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Thread: Black Dragon Wash - San Rafael Swell, UT

  1. #1

    Black Dragon Wash - San Rafael Swell, UT

    Hiked Goblin's Lair a few months ago and thought I'd come back via Black Dragon Wash off I-70 near Green River the following day. Turned out to be a two day drive...


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    Bogley BigShot oldno7's Avatar
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    As someone who hangs out with folks who do these kinda obstacles on purpose--my first thought was, use your jack to transfer weight to the free tire.

    But the next morning, I see you got it

    nice video--

    a rear locker is fairly cheap.

    That which doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger.

    THX for sharing.
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  5. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by oldno7 View Post
    As someone who hangs out with folks who do these kinda obstacles on purpose--my first thought was, use your jack to transfer weight to the free tire.

    But the next morning, I see you got it
    I actually go the idea around 6pm the evening before. But as I lifted that front tire... well, it was holding the truck in place. Plus, I was in front of the truck. It got dark and I thought I better not push my luck on lifting the front as I figured I'd do something dumb. The next morning I lifted it up higher and then dug out under that front tire. I determined that I needed larger rocks to put under it. Problem is... larger rocks required more of a walk and they were heavier. I took the time to fit them together and then used sand and small rocks to fill in the cracks, like mortar.

    Quote Originally Posted by oldno7 View Post
    a rear locker is fairly cheap.
    I knew I had Ford's "limited slip" but did not fully understand it. Now I've come to realize that as long as a tire has no resistance, it will spin and not put power to the other tire. Hence, why people have lockers. I looked into a winch but then thought I might just go with a Hi Lift, chains and perhaps a sand anchor. I've been driving in central Utah for about 15 years and this is the only time I got stuck. First time was in pure sand (I've since got better tires).

    After watching the video, that whole does not look that bad. But it was. Also, the worst part to me was that I dug up part of that wash. I filled it in a little with the rocks and then place some as a guide but I feel bad about tearing up a trail.

    I also found myself thinking about the situation. For example, at what point would I give up and walk toward I-70? When there was no longer a chance of getting out? There was always a chance. Also, what would I do when I got to I-70? I should have cell service but who do I call? Should I try to hitch into Green River? It was not the end of the world type of thoughts but something I had not considered before.

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  7. #4
    Thanks for the video. Nice to see vids of people that don't have a perfect day and how they resolved the issues.

    Although I don't know for sure, (as I haven't had a real 4X4 without at least 1 locker since I was a teenager) that you can use the brakes to equalize the force going to both wheels by pushing on the brake and gas pedal at the same time. I've actually tried this on a vehicle with open diffs and it didn't seem to work very well, but I would imagine that it should work better with a limited slip.

    Basically, limited slips are useless off-road in Southern Utah and anywhere else IMHO. Good for smoking the tires on pavement though.

    I'm a HUGE fan of the Detroit Locker for the rear diff (although I like them in the front too). They make one for the Ford 8.8, but not sure if that's what you have in your truck. I know there are other fancy lockers out there that work great...until they don't. I've seen too many ARB Air Locker failures because of leaky airlines just when they were depending on it. The Detroit Locker ALWAYS works, no matter what. It will never let you down and I've never had one, or seen one, fail. It will be the last thing you question as to it's reliability.

    Side note: NASCAR has been using the Detroit Locker forever and I honestly can't recall a single failure of the "Ratchet" (that's what they call it).

    Although personally, I wouldn't go on any trail that required a "capable" 4X4 without another vehicle. You would have been out and laughing about it in 2 minutes with a strap from behind.

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  9. #5
    Adventurer at Large! BruteForce's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing the vid! I know the exact spot you got stuck.

    I don't go anywhere without my SAT phone, my SPOT-X, a winch and all the self recovery gear. Glad you made it out safe!

    <as a side note, my Jeep is getting lockers, 4.88 gears and new suspension as I type this! :) >
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    Moderator jman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BruteForce View Post
    Thanks for sharing the vid! I know the exact spot you got stuck.

    I don't go anywhere without my SAT phone, my SPOT-X, a winch and all the self recovery gear. Glad you made it out safe!

    <as a side note, my Jeep is getting lockers, 4.88 gears and new suspension as I type this! :) >
    What SAT phone setup and service do you use?


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  11. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by BruteForce View Post
    Thanks for sharing the vid! I know the exact spot you got stuck.

    I don't go anywhere without my SAT phone, my SPOT-X, a winch and all the self recovery gear. Glad you made it out safe!

    <as a side note, my Jeep is getting lockers, 4.88 gears and new suspension as I type this! :) >
    I did look into a Sat Messager. Yearly was expensive. Monthly was more expensive each month but since I'd only use it for 4 months out of the year, it was about $20 less.Still, it is expensive. I did like the ability to send simple messages to people but that was even more expensive. Other then that, an emergency message was all or nothing. That is, you don't use it at all or you are about to die. I am looking into better recovery gear though.

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  13. #8
    Adventurer at Large! BruteForce's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jman View Post
    What SAT phone setup and service do you use?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I use the same provider as my SPOT-X, in this case: GlobalStar. The phone is unreasonably expensive per year as they now require a minimum of a 1200 minute/year plan.
    2020 Jeep Gladiator (2" Lift, 37" Tires, Falcon 3.3 Shocks, Lockers, Sliders)
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    The random world and adventures of BruteForce

  14. #9
    Nice video. Look like Black Dragon Wash has some nice terrains for off-roading.

  15. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by rowilly View Post
    Nice video. Look like Black Dragon Wash has some nice terrains for off-roading.
    It is relatively mild... when you stay on road while off roading. It's when you end up going off road while off roading that it gets more difficult. :)

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