Power Wagons in MOAB 2017 - May 1-7

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10th Annual Power Wagons in Moab 2017

DATES: May 1,2017 to May 7, 2017
WHERE: Moab, Utah
OFFICAL SITE: https://powerwagonsinmoab.com



Join us the first week of May for the 10th Annual Power Wagons in Moab. Whether your truck is stock or modified, there will be something for everyone. Take in the sights, make new friends and hit the trails to test your skills.

Register today!

>> SIGN UP HERE <<

Take the trail survey to help us decide which trails most folks want to do: https://pwmoab.typeform.com/to/tnyC8x

Event Details

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ACCOMMODATIONS

Hotels:
Sleep Inn, Quality Suites are the closet hotels to the daily rally point with decent prices. Big Horn Lodge is one of cheapest hotels in town but is located more centrally in Moab. Ne sure to make reservations sooner than later.

Camping:

There will be a group camping at Ken's Lake in the Spanish Valley, just outside of Moab. This is a BLM campground and is first come, first serve, which means NO RESERVATIONS are available. It's dry. No hookups, no water, notta.

https://www.campendium.com/kens-lake-campground

For those who want to boondock for free close to town, all of that has been ruined by people abusing our public lands. But there are two places just outside of Arches. You'll be about 20-30 mins from town however.

https://www.campendium.com/willow-springs-trail
Willow Springs Trail
Moab, UT 84532
435-259-2100
Official Website
GPS: 38.6967, -109.6751

It's straight up Boondocking. I camped there for 3 weeks with my Airstream. It's a crowded/popular area with ATVers and MTBers however. It's also back access to the MTB trails for Arches, so it sees a lot of traffic during the day. But there is a lot of space to spread out. Since you have RTT's you shouldn't have a problem.

There is another spot, up the road from Willow Springs:

https://www.campendium.com/dalton-well-road

Dalton Well Rd.
Moab, UT 84532
Official Website
GPS: 38.7304, -109.7242


There is one other place, close to all of us at Ken's Lake you can camp too. Kind of... It's the old Airport. It's state property. And is open. I've used it to once. And I've seen people camping in there with 5th wheels and RV's. There is a gate, that you just open and close. The thing is, I can't find a legitimate answer about if this is or is not allowed online. So I don't know. If you have a RTT and are in late and out early, you might not be bothered.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.4876073 ... a=!3m1!1e3
4890 La Sal Mountain Loop Rd
Moab, UT 84532
38.487859, -109.452134

For additional info on Camping, visit here:
https://www.campendium.com/utah/moab

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VEHICLE:
- Make sure your 4x4 is in good working order.
- Extra fuel - I recommend 2-5 gallons
- Good Set of AT or better tires on your vehicle.
- Spare tire, full size mandatory. At least 1.
- Air Pump for airing back up
- Tire deflators for airing down (I have these: http://amzn.to/2iGoDzz )
- Frame Sliders recommend but not required
- Tools for recovery. IE: straps, shackles, gloves, shovel, etc
- Basic hand tools for fixing broken shit
- Duck Tape, because duh.

There are LOTS of climbs. Trails are mixed; dirt and small rocks, Sand, Washboard roads etc... So be prepared. Don’t just count on someone else in the group being prepared.

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COMMS:

* thanks to @aearles for compiling this information

We didn't have comms last year, but this year it's a requirement. We are using comms to keep things organized on the trail.

Official trail communications will be on GMRS/FRS shared channels. We believe this will be the easiest for most people to obtain, should perform better than CB, and doesn't require testing like ham. If you have a GMRS license, you can use a Midland MXT-105 mobile radio, or BaoFeng UV-5R Dual Band Two Way Radio handheld. I suggest using an external antenna if possible to improve range. You can obtain a GMRS license for $65 here:
http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=home

If you do not want to get GMRS license/hardware, you can use FRS walkies on these same channels, you can get these for ~$30 at Walmart or Amazon. The range will be limited but should be acceptable with the size of our group and the speeds we'll be traveling. I highly recommend that you at least bring a walky to use, it will improve everyone's experience.

For those running Baofeng Handhelds, @aearles put together a small config with all of the relevant channels. You can use CHIRP to flash this image to your device.

Ham Baofeng Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5m1v3kkfbm5wdn/baofeng_simplex_PWR_Moab_Ham.img?dl=0

Non-Ham Baofeng Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sivjcmir7v89nj9/Baofeng_simplex_PWR_Moab_FRS.img?dl=0

Download CHIRP Here: http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Download

Baofeng Programming Cable: http://amzn.to/2eTXMhe

The config contains the following memory slots:

1-3 FRS Primary, Secondary, and Backup. We will only change from primary if there is interference on the channel. If others are using our frequency it's best to just move to the next.

