Wheeling in Colorado

[77GreenMachine]

When I think of wheeling in Colorado the only place I know of is Telluride and trails like Black Bear Pass, and Imogene Pass.

If I was gonna take a 3 month trip and head out west with my crawler, what else do I need to consider in Colorado?

I’m thinking next year we might possibly be able to make this happen and we are discussing destinations. I know I want to see the Ark in KY and then keep going. Would love to wheel in Oklahoma and TX while out that way if taking the southern route. I will be in Sand Hollow next month, I’m sure I’m gonna fall in love and want to go back so that’s a possibility as well.

 

[ghost]

Oh I have friends on FB that could give you some suggestions. I’ve never been but keep getting prodded to fly out and rent a Jeep.

 

[77GreenMachine]

Oh have friends on FB that could give you some suggestions. I’ve never been but keep getting prodded to fly out and rent a Jeep.

Yeah I plan to ask on FB too but wanted to discuss it here first.

 

[GONOVRIT]

2017 Colorado/Moab trip report

At 4pm on August 31st Austin Claytor(@SPOA87YJ , my wife Melissa and I left our house for Rangely,CO....over 1500 miles away. We started out with my buggy loaded in front of Austins jeep on our new 28' Kauffman trailer. I was driving the first leg and noticed the trailer wagging. We made it to...

nc4x4.com

14 days, 13 states & extreme rock crawling

On Saturday August 27 my wife and I pulled out of our driveway at 6:15am and headed straight for St. George, Utah. We got little sleep the night before due to seeing Cory Morrow @Pucketts Farm Equipment in Charlotte the night before with some great friends of ours. It was a great time and we had...

nc4x4.com

 

[pitbullcruiser]

I currently live in Longmont, Colorado. So far I have been to Holy Cross, RAM Offroad park and Bunce School road. These three spots are awesome and I would recommend them if you get a chance.
Holy Cross

RAM

Bunce school

 

[77GreenMachine]

2017 Colorado/Moab trip report

At 4pm on August 31st Austin Claytor(@SPOA87YJ , my wife Melissa and I left our house for Rangely,CO....over 1500 miles away. We started out with my buggy loaded in front of Austins jeep on our new 28' Kauffman trailer. I was driving the first leg and noticed the trailer wagging. We made it to...

nc4x4.com

14 days, 13 states & extreme rock crawling

On Saturday August 27 my wife and I pulled out of our driveway at 6:15am and headed straight for St. George, Utah. We got little sleep the night before due to seeing Cory Morrow @Pucketts Farm Equipment in Charlotte the night before with some great friends of ours. It was a great time and we had...

nc4x4.com

I knew you had done something like that a few times and hoped you’d chime in. I’ll read back thru these

 

[UTfball68]

take a 3 month trip

Nothing to add other than, every time I see comments like this on the board, I wonder what dafuq I’m doing so wrong with my life.

 

[77GreenMachine]

Nothing to add other than, every time I see comments like this on the board, I wonder what dafuq I’m doing so wrong with my life.

Working too much and not valuing making memories

I’m not loaded. I just plan well ahead. It costs roughly $5k to go to Disney for a week so I figure why not go out west and make memories I’ll never forget. But this all hinges on if I can negotiate working 100% remote for a few months. In theory we won’t be traveling every few days, instead we stay put in one area for a couple weeks with some exceptions, all while still working and money coming in. Driving 5,000 miles is still the same cost but instead of cramming that expense and drive time all in one big non stop motion, it gets spread out plus get to enjoy the area more.

Edit: I figure I’ll have plenty of time in the future to chase financial goals and career goals. My kids will only be this age right now. My daughter is quickly becoming this pre-teen sassy version of her mother with each passing day. When they don’t want to spend as much time with me, I’ll focus on other things but for now I’m trying to spend more time as a family and make as many memories and experiences as we can. Yes that can be done much more simpler and that’s okay. But we’ve always wanted to travel so we’ve been taking steps to make it happen.

