ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[zmotorsports]

The next several posts will be picture heavy as the wife and I just returned from a week of R&R around the Capitol Reef area of Central Utah. This is one of our favorite areas and last week was our 34th anniversary so we decided to hook up the Jeep to the coach and do some relaxing as well as exploring.

Coach pulled out of the shop and getting the Jeep hooked up.


We took our time leaving in the morning as we were in no hurry. Actually we thought we'd wait until after the morning rush hour as we departed on a Monday morning. We went and had breakfast and then pulled the coach out of the shop and hooked up the Jeep. By the time we arrived in Torrey, UT it was about 2pm as it was a nice relaxing and uneventful 4-hour drive. We stayed at Wonderland RV Park in Torrey, UT which is a small RV park just located at the eastern end of Torrey where Highway 24 and the scenic Highway 12 intersect. We arrived and set up camp then got the lawn chairs out and relaxed for the afternoon. We found out my brother and his wife were staying about 3 miles from us in another campground as they were there checking out their son's lot that he purchased last fall in which to build a cabin on eventually. My wife and I ended up getting together with my brother and SIL for dinner which was actually quite nice.

The next morning we decided to run Cathedral Valley Drive. We headed about 15 miles out of Torrey to the east on Highway 24 and after pulling off the pavement we aired down.


Cathedral Valley Drive is about a 65-mile loop that goes north off the highway and into the back country where there are monoliths, hoodoos and other unique formations that cannot be seen from the highway. One of the overlooks that we walked out to from the trail.


As we were about 45 miles around the loop, we discovered another trail that took off to the northeast of Cathedral Valley. When I pulled up the tracks on my tablet I remembered seeing a trail to the southwest of a trail from the San Rafael Swell when we were there in April. I had commented to my wife while we were down in the ravine looking up at the canyon wall that there was another trail up on top and wondered how it was accessed. Well, while sitting there scrolling through tracks I determined that if we took that side trail it just may lead us over to the San Rafael Swell trail and we both were eager to find out for certain if they were really that close in proximity. We turned off and the first section was decent road so we hit it at high speed as it was getting later in the day and we still had another 20 or so miles from the turnoff before we got back to pavement. I was so impressed with how well the Jeep handles no only the slow crawling around on the rocks but how stable and planted it is at speed across the desert as well.

When we reached the end of the trail we discovered that it does in fact look down into the canyon below where we were in April when visiting the San Rafael Swell area.


We figured that was as good a spot for lunch as anywhere so we got the lawn chairs out and enjoyed the view.


Heading back to join up with the original Cathedral Valley Drive trail and it getting late in the day we opted to try a short cut rather than take the same route out to the overlook. We noticed that the trail was not as heavily traveled as the one heading out but appeared to be a straight shot back to join up with the original trail. We then discovered why we didn't see very many tire marks once we turned off and headed down the wash. This didn't look all that old of a slide but it was easy enough to climb over. I was surprised that I didn't see any other tire marks going over the pile of rocks and the other side was even less traveled so I'm assuming others turned around at this point. Eventually we reconnected with the Cathedral Valley drive route and bombed our way back to Highway 24 by around 6pm, aired up and headed back to camp. We had put about 125 off-road miles on that day between the two trails and only saw one other vehicle just as we pulled off the highway in the morning.


The next day I wanted to try a new to us trail that I had read about earlier. This was called Pleasant Creek trail and headed towards Boulder, UT from the south end of the Capitol Reef main road. The trail turned off the Capitol Reef loop just before the pavement ended at Capitol Gorge. It started out as a dirt highway for the first couple of miles and took us past an old homestead with corrals and outbuildings before dropping us down to the creek. Once we crossed the creek the trail became a bit less traveled and less smooth.


There were a few sections where the trail was nice enough to relax and enjoy the scenery as we wound our way through the trees but once we started climbing the rocks began getting more and more abundant and the trail rougher and rougher, especially in areas that looked like had washed out recently and left the rocks remaining. Nothing terrible but definitely not the 2.0 the trail was supposed to be rated. I actually started to really enjoy the rock sections once I shifted the Jeep into 4-LO. Once we got to the highway again my wife actually said that was one of her favorite trails so I'm glad we took the time to explore it as we will definitely do that one again.


Just as we were about to hit pavement we also hit the snowline as we were at about 8700' elevation.


We dropped down into Boulder, UT and ate at one of our favorite roadside cafe's and then hit the Burr Trail to return to Torrey. The Burr Trail starts out as a 30-mile paved section winding through a beautiful canyon and then as it enters back into Capitol Reef NP the pavement ends and it turns to dirt road. The flowers were all in full bloom last week while we were there. These orange flowers were everywhere amongst the sagebrush and the cactus were also in bloom with beautiful pink and orange flowers opening up.



More pics to come.......

 

[zmotorsports]

Continuing on with our Capitol Reef NP trip.


Once on the dirt section of the Burr Trail we headed towards the famous switchbacks as you drop down into the valley below where you can turn north towards Notom or south and come out near Lake Powell. As we were getting nearer to the Burr Trail switchbacks I saw a trail heading off and back towards what looked like a narrow canyon. It was unmarked and I didn't have it on my tablet so we thought we'd give it a try. It turned out to not disappoint. The canyon quickly narrowed and became very colorful with the rocks and shrubbery.


