The family and I went on our first trip in the Moose 1982 FJ-60. We went with my club www.gettinoff4x4.com to boards crossing trail on highway 4. This being the first trip for the Moose I was a bit nervous and very curious to see how the Moose would do.
I used the quick deflators on the rims, after using them I have mixed feelings. They fit over the valve stem and against the rim. You simply turn them and they air down really fast. What I don’t like about them is that they are always on the rim and will probably get some trail damage. I also got a chance to use my air gauge that plugs on the valve stem and has a valve you can fill through the gauge. I really liked that it allowed me to monitor the pressure as I deflated the air from the tire. After airing down to 12 pounds I was ready to roll.
Boards is a pretty easy trail, just the kind of trail you want to go on to test a rig. On the wheel scale where the Rubicon is a 10 I would rate this a 3-4. There is two 4 obstacles but for the most part the trail is a 3. We started up the trail in 4 low, and moving with a group of 10 rigs. The rigs were Mostly Jeeps, but there were four Toys including the Moose. My first impressions are how much torque the 6cyl has. Even with stock gears and 33’s it still lugged down and had enough grunt to climb the hills. Maybe it was the six or it could have been I am so used to driving a auto that I forgot what it was like to move without putting my foot into the skinny pedal. I am pretty confidant it was the inline 6.
After climbing a bit we came to the first mild obstacle. It’s a easy rock climb that leans to the left (river side of the trail.) I took it slow but we had one major boom. I smacked my diff on a rock. It seems that the front diff is on the opposite side of my jeep. “Note to myself think other side when driving the Moose.” I noticed that I did smack the rear spare tire a lot during this obstacle and others to find. With some steering and maneuvering I managed to make it through the first obstacle with no problems. The rest of the trail was pretty uneventful until we got to the creek crossing.
The creek crossing is on of the 4 obstacles on this trail, its mild at low flows but can get deep when the flows get heavy. This weekend the flow was heavy. You first have to go down a pretty short steep hill that leans you to a boulder on the left. This normally would not be a challenge, but I have no rocker or sliders on the rig it could have been. After going down the hill avoiding the rock you enter the creek. Fist its not bad, but in middle there is a big hole. The Toyota Tacoma in front of me was running 33 inch tires and the hole swallowed his tire and rim. The stream went over his hood a bit but he was locked and climbed right out. This being my first time in the moose I was a bit worried, I did not want to stall out on the stream, nor did I want to hammer the skinny pedal and break something. I decided on a smooth constant approach and when I hit the hole I knew that momentum would be my friend, being open front and rear I knew that I had to approach it this way to be successful. Off we went, the creek got deeper, we hit the hole and like the Tacoma before me I sank the hole ate my 33 for lunch. I kept constant pressure on the skinny and pop it jumped out. The rear did the same, but this time the front had enough traction to pull me out of the hole. Right after the creek crossing there is a short climb to the large camp ground.
The large camp ground is surrounded by pines with the river running right in front of you. It’s got enough room for about 30 rigs. We all parked to have some lunch and enjoy conversation and chat. I was surprised many of the club members came over to the Moose to say how cool it was. This was a first for me. I usually drive the Jeep and it seems like everybody else’s rig. Even when I drove the EB (early Bronco) it did not get this much reaction. So far I was extremely happy with the Moose. It not only wheeled well it had enough room for the family, and all my wheeling gear. My Wife was happy, my boys were comfortable and we were not sardines in a can like riding in the Jeep.
After shooting the wind we climbed in and headed out. Heading out was much the same, the hole in the middle of the creek swallowed my wheel again and launched me to a rock face, I was able to crank the wheel while keeping my momentum and made it out with out a problem. The rest of the trail was pretty uneventful.
I am so happy to have the Moose in my stable of wheeling rigs. I finally have a rig that I can take the family in and still have the capability to wheel.