Debt free= freedom

 

[UTfball68]

Working too much and not valuing making memories

I’m not loaded. I just plan well ahead. It costs roughly $5k to go to Disney for a week so I figure why not go out west and make memories I’ll never forget. But this all hinges on if I can negotiate working 100% remote for a few months. In theory we won’t be traveling every few days, instead we stay put in one area for a couple weeks with some exceptions, all while still working and money coming in. Driving 5,000 miles is still the same cost but instead of cramming that expense and drive time all in one big non stop motion, it gets spread out plus get to enjoy the area more.

Edit: I figure I’ll have plenty of time in the future to chase financial goals and career goals. My kids will only be this age right now. My daughter is quickly becoming this pre-teen sassy version of her mother with each passing day. When they don’t want to spend as much time with me, I’ll focus on other things but for now I’m trying to spend more time as a family and make as many memories and experiences as we can. Yes that can be done much more simpler and that’s okay. But we’ve always wanted to travel so we’ve been taking steps to make it happen.

Debt free= freedom

Wasn’t so much about debt or income/expense as I was getting at the time off. I make the PTO policy…and no one gets more than 6wks. Being off for 25% of the year (in one sitting, no less) is insane to me. But I know it’s not uncommon for European headquartered companies to have policies like that. My wife and kids usually go somewhere once a month, and I try to make 2-3 big trips a year…but always seems like it takes 3-5 days to catch back up for every day taken off…whether professionally or domestically. As is my wife only works 10-15/hrs per week at church and have had a part time nanny/housekeeper for a couple months…and still seem to have an eternal to do list.

Edit…but that’s not what this thread is about, sooo…sounds like a killer trip I’m jelly about.

 

[DSM Turbos]

Wasn’t so much about debt or income/expense as I was getting at the time off. I make the PTO policy…and no one gets more than 6wks. Being off for 25% of the year (in one sitting, no less) is insane to me. But I know it’s not uncommon for European headquartered companies to have policies like that. My wife and kids usually go somewhere once a month, and I try to make 2-3 big trips a year…but always seems like it takes 3-5 days to catch back up for every day taken off…whether professionally or domestically. As is my wife only works 10-15/hrs per week at church and we just hired a part time nanny…and still seem to have an eternal to do list.

3 months off for Europe is more than most get. Most of the time it’s around 2 months total or so. Tech companies normally even in the us start with 20ish days of pto, and even more have the scam of unlimited pto.

We are hoping to do something like this when the kid goes to college but maybe just do full time camper life for a year or two before we settle down somewhere again. I am fully remote in my role, so it wouldn’t be too hard to do

 

[77GreenMachine]

Wasn’t so much about debt or income/expense as I was getting at the time off. I make the PTO policy…and no one gets more than 6wks. Being off for 25% of the year (in one sitting, no less) is insane to me. But I know it’s not uncommon for European headquartered companies to have policies like that. My wife and kids usually go somewhere once a month, and I try to make 2-3 big trips a year…but always seems like it takes 3-5 days to catch back up for every day taken off…whether professionally or domestically. As is my wife only works 10-15/hrs per week at church and have had a part time nanny/housekeeper for a couple months…and still seem to have an eternal to do list.

Edit…but that’s not what this thread is about, sooo…sounds like a killer trip I’m jelly about.

My reply came off a little rough and I didn’t mean it that way. Knowing you personally, I KNOW you value family time and making memories. I also know you got money coming out of your ears and probably more in your change drawer than my savings account .

I’m just willing to sacrifice other things to make this happen. Which means less local wheeling as I prepare for it, and possibly losing my job. I’m burnt out anyway so if they don’t wanna let me have the 3 months, I’ll just figure it out lol.

 

[UTfball68]

My reply came off a little rough and I didn’t mean it that way. Knowing you personally, I KNOW you value family time and making memories. I also know you got money coming out of your ears and probably more in your change drawer than my savings account .

