| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Nathan |
Posted - 05/05/2004 : 6:56:51 PM
i headed to uwharrie with the intention of running both the jeep rubicon and the yamaha rhino up and down every trail there in each direction. to my disappointment, mother nature had other things in mind.
i started out on the rhino heading up rocky mountain loop when the sky bottomed out. im not talking about a little bit of rain, im talking about rain so heavy that you cant see 10 feet in front of you. there was little warning, the sky just opened up and the packed clay trails quickly became as slick as ice. i decided to turn around and get the jeep since it has a roof, doors, and heater. the force of the rain water running down rocky mountain loop (between the staging area and the rock garden) was sliding my brother and i both around while we tried to make it back down to the staging area.
we got in my rubicon and headed back up rocky mountain loop and it was a fight to get anywhere. the trail from the staging area to the rock garden ranges from 30 to even 50 degrees in some spots (rutted pretty deep) and when youre on already wet clay with heavy rainfall and small rivers running under you in the opposite direction you arent going anywhere. about half way up i caught up with a locked yj running 36's that was winching over a deep rut and at that point i knew it wasnt passable for me in my stock rubi. the new problem was that in certain parts of that climb there just isnt anywhere to turn around. after backing for what seemed like an hour (was about 2 minutes) i finally found a pull off and was able to turn around. going back down (it was still raining heavy) the slick stuff wasnt any fun either. we finally made it back to the staging area and decided to head over to the staging area at the bottom of daniel to see if daniel was any better. we met a couple atv's at the bottom that told us we were crazy to try daniel in the jeep as slick as it was. we met another guy coming off daniel that said a lifted bronco had slid off the trail near the middle and was being held by a tree. with that i felt my heart sink a little bit as i knew the rubicon would remain untested for a little longer. we drove back around to where my brothers truck was parked (with the 6x6 ranger and rhino in tow) and decided to wait out the rains. 15 minutes later it was still raining hard and since we were already wet we decided to ride anyway.
i was equally excited about finding the limitations of the rhino and i couldnt imagine a better place than uwharrie during or after a heavy rainfall. what is normally only "somewhat difficult" quickly turns into world class off roading when you throw heavy rain on the trails.
rocky mountain loop was slick. at one point i got off the rhino to try to take a picture in the rain and slid at least 20 feet. after a few attempts at climbing back up on foot, my brother came down with the ranger and gave me a ride back up. it didnt take long for the rhino to earn my respect as a first class rock crawler/mudder/brawler. it clawed its way up without even working to hard and i rarely needed to use the front locker. i reached the point where the yj on 36's winched up with a slight hesitation but with the locker locked the rhino climbed it like it was on tracks. the ranger topped it with equal ease and we proceeded to the rock garden. it was still raining to hard for pictures, i was literally drinking the water as it ran down my face. there was a group of about 15 jeeps in the rock garden when we got there. they had made it up the night before when the trails were dry and camped. they didnt seem to happy about having to come all the way down rocky mountain loop while its wet so i pulled out my handy trail map and showed them how to get out via saw mill to slab pile to wolf den to road #576 which didnt have any really steep spots. after they cleared the rock garden we played around a little but it was still raining to hard for pictures. i quicking found that the 12.1" of ground clearance on the rhino made an incredible difference. it would strattle some pretty jagged rocks without even a scrape and kept right on going. what the ranger lacked in ground clearance (7.2") it made up for in the short wheelbase between the front and middle axle. it also performed unbelievably well considering the circumstance. its massive size really wasnt an issue, but that could also be due to my brothers driving skills (i gotta give him credit, my baby brother can out drive/ride me off road).
slab pile was surprisingly challenging when slick, as was saw mill. bigger tires have rutted it out a bit which left us off camber a lot. i came up on one rut that was full of water so i couldnt tell how deep it was. as i proceeded slowly into the hole i found there was more to it than appeared on the surface and i actually laid the rhino on its side sort of. i was able to correct it under its own power and kept going.
wolf den was really a surprise. wolf den is normally "boring". in fact i avoid it because theres never any challenge to it.....until you add the rains! the end with the parking lot (at road #576) where i sent the jeeps was to flat to pose any troubles for them, but the other end down by #516 really came to life in one section. the ranger high centered trying to make the climb (the ruts were as bad as ive ever seen them) but after backing up and hitting it a few times with momentum my brother made the climb. this was where the ground clearance of the rhino proved its worth. the rhino made the climb while barely even breaking traction. my brother flipped me off, grinned, and we kept going. 
the rains had died down a good bit by the time we made it to dutch john. we got at the steep climb just in time to watch a "puma" (thats one ive never heard of before) sport quad come rolling all the way back down the mountain. the rider was able to jump off without any serious injury but his quad was pretty much totalled (dutch john is a really steep, long, rutted trail. if you mess up, theres just no time for recovery.). i really didnt want to try to make the climb at first. not only did i just watch a quad tumble all the way to the bottom, but over the years ive seen dozens of rollovers at dutch john and ive never ran it in the rain. my brother reassured me that the rhino could handle it so i reluctantly agreed to proceed. he told me he would follow close with the ranger so that if i did get into trouble he would push me if need be. i shifted into low range, locked the front locker, and headed up the hill. 40 feet into the climb i just "knew" the rhino would make easy work of dutch john. i wasnt cocky, but a sense of calm replaced the fear and i was having fun again. i dont think i would have attempted that climb on my arctic cat in the rain (no roll cage on the cat) but the rhino just pulled and pulled and pulled until we reached the top. since i hadnt ridden dickey bell yet (my favorite trail) i actually decided to turn around, go back down dutch john in the rain (the rhino kicked tail going down it too!), to pick up the bottom of dickey bell to run it backwards. in hindsight i think going down it in the rain was a stupid thing to do.
