Dishpan Springs in a stock-ish jeep

[mcneil]

Whoohoo! Just got back from running Dishpan Springs solo. Stock 4-cyl TJ, 245/75 MTRs, ARB in the back, no lift, no even swaybar disconnects. No damage except for some clutch overheating. No rock-stacking or bypass-taking, but I did use the winch to recover from an error and keep the jeep right side up.

Ok.. had to throw that out somewhere, figured MJR was the appropriate venue. Feel free to tell me dishpan is so easy now you did it in your grandma's oldsmobile with bald tires. And true, an ARB isn't anywhere in the Mopar catalog, so it's not quite a stock jeep. But for me, it was the most extreme trail I'd run so far.

[RAT]

The only thing I can fault you for is doing it alone! Bad Mcneil... Dishpan is a cool trail. I've seen some crazy s__t go on that trail. Glad you came out safe and sound and congrats! Next time post up here BEFORE you go.

[6spdYJ]

Great advice Kurt. Even if someone wants to go alone, there will always be someone here who will have a clue where you went. See Shant's post about finding the guy with a broken hip - he would have been bear bait.

[mcneil]

Good catch.. I forgot that "solo" had different meanings.

So while it was single-vehicle, I had along with me a friend to help spot, and I had left route information with my wife.

I read that post about the dirtbiker that broke a hip.. that is crazy. The good thing about Dishpan is that there's so many people in that area and the hospital's 30 min away. If I can't get a second vehicle for a run, I'll make sure to bring a friend for spotting and recovery assistance.

[troyboy162]

single truck is what they are talking about. its a curse...go somewhere with one truck and you'll pop a radaiator or something random lol. dishpan is a huge adventure your first time. I remember having a stupid grin all afternoon. now your hooked!

[Jeeperator]

I was out there sunday morning with a bunch of samis. We took the trail up and back. What day did you go. I was a fun day for sure.

[mcneil]

Jeeperator, I ran into you and your Sammy crew right after I passed the last big obstacle (by the water tank). I was the green TJ, no doors/top, smelled of clutch.

How did your run go?

[Jeeperator]

Oh! ok I remember now. I was in the blue and black jeep second inline. run went great! next time if your alone just ask to tag along the more the marrier and the gadzuks gang are a great group of guys. If you liked dish pan you would love gold mountain or john bull but take atleast one more capable vehicle with you just incase.

[Tumbleweed13]

You've been harped on enough for go'n on a 1 vehicle run. I'm sure you got the point. If we didn't care, we wouldn't say anything.

Wheel'n your jeep in "stock" or close to it, form, is great. It's the best way to make you a better driver. It's much more important for you to be able to read your lines thru the rocks. I think newer drivers should wheel a stock jeep for a year before buying all the goodies. I've seen a few guys with more money then experience get into trouble, because they thought the jeep would do all the work. Keep having fun in your stock jeep. It'll pay off.

[TipsE-Z]

I'd echo what Tumbleweed said about driving it stock for about a year. Learning to drive is the best thing you can do for your Jeep, yourself, and your wallet as you won't do anyting too stupid. John Bull is a great trail, but unless you're comfortable banging the undercarriage up I'd wait to you have a lift. I did it with my YJ with 2" shackle lift, and while I did it, I did it with some Hi-Lift work and a lot of banging...

[mcneil]

As I was putting the jeep away after Dishpan, I thought, "what was the hardest obstacle on this trip, and what can I modify on this vehicle to make it easier?"

You know what was the worst part about the trip? The 2 hr drive on the 210 out to the mountains. That ride with the wind and no AC was more fatiguing than running a winch line up and down the hill. We froze on the way out in the morning and roasted on the way back.

I think the strongest case for wheeling stock is that I'm not getting stuck on the trail, I'm getting "stuck" getting to the trail.


And heck yeah, I'll do John Bull. Skid plates are for skidding!

[Tumbleweed13]

You know what was the worst part about the trip? The 2 hr drive on the 210 out to the mountains. That ride with the wind and no AC was more fatiguing than running a winch line up and down the hill. We froze on the way out in the morning and roasted on the way back.

My previous jeep was the same way. Wear ear plugs on the fwy. It kills the road noise, but you can still hear whats go'n on. No more headaches.

[TipsE-Z]

And far as the no A/C; I'll happily trade my Az heat with the doors and top off for freezing. It's always easier to put layers on That drive is brutal, I've made plenty of times from OC up to SBNF. My solution to the problem... An ultra clean cooler with a straw hose hooked to the drain port on it like the NASCAR guys

[mcneil]

I've done the earplugs, tied wet rags around my head in the heat, dry rags in the cold.

What I should really do is get intercom headsets like my father-in-law has on his Goldwing. Something like these: