First towing, desert and camping trip

[cb4017]

I finally reached 1,000 miles on Ricky Ranger so it was time to haul my Rpod out for a night at my usual camp spot.

I decided to visit a place I call Mom's Mountain. Years ago my parents rode a train to Reno to visit. Mom was fighting cancer at the time and wanted to go 4-wheeling. I owned a 4-door Jeep Wrangler at the time. so we went. The top of the peak is white quartz. Sometime in the past miners had cut a road up here and blown some of the quartz apart looking for gold ore. Anyway the road up can be challenging. 4-LO and high ground clearance needed. I figured if Ricky could handle this then it could handle most anything I would get myself into.

Mom absolutely loved it. She was like a kid. She took pics with a disposable camera and showed them to anyone she could corner. She also brough back a piece of white quartz. In my mind this place will always be Mom's Mountain.

Ricky did great. This Rpod weighs about 3,250 pounds fully loaded with a tank of water. I set the cruise at 65 mph and went. Very stable, plenty of power. No issues.

Off road, no real complaints. Ricky climbed up there no problem. The front camera while in 4-LO was neat. Came in handy in a couple of spots when I couldn't see over the hood where the road went. I did doink the skid plate a couple of times. I figure leveling struts and a little bigger tires are in Ricky's future.

ETA: The picture of Mom was taken around 20 years ago. She lost her battle in 2009.

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[stemplar]

And thus it came to be known from this day forward, by all here in the ranger6g forum, as cb4017’s mom’s mountain.

 

[STEVE_K]

Looks like a good time!

 

[NM Mike]

Cool story. Looks like you had a good time.

 

[cnorrss]

Pretty damned cool...taking ours for a small distance camp trip in a few weeks...interested to see the 2.7 in action...great pics!

 

[Elfman]

Dude, neat story and a great tribute to your ma. She sounds awesome.

You have a stock Lariat or XLT? (Doesn't look like a RR.)

 

[cb4017]

Dude, neat story and a great tribute to your ma. She sounds awesome.

You have a stock Lariat or XLT? (Doesn't look like a RR.)

Thanks!

It's an XLT FX4 with the 2.7L engine. Did great but could use a little more tire and lift.

I didn't consider a RR. Around here dealers are still tacking on $10K "market adjustment" to the MSRP.

 

[Boomerrang]

Love your Mom story. Lost mine in 2010.
Plan on doing an Owyhee trip when the smoke clears. Added 1.5 in the front and 1 in the back with
Cooper Discoverer Road+Trail AT 255/70R18 116T. Tires about 2 in taller and 1 in wider. I just paint my
skid pans every trip so I can keep track of the dings!

 

[John E Davies]

You are a lot braver than I am to camp in the open desert with no trees during a July heat wave, however I am assuming this was a very recent trip… Can you comment on your Rpod? How did it perform on the rough access roads, could you keep the inside temperature to a reasonable level at night?

There is a similar Crystal Mountain quartzite quarry in north Idaho near Burgdorf Hot Springs, the turnoff is easy to see since it is covered in beautiful white crushed quartz rock. It can be very hard on tires! This pic is from 2004… yours brought back a lot of good memories.

Thanks for your beautiful pics.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[superj]

I finally reached 1,000 miles on Ricky Ranger so it was time to haul my Rpod out for a night at my usual camp spot.

I decided to visit a place I call Mom's Mountain. Years ago my parents rode a train to Reno to visit. Mom was fighting cancer at the time and wanted to go 4-wheeling. I owned a 4-door Jeep Wrangler at the time. so we went. The top of the peak is white quartz. Sometime in the past miners had cut a road up here and blown some of the quartz apart looking for gold ore. Anyway the road up can be challenging. 4-LO and high ground clearance needed. I figured if Ricky could handle this then it could handle most anything I would get myself into.

Mom absolutely loved it. She was like a kid. She took pics with a disposable camera and showed them to anyone she could corner. She also brough back a piece of white quartz. In my mind this place will always be Mom's Mountain.

Ricky did great. This Rpod weighs about 3,250 pounds fully loaded with a tank of water. I set the cruise at 65 mph and went. Very stable, plenty of power. No issues.

Off road, no real complaints. Ricky climbed up there no problem. The front camera while in 4-LO was neat. Came in handy in a couple of spots when I couldn't see over the hood where the road went. I did doink the skid plate a couple of times. I figure leveling struts and a little bigger tires are in Ricky's future.

ETA: The picture of Mom was taken around 20 years ago. She lost her battle in 2009.

That is a great memory with your mom. I am very glad to have heard about it and seen your picture. Thank you for sharing it with us.


Also, great trip testing out the truck

 

[cb4017]

You are a lot braver than I am to camp in the open desert with no trees during a July heat wave, however I am assuming this was a very recent trip… Can you comment on your Rpod? How did it perform on the rough access roads, could you keep the inside temperature to a reasonable level at night?

There is a similar Crystal Mountain quartzite mine in north Idaho near Burgdorf Hot Springs, the turnoff is easy to see since it is covered in beautiful white crushed quartz rock. It can be very hard on tires! This pic is from 2004… yours brought back a lot of good memories.

Thanks for your beautiful pics.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

This trip was last Friday. Yes, it did get pretty warm. Temps in the high 90s, but it's a dry heat, lol. My shade is that easy-up. The great thing about the high desert is it will cool off once the sun goes down. It got down into the 60s that night so no problem sleeping. I did run the A/C for an hour or so after sunset to cool it off though.

The Rpod is a model 171, Hood River edition, which means more ground clearance and larger 6-ply tires. It's a good size for just me or me and the wife. I keep the trailer on easy trails, mostly roads used by cattlemen taking care of their livestock. Sometimes I have to tighten things up inside but overall I'm satisfied with it. I have several spots scouted out but the one shown is my go-to spot. It's near a Navy bombing range so I get some decent air shows at times. Got a sonic boom this trip.

There are abandoned mines all over the place. I've been known to visit a few.

Glad you liked the pics.

Thanks!

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