11-14 Common Ham Simplex Channels for monitoring. 13 is the assigned simplex frequency for Hams in our group. TX is disabled in the non-ham configuration.

21-25 Ham repeaters accessible in the area. TX is disabled on the non-ham configuration.

41-50 Weather channels, these are set to skip when scanning but are programmed in case you need to check weather forcast/conditions.

Those of us with Ham Radio licenses will plan to use 146.400 for simplex. This will allow us to communicate over greater distances than FRS/GMRS and we can relay to those nearby as needed. There's good repeater details in the first post as well, this should be helpful for reaching town or other hams without cell service.

If you're not licensed but are interested in improving your mobile communications, it's very easy to get licensed and has a lot of advantages. The test is very easy to pass, costs $0-$15 depending on the testing center, and licenses are issued within about one week. I can help you get started if you're interested, PM @aearles.


LIST OF REPEATERS

Downtown Moab
http://www.sdarc.us/repeaters/moab.html

This repeater covers the town of Moab, UT. It is linked to the SDARC System.

Output Frequency: 146.900 MHz
Input Frequency: 146.300 MHz
Offset: -600 kHz
CTCSS: 88.5 Hz

Moab Surrounding Area (Bald Mesa/La Sal Mtns)
http://www.sdarc.us/repeaters/bald.html

This repeater covers the town of Moab, UT and surrounding areas. It is linked to the SDARC System.

VHF:
Output Frequency: 146.760 MHz
Input Frequency: 146.160 MHz
Offset: -600 kHz
CTCSS: 88.5 Hz

UHF:
Output Frequency: 449.100 MHz
Input Frequency: 444.100 MHz
Offset: -5 MHz
CTCSS: 107.2 Hz

South of Moab (Abajo Peak)
http://www.sdarc.us/repeaters/abajo.html

This repeater covers Southeastern Utah, Southwest Colorado, Northwest New Mexico, and extreme Northeastern Arizona, including Monticello, UT, Blanding, UT, and much of Canyonlands National Park. This communication site is one of the tallest sites available to the Sinbad Desert Amateur Radio Club. It is linked to the SDARC System.

Output Frequency: 146.610 MHz
Input Frequency: 146.010 MHz
Offset: -600 kHz
CTCSS: 88.5 Hz

West of Moab, Canyonlands Maze District (Mt Ellen)
http://www.sdarc.us/repeaters/mt-ellen.html

This repeater covers areas around the Henry Mountain range is Southeastern Utah including Capitol Reef National Park, Hanksville, Hite, Boulder, Escalante, and Bullfrog. Due to the remoteness of this site the repeater is on a timer to turn off the VHF transmitter and the UHF link repeater to slow down the power drain at this site. This means that this repeater will not hear what the system is transmitting unless the Mt. Ellen repeater is first keyed. It is linked to the SDARC System.

Output Frequency: 147.080 MHz
Input Frequency: 147.680 MHz
Offset: +600 kHz
CTCSS: 136.5 Hz

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NAVIGATION:
Each vehicle should have navigation of some type, be it paper maps or digital. I strongly encourage everyone to get a copy of
Guide to Moab, UT Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails. We will make use of this book during the trip and it will help you identify whats ahead on the trails we do.

You can get it here on Amazon:http://amzn.to/2i9qsYB

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FIRST AID: Bring any special meds you need. Bring some general comfort items and SPF 30+ sunscreen. First aid is essential traveling in the back country. Don't rely on others.

Something as simple as an Adventure Medical Kit should suffice: http://amzn.to/2ifD12P and is good to have on hand in your vehicle anyways.

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SURVIVAL:
BRING WATER, everyone should have 1-2 gallons of water per day, per person in your vehicle. It’s the desert, and it’s hot. Don’t be stupid.

We are usually be on the trails for most of the whole day if not longer, so pack accordingly. Bring a cooler, bring snacks, sandwiches, whatever.

Don’t forget your camera! ;)


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PARTICIPANTS:

Just reply that you are confirmed and I can add you. I want to gather our contact details so no one gets left out or missed when they arrive.

  • MikeKey
  • gtomike60
  • Allen8511
  • DamageWagon
  • 2011bigred
  • reivaxram97
  • Mr Crit
  • aearles
  • awdanthony
  • nebmike
  • Chris Sisseck
  • Jeff50316
  • Pit Slave
  • Xavier Richardson
  • RAM4ROKS
  • Chris-CA
  • Bosswagon13
  • Nicholas Baker
  • StormRider
  • Kish Ramirez
  • jseal5757 (+4~6)

:cheers:
 
Last edited:
I have this on the calendar, but not really looking good for making it. We are trying to plan a western states trip either beginning or ending with OVX. I think this might be just a bit to early to work it into our limited vacation time, but I am trying to figure it out. It looks like a great time and every year I sit at home looking at the photos saying I will make it next year, just has not happened yet.
 
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