BaldEagle said:
show me how a 10" wheel on an atv does more damage then a 40" wheel on a built jeep. that said, the atv people are the ones getting there heads smashed all day long and aren't helping matters.
nearly everyone on the trails i run in to are "out there to tear it up" and leave beer cans everywhere. i always end up taking a bunch of empty cheap ass beer cans home with me, simply because im trying to help delay the rapid approaching time when we can't wheel freely in this area.
i think nearly everyone here is interested in "trail riding". thats kinda what rovers are about. thats the difference in rovers and rock crawlers. if i wanted to pull off a trailer and drive over some concrete culvert pipes and other obstacles i'd have a crawler or one of those monstrosaties. come on max, don't you like driving you 109 all day in the woods?
what scares me about tellico closing is now places like Caney fork that are very low trafficed will simply get shut down soon also due to a sudden increase of traffic.
Did you ever run Uwharrie back in the day? I'm talking like, 5 years ago? (god, that makes me feel old) There were usually about 5 ATV-sized 3~4 feet deep holes on the trails. Also those guys usually rely on wheelspin, and those spinning wheels move dirt around significantly. They can create rooster tails around 10 feet, and the riders usually like to create rooster tails in EVERY corner. In comparison, a rig on 40s will only spin its tires at an obstacle. From my experience with bigger off road vehicles (I have a reasonable amount of experience) is that the rooster tails usually don't go beyond 5 feet. Heck, there is rarely any sizable amount of dirt moving. And if they move dirt, its in a very localized spot. Not to mention its an obstacle so a little dirt moving is unnoticed. Also with all the gear reduction, the bigger tires probably aren't spinning as fast as the smaller ATV tires. Lastly, most 40" off road tires are STICKY. This means they hook up. The ATV tires don't seem to be that soft. Harder tires means they see more wheelspin (back to my argument on wheelspin).
Also with a 2WD ATV, they rely on momentum to traverse obstacles. And that usually means getting on the throttle, and you've got rooster tails. This goes back to my argument above.
As for my style of wheeling, I prefer the style seen by most of the rest of the 4 wheeling community. I like obstacles. Not just a shallow road bed that I cruise around in 2WD the entire time.
Oh, and Caney Fork is not in any danger of closure. The crowd that does *damage* are attracted to places that have obstacles. Caney has none. So you shouldn't fret too much.
Other than Caney Fork (I know you run that place, I SAW YOU!! Speaking of which, my friend from Georgia and I are waiting for some snow up there, then I'll go back and see whats there) where else do you ride? Where are these "out to tear it up people/beer chuckers" you speak of? Only other places I can think of are Uwharrie (always trash piles there, but I used to volunteer up there back in the day, I haven't wheeled there in yearS), Beasley Knob (don't know anything about that place, wish I did), Tiger (no one knows about that place), Gulches (there is no beer drinking there and all the dirt moving is good so the rock will expose itself) and Tellico. Tellico is in A LOT better shape since they outlawed 2WD vehicles. Same for Uwharrie. I rode up there in May and there were no ATV sized holes. Heck, hardly an ATV out there. It was like...heaven.
Most private parks do not allow ATVs, and if they do, they only allow the 4wd flavor, no 2WD or dirt bikes.
But enough about this or that. The bigger issue is more legally driven. Helping fight with letters and phone calls means more than picking up trash or laying down bails of hay.