New to the four wheel drive trail riding Hobby

PWRWGN MAN

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2016
Location
LKN
Hey guys,
I live in Mooresville North Carolina which is about 20 miles north of Charlotte North Carolina myself and my family r extremely new to 4 wheel driving we are about to pick up a brand new 4 wheel drive truck in a couple of weeks 2016 Dodge Power Wagon fully loaded off-road capable and we're newcomers to the Hobby and looking for advice any information on trail riding clubs in the surrounding areas that are family friendly myself Wife and Kids we're not interested in drinking or partying just want to have fun trail riding , (more forgiving trails) and being around like-minded other people and their families doing the same thing we don't drink or smoke and we are very environmentally conscious so we want to make sure we get our trail riding experience and hobby off to a good start for any advice help experience or to make new friends will be greatly appreciated
 
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Welcome, there should be some good local folks chime in. URE is a great starting point for camping, kayaking, hiking and wheeling.
 
Awesome! Welcome!

I know very little and rely heavily on those here that know what the heck they're doing to guide me most of the time, but I CAN tell you I started with a 97 bronco, lifted it, locked it, and found out real quick it was just about too big for anything (legal) that was fun for me

And you've got something bigger, longer, NICER, and NEW? :eek:

John O'Connell said:
2016 Dodge Power Wagon fully loaded
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I mean, yeah it's locked and ready to go, but IMHO, it's just about too big to wheel anywhere FUN...but it WOULD make a hellova tow pig for a nice off-road only rig :driver:
 
You're planning on beginning to wheel with a 2016 truck?

What exactly is your definition of wheeling/trail riding/etc.?

What kind of experience are you hoping to have if that is your vehicle of choice for this hobby?
 
Welcome to a life of addiction and misery. Welcome to the wonderful road of offroading, there are some great people kn here that will help you anyway they can. If money is not an object and you don't mind alot of body damage then go ahead and enjoy your powerwagon. I had a 2015 ram 2500 crew cab I wheeled for a while at uwharrie and before long there wasn't a body panel that didn't have damage. They will do the job but they are so big on some of the tighter trails that there is just no way a veering around it. I ended up getting a jk for offroading, if I had kids I would have got a 4 door jk. Best of luck to you and your decisions if you need any advice this crowd will be happy to help the best way they can.
 
I would highly suggest you check out the Uwharrir Off Road training center. Scott fields and his fellow trainers offer an 0ff road 101 class that is great for beginners in any size rig.

You are going to be very limited in your off road choices with a 4x4 that big, I mean very limited.
We have a member in the Carolina Trail Blazers with a power wagon, from behind the cab is basically coverd in dents from trying to use Jeep sized trails.

For your family a Jeep Jk 4dr, 4Runner, Cherokee xj, or something similar would be much more suited to what you are looking to do. Also, if you are not willing to travel your options are extremely limited.
 
What I should have said:

Take whatever the taxes were on the truck, buy a beat to hell taco or jeep (any variety) and trailer.
Tow trailer and beat to hell vehicle to trails in comfort of new truck.
Continue to beat on vehicle. Repair/upgrade as needed and budget allows. Then double those amounts.

:rockon:
 
Ditch the heated seat options in the ram and spend it on a beater 4 seater jeep with a used car trailer. (coming from a Toyota guy). There will be more smiles in a peice of junk than riding the easy trails while watching shrek in the back of the ram. Welcome!
 
obullfish said:
Try that new Power Wagon in the Lions Den or Mason Jar at Harlan.
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Hold on a sec......... (bends down to pick up names off ground)..... you dropped these


:p



[Nevermind me...I'm just Jealous of those Harlan pics]
 
John O'Connell said:
Hey guys,
I live in Mooresville North Carolina which is about 20 miles north of Charlotte North Carolina myself and my family r extremely new to 4 wheel driving we are about to pick up a brand new 4 wheel drive truck in a couple of weeks 2016 Dodge Power Wagon fully loaded off-road capable and we're newcomers to the Hobby and looking for advice any information on trail riding clubs in the surrounding areas that are family friendly myself Wife and Kids we're not interested in drinking or partying just want to have fun trail riding and being around like-minded other people and their families doing the same thing we don't drink or smoke and we are very environmentally conscious so we want to make sure we get our trail riding experience and hobby off to a good start for any advice help experience or to make new friends will be greatly appreciated
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I also use a well trail beaten 02 explorer
 
tkeaton said:
You're planning on beginning to wheel with a 2016 truck?

What exactly is your definition of wheeling/trail riding/etc.?

What kind of experience are you hoping to have if that is your vehicle of choice for this hobby?
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I'm not looking to do any crazy rock crawling or anything just to do some light trail riding and it's the woods with the family nothing crazy just beginner trails moderate size , trails I also have a well worn trail abused Ford Explorer four wheel drive( multiple times in trails) and always seem to get it stuck because it doesn't have locking differentials , I just dumped way too much money into it over the years and I think the rear carrier is making noises about ready to blow so I'm going to use it till it pops use the new truck with plenty of room for you and family Jeep is not going to cut it wife will not get a jeep again after her friend was killed in a downhill multiple rollover in one, only gong to do family friendly, light trail exploring
 
Infamous1 said:
Welcome, there should be some good local folks chime in. URE is a great starting point for camping, kayaking, hiking and wheeling.
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Excited to explore LIGHT trail driving only for us right now might buy a third trail only rig in the future
 
Jason W. said:
I would highly suggest you check out the Uwharrir Off Road training center. Scott fields and his fellow trainers offer an 0ff road 101 class that is great for beginners in any size rig.

