Gary's "Nothing Special" Moab trip

[Nothing Special]

Or is it Nothing Special's "Gary" trip to Moab?  Either way, Gary has talked about wanting to go to Moab, and I've wanted to meet Gary.  Lesley and I were planning our third trip to Moab this spring and we decided to see if Gary would be interested and able to meet us there.  He was, so the trip is now planned for this June!

We've worked things out so far via e-mail, but this thread will be to help us keep stuff a little more accessible as the planning gets more detailed.  And eventually it will turn into a trip report!

And Gary, I hope you have your seats reupholstered for the trip in June too!

[Nothing Special]

One detail to work out is what trails to do.  Vacations need to be fun for everyone, and the fun evaporates pretty quickly when it gets too scary or vehicles start getting too beat up.  "Too scary" and "too beat up" are relative to your experience and comfort level, so we need to find trails that aren't too hard or too scary for novice 'wheelers (I guess Cliffhanger and Pritchett Canyon are out!).

Gary, looking at the guide book you just got everything I'm going to suggest will probably be described as "difficult."  But don't get scared off.  "Easy" trails can be done in a 2WD car, and "moderate" can be done by a novice in a stock SUV.  With Big Blue's higher clearance and front locker / rear Truetrac combo he'll be a lot more capable than a stock SUV.  And with a spotter you won't have any trouble getting him over the easier of the "difficult" trails.

So Sevenmile Rim seems like a perfect first-timer's first trail in Moab.  It has everything you want:  some difficult spots that will require picking a line, some steep spots that will let you experience the incredible traction offered by "slickrock", and great views.  But it does it without the difficult spots being too difficult, and without being on the edge of a cliff!

Lesley and I did this trail at the end of our first trip to Moab in 2019.  That day we only followed the trail to about "waypoint 06" on the map in the guide book.  At that point we made our way over to the Courthouse Rock trail to avoid the "tippy spot" listed.  Since then I've seen a couple of videos of the trail, and they haven't included the tippy spot, so I'm thinking it might not be that bad (the "bad" places usually make the best video!).  So what I'd like to do is continue on the trail.  If the tippy spot seems like it will be too "not fun" we can turn back.  But if not, at waypoint 08 Sevenmile Rim gets to the top of Wipeout Hill.  I've wanted to try that for quite a while.  If you end up wanting to take Big Blue down it will put us on a "moderate" trail back to the highway.  And if not we can continue on Sevenmile.  There is one "big dropoff" still ahead, but I've seen video of it and it looks like a good learning opportunity.  And another good thing about Sevenmile Rim is that if you don't want to do that dropoff there are a network of other trails giving other routes out.

Here is a video from our trip in 2019.  At about 1:40 is the scariest thing we did on that day.  It won't look scary in the video (trust me, it will look different in person!).  But hopefully seeing what a non-event steep hills are,you and Janey will have a little more confidence to tackle them yourself.

And here's a YouTube video of an experienced 'wheeler doing this trail with his novice wife driving her stock Wrangler Rubicon.  At about 17:30 they go down the "big dropoff."  She is definitely nervous doing it, but you can see how easy it actually goes.  And in the end she describes Sevenmile as one of her favorite trails.  (By the way, don't go looking for the Top of the World videos he references.  I'll get to them a little later!)

Finally, here's a video of Wipeout Hill (starting around 10:40).  I am not expecting you to do this.  I know you could if you want to.  But if you do it will be the hardest /scariest thing I let you do on this trip, and I certainly wouldn't expect you to do it on the first day!  Still, I wanted you to see it so you will have more info to make your decision if / when we get to it (and as noted above, we'll come in from the top, this video starts at the bottom).  And don't worry about the first part of this video.  I'm not taking Pluto on The Pickle, I definitely wouldn't have you take Big Blue there!

[Gary Lewis]

Bob - Thank you so much for the invitation! As we've discussed the timing is perfect as Janey and I will celebrate my 77th birthday on that trip. So I'm billing this as my birthday trip and I'll get to tick one more thing off my bucket list.

And yes, I hope the seats are done by then, but I should have an answer to that question by the end of tomorrow. That's about the last thing I think I want to do to Big Blue before the trip, although I'll probably think of something else before then.

As for the trails, I'll start watching/rewatching the videos, and get Janey involved - as appropriate. We discussed the trip with our son this evening and he said "You remember, she gets out and walks?" My answer was "Yep, both your mother and your sister did on Ophir Pass due to the shale causing the Jeep to slip a bit. But three years ago she didn't say a word as we went back up Ophir, so she's gotten a bit more brave over the years." To which she said "I was in the back seat with Leesa and she had her head between her knees scared to death, so I was afraid to say anything!"

So I'm not sure how this is going to go. But I'm glad we are starting out easy. Both she and I will need to get comfortable with what the truck will do.

Here's a list of things I am considering taking:

[Nothing Special]

Nothing we will do is as inherently scary as driving on a 2-lane highway with an approaching semi.  There are so many things that can go wrong in that scenario that could lead to instant death.  But very few people are actually afraid in that situation because they have experienced it many times before and haven't died yet!

I haven't been on Ophir Pass, but from pictures I know it to be a fairly steep shelf road with a pretty loose surface.  Like the 2-lane, there are a lot of things that can go wrong, and if they do it's a long way down.  But also like the 2-lane it's pretty easy to avoid most of the things that could go wrong, and the few others are very unlikely to happen.  But unless you get some experience it might still be quite scary.

Loose surfaces are scary because they take away a sense of control.  Loose surfaces aren't very common in Moab, so that probably won't be a factor.