There were a few outcroppings of rocks that made it a bit tight but not impassible.


We were about 3-miles in when we came to the end of the trail and discovered this awesome double arch just above the canyon's bottom. Well worth the turnoff and the time to explore. I marked the trail on our tablet so we will be sure to take it again.


Here we are at the top of the Burr Trail switchbacks looking down into the valley below. You can see the Y in the trail where it splits off to head towards either Lake Powell to the right or Notom and then Torrey to the left.


The next day we decided to try another trail that we had seen signs for many times in the area but never took the time to explore. We took the scenic highway 12 from Torrey over through Boulder and into Escalante where we fueled up and then turned off onto the Hell's Backbone trail. Just off the highway we stopped to air down and found this beautiful little waterfall. It's hard to imagine all of these hidden treasures that people are so unaware of that never leave the highway and therefore never get a chance to see.


As we headed up the trail we came across a fairly good-sized mountain lake. It was beautifully placed right up against the rock wall and tree line on the far side and the dirt trail.


We continued to climb in elevation and decided this view was too awesome to pass up so we stopped and made this our lunch spot for the day at about 8500' elevation. The only people we saw on the trail were four side by sides that passed us while we were eating our lunch.


After lunch we continued up the trail and came across another trail intersecting the one we were on. It appeared to be a bit more traveled and by looking at my Forest Service tracks on the tablet it appeared to be a direct shot down to Highway 12. We took the turn heading up a bit further to see what was at the end of the trail and found Posey Lake at the top which had a small boat dock and campground. People were enjoying the lake that afternoon in boats and fishing from the dock. I had no idea we'd find such a popular lake at the top of the trail.


We turned back down the mountain the short distance and reconnected with our original route on Hell's Backbone trail to see where it would lead us. My tracks showed that it would reconnect with Highway 12 just outside of Boulder but that was still a long way away. Here we found a deep canyon with rock walls on both sides. The trail skirted around the perimeter of the canyon on a shelf road but the views were spectacular.


A look at the opposite canyon wall.



Stay tuned for more.....

 

[zmotorsports]

Last batch of pictures.

We continued up the trail and as we gained altitude we found ourselves @ 9200' elevation and came across this bridge. It was paved and paved for approx. a couple hundred yards on either side but it was a shock to see this at the top of the mountain.


The placard tells the story of the Hell's Backbone Bridge which we knew nothing about nor did we know we would find this treasure at the top of the mountain.


The bridge is now paved but originally it was a timber bridge spanning the deep rocky crevice that was originally built in 1933, then rebuilt again in the 60's and the last rebuild was in 2005.


The canyon floor is a long, long way down.


Views from the top of the bridge were impressive in any direction.


After leaving the Hell's Backbone Bridge, we started the long descent down towards Boulder and the paved Scenic Highway 12. We aired up amongst a small farming community and took the highway back to Torrey for the evening.

The next day being our last in the area we opted to take another trail in which we had never been on, Hole in the Rock trail. This is a long 60~ish mile trek out towards the edge of Lake Powell where the Pilgrims took their wagons and families down a narrow slit in the rocks to the river below. The road was not smooth by any means but we passed many passenger cars and mini-vans during the first 48 or so miles. We aired down immediately as we turned off the pavement so we had a slight advantage over all of the cars, trucks and vans on the trail. I have to admit I was so impressed with just how well the Jeep handled the rough washboard road at speed. It never felt unstable or uncontrollable as we sped across the desert at speeds of 50-70 MPH. It soaked up the bumps and felt so stable and planted the entire time. I slowed to pass oncoming traffic or when overtaking slower traffic but the road was relatively straight and we could see for miles ahead of us so any dust ahead would indicate oncoming traffic and I may have pushed the Jeep a bit more than I ever had. I truly wanted to see how my suspension handled speed the wife didn't seem to mind, that much.

At about 30-miles out we came across a landmark known as Dancehall Rock. Evidently, the Pilgrims stopped here for a gathering and celebration during the long trek across the desert.


The last 10-miles of the trail were the roughest as we had to slow our speed and traverse several ravines. We didn't pass anyone this last 10 miles or so but once we reached the end of the trail we came across a group of 6 side by sides who were just preparing to head back. We ate our lunch while they boarded up and started to head back and then took the short walk out to the Hole in the Rock where we could look down into Lake Powell below.

The dedication, faith and fortitude those people must have had to be willing to leave their homes in search of a better life is something I don't know I'd be strong enough for. They lowered 26 wagons with oxen and 250 people down this narrow slit on the rocks to the water below so they could continue on. Impressive to say the least.




Just as were arriving back to camp the skies opened up and it rained for about an hour. It clouded up each afternoon but never produced any rain until the last night.





Thanks for looking.

 

[zmotorsports]

We arrived home Saturday afternoon and discovered that our wonderful son had mowed our lawn the day before. It was actually looking very nice and the new sod as well as the low spots that I repaired were filling in nicely.


It's only been a little over 3 weeks since I put the new sod down and I think in another couple it will be almost undetectable.


Yesterday afternoon as a storm rolled in across the Wasatch Mountains I hung my Pride flag and the wife and I enjoyed some time on the deck with a few cups of coffee.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Again, thanks for sharing the pics, looks like a great anniversary trip to me!