You are going to be very limited in your off road choices with a 4x4 that big, I mean very limited.
We have a member in the Carolina Trail Blazers with a power wagon, from behind the cab is basically coverd in dents from trying to use Jeep sized trails.

For your family a Jeep Jk 4dr, 4Runner, Cherokee xj, or something similar would be much more suited to what you are looking to do. Also, if you are not willing to travel your options are extremely limited.
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Thanks for the heads up
 
Just get the fam out there and see what direction you are moved in. My wife and daughter could care less about the challenge of a big obstacle, they just want to be in the outdoors!!
 
John O'Connell said:
I also use a well trail beaten 02 explorer
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Sell the Exploder and buy a decent used Cherokee or Grand Cherokee. Install a small lift, trim the fenders, install some lockers and bolt on some 33" tires. It will take you everywhere you want to go.
 
Welcome and caution this is an incredibly addictive hobby!

I don't want to discourage you in any way and I think it is great that you are wanting to explore offroading with your family.

I do however have to be honest and agree with several other posters above. The Dodge Power Wagon is a GREAT truck. However there are very few trails local that it will be a good fit on.

You say light trails, and I think it is important to define what that means to you as everyone's opinion of light can vary.
For some folks simply finding a gravel road even with a 35 mph speed limit and riding down it is offroading. If so there are tons of roads in North and South Carolina that may interest you and the Power Wagon will work for. However this isnt "off roading" as by definition you are on a state maintained and designated "road".

For "enthusiasts" the very basic of offroading is going to start at the OHV (off highway vehicle) specific trails. The only public place within 4 hours of you for this will be Uwharrie National Forest (URE for short). At URE the Power Wagon will severely limit the amount of fun you can have. Not because it is a bad vehicle, but because it is big, wide and long and the trails AROUND here are all geared towards smaller more nimble vehicles.

Again, I dont want to discourage you. If you were in UT, AZ, CA, CO, NM etc there are hundreds of miles of OHV areas you could drive for a long time in that vehicle. Unfortunately there just arent many on the east coast. Even URE you will be limited to the gravel access roads to the trail heads, UNLESS you are willing to accept body damage. Im not talking mangled post monster truck car body damage, but Im also not talking a small scratch in the paint either. You should be prepared to accept significant dents if you plan to run the full trail system at URE.

This last point is important. I see you mention "hardcore rock crawlers" as being discouraging. Please understand that on a 1-10 scale with 1 being a public road and 10 being OMG I may die if I attempt this trail. Most on this forum will look for a 6-8 level trail. Plenty here will ride the 9s and a select few look for the 10s been there, done that got the T shirt.

Based on that scale there is 1 trail at URE that may qualify as a 6 with the rest being 2-4s. On these 2-3 rated trails you will damage and dent the Dodge. Simply because they are very narrow, turn very sharply, and trees are very close (especially when passing 2 direction traffic).

You are in Mooresville, so Im thinking there is a fair chance you have been around boats. Let me use this analogy.

Let say you wanted a boat to start bass fishing on Lake Norman. You could go buy a 40' tri-powered Center Console off shore boat. You could put it in Norman. You could catch fish and have fun. But it isnt a good fit and you'd have paid 3x what any reasonable alternative would cost.


Now finally if I may speculate just a tad.
It sounds, to me, like you specifically WANT the Power Wagon and may be using the "offroading with the family" angle to justify it either to yourself, or your wife, or both.
I get it. Been There. Its a bad ass truck.
However there is VERY LITTLE to zero locations local where it will work for that purpose, UNLESS you are wiling to accept it getting dented up. Another member here, with significantly more experience tried what you are contemplating attempting and dented it all up WITHOUT HITTING ANY HARDCORE TRAILS.


Good luck with your decision and let us know!
 
Jason W. said:
I would highly suggest you check out the Uwharrir Off Road training center. Scott fields and his fellow trainers offer an 0ff road 101 class that is great for beginners in any size rig.

You are going to be very limited in your off road choices with a 4x4 that big, I mean very limited.
We have a member in the Carolina Trail Blazers with a power wagon, from behind the cab is basically coverd in dents from trying to use Jeep sized trails.

For your family a Jeep Jk 4dr, 4Runner, Cherokee xj, or something similar would be much more suited to what you are looking to do. Also, if you are not willing to travel your options are extremely limited.
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X 2 on This!
 
Where is Morgan? He could post up some pics of all of his damage that came ALL from Uwharrie minus 1 from the flats.

Awesome truck, just awesome. But off-roading capabilities for this area, not much.

Go to URE and drive till you don't feel comfortable and turn around when you get uneasy feeling. I agree with everyone, truly consider buying another vehicle for the off-roading part. Cherokees can be had, modified already for very cheap. Mine may even be for sale soon.

Edit: as noted it is very addictive! You may start out on the mild trails, but it can quickly turn into doing all of URE without thinking much of it and then finding yourself traveling to KY, TN, AL and so on. Seen it a many times. Even happened to a few nerdy folks you would think would never be into serious off-roading, but once your hooked that's it.
 
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John O'Connell said:
...we are about to pick up a brand new 4 wheel drive truck in a couple of weeks 2016 Dodge Power Wagon fully loaded off-road capable and we're newcomers to the Hobby and looking for advice...
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FB_IMG_1459534446146.jpg
 
77GreenMachine said:
Where is Morgan? He could post up some pics of all of his damage that came ALL from Uwharrie minus 1 from the flats.
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Most of his body damage came from Big Creek, some from Uwharrie but most of the Uwharrie dents I blame on the driver and or spotter. I'll send him a txt to post up.
 
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