I’m just willing to sacrifice other things to make this happen. Which means less local wheeling as I prepare for it, and possibly losing my job. I’m burnt out anyway so if they don’t wanna let me have the 3 months, I’ll just figure it out lol.

I think the take away here is…you can always look at someone else and say…man, they have it made. Whatever the case, I’ll be looking forward to the thread you make about it.

 

[Bebop]

It costs roughly $5k to go to Disney for a week

Holy fuck

for now I’m trying to spend more time as a family and make as many memories and experiences as we can.

That's awesome !

Debt free= freedom

Facts




I'm excited to see where this goes ! It should be the trip of a lifetime !

 

[NCJeeplover]

My daughter is quickly becoming this pre-teen sassy version of her mother with each passing day.

This is completely what has happened to me. I married a woman that was all I could handle and then she made another version of herself and I have WAY too much grey hair to be 35....

but always seems like it takes 3-5 days to catch back up for every day taken off

This is my situation at work. I'm the only one that does what I do. Legally no one else can do what I do. So if I'm not there, it doesn't get done. I try to work my wheeling trips into 4 day weekends and such. Makes it slightly easier. I bust ass the week before and the week after our annual trip to the beach.

 

[gslander]

Should be an awesome trip! I had some friends from Illinois do this a few years ago, and they now do a 1month trip out there as an annual thing. They took the rockcrawlers one year and the subsequent years they either wheel their tow rigs or something on 33s. Their takeaway was the cool stuff in CO is the easy/moderate scenic overlandy trails, like the ones you listed, and the hard stuff is like a 2000ft long boulder strewn trail in a canyon that takes you all day to wheel. They had more fun on the scenic stuff so that's what they do now when they go out there and save the rockcrawlers for the SE parks. Make sure you have a big ass fuel tank and or can carry extra fuel with you on those senic trails.

Happy planning, that will be half the fun right there!

 

[77GreenMachine]

I bust ass the week before and the week after our annual trip to the beach.

This is me. A week off is miserable for me but I can manage a long weekend easily. I’m hoping that if I’m not trying to cram a bunch of fun into the days off then I won’t mind to sit down and be productive with work each day cause I’m going to be in that area for a while and not just a few days.

Should be an awesome trip! I had some friends from Illinois do this a few years ago, and they now do a 1month trip out there as an annual thing. They took the rockcrawlers one year and the subsequent years they either wheel their tow rigs or something on 33s. Their takeaway was the cool stuff in CO is the easy/moderate scenic overlandy trails, like the ones you listed, and the hard stuff is like a 2000ft long boulder strewn trail in a canyon that takes you all day to wheel. They had more fun on the scenic stuff so that's what they do now when they go out there and save the rockcrawlers for the SE parks. Make sure you have a big ass fuel tank and or can carry extra fuel with you on those senic trails.

Happy planning, that will be half the fun right there!

That’s kind of my thoughts. I don’t really have to go out there and crush hard trails. I want the experience. I think I’d be find just hitting Black Bear and similar. I don’t have but a 15gal fuel cell which means only 10-12 usable gallons so I’d need ti plan for that

 

[snipes243]

Not gonna lie we had more fun in Colorado then we did in Moab. We were suppose to go this year again but the cost of diesel and plane tickets was just to much.

Holy Cross was our favorite trail. French creek can be fun when the water is high. The old mine at the top is really cool.

Chinamans gultch is a cool trail that leads to carnage canyon wich has some crazy ledges. When we pulled in a guy was unloading a red dot buggy to go play up there.

Grizzly Lake is a fairly easy trail minus the 4 ledge/gate keeper at the entrance, but the lake at the top was amazing.

The local guys we were with say montrose has some really gnarly stuff as well.

 

[rokntoy]

21 road looks good!

 

[DirkaDirka875]

I know I want to see the Ark in KY

True story... The family and I went there a couple years back and when we were about to leave the ark the lights flickered in the ark and everyone in the arks phones went off with a flash flood alert. Then when we went outside, there was a big ole' rainbow waiting for us. Talk about an eerie feeling/situation.