 

[Mr.zippy]

Some beautiful country Mike. I too, appreciate the pics. My Grandmothers family migrated from Escalante Utah about 1899. They had a saw mill and relocated to Northern Wyoming. She was almost 7, which was too old to ride in the wagons. She and siblings walked the entire distance, following the wagons. Youngest brother was a baby and rode on a wagon, or was carried. She told me stories of sneaking axle grease to put in the folds of their skin to keep from chaffing. I like to think we are strong and resilient, but those folks were hardened tough. Still have distant relatives in Escalante. I’ve made several trips to that area, and it is indeed beautiful! By the way, my Grandma passed in 1999……6 months shy of 106…… salt of the earth people for sure!

 

[zmotorsports]

Again, thanks for sharing the pics, looks like a great anniversary trip to me!

It was an awesome trip Marc. We've had some great trips over the years but for some strange reason this trip was extra special. Can't put my finger on why but the wife and I really seemed to relax and enjoy ourselves as well as had some deep emotional and engaging conversations, thinking back about our life together and how we got to this point, all of the blessings that we have experienced as well as the trials and challenges that have made us the people we are today. All in all, an absolutely fantastic week.

Some beautiful country Mike. I too, appreciate the pics. My Grandmothers family migrated from Escalante Utah about 1899. They had a saw mill and relocated to Northern Wyoming. She was almost 7, which was too old to ride in the wagons. She and siblings walked the entire distance, following the wagons. Youngest brother was a baby and rode on a wagon, or was carried. She told me stories of sneaking axle grease to put in the folds of their skin to keep from chaffing. I like to think we are strong and resilient, but those folks were hardened tough. Still have distant relatives in Escalante. I’ve made several trips to that area, and it is indeed beautiful! By the way, my Grandma passed in 1999……6 months shy of 106…… salt of the earth people for sure!

That's a hell of a story Zip, thank you very much for sharing. I don't think I would be strong enough to go through what many of our ancestors had to endure in search of a better life. Sharing those memories are what keeps their spirits alive and allow us to continue that connection with our loved ones who have passed.

 

[LeonardY]

Continuing on with our Capitol Reef NP trip.

It's been 25 years since I've been to Capital Reef.
Yours looks like a beautiful trip.

 

[LXCam]

Love the write up Mike, thanks for that. One of these days I'll need to get my off road game back in action. I've been to hole in the rock a couple times, but from the floating side

 

[Jayman17]

Beautiful photos Mike, glad you guys had fun. Thanks for posting those.

 

[Sifan]

Either you are very good at framing your pictures, or the people there have great respect for the great outdoors. Hope it is the latter.

Unfortunately in Southern Illinois, the graffiti artist and the trashers have no respect and have disgraced interstate rest stops, state parks and federal parks.

 

[jhn9840]

Never been Utah. All I can say is you have the most beautiful scenery anywhere. Thanks for sharing your photos Mike.

jhn9840
John

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for all of the comments everyone. It was a great trip and I'm happy to share the photos.

Not to brag or anything, but we love living in Utah and being so close to so many amazing destinations.

Either you are very good at framing your pictures, or the people there have great respect for the great outdoors. Hope it is the latter.

Unfortunately in Southern Illinois, the graffiti artist and the trashers have no respect and have disgraced interstate rest stops, state parks and federal parks.

Thanks. It might be a mixture as I try to get the best lighting and framing for photos, but I'm not a photographer by any stretch of the word. Unfortunately, we too have seen an uptick in graffiti, trash and destruction of public lands over the past several years, even more so than the preceding several decades which makes me sad. It seems there is an entire movement of people getting to the outdoors that have little to no respect for them, just take, take and take and care nothing about preserving or even packing out what they packed in. We've also seen an increase in people leaving the trails which only gives the environmentalists more ammunition in closing down our trail systems.

While we were in San Rafael Swell area in April we were airing down at the beginning of a trail one day and there were four trucks/trailers parked across the road from us unloading their side by sides. There were several signs posted along the side of the road with placards all stating to stay on the designated routes and no off trail travel permitted. As a couple of them in the group were preparing to depart they let their kids take the side by sides around the area and of course they took off tearing across the terrain right between the signs. No one said a thing and they continued for about 10 minutes ripping around the area. I was getting more and more pissed as the Jeep tires were airing down and as soon as we were finished I hopped back in the Jeep and flipped around to go and talk to them. My wife was NOT pleased with me at this point but I told her I'd keep my cool.

I pulled up alongside the group of people standing around and asked them if they saw the signs stating no off-trail travel permitted and asked that they please abide by the rules as we would all like to enjoy them for generations to come. I thought I was very polite and calm but one woman went off on me and told me to mind my own f**king business and her kids weren't hurting anything. I explained that the signs clearly stated "no off trail travel allowed". It didn't say "unless you think they're not hurting anything." Then a guy came around the trailer asking what was going on and the woman proceeded to tell him I was harassing her, then he told me to get the f**k out of their area and leave them alone. I was simply dumbfounded at the lack of respect for not only the environment, but a fellow off-roader and human being. One thing I always prided myself on being an avid off-roader for the past 35-years was the respect our community has for each other as fellow off-roaders as well as the environment, however, we have had several scenarios like this over the past several years and it seems to be getting worse.

Before pulling away I mentioned how I didn't think they were setting a good example for their kids and that they are part of the problem and not the solution but I'm sure it fell on deaf ears.

