Moab trails with rooftop tent?

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greiswig

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I used to be a river guide down by Moab, and ran trails around there when I had a built-up Isuzu Amigo.*

Anyway, I'm heading down there in June with my gal to show her around in my 2016 HSE with 33" tires and run some of the less adventurous trails, camp out in the desert. I don't mean to run Pritchett Canyon.

For people who have done some of those trails, I'm wondering if you've done some of the off-camber trails with heavy stuff on their roof, like a tent? I'm a little worried about the moment of inertia changing a lot with a fair amount of weight up there of a Rhino Rack and tent.

Also, what kind of pressures were you running in the tires? And did you ever find it helpful to NOT use the offroad height to increase the articulation a bit?

*Yeah, I know...but 192:1 final drive ratio, rear locker with front limited slip, and 33" tires worked REALLY well!
 

mbw

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Definitely recommend normal height for most situations unless you need the clearance. I would normally just bump it up when I came to rock steps. Suspension droop is important. Most people just think a lift solves everything, but on IFS that is just ignorant.

I really wish people would stop it with the lift rods. Johnson rods ******** lies about being needed for tire fitment is fraud. Anything these rigs are capable of can be done without any suspension rods or lifts. If you need more height you are probably doing something you shouldn't be. The platform is amazing WITHIN ITS LIMITS. It just isn't designed to be jacked up on its tippy toes and taken off road. I am seeing the same damn thing with the new Defenders. People lifting tires like crazy on even tame stuff. Defenders have even worse articulation than the LR3/LR4.

I hate off camber so I never put anything heavy on my roof, but I would imagine as long as you take it slow you will be fine. Did you have a specific off camber place in mind? Lot's to do out there without much, if any, off camber too. I tend to spend my time on trails that just have ledges/steps and moderate bolder fields.
 

greiswig

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. Did you have a specific off camber place in mind? Lot's to do out there without much, if any, off camber too. I tend to spend my time on trails that just have ledges/steps and moderate bolder fields.
I was thinking about Hell’s Revenge, Fins & Things, Poison Spider.? I remember sections of those that are steep enough that you can’t always control your speed as much as you’d like, and you have to be ready for a dynamic descent.
 

ktm525

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Rooftop tent? Why? Are there lions about? Excessively wet ground in Moab?
 

ktm525

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With a bad back and knees it is easier to crawl up to a roof top tent vs a tent with an air mattress? What am I missing here? There is a middle ground between sleeping on the dirt and a roof top tent lol.
 

greiswig

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With a bad back and knees it is easier to crawl up to a roof top tent vs a tent with an air mattress? What am I missing here? There is a middle ground between sleeping on the dirt and a roof top tent lol.
Absolutely right. However, I didn't really ask "why should I not take my rooftop tent." I was wondering if people have done any of these trails with one.
 

ktm525

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Increasing you roll centre is never a good idea whether it is on the street or on the trail. Just degrees of risk. Stick to the rough road trails and you will be fine
 
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I was at the National Rally last September in Moab with my LR3 on 33” tires. We did hells revenge and Top of the World I’ve got a heavy rig with steel roof rack and load that I’d say is close to what a decent RTT weights if not a bit more. I also had a full load in the boot. For clarification I’ve got 2.5” lift rods, and additional .25” lift up front to level it out. I keep it out of off road height as much as possible. I have the SYA kit with 2” spacers (does not lift it, but puts struts back down closer standard height/inflation) and limiting straps to help avoid axle breakage. There were multiple off-camber times on Hells revenge that made me pucker for sure. One I for sure thought we were going to flop over. I dropped it to access height and not sure that helped as the suspension gets super soft there. I accelerated through against all my senses and made it through. I don’t ever need to do that trail again. Lol. Top of the world was incredible. There are a few bypasses you might want to take, I only took one and looking back could have done the hard line. I did have front bumper damage from that trail.
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