Jeep Gladiator @ Hurricane Creek trail in NC

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Stay tuned for more videos where we explore TN, NC, VA and surrounding areas! Thanks for watching!

[@StandAloneAdventures]

Just seeing this video and I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to show the areas of concern to look out for. My wife and I are going this coming spring and it has definitely helped us with our planning for it. Awesome video again and thanks, keep the videos coming you guys are great!!

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Hey! Thanks for watching! Glad to help with any questions too!

[@StandAloneAdventures]

@@appalachhaun_adventures We have a stock Rubicon JL and was wondering what air pressure should we air down to before starting the trail? We have completed the Georgia Traverse and are now looking at completing other trails and Hurricane Creek is our next ride for sure. 😁

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

@@StandAloneAdventures I’ve done it very easily stock Rubicon Gladiator. It has the stock Falken mud tires. I usually air down to like 15-17 or so. There’s only a couple spots on the trail where I felt like I needed to get out and look at the section of trail before going over it. Just to get a sense of where I needed to put the tires. It’s a cool trail! There are little obstacles & cool terrain spread throughout.

[@StandAloneAdventures]

@@appalachhaun_adventures Thanks for the advice and info on the trail and we will definitely make sure to air down and watch for the areas you pointed out in your video. Thanks so much for all your help!! 👍

[@onesevencollective1123]

Definitely add more videos like this man, I live in NC too and its nice to find some good places to offroad. Just bought a 22 Rubicon Gladiator. Thanks for the upload!

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Oh nice! I’m really loving mine so far! We got it July 2022. Thanks for the encouragement and watching the channel!

[@BillyBennecke]

Good job completely stock- amazing adventuring when you start to build!

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

I’m loving the Gladiator so far! All stock for now but you all can follow along as we build and explore! 😂

[@emtboy9]

I've run Hurricane Creek a few times in a KL Cherokee... it's a fun trail, especially with a group of friends. Glad I found your channel. I'm looking forward to more videos.

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Thanks man! You had any trouble in a few spots on that trail with the KL?

[@emtboy9]

​@@appalachhaun_adventures Not really... The KL makes up for lack of articulation by having REALLY REALLY good power/torque distribution to the wheels that need it (brake lock differential) , and the Trailhawk comes with an actual rear locker. The only thing that really limits the KL is the ground clearance which can only be lifted so far due to the drivetrain design, but for 90% of folks that's more than enough, the other 10% either deal with it using skid plates and better line choices, or taking a different vehicle in cases where you simply cannot go with out high modification. More than once I slid over a rock ledge on the skid plates, or set it down on a rock rail and slid over an obstacle without hesitation. I also have run my KL also on every trail at Uwharrie, except for the front side of Daniel which it simply won't do... but it will do the back side all the way to the top. All that said, I ended up trading my KL for a Colorado (and now I'm looking at JTs again), largely because it was getting up there in mileage and starting to show signs of the stuff that gets expensive once the warranty runs out (my PTU was leaking, and the transmission was starting to shift a bit roughly). but for the 5 years I had it I took it on trails as much as I could, ran up and down the Outer Banks beaches, and was not gentle with it at all, and it was really good for what it is. It was certainly better with a mile 3" lift both on and off road than my old 4" lifted XJ was, by a long way. And better than the YJ was as well.

[@ahaun88]

This might be my favorite trail you've done so far.

[@karlanderson1791]

Love my Staun tire deflators. They work perfectly and quickly.

[@easttennessee6096]

I use the Staun tire deflators, too; you can set them for a much PSI you need & can reset them at any PSI.

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

I got some cheaper Barricade brand ones. Working good so far! Lol

[@TheMattManTN]

I've watched many videos of this place but never made it there. "Bucket List"

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

It’s a pretty cool trail. There’s also other forest roads all around it and Max Patch that had a 360 degree lookout view of the mountains. There’s buzzard Roost and more trails/forest roads on the other side of the interstate too.