I hope we're still able to enjoy our public lands by the time my wife and I retire or will they all be shut down due to this behavior.

 

[Sifan]

Sadly, it's easier for them to tell you to mind your own business than to tell (for the first time) their kids they can't do something and actually make them stop.!

 

[zmotorsports]

Sadly, it's easier for them to tell you to mind your own business than to tell (for the first time) their kids they can't do something and actually make them stop.!

Agreed. That's just the way much of society thinks today. Evidently, I made a victim of them by even implying they were doing something wrong and rather than correct that behavior, it was easier to justify it by lashing out at us.

Totally different than when I was growing up. If I did something wrong and even thought about being disrespectful towards someone else for such a thing my dad would have put foot to ***, my ***.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Totally different than when I was growing up. If I did something wrong and even thought about being disrespectful towards someone else for such a thing my dad would have put foot to ***, my ***.

100% agree

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I hate to say it, as I have one, but UTV's attract a lot of people that have no business on our trails.

 

[Mr.zippy]

I hate to say it, as I have one, but UTV's attract a lot of people that have no business on our trails.

Post of the day right there……

 

[zmotorsports]

I hate to say it, as I have one, but UTV's attract a lot of people that have no business on our trails.

I would concur. Not sure of the reasoning, however. Best I can deduce is because years ago in order to be able to really venture into the backcountry "reliably" and for any distance one had to actually build such a vehicle that could handle the terrain for extended periods of time. Even with ATV's entering the market in the late 70's/early 80's the range was limited due to several factors but with the onset of the UTV market within the last couple of decades that has all changed and now someone with minimal to no skills in terms of mechanical ability and a person only requiring any semblance of credit can sign on the dotted line and have a $30k-$50k highly capable toy to rocket them into the backcountry taking the "no fear" or "weekend warrior" mentality to a fearful level.

They have no clue as to what the off-road community's "code" is nor do they really care for that matter. It's all about the me, Me and ME attitude and screw you.

 

[Sifan]

Bad thing about small communities back in the day:
"Do you want me to talk to your Dad?"
anything but that.


Many Years ago, Mrs and I owned a ski boat. In a moment of insanity, we invited another family to go on a boating vacation with us. Second day I'm pulling two tubes and riders were taking turns. Friends 10 y/o daughter announced that her turn wasn't over and she was going again.

Mrs. and our Daughter both had that look "Oooh, this isn't going to go over well".

I waited for parents to address situation, and after a few minutes of nothing, the Mom said "give someone else a turn". 10 y/o YELLED NO and pushed off from the side of the boat. Kept my cool and slyly reached down and unhooked the towrope to her tube and left her floating there.

Boated around her, making sure she was safe, when I stopped to pick her up, she got in the boat

Rest of the week was no problem

 

[signcrafter]

You're living the life Mike, wonderful pictures. Like your pride flag also. When is the first 3 generation in RV trip happening?

 

[gearhead1960]

Sad thing about the UTV's will be when the kids crash and either injuries or fatalities occur, the parents will try to sue the manufacturer for negligence.....

 

[SilverJimmy]

I hate to say it, as I have one, but UTV's attract a lot of people that have no business on our trails.

July of 2021 my wife and I were on the Rubicon, in our Samurai, just getting to the Springs when my rear axle let go. Wasn’t paying attention and dropped into a crevice that bound both rear tires and the weak link was the axle. We’re basically blocking the trail till we get winched up and over this ledge. Right behind us comes the Rubicon SXS Experience, 30-40 side by sides doing what I call the “Nose to **** Conga Line”! Well, they gotta go, don’t have time to let us clear the trail. So they all start squeezing by and there’s barely room and a huge crevice to the right of me. Soon enough one of them drops into it and gets almost upside down!

He kept trying to climb out but he was just getting more out of shape. Finally one of the guys running the trip got him to calm down and told him to turn on his winch. Guy yells out “How do you do that, I just got it this morning and I don’t know how!” Ya, side by sides….. my favorite!

 

[PugetDude]

Always look forward to your travelogs, Mike. Great locations and your write-ups are really informative.
So, where and when are we going again?

 

[bigdave_185]

I hate to say it, as I have one, but UTV's attract a lot of people that have no business on our trails.

I think this is the winning response. Iv witnessed a few of those poor poor choices on trails.

I think the utv gives a far greater choice for people to get out and do things. But because they are simple to drive, easy to purchase it lends itself to the uneducated to use them.

On the flip side, if that group could combine and self educate the possibilities could produce an amazing amount of good.


Wonderful trip and anniversary you two were able to enjoy. Keep them coming

 

[don long]

Nice little vacation there Mike. Utah has some of the prettiest areas in our country. Thanks for taking us along.
On a side note about those side by sides. My son lives in Lehi and he has a side business repairing those side by sides
He currently holds the world record for the fastest first 300 feet while racing those little buggies

 

[red94chev]

Mike, hopefully this isn't off topic but do you carry a weapon with you out there? I can see the need between an aggressive animal, potential thieves, and apparently adults that have been asked to follow the rules.

 

[zmotorsports]

Bad thing about small communities back in the day:
"Do you want me to talk to your Dad?"
anything but that.


Many Years ago, Mrs and I owned a ski boat. In a moment of insanity, we invited another family to go on a boating vacation with us. Second day I'm pulling two tubes and riders were taking turns. Friends 10 y/o daughter announced that her turn wasn't over and she was going again.

