EMD360
Tempe, AZ
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This was a great boondocking site, south of Superior, AZ. Another BLM property (also some state properties so signs kept saying You are entering or leaving public land.) We have been to federal wilderness areas but this is the first one that was designated by BLM. Found it on the BLM site. It was about 4 or 5 miles off Hway 177 on dirt roads. The training wheels came in handy on these roads and did their job of keeping the rear end from bottoming out.
There were several 4 wheelers who drove by and up the many jeep roads but nobody camped overnight in the immediate area of the gate like we did. We saw about 4 other sets of day hikers and just one in the same canyon. So it was almost to ourselves in gorgeous camping weather.
Our campsite:
Some scenery:
We're hooked!
2003 Itasca Spirit 22e
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profdant139
Southern California
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Wow! You are lucky to live in Arizona, with so much great boondocking so close to you. Great photos!
2012 Fun Finder X-139 "Boondock Style" (axle-flipped and extra insulation)
2013 Toyota Tacoma Off-Road (semi-beefy tires and components)
Our trips -- pix and text
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Tiger4x4RV
San Diego County, California
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Joined: 03/14/2007
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This one goes in the idea file for my next AZ trip. Thanks!
2006 Tiger CX 4x4, 8.1 L gas V-8, Allison 6-speed
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pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Joined: 04/26/2005
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Great photos ... I love to see small Class C motorhomes doing that sort of thing.
TC's shouldn't be the only rigs having fun. 
We may pass by AZ on our way to Southern Utah this upcoming May, so maybe we can checkout that area if it's not too far away.
* This post was
edited 02/13/12 03:48pm by pnichols *
Phil, 2005 E450 Itasca 324V Spirit
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Mello Mike
Mesa, AZ
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Nice!!! Thanks for sharing. We'll have to check it out.
2011 Wolf Creek 850N/Polar Cub/240w Solar/2-6v Lifeline AGMs/Morningstar Sunsaver w/RM-1 & SureSine-300 Inverter
2011 Ford F-250/6.2L/3.73/Bilsteins/Air Bags/Torklift TD w/Fastguns
2004 Jeep Wrangler/4.0L/5-spd
US Navy Ret.
My Truck Camper Adventure Blog
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travelintraceys
Traverse City, MI
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Thanks for the inspiration. We have a similar MH. Can you tell us more about your "training wheels?" (What are they, where do you get them, where do you mount them, etc.) Thanks!
2003 Four Winds Majestic 23A (recycled Cruise America)
Eight years, 118,000 miles and still travelin
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EMD360
Tempe, AZ
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travelintraceys wrote:Thanks for the inspiration. We have a similar MH. Can you tell us more about your "training wheels?" (What are they, where do you get them, where do you mount them, etc.) Thanks!
We do a lot of back roads driving and twice we bottomed out and tore open the back corners of the RV and once the step was bent pretty bad.
  
When I complained on RV.net someone suggested "training wheels" or skid wheels that are common on trailers they told me. After looking up the cost of an extra spring or airbags, these wheels seemed like the cheapest thing to try.
I bought two from Amazon without figuring out how to mount them first. Eventually I found two heavy duty door hinges to hold the 6" bolts and mounted the wheels to the trailer hitch.
Usually smaller wheels will work too but I wanted some good clearance between the wheels and the next thing to get smashed. Now they hit on the driveway but they have worked so far keeping the rear end high enough to avoid hitting bottom.
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travelintraceys
Traverse City, MI
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Mucho Gracias, EMD360, for the excellent tip on training wheels.
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pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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One needs to keep in mind the mechanics of what those wheels on the back of a motorhome are really "doing".
Yes they're keeping the rear end from damage ... but they are also taking weight off the rear drive wheels as the rear drive wheels drop into a dip. You run the risk of loosing so much traction when the tires go into the dip as the wheels begin to hold the body's weight - while at the same time preventing body damage - that you just may wind up stuck in the dip!
A trick to both not do body damage or take weight off the drive wheels when crossing a depression in the roadway is to cross the depression/dip at an angle if you have the room on the sides of the roadway to get an angle on it. This is what I always try to do if possible with our Class C motorhome when traveling on back roads.
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EMD360
Tempe, AZ
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Wouldn't the rear end work the same way if the wheels were not attached? I don't see the mechanics as being much more likely to take the weight off the wheels than the back of the RV did when it was scraped up. Most of the time the rear "bounces" down onto the back end and then immediately lifts up. All of the damage on our RV occurred on very narrow roadways, going downhill. Maybe momentum keeps the rig from getting stuck too? Crossing at an angle is a good tip though.
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