If you have read Jp magazine for any length of time, areas such as Moab and the Rubicon are likely to be familiar names to you. There are, however, excellent wheeling locations to be found all over the country. No, really! Take for example Clayton, Oklahoma. We recently headed to Clayton to spend the weekend with the friendly folks from the Jeeps of East Texas.
Located in the Kiamichi Mountains, the quaint little town of Clayton is home to some of the best rockcrawling in the region. Trails were originally developed near Clayton nearly a decade ago on public lands. When that land was sold back in 2002, access was lost. Clayton is only three hours north from the million people living in the Dallas metropolitan area, so it did not take long before dedicated Jeepers from the Fort Worth Dallas-Four Wheel Drive club (FWD-FWD) started looking for alternatives to the land that had been sold. Weldon Frieling opened an off-road park north of town that offers moderate wheeling over a variety of terrain.
Mike Green later secured a deal with a local land owner to develop an area catering to the hardcore crowd, accurately enough dubbed Green Acres. This area is home to some of the hardest trails around, and new trails are being developed all the time. Since this is private property, any club or individual who wants to develop a new trail merely has to provide the sweat-equity and they not only get a new trail, they get naming rights as well! During our visit with the Jeeps of East Texas, we had no problem finding challenges. Copious amounts of rainfall turned easy trails into hard trails and hard trails into running rivers of oozy, goozy muck.
Just The Facts
Where: Clayton, in southeast Oklahoma. Approximately three hours from Dallas, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City.
Jeep Requirements: Trails for everything from stock to fully built. Recommend all-terrain or more aggressive tires and rock sliders.
Camping: Clayton Lake State Park (918/569-7981) and the Clayton Country Inn (918/569-4165) both have everything from tent camping, to RV hookups, to cabins for rent.
Weather: Mild temperatures year round; wet and slippery conditions in the winter and spring.
Supplies and Fuel: Clayton Country Store (918/569-4129) and Kwik Chek (918/569-4129) are both located on Hwy 271 right in town; they are easy to find and close to the trails.
Permits: $20 per vehicle per day to access the trails at Green Acres, the area that we visited. More trails can be found locally at Frieling's Off Road Park ($10 per day) and Southside ($15 per day).
Greg Walker's "Orange Crush...
Greg Walker's "Orange Crush II" was built by Sunray Engineering with its Ford 9-inch-based axles under a custom four-link coil suspension. The only thing that Greg had to do after the trip was change the gear oil in the True Hi9 third members. This kept the Detroit Lockers and 5.40 Richmond gears happy after the LT1 mercilessly spun the 42-inch Super Swamper IROKs all day.
Greg Walker's "Orange Crush II" was built by Sunray Engineering with its Ford 9-inch-based axles under a custom four-link coil suspension. The only thing that Greg had to do after the trip was change the gear oil in the True Hi9 third members. This kept the Detroit Lockers and 5.40 Richmond gears happy after the LT1 mercilessly spun the 42-inch Super Swamper IROKs all day.
Sometimes dad's hand-me-downs...
Sometimes dad's hand-me-downs don't look so bad. Maselyn Walker piloted the original "Orange Crush," while his father drove "Orange Crush II." Both Jeeps were built by Tom Elliston at Sunray Engineering. Maselyn's ride has a 5.3L engine, a TH700R4 transmission, an Atlas II T-case, and of course Sunray 9-inch axles front and rear.
Despite the name, the Walk...
Despite the name, the Walk In The Park trail is anything but. The rain made the clay so slick that traction was virtually non-existent, and it wasn't long before the winch cables started unspooling.
At first glance Steve Kornegay's...
At first glance Steve Kornegay's '95 YJ looks pretty tame, since it still has the stock paint and fender flares. The Jeep was built at Kilgore Muffler and Performance with function in mind and repels bugs with a Cummins 4BT engine. The diesel is hooked to a SM465 transmission and an Atlas II transfer case with a 5:1 Low. The axles are one-tonners for long-life with the 37-inch Cooper STT tires and Lock-Rite lockers.
Leaf springs might not be...
Leaf springs might not be fancy, but they work. Kelly Leach runs the stock YJ springs on top of his Dana 60 and Dana 70 axles with a custom traction bar in the rear to fight wrap under acceleration. The 162:1 crawl ratio in his '91 YJ is thanks to a NP435 tranny hooked to a 2.72:1 Klune-V Underdrive in front of a Ford NP205. The diffs have 4.56 gears and Detroit Lockers to ensure all of the TBI 350's power makes it to the 38-inch Swampers.
Wet N Wild is located in the...
Wet N Wild is located in the creek bed at the bottom of Green Acres, but the water is usually nowhere near as high as it was during our visit.
The 35-inch Nitto Mud Grapplers...
The 35-inch Nitto Mud Grapplers on Danny Ray Netherland's '04 Rubicon worked wonderfully in the wet, muddy conditions we experienced in Clayton. A 4-inch Pro Comp short-arm lift kit provides clearance for 35s with full articulation. With lockers and a 4:1 T-case from the factory, a good aftermarket suspension is really all these Jeeps need to be capable on the trail.
Larry and Nancy Camper retained...
Larry and Nancy Camper retained the durable 4.0L engine in their '01 Wrangler, but added an Atlas II T-case for greater gear reduction. That, along with the selectable lockers in both axles, provided excellent traction for the Clayton terrain. A 6-inch Full Traction suspension makes room for the 35-inch BFG MTs. These were the smallest tire size in the group, but they didn't keep the Campers from keeping up on the trail.
The Motorcraft 2bbl carb on...
The Motorcraft 2bbl carb on the 304 in Robert Kornegay's '79 CJ-7 seemed to think that it was fuel injection, and it never hesitated regardless of what angles Robert put the Jeep. A trusty Warn 8274 stands at the ready to yank the little blue CJ through whatever the 37-inch Goodyear MT/Rs couldn't.