Mrs. and our Daughter both had that look "Oooh, this isn't going to go over well".

I waited for parents to address situation, and after a few minutes of nothing, the Mom said "give someone else a turn". 10 y/o YELLED NO and pushed off from the side of the boat. Kept my cool and slyly reached down and unhooked the towrope to her tube and left her floating there.

Boated around her, making sure she was safe, when I stopped to pick her up, she got in the boat

Rest of the week was no problem

That's awesome. Sounds like she learned a lesson that should have been taught by her parent's however.

You're living the life Mike, wonderful pictures. Like your pride flag also. When is the first 3 generation in RV trip happening?

Thanks Scott. I feel like we are. Although we're still working full-time I feel like we have a nice balance between work and play, at least until we can retire and do more of the latter.

Always look forward to your travelogs, Mike. Great locations and your write-ups are really informative.
So, where and when are we going again?

Thank you Scott. I think our next trip is in about a month, we're heading up to Afton, WY for a few days and will play around Teton NP and surrounding areas.

Nice little vacation there Mike. Utah has some of the prettiest areas in our country. Thanks for taking us along.
On a side note about those side by sides. My son lives in Lehi and he has a side business repairing those side by sides
He currently holds the world record for the fastest first 300 feet while racing those little buggies

Thanks Don. I agree, Utah has some of the prettiest areas but I may be a bit biased and we've only really traveled the western U.S. The furthest east we've been so far is Indiana with most of our travels being South Dakota west, from Mexico to Canada. There are some areas that we really like to visit but we love living in Northern Utah.

 

[zmotorsports]

July of 2021 my wife and I were on the Rubicon, in our Samurai, just getting to the Springs when my rear axle let go. Wasn’t paying attention and dropped into a crevice that bound both rear tires and the weak link was the axle. We’re basically blocking the trail till we get winched up and over this ledge. Right behind us comes the Rubicon SXS Experience, 30-40 side by sides doing what I call the “Nose to **** Conga Line”! Well, they gotta go, don’t have time to let us clear the trail. So they all start squeezing by and there’s barely room and a huge crevice to the right of me. Soon enough one of them drops into it and gets almost upside down!

He kept trying to climb out but he was just getting more out of shape. Finally one of the guys running the trip got him to calm down and told him to turn on his winch. Guy yells out “How do you do that, I just got it this morning and I don’t know how!” Ya, side by sides….. my favorite!

Unfortunately, we've seen this all too often Sterling. Impatience and then something bad happens from someone being less than respectful when someone has an issue.

I think this is the winning response. Iv witnessed a few of those poor poor choices on trails.

I think the utv gives a far greater choice for people to get out and do things. But because they are simple to drive, easy to purchase it lends itself to the uneducated to use them.

On the flip side, if that group could combine and self educate the possibilities could produce an amazing amount of good.


Wonderful trip and anniversary you two were able to enjoy. Keep them coming

Thanks Dave. This wasn't necessarily a landmark anniversary per se, but it sure was a fun one and a great little vacation.

 

[Bob Heine]

He kept trying to climb out but he was just getting more out of shape. Finally one of the guys running the trip got him to calm down and told him to turn on his winch. Guy yells out “How do you do that, I just got it this morning and I don’t know how!” Ya, side by sides….. my favorite!

Ryan needs to add a Face Plant or Ah $hit emoji to the like button.

Growing up, my off-road transportation was laced to my feet. The only people I remember driving the tough trails had stock or near-stock US Army surplus Jeeps and I don't remember any of them being inconsiderate a-holes. The one I knew in Vermont picked up trail trash left behind by 'city slicker' hunters when he went out for a drive in the woods. Boggles my mind that you can carry a full bottle of booze or can of beer into the woods but can't carry the empty bottle/can out. At least the piles of cigarette butts are less common today.

 

[zmotorsports]

Now for my take on the UTV market. Granted this is just from my experience and other's experiences may be different but I had several years of firsthand experience from the aftermarket and performance side of the UTV industry.


As for the side by sides, I can't in all honesty state that the only people to blame on the trails are the side by side drivers but they are the vast majority of the issues we've personally come across. We've seen people in Jeeps, Toyotas and everything else do some stupid **** and be inconsiderate as well but they have been much fewer and further between.

That being said, the side by side introduction and the early years of working on them and with their owners is one of the reasons we got completely out of powersports. Our performance shop/business revolved around the powersports industry for 20 years with some street rod and race cars mixed in there as well. The vast majority of our work for our clients was with dirt bikes, snowmobiles, sand rails and ATV's and I'd schedule in some general automotive work as filler mostly for my more loyal clients who insisted I work on everything of theirs and not just their powersports toys. I was building custom chassis for all of the beforementioned powersports toys as well as performance engine work, race cutting gears in transmissions, installing air shifters on sand drag ATV's, doing more fabrication and getting more into machining of small one-off items plus a metric **** ton of clutch and carb tuning on snowmobiles and ATV's. I was even getting pretty well known for work on Weber IDA and IDF carbs in sandrails and building some VW swing and IRS transaxles which I really enjoyed, but around 2008~ish I started getting people with side by sides coming to us for work and I have to say it was a different crowd.