dickey bell was awesome as always. the scenery, the obstacles, the stream crossing, everything was great. the forestry people and the locals have done a great job fixing dickey bell and fencing off certain parts. i could spend a weekend just riding up and down dickey bell. its not "extreme", and its not "boring"....its a perfect combination of challenges and natural peace. there were a few bad ruts and dugouts that irresponsible off roaders have dug, but both machines handled tremendously well and although dickey bell was a bit tougher than normal because of the rain, it was still everything its always been. we turned around and ran dickey bell in the opposite direction and at the wolf den end happened across a rider on a raptor that had busted his drive chain. we hooked a strap to him and to my brothers ranger and pulled him down wolf den to slab pile to rocky mountain loop and back to the staging area. by the time we got there the rains had finally stopped and while it was still to slick for me to try it with the jeep, we headed up towards daniel mountain with the rhino and ranger. all the pictures were taken on daniel.
from top to bottom in both directions daniel was as slick as frozen snot. talking to other riders, at least 3 riders rolled over today on daniel. i didnt see anybody roll over, but i saw a lot of close calls. even the 4x4 scramblers had problems. although the front wheels were pulling, their light front ends just couldnt get a bite. i try to look at things objectionably and in all fairness i gotta say the big let down of the day is the honda rincon. i saw a group of 3 rincons ride by that didnt make it up the first 1000 feet of daniel from rocky mountain loop. it was steep and slick and difficult but i expected more out of the honda flagship. never having been a honda man i was honestly curious about what to expect and i saw first hand that the honda "3 wheel drive" isnt just a loose insult. 3 wheels were spinning hard while the 4th just sat there like an anchor while the quad seemed to pivot around it. the limited slip on my arctic cat fails sometimes if the tire is wedged but there was no resistance against any of the wheels. sorry honda/rincon guys, im not trying to hurt any feelings....this is just what i saw first hand today. the rhino and ranger both climbed to the top from both sides of the mountain without any trouble at all. the sportsman 500/700's did great, the cats did great, the praries we saw did pretty good considering the swing arm rear, and i even watched a 12 year old take a honda rancher right through where the rincons had so much trouble. go figure that one....
in my honest assessment of the rhino (at least so far) it is the most impressive piece of machinery i have ever purchased. its own brute capabilities inspired confidence in me and made me a better rider. the power of the 660 is definately impressive, the handling is great, and the ride is as good as it gets. the design engineers really got their act together before putting this machine into production. the components work perfectly together and compliment one another to seemingly make it the perfect package. after a day like today, even though i was totally soaked for 6 hours ill be grinning in my sleep tonight.
me and my rhino coming down daniel mountain. steeper than the picture makes it look.
me going up daniel mountain, also steeper than it looks. it wasnt raining, but the rocks still had water running over them coming from up above.
my brother on the 6x6 ranger going up daniel.
the ranger makes easy work of a big slick rock.
my rhino on top of daniel mountain.
i really appreciated the 12" of ground clearance. the picture just doesnt do the climb/descent any justice. its nothing "extreme", but definately challenging when wet.
my brother posing the ranger on top of daniel mountain.
me coming down daniel mountain. |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Nathan |
Posted - 05/11/2006 : 12:25:51 PM
both did everything we asked them to do. the clearance of the rhino went a lot way, as did the tandem axles on the ranger (middle/front axles giving it great breakover angle, rear/front axles giving it amazing stability on steep hills). if i had to pick a "winner", id say we both won. |
| Tmanpoker |
Posted - 05/11/2006 : 11:52:15 AM
Sounds like you guys had a blast, thanks for sharing |
| DrKnowitall |
Posted - 05/11/2006 : 11:29:27 AM
So which one performed the best in this situation? The Rhino or the Ranger? |
| daryl |
Posted - 05/05/2004 : 9:06:10 PM
I got off onto an unmarked trail by mistake.
It looked traveled where I got onto it but I just
did not use good judgement after I noticed there
were no Markers. It got bad. Too off camber to try
to turn around so I keep going up.
Had a blast though and will go back soon. I think I will
watch for the orange markers better next time. |
| Nathan |
Posted - 05/05/2004 : 8:38:40 PM
hi daryl,
uwharrie is awesome indeed. not to hard, not to easy, its just right. how did you end up busting an axle? |
| daryl |
Posted - 05/05/2004 : 8:12:34 PM
Nathan, You made it look like so much fun I had to go today, 5-5-04
No problems with Rocky Mountain Loop. Started around again and turned onto Daniel.
A jeep had the trail blocked, Letting air out of his tires about a half mile
fron the lower parking area but there was a trail to the left I took.
Bad mistake. It went from bad to worse.
I broke the left front axle about 3/4 way up whatever mountain that was.
I had much trouble turning around without four wheel drive. After getting
turned I had no problem getting on down to the staging area.
I rode the forest service roads back to my truck at Rocky Mountain Loop.
I had a ball and will go back soon. After repairs are made.
First try at graphics 
Got it I think.
Nathan, I think you will know where this is. I wonder how that tree got so scarred. |
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