Wondering how many of you take your Mitsu 4x4's off road on actual trail runs (not just dirt/farm roads)? In the US, 99% of owners use their mitsu 4x4's to simply pick up the kids from school, "bling" it to death, or go to the mall which is a shame really since it's such a capable 4x4.

I'm part of a group of US owner's that actually do take our mitsubishi 4x4's off road and we're going to have our 5th annual Sierra Challenge (AKA Sierra Carnage) in the last weekend of July this year. We'll be running some well known +4 trails (on a scale from 1-4) so this run won't be for beginners who haven't modified his mitsu 4x4 properly.

If you're interested in taking your Mitsu 4x4's off road but haven't done so before and want to do an easier trail, we do have beginner trips but this won't be one of them.

Anyhow, here are some pics from our pre-run / shakedown run which we did this past Saturday. Unfortunately excessive snow stopped us from running the whole trail. It won't be like that on the Dusy & other trails during our Sierra Challenge run in July though.

The full gallery can be found here... http://sierrachallenge2006.fotopic.net/








A neat pic of a Black Widow spider we saw during our BBQ later that evening.

 

hello there,

YOur pictures of the trails you ride on are very inspiring! I bought my 2003 Mitsubishi Montero with off roading in mind. The pictures of the Dakar rally had my blood pumping! I just got my Monstero a few months back and is considering doing some easy off roadint AT FIRST. I live in the San Francisco Bay area, so I dont get to see too many trails. Im thinking of going down to Clear Creek heres the link..
http://4wheeldrive.about.com/gi/dyna...ment_area.html
Have you ever been there? Is that a good place to start off? Will my ride get messed up? Everything is pretty much stock, except I bought some Bridgestone Duelers All Terrain tires..

I also wanted to ask you, if there was any advice you could give me? Im also looking for some fellow Montero riders, that could help me if I get stuck or something..thanks I hope you could help me get into the offroading world..

 

Hi,

Thanks for the comments. Glad I'm able to inspire you.

I've never been to the BLM managed Clear Creek off road vehicle area but I have been to the state run Hollister SVRA which is also in Hollister.

As for preparing your rig... not much preparation is needed. If possible, bring a friend who can help "spot" you through tough areas of the trail. Since this is your first time off road, just stay on the easy trails for now and your Monty should be fine.

I may be wheeling with a buddy in Hollister in the next week or two to help trail test lower transfer-case gears and If so, I can let you know so you can come along, otherwise, our next trail run will be at the end of the month and in the Central Sierra's on the Dusy Ersham trail system which is a 4+ trail (on a scale from 1-4 w/ 4 being the hardest).

FWIW, our rigs have all be modified to perform better off road. Most all will have at least 33x12.5" off road tires (usually a mud tread pattern). Some even run 35" tires with lower gearing. We've also added more protection such as aftermarket bumpers (at least 1/8" thick), rocker panel protection (aka rock skids), etc. These kinds of upgrades are manditory for trails like the Dusy Ersham or the Rubicon.

For now, there's no need for you to do any of these modifications. Just be careful and if you're not sure or uncomfortable, just stop and turn around or back down.

Also, if you're not sure what to bring, check out the following...
http://www.geocities.com/mitsubishif..._to_bring.html

It's a fairly comprehensive list and meant for a tough trail and not an easy trail but if you're unsure about the condition of your rig, then it becomes more critical to bring these items.

Note: there is no cell phone coverage at the Hollister Hills SVRA. Not sure about the clear creek area so you may want to be aware of that. It's another good reason to have a buddy with you but it may be a fairly small park so not such a concern. Check with the rangers to learn more.

HTH!

 

hey thanks for writing back...I could use all that information! I just have a several more questions to ask..haha let me know if your tired of it, but be aware I am a newbie..

Now should I invest in some grill guards? (I am quite concerned about the rugged looks on my ride)

I havent went to Clear Creek yet, I dont have the money to buy all that stuff on the list that you gave me. Also I found another SVRA which is way closer to me! So I think Im going to go over there. Heres the link http://www.ohv.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=1172.

Yeah I would like to go with you guys, All my buddies have either sport cars or suvs that my buddies are protecting for some reason..when is the trip? How difficult are the trails? Will my Monstero get messed up? ( there goes my quite concern) Let me know when you guys are going out there and Ill tell you if I could make it. (I work in an emergency room and I picked up some overtime.)

I was also wondering how much water could I go through? Looking at your pictures..Ive seen what you could handle..but our Monster models are a little different..Is there a way I could find out? So yeah can't wait to hear from ya.

 

No problem about being a newbie. I take alot of newbies wheeling for the first time.

As for grill guards, I'm not a big fan of them. They're strictly cosmetic and for the price, not worth it IMHO. Instead buy something like an ARB, TJM, or other "Bull Bar" which is a bumper that's strong enough to nudge animals or in our case rocks, tree's and other obstacles that get in your way.



Carnagie's a great place to "get your rims wet". It's not very difficult and should be safe for your rig although you do need to still be careful.

The next trip I'm going on will be a hard core one as we're going on the Dusy Ershim trail. Your rig will incur TREMENDOUS DAMAGE if you come.

I recommend going on our next trip to one of the OHV areas.

As for working in an ER, one of my closest buddies (I was the best man at his wedding) used to be a Surgical Nurse at Highland Hospitals ER. What an adventure that place was!!

As for water you can go through... you probably don't have too much to worry. Montero intakes usually have 2 or more water "reservoirs" to contain water before it goes into the engine intake. I've gone through some pretty deep water (tire deep). You do have to add breather lines to your differentials (front and rear), your Transmission, & possibly the transfer case. HTH!!

I wouldn't worry about it to much unless you really want to take a dip in the deep end.

 

hey buddy,

Remember me? Remember how I was talking about going to Carnegie? Well forget that notion! HAHA! I went directly for the throat! Me and a couple of my buddies went out to Hollister Hills S.V.R.A bABY!! HAHA and I had a freakin blast!! Just as I thought the Montero had no problems whatsoever on the blue and green trails! (Even on some of the black diamonds! Could you believe it?!?) My other friends did! hahah I went all stock and came out with a few battle scars, but man....My nuts are way bigger after that trip. I have a website where you could look at some pics..I left my other batteries for my camera at home..and the battery I did have overheated in the heat. How did you post up pics on here? It keeps saying that my file is too big..

I definitley want to do it again, before I fix my bumper, Ill put pics of the scars when I get time..

hey heres the link http://www.freewebs.com/themonteroadventures/

let me know what you think of it =)

 

Glad you did it!... You'll find that for SVRA trails there are few that a stock montero can't do, but don't let that fool you into thinking your rig's invincible. Even with the necessary clearance and protection you can easily damage things. Plus the gen III's have all gone to a plastic skid plate which is false protection off road.

Don't get me wrong, I'm far from "knocking" your gen III but you need to know it's limitations before you take it on just any trail.

BTW, if you are able to travel to LA this weekend, go to the Mitsu Owners Day at the Cypress Mitsu Motors R&D site.