Where my shop was behind my home and I only worked after my normal full-time day job was done, I worked by appointment only to keep my small shop from being overrun with people's toys, to keep the city happy and to keep my sanity by not having too many toys torn apart at once. Our clients were awesome and generally great people who were respectful and courteous but that all started to change around 2008. Our long-time clients understood that what we did was more of an art than merely nuts and bolts as there were no two toys in my shop that were the same at any given time and even when we did a complete build from the chassis up they were unique and the owners of these fully understood that these machines were more like a race car than a lawnmower. They required routine maintenance between trips and couldn't just be put away and then drug back out for the next trip. The new breed of UTV owners didn't seem to understand this.

Business was getting quite busy so in 2009 we had a family meeting; my wife son and I laid out all of the facts about what was working and where we saw our business as well as our hobby taking us. It was determined that we were spending much more of our time and efforts on duning with our last trip usually around Thanksgiving and then starting back up as early as President's Weekend in February so sledding was only about 3 months at most and duning was taking up much more of our energy and focus. With that in mind in fall of 2009, before the winter rush on sleds, we sold all of our snowmobiles and even our enclosed snowmobile trailer but kept our new Haulmark Edge race trailer for duning as that is what we had ordered it for a year earlier.

We doubled and tripled our efforts and by then with our son being in his late teens and ready to graduate high school he was turning into a huge asset when he was in the shop working with me. As a father I was so very proud of him for the knowledge he had gained and was continuing to gain but also blessed to be able to work alongside my son each night after work. Our son had been indoctrinated into the 2-stroke world since he could crawl and by the time he was in his early to mid-teens he was getting pretty good at diagnosing and working on these hi-performance machines, so volume started moving through our shop at an increased pace. I felt a loyalty to my long term clients as most of them were still on Suzuki LT's and Banshee's plus a few sand cars and I didn't want to kick them to the curb, but I wanted to embrace the new possibilities that were coming with UTV's.

For those of you who have been involved at any level of sand duning you more than likely know of the shop by the name of K&T Performance. They used to be based out of Roy, UT but now are in West Haven, UT just a few miles from our new home. Kim has been a friend of mine since the late 80's when we were in the Stag's Car Club together. He started building quads just before I did as he made the transition from the asphalt quarter-mile to the sand dune scene just a few years before me. Although Kim was knocking out ten plus quads to every one of mine, we ran in similar circles and continued to be friends and even duned together most Labor Day weekends at St. Anthony dunes in southern Idaho. We also bumped into one another at Little Sahara dunes in Utah on occasion while doing testing and tuning and I have the utmost respect for him and his kids which I've known since they were quite young.

Our shops were only a few miles apart where he was in Roy by this time after moving from Ogden and I was in West Point. Back in the late 90's through about 2006~ish we had several of our local Yamaha and Suzuki dealerships here that would hold "Show & Shines" throughout the summer months and his clients as well as ours would enter their quads in the competitions. Both of ours would show well but what I liked is that his clients were loyal to him and mine to me. They were respectful and we bantered back and forth but all in good fun and spirits. We never seemed to get into the bad-mouthing of one another and our clients didn't either. Kim's sand quads had a very unique look and theme about them as did ours with Kim's emphasis on the 300-foot sand drag races. We built more dune friendly quads but started getting into the sand drags around 2006.

All that changed when the UTV's came on scene. It was a different clientele and although at first I thought I'd like to tap into that market, that thought soon faded when I started to witness the bashing and badmouthing coming from the UTV owners that we were encountering. A completely different crowd than what I was used to with no respect for various builders and much bigger mouths than what I was used to.

Unfortunately, these behaviors started to sour my taste for the industry and where it was headed. Kim on the other hand fully embraced this new UTV market and is now doing exceptionally well and solely working on UTV's. He and his kids have a thriving business and are creating some awesome builds and products, so much so that he has had to move out of his home shop in Roy and into a commercial shop just down the road from me as his business has grown so much. Kim was always a great mechanic but what he is just as good at is selling himself and his shop's products and services. He has a knack for selling and creating an image. I'm not saying that as a bad thing, I wish I had that trait myself.

What I started to witness around this timeframe of 2010-2012 during our trips was the entourage following Kim around while at the dunes. This group of people were complete tools that kissed his *** and played up to him to the point that they didn't seem to care who they talked **** about and most of the time it was obvious they didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

This was also the point in time when my son was getting more involved with building his Jeep. For the previous 15+ years for his birthday in October he always wanted to go to St. Anthony's sand dunes for his birthday. However, for his 21st birthday he didn't want to go to the dunes. In 2012 he wanted to go to Moab with our Jeeps instead of the dunes. At this point we were in the middle of a new full-blown build going on in our shop for my son which consisted of one of our 4130 chassis with Suzuki LT500 hi-po engine, drag pipe, +14" swingarm, +6" front end with Marvin Shaw struts that was about 80% completed. Upon our return from Moab we had a family meeting to discuss our path moving forward.

As a family it was determined that we did not like the direction the industry was going and wanted to shift our focus moving forward. I think those early experiences have soured my taste for the entire UTV industry and although we haven't been to the dunes for 10 years now, from what we see on the trails we are less than impressed with the UTV crowd.

I cannot lie, I miss the days of building sand cars and ATV chassis. For me I think it was just as much of a challenge and art that intrigued me and grabbed my attention during the build process than actually rip shitting around a bowl at the dunes. There are times I miss building those bad *** sand toys but then there are those times when we pass those damn UTV's on the trail that I cringe and despise the inception of them. What they are doing to our trails and the caliber of their owners is worrying me about the future of off-roading as we know it.

