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Buck Rock shakedown run

brianinca

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First Name
Brian
Joined
Jun 8, 2020
Threads
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Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Rubicon
Occupation
IT Manager
We have a little Jeep trail not too far up the hill from us, in Sequoia Nat'l Forest. There are mild places to wheel all over the area, but this one trail has "NOT RECOMMENDED" Chevy Impala signs on it.

My wife is taking the Jeep Academy class at Hollister Hills on Friday, so I suggested she re-familiarize herself with getting down and dirty with a 4x4. She learned to drive in a 4x4 pickup, had a couple of Jeeps, still misses her Isuzu Trooper, but she's used to snow and sand and such (she lived in AZ for 29 years). We packed a lunch and some gear and headed up the hill.

We went through some of the mechanics of the truck on logging roads, the shift to 4lo took more muscle than she expected. Off road cruise control was a big hit that made her feel more confident. The soft throttle with offroad+ made sense to her as well. We headed back up the hill in 2Hi with the rear locker on and the swaybar disconnected. THAT made everything better, she liked hearing the rear tires grabbing for traction. The skooshy ride with the swaybar off is so, so nice - "lady ride" is the new term for that.

Riding through a Sequoia forest is super cool, I never tire of it:
Jeep Gladiator Buck Rock shakedown run PXL_20201011_191612132 - Copy


We laughed when we saw the "PAVEMENT ENDS" sign right past the UC research station, the pavement hasn't been maintained since maybe 1973. Got up to the highway and headed for Big Meadows. There is still the old road that intercepts the Buck Rock road, so we went up that. It was rough enough for her to really feel good about getting through it. We stopped at a saddle that is known for having cell reception and aired down with the new Speedflate kit. 2lbs exhuast pressure maps to 20 lb tire pressure, good enough. I took over driving duties, she felt good about her truck and wanted to sightsee. The skooshy tires smoothed everything out, dirt luxury!

Made a stop at the crack we all use for articulation testing, good results:
Jeep Gladiator Buck Rock shakedown run PXL_20201011_210729597 - Copy


Jeep Gladiator Buck Rock shakedown run PXL_20201011_210816969 (1) - Copy

We ran up the waterfall, the only significant obstacle, and a few bumps and grinds was all it took.
Jeep Gladiator Buck Rock shakedown run IMG_2635 - Copy


Quick stop before pavement to air back up, which was a big hit because she took two tires and I took two tires, bingo bango on the road at 35 PSI again:
Jeep Gladiator Buck Rock shakedown run PXL_20201011_215104168 (1)


The Smittybilt compressor did a great job and was plenty fast. Plenty hot at the outlet, too! @TJ Mitchell Films the Speeflate system is a great addition and my wife's ADD approves of how quickly it helps us get moving again!

So a fun quick day to get ready for a fun weekend!
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