I thought that was you, Dave. On BB I've expanded out to the BB State Park, Terlingua Ranch Properties, and Black Gap Wildlife Management Area. There are hundreds of miles of great riding outside the national park.

Greg lives just down the road from me, and I see him and talk to him frequently. We've done some other trips, but his job is screwy and time off if hard for him sometimes. Me being retired allows me to go for 2-3 weeks at a time. He still has a KLR, but he also obtained and modded a Yamaha WR250R that he uses more off road.

On the Tubliss there's not much different than what the very good instructions point out. That issue of using a used tire is just because of the possibility that the interface between the rim and tire bead should be as smooth as possible. A lot of times, especially upon removal, a tire iron will put a small nick in the bead...not a fatal thing to the tire but something that might hinder a good seal to the rim for sealing the air. And as durielk indicated, the rim lock on a used tire may have left a deformity in the used tire.

One other thing I would always do is use a sealant. I've switched from Stan's sealant to Orange Seal. I never had a problem with Stan's, but Orange Seal lasts about twice as long and isn't as prone to making those latex wads over time in the tire. The sealant is what just about guarantees you won't get a flat. I've pulled the occasional nail out of mine and just stuck a plug in the hole, and the tire worked great until it was worn out.

Glad you're enjoying AZ. I was there last fall in that area between Payson and east to the AZ/NM border. Lots of great forest area to ride in there. Just to the east of there in western NM from Reserve to Datil, there is some awesome riding on the forest 2-tracks.

 

I rode out to Black Gap, or should I say by Black Gap. Nice ride, I went right up to the old bridge. Didn't realize the Management Area was open to riding. I thought it was for hunting, especially during December, the time when I would go to that area of Texas. I have also ridden aroung the Terlingua Ranch on my KLR. I entered just South of the entrance to BB on Hwy 385. All was good until I got to one long stretch of deep sand. What an adventure that was. I eventually ended up out on Hwy 118 well North of Study Butte. I've been wanting to do the BBSP, but about that same time, I started going to AZ. Yep, the area around Payson and going East to NM is nice. I've done some camping and riding in that area as well.

Tell Greg hello for me. Seems like he worked for a hospital or school... or something like that. Yep, I retired a few years ago. So I know about extended stays. My first trip out to AZ, I ended up staying for 4 months, only to return a few months later and staying for another 6 weeks. Fortunately my son and my brother live out there so I'm not always being a "Candyass Camper." --- Sorry had to throw that in.

Those nicks are what could be the problem, especially the rear tire. I never have a problem with the front, but that back tire always gives me trouble. So, do you think the Orange Seal would help with a nick or two in the rear tire?

 

Yes, I think the sealant would help with any irregularity in the bead if it wasn't too gnarly. And on the Candyass Camper deal...you'd better believe it...LOL!

 

I see you've upgraded. When I met you in BB it seems like you were camping in a van of some sort. Those enclosed trailers are very versatile and quiker to make camp. Looks like some Red Eye on the table there. Nothing better at the end of day for getting the soreness out.
My poison is Ol' Number 7.
If I'm hanging in one area for a while I set up my big tent. Otherwise I set up my smaller tent for storage and sleep in the back of my truck.


Up on the Rim, Northeast of Payson

 

Neat area there off the rim north of hwy 260. My favorite ride in the area is off forest road 300 between Payson and Heber. You go through the forest in Indian lands. You go south down...I believe forest road 33 or 31. After poking around on obscure off shoots in the GPS, you finally make your way back north through a tall, narrow canyon to forest road 300 again. It was an adventure in route finding, but went through some absolutely beautiful terrain. The terrain itself wan't that gnarly, but there were no signs or indications of where you were. The GPS was critical for pecking your way back north.

On camping, yeah, I gave up on the van and motorcycle trailer deal and went with a 26' toy hauler back in 2014. I never regretted it.

 

Yep, South of 260 is more adventurous than 300 going North. I'll have to check out 33 &31. I found some FS roads going in the general direction of Young that were roads less traveled. Also hits some trails around Pinetop which had a variety of terrain and a limit on the width of the UTV (narrow gates) that kept out the jacktards on those over powered side x sides.

Maybe the next time I head out to Robert Lee I can take a slight detour and we can swap tales while enjoying some adult beverages.

I did this reply on my cell phone after 5, so if there are any mistakes blame it on Jack.

 

Robert Lee...funny thing there...I can see Robert Lee with the naked eye from a place where I've been a member and riding since 1979. Have you heard of Texana Ranch? If you look on Google Satellite you can see it marked just a few miles to the NE of RL. It has some very big hills, and you can easily see RL from most of them. If you look at Texana on the Satellite feature, you can see a lot of the 40-something miles of Baja trail, over 100 miles of singletrack, and tons of interior roads. We have Baja races there, an annual enduro, and several other off road events. We've even had two national enduros in recent years.

 

I do seem to recall about 20 years ago I made contact with someone from Ross Creek Trail Riders about riding at Texana Ranch. Seems like they didn't ride TR during hunting season and before I retired, I was only able to take vacation during the month of December, so that ended that. Instead, I ended up riding with DBSA, Cycleland, and Outlaw. Now that I'm retired (and visit RL several times a year) I've tried to find a way back into TR. I've even ridden the back dirt roads from RL to TR and Blackwell hoping to see or bump in to someone. In the interest of Twin Buttes, I somewhat follow San Agelo Dirt Riders on facebook and noticed that RCTR sponsered an event at TR just this past spring. Seeing that sparked my interest again and I tried a few links for contacts without success. Maybe next time I'm in RL I'll hit those back roads and ride out there again.