Rant over.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, hopefully this isn't off topic but do you carry a weapon with you out there? I can see the need between an aggressive animal, potential thieves, and apparently adults that have been asked to follow the rules.

Yes, I am usually packing. Best case scenario is that it never needs to clear the holster for any of the above-mentioned reasons.

 

[zmotorsports]

While on vacation last week I received an email stating that the rolling step stool that I ordered a couple of weeks ago was ready for pickup. Yesterday on the way home I stopped by to pick it up.



For the past 6+ years I've been using this folding Werner 24" step ladder. It has worked well for the most part but there have been a few occasions where I had it slip and/or start to tip. I haven't fallen off of it, yet, but when standing on the top step (I know I shouldn't do that) I feel like I am gambling and it's going to eventually happen.



I ordered the rolling step stool after nearly slipping off a couple of weeks ago. This stool has rolling casters that are spring loaded to allow the stool to move around but compress when stepped on and although it is about 4 inches lower at only 20" tall, the upper step is 24" wide by 10" deep and very rigid. I think this platform type stool will provide a bit more stability when working on compared to the aluminum folding step ladder.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

UTV's have a big presence here in the midwest in 2 factions...those that are for work on the farm/ranch(Ranger/Pioneer) and those that are for play(RAZR/Talon). Some pull double duty.

The cost is what gets me, I payed less than half for my used Tundra that has a V8, leather interior, A/C-Heat, and a usable bed. I'm not a fan of the RAZR/Ranger that has to run wide open all the time either, if I had to spend the money, it would be on a shaft drive unit(Honda/CanAM). The wife and I discussed it once, but we rarely ride the 4-wheeler we have, it mostly gets used as a work mule or the kids putt around on it. When we do ride for fun, the 2-up configuration of our Traxter Max covers all the needs and has a nice comfortable ride.

We've had TONS of horrible accidents around here with the sport UTVs. Most of the time its the younger 20-somethings that drink too much and get overconfident with a piece of equipment they don't know how to operate properly. Lots of ambulance rides and the flight for life helicopter has been to a few of the wrecks. Occasionally it is the 40-something that still thinks he's 20-something.

I grew up on 3-wheelers, so I'm no foreigner to death machines. I've done stupid things and wrecked, but I also had a great amount of respect for the machine I was riding, and knew it would/could kill me without a moments notice. No different than running heavy equipment, you have to understand the limitations (both your own and the machine's).

We've been asked many times to join these groups that tour the local country roads in their SxS's, but politely decline and avoid the mishaps and mayhem.

 

[SilverJimmy]

I’m with you on the danger to our sport/hobby that the UTV crowd poses, but their inconsiderate actions are not the biggest threat. I believe that their exceptional capabilities to go anywhere without a driver needing a lot of skills or experience is the biggest problem. Around Flagstaff the Forest Service is shutting down many FS roads because those roads are used to get into very remote areas and then they go off-road into the remote areas. I don’t have the actual stats, but in my opinion the worst offenders are shed hunters. Every fall and winter shed hunters scour the woods for antlers to sell and on many busy intersections here in town are trucks offering to buy those sheds. If you hike into our most remote areas you’ll find tire tracks, and those tracks are not Jeep or pickup tracks! Just my observation and my opinion.

 

[SilverJimmy]

Mike, on a lighter note, have you seen the wagon that @MP&C is building? Looks like we might need a throw down on wagon builds!

 

[signcrafter]

Looks like a nice stool. I also used a step ladder or drywall bench and always had them slip out while leaning over the engine bay of trucks. ZKdiesel turned me onto this little giant step ladder that works really good also. The steps are wide and handle folds down out of the way. I put off buying it for a long time because while I have no problems buying tools to do the job correctly when it comes to things like this and tool boxes and that kind of stuff I think of it as more of a personal comfort and go back and forth on weather or not to fork out the money for it. But after I do get them I'm always happy I did and think what a dummy I was for not just pulling the trigger right away. This links to grainger but they a lot cheaper other places. Think I got mine from Sam's club online.

https://www.grainger.com/product/4XN35?gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2293:99F1R6:20501231&gclid=CjwKCAjwp6CkBhB_EiwAlQVyxaBAeJzSrkWfEQHO4hyNLlopg4P71mlHuxTGtTQtUVmtYMvMvAZpzxoCz4UQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[zmotorsports]

UTV's have a big presence here in the midwest in 2 factions...those that are for work on the farm/ranch(Ranger/Pioneer) and those that are for play(RAZR/Talon). Some pull double duty.

The cost is what gets me, I payed less than half for my used Tundra that has a V8, leather interior, A/C-Heat, and a usable bed. I'm not a fan of the RAZR/Ranger that has to run wide open all the time either, if I had to spend the money, it would be on a shaft drive unit(Honda/CanAM). The wife and I discussed it once, but we rarely ride the 4-wheeler we have, it mostly gets used as a work mule or the kids putt around on it. When we do ride for fun, the 2-up configuration of our Traxter Max covers all the needs and has a nice comfortable ride.

