a few flat fenders up The Wall obstacle on the Poughkeepsie Gulch Trail.

[video=youtube_share;4C_rPm-Ogao]https://youtu.be/4C_rPm-Ogao[/video]

Here’s a video of our run over Black Bear and Imogene.

[video=youtube_share;zsx62TU6pA8]https://youtu.be/zsx62TU6pA8[/video]

 

[Hickey]

One more thing you should consider for the Rubicon... A heavy duty tie rod. I think every one of us beat theirs up pretty good. I installed an HD tie rod shortly before the trip and was glad I did. I brought my oem tie rod with me, and my friend Todd needed it badly for the drive home.

 

[ChestonScout]

Both places i want to go.

 

[zmotorsports]

Although the Rubicon in on my bucket list I also love the San Juan mountains around Ouray. My wife and I have been going to Ouray for 10 years now for a week every August. We hosted an RV/Jeep rally this past August and had 15 Jeeps and RV's in attendance. Many people had never been there and they fell in love with it. We are all set to host the same rally in 2018 and the campground is already booked. When we started going to Ouray in 2007 there were empty spots in the campground but not any more.

I still will go to the Rubicon one of these days but my wife is not as keen on it as I am and she absolutely loves Ouray so we will be going to Ouray for a while before I can convince her to hit the Rubicon.

Mike.