Cliffs are scary because they are such an obvious danger.  But at least at first we won't be dealing too much with cliffs.  There are some on Sevenmile Rim (the "Rim" in the name is a clue!), but we won't be very close to any (the "tippy spot" might be an exception, which is why I want to be clear that we don't need to do it).  And Top of the World has its iconic view point / photo op.  But that's completely optional, stay as far from it as you want.  The fins in Hell's Revenge and Fins 'N Things will definitely be an exception, but they aren't all that high (falling off would ruin your day, but not end your life), and my hope is that by that point you will both have had the opportunity to gain enough confidence in the traction that they will be exiting rather than terrifying.  And if not, as I've promised I won't make you do anything you really don't want to do.

Steep hills are scary because they also take away a sense of control and also have an obvious danger.  But we'll try to ease into them to try to keep it exciting but not terrifying.  Sevenmile Rim has very few required steep hills and none of them are that high.  Top of the World is similar.  Hell's Revenge?  I hope we can do that, but we'll have to see.  Fins 'N Things isn't quite the iconic trail that Hell's Revenge is, but it's similar without having so many of the steep hills (and again, not as high) until you get to the fins at the end, and those are easy to bypass.  Also size is an advantage on hills.  A longer, wider platform is more stable, so anything Pluto can do will be even easier for Big Blue.  I'm pretty sure that Big Blue even has a lower c.g. which will also help you.

Technically difficult sections can also be scary when they seem like they might tip you over or break something.  But we're going to avoid the trails and obstacles that really have any chance of doing that, so again, trying to stay in the "exciting" zone without getting toward terrifying.

But none of us really know how this will go.  I hope that both of you will be able to push your comfort zones a bit because I think you will both enjoy it if you do (but maybe you more than Janey?).  But I'm serious that we won't do something if you say "no."

[Gary Lewis]

Ok, I've watched all of those videos and reviewed your earlier trip.  WOW!

Seven Mile looks great.  I'm tempted to show the video of the couple with the two Jeeps to Janey, but I want to watch it again a time or two before I decide to do that.  The thing I like about it is that it shows and discusses the scenery, which will be a plus for her as opposed to the climbs and descents.

As for Wipeout, thank you but no thank you!  That's way beyond what I want to do, or think I could do.  But it was fun watching the video anyway.  

[Nothing Special]

We're going to be right at Wipeout Hill, which is a "trail" I've wanted to do for a long time, so my main thought there is to take Pluto down and back up and then continue on Sevenmile.  It's not so hard that I would tell you not to do it.  But it doesn't surprise me in the least that you don't want to do it!

[Gary Lewis]

If this is Day 1 I think I'll watch you do it as I won't be ready for anything that steep/hard by then.

[Nothing Special]

Lesley will be watching as well!

[Nothing Special]

The trail I'm thinking of for day 2 is Top of the World.  This is the most technically challenging trail I think we'll do, but I still think it will be a good one for only the second day.  Having said that, I was on it in 2019.  I've heard that it's gotten harder since then, but one of the videos I link below is from last spring.  It's definitely harder, but to my eye it looks like that's mainly because of the mud and snow.  It's usually dry out there, so I don't think we'll have that.  Still, if I'm surprised and it is harder than we want, we can always find something else to do.

But even going on the belief that we won't have to make a new plan, as you watch these videos I'm sure there will be things that you don't think you can do.  I hope you can keep an open mind and give them a try.  For one thing, there's nothing on this trail that's high risk.  There are some relatively high ledges to climb (and then come back down).  But the hill they are on isn't at all steep, and the trail is WIDE, with bushes on the edges rather than cliffs!  So you just take it slow.  If you can't make it up a ledge you're just going to spin tires.  So you back up and take another line.  Or maybe we stack a couple of rocks.  And I did use my winch once (well, twice, but the second time didn't count!).

There might be a couple of places that Janey won't want to ride, but I don't think there will be that many, and I think they'll be pretty short.  Our video of this trail is only about 8 minutes long, because Lesley didn't need to get out much!

At the top of the trail is an incredible overlook, with a good place to get a photo no one will believe!  But this is the only cliff on the trail, and it's completely optional.  You don't need to get any closer to it than you want.  And it's basically pavement up there, smooth solid rock.

Here's our trip in 2019.  At about 1:45 I'm going up the "bypass" to the hardest section of the trail.  That's where I chose to winch.  The top was a little steep, and the winch was going to be an easy way up.  But honestly, I think the main trail is easier than what they call the bypass.  At the end of this video I go down that.  And in the other videos you can see people go up it.

By the way, around 3:00 in this video is where I have the most trouble (not counting where I winched).  You can see how tame that is.  And that's actually the second time I drove up that ledge.  I did it easily the first time, and then backed down since we didn't get any video the first time.  And I didn't get the same line!  So yes, there will be places on this trail that will make you work a little bit to get up them.  But not an awful lot of them, and they aren't scary.

Here's a video from 2018 of the guy in the Sevenmile Rim video (with his son this time).  From 7:55 to 10:30 they are getting all the Jeeps up the hardest spot (the part where I took the "bypass" around).  Again, not a cake walk, but not really any risk of anything bad happening.  And some of those Jeeps are really built, but I think the white one is on 33" tires, and he makes it look pretty easy.

From 15:40 - 18:50 they are going back down the "back" side of the loop.  I'd like to do that sometime, but I'm thinking on this trip we'll go down the same way we go up.  That's what Lesley and I did in 2019, and the back side definitely looks more challenging.