We've had TONS of horrible accidents around here with the sport UTVs. Most of the time its the younger 20-somethings that drink too much and get overconfident with a piece of equipment they don't know how to operate properly. Lots of ambulance rides and the flight for life helicopter has been to a few of the wrecks. Occasionally it is the 40-something that still thinks he's 20-something.

I grew up on 3-wheelers, so I'm no foreigner to death machines. I've done stupid things and wrecked, but I also had a great amount of respect for the machine I was riding, and knew it would/could kill me without a moments notice. No different than running heavy equipment, you have to understand the limitations (both your own and the machine's).

We've been asked many times to join these groups that tour the local country roads in their SxS's, but politely decline and avoid the mishaps and mayhem.

Yeah, with the Little Sahara sand dunes only a few hours south of us here, the St. Anthony sand dunes only a few hours north and mountains surrounding us we see and hear on the news all too often of the deaths and accidents involving them.

For us we were at a precipice as a family. While our business revolved around powersports for two decades but yet for us personally, we didn't like where the industry was heading so we opted to go a different direction and get more into Jeeps and road bikes. A couple other factors also weighed in on our personal decision however. One was that fact that we used the Jeep for a toad when RV'ing and that was and continues to be a huge part of our life, probably why we enjoyed duning all those years as it allowed us to use our RV for enjoying the dunes so it combined our favorite hobbies. Secondly, we got to the point where we didn't like having to trailer the toys everywhere and having to break camp to go to the trail to enjoy them.

With the Jeep we can leave camp, enjoy the trails and then when done for the day head back to camp or even head into town to dinner without ever having to break camp. There's also the fact that many of the trails are not out and back and therefore the trailer is not where you need it when done with the trail.

Lastly, we've noticed over the past few years areas like Ouray, Moab and Lake City have placed bans on UTV/ATV riding within town limits. This has been due to the disrespectful behaviors of drivers rip-shitting through town disturbing the peace. There's been quite a big ruckus going on in Moab revolving around his currently and the city council keeps going back and forth on the matter so it's nice to not have to be bothered with that BS at all.

Also worth noting is that not all UTV owners are behaving this way. We meet many that are great people and appear to be quite respectful to others whether on the trail, in town or stopped for lunch. Last August when we were in Ouray with our son and DIL, we stopped on a couple different days to eat lunch in Animus Forks area and ran into a group of UTV's that had the same idea. We bantered back and forth with them over the course of the week we were in the area as we kept running into them and they were as nice as nice could be.

Last week on Hell's Backbone trail a group of 4 or so UTV's went by while we were eating our lunch on the side of the road. They were hauling *** up the trail and as they approached us parked on the side of the road, they slowed to a crawl and waved as they went by. I was pleased they went past at a dustless pace and then we ran into them again at Posey Lake where they were eating their lunch. They joked with us as we pulled in that it was their turn to eat lunch. We have these good encounters on the trails as well unfortunately, they are less common than the opposite behaviors and exchanges.

I’m with you on the danger to our sport/hobby that the UTV crowd poses, but their inconsiderate actions are not the biggest threat. I believe that their exceptional capabilities to go anywhere without a driver needing a lot of skills or experience is the biggest problem. Around Flagstaff the Forest Service is shutting down many FS roads because those roads are used to get into very remote areas and then they go off-road into the remote areas. I don’t have the actual stats, but in my opinion the worst offenders are shed hunters. Every fall and winter shed hunters scour the woods for antlers to sell and on many busy intersections here in town are trucks offering to buy those sheds. If you hike into our most remote areas you’ll find tire tracks, and those tracks are not Jeep or pickup tracks! Just my observation and my opinion.

I would agree Sterling and suggested similar in an earlier post that with these advanced machines it can take people to areas that in the past were less accessible to the unskilled and unknowing people. The advanced nature of the newer machines make it possible for people to very easily drive beyond their skills and that's when accidents happen as well as people start thinking because the vehicle can do it they don't stop to rationalize whether or not they should. Going off marked trails just seems to be the first step in that spiral descent of lack of consideration and respect.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, on a lighter note, have you seen the wagon that @MP&C is building? Looks like we might need a throw down on wagon builds!

I noticed that Sterling. Robert is building a cool wagon for certain. I just picked up my son's body from my upholstered yesterday so I'm getting anxious to get back on it. I was hoping to have it completed for West Haven's annual car show but that is next weekend and don't think I'm going to make it.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looks like a nice stool. I also used a step ladder or drywall bench and always had them slip out while leaning over the engine bay of trucks. ZKdiesel turned me onto this little giant step ladder that works really good also. The steps are wide and handle folds down out of the way. I put off buying it for a long time because while I have no problems buying tools to do the job correctly when it comes to things like this and tool boxes and that kind of stuff I think of it as more of a personal comfort and go back and forth on weather or not to fork out the money for it. But after I do get them I'm always happy I did and think what a dummy I was for not just pulling the trigger right away. This links to grainger but they a lot cheaper other places. Think I got mine from Sam's club online.

https://www.grainger.com/product/4X...GtTQtUVmtYMvMvAZpzxoCz4UQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks Scott. That looks like a nice step ladder/stool. However, I wanted more of a rigid platform style vs. another ladder. That does look more stable than the Werner that I've been using. At my last shop I had a molded plastic step with a wide platform that I really liked but it didn't survive the move for some reason. Used it in the shop for a dozen or so years and abused the hell out of it yet it didn't make the 6-mile move from the old home/shop.