[@jonforrister2942]

Go to any autoparts store and ask for a valve core tool. If you didn't know, your valve stems have a valve core that unscrews, and the tool looks like a screw driver

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Finally got some tire deflators haha

[@matthewtaylor1039]

Tire deflators: The cheapest that are quick and effective are the: Terraflex tire deflator on Amazon for about $22 Next are the staun tire deflators for about $100. Once you set them you can put them in and literally drive as they deflate. Both of those are quick and easy. The Terraflex you have to monitor because they don’t stop, but it’s a great value. You have to stop them manually and take them off at the desired pressure. A third option is a Morrflate system that connects all 4 tires by a diaphragm. It’s about $200, but you can deflate and inflate all 4 tires at once assuming you have a air compressor if some sort. They have adapters for different ones. Yes, I have all three. I wouldn’t recommend buying all three, but if I had to do it all over I simply go with the Morrflate system because it’s extremely versatile. I like being able to use it to air up and deflate. It comes with a built in pressure gauge. I’ve got an air compressor I carry sometimes, but my Powertank is always on board and it fills up all 37” tires with a quickness. The limiting factor when airing up is how much volume you can put in the tire which is sometimes restricted by the schrader valve. The beauty of filling up all 4 at once is you are actually able to use more of the air compressors actual capacity to fill. I hope that helps. Yes, I’m a gear guy. I try it till I like it and then I have a backup.

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Thanks! I recently grabbed some Barricade brand deflators. They look like the Staun ones but are about $30 instead of $100. So far they have worked and usually end up with 2 psi of what I set them at initially

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Those deflate systems with the hoses for all 4 tires at once are pretty cool since we can use them to also inflate too. I may look into that eventually down the road.

[@matthewtaylor1039]

@@appalachhaun_adventures all three of those options have worked well for me. I’ve let friends on the trail use my terraflex and staun deflators while I used the Morrflate. Whatever does the job best for you is the right one. I love my Powertank because I can run air tools off of it also, but I also invested in an Extremeair portable air compressor I keep as my backup from Extreme Outback products. It’s not cheap, but it is absolutely a beast that is built to last. They sell rebuild kits should you ever have a problem. When I go into the middle of know where I like having redundancies.

[@harolddenton6031]

Hey when I get my 2023 Tacoma body lift and larger 275/75R16 tires next spring I would love to come tag along on dome off road adventures with you all. I am also considering trading my 23 Tacoma off tiad model truck in on a new ranger raptor next spring if I can find one not marked up into the mid 60 grand price range. Hearing they are abour 56k to 57k msrp price before dealers add their BS market adjustment crooked markup on them. If not tgen I would consider trading my truck in on a gladiator Rubicon or on a regular 4 door Rubicon model jeep.

[@blancobroncoadventures]

Sweet video! 👍

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Thanks! I need to go check out all of your Bronco videos!

[@fredhughes2637]

I use Staun deflators, I’ve had the 10yrs already

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

I saw some cheaper ones from Boulder Tool. Like $40. Probably should just pay up for the good name ones like you have and I’ve seen many others using them too. Thanks!

[@fredhughes2637]

@@appalachhaun_adventures The knock offs may work just as well. When I bought mine there just weren’t many deflators on the market. I do like this style because I can put them on and air down while driving down the trail or just hang out for a few and take them back off.

[@c.showers6859]

Nice video

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Thanks!

[@frontline343]

I really want to take my raptor there but those trails look very tight

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

This trail isn’t as tight as some as far as tree limbs being all up on the sides of the trail. It’s a popular trail and we’ll maintained as far as tree growth and stuff like that goes if you’re worried about tree limbs scratching the sides of your truck. Several full size vehicles were there when I was. Even a 2500. There is a spot where you will need to get a little close to the edge of the trail though due to how the rocks are laid out and depending on your ground clearance. But it’s not bad if someone is just standing there watching and you don’t steer it off the side.

[@rhino5ohh]

Same here. Want to do it in my raptor as well, but then I see parts like around the 7:50 mark and i like "NOPE". Probably be bending the running boards into the rocker panels on that one. Or the tree at the 27:00 mark. Raptor might be too chonky for that one lmao

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

@@rhino5ohh I barely scraped underneath a couple times. At the 7:50 spot you can go to the right a little more and pretty much avoid that rock. I just wanted to go up onto it. Lol. The worst part of the trail was at the 30 min mark. We just didn’t get an angle where you can see the terrain

[@jshulch]

Where does the trail come out? And how far would it be to Pigeon Forge, TN. Thinking about running on my way to Pigeon, Forge this summer..

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

It starts from I-40 here: 35.72337, -83.02653. It will end at an intersection of dirt roads and the main dirt road being Max Patch Rd here: 35.74293, -82.95245. If you come out of the trail onto that intersection of first roads and go right, it will lead you to south down to Fines Creek Rd here: 35.68183, -82.95147. From there, it’s just a short distance back to I-40. This is the way I always go. Google maps/directions says it’s then about 55 miles or an hour or so to get from there to Pigeon Forge, which took a back way through Cosby area.

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Here is another trail you can do while in pigeon forge. You drive to Cades Cove area. It’s called Parsons Branch and it starts here: 35.56292, -83.84712. It’s easygoing but still cool to go do

[@jshulch]

@@appalachhaun_adventures Thanks for the help and suggestions!

[@PaulWiltsey]

Planning on driving Hurricane this Fall. From 40 turn off to Max Patch Rd, would you estimate 3 hours ? ... longer ? Trying to plan that day .. since I am coming from Raleigh area.

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

We started the trail right off I-40. From the time I did the opening video, it was 11:00 am. The time on my video for airing the tires back up where Hurricane Creek comes out on Max Patch Rd was at 4pm. Then it took about 20-30 to drive back down to the interstate that comes out at Fines Creek Rd and I-40 exit. But there was a jeep group we had to wait on a couple times. Then, we got out quite a bit to do pics and videos 😂 and we even stopped for a few to eat lunch. So if you’re not getting out to do all the videos like we did, you could easily take a good hour or more off of it. We were not in any rush. That’s the only time I’ve done that trail so it’s hard to say a time frame for just going and riding it without doing what we did to get crap loads of pics/videos

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Also, I asked a couple channels how long they thought it would take before I went. They both said about 2-3 hrs. That’s probably just riding through and only stopping a couple times and not doing all the pics and videos like we did the whole trail lol

[@mtodd1972]

Do you feel a full size truck would be fine on this trail? Great video by the way.

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

I’ve seen full size tundras and a 2500 on it. There is just a spot or 2 where, to me, you may need to get out to look at it for a second to to pick a good line cause of the terrain, rock, and off camber part so you don’t scrape, etc. It wasn’t real tight where you would get scratched up by a bunch of tree limbs, or where it would be hard to maneuver on this trail.

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

And thank you!

[@4476kr]

Do you need permits to do this trail or buzzards roost? Hard to find any info. Know here in TN you do, but can not really find out anything about this area in particular. Any help thanks. I have passed this trail many times where I drive for work. Kept seeing trail off the road and never knew exactly what it was. Now I know and have several people interested in going. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

You don’t need any permits for those trails. I believe in TN, you only permits at Windrock and the (WMA) wildlife management areas that have trails. There are trails in TN where you don’t need any permits

[@juliephillips1063]

How was Hurricane creek trail in NC created, indians, logging road... ?

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

I’m not sure! There is definitely evidence that people used to live deep in the trail. There is evidence of fencing and rock walls, etc. There are many forest service roads in this area as well as the Appalachian trail and many other hiking trails and lookouts with nice views

[@ty240sx]

Are there any camping spots out there ?

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

There are I think 3 🤔. So after those cabins there where people usually air down, and right before that 1st creek crossing, is a camp site on the right. Then, there’s a larger one on down I believe really soon after that old bus. It’s after a little creek crossing to the left when the trail turns right. Then, there’s the one we stopped at right there to eat lunch, which is just a little further down the main trail there right before another creek crossing.

[@richardlinn5512]

What pressure do you go down to ?

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

On this trail I went down to about 17-18. On the other video for Bumpus Cove I think I went down to 20. It really does help make it a little smoother ride plus helps with traction.

[@richardlinn5512]

@@appalachhaun_adventures I had no clue :)

[@Brebear6971]

Is your Jeep A Diesel

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

Nope it’s not

[@Brebear6971]

The reason when you were in idle it sounded like it was

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

@@Brebear6971 I’ve thought that a few times too and have read where others mentioned it for their newer Wranglers and Gladiators. Hopefully it’s not a problem

[@appalachhaun_adventures]

@@Brebear6971 it drives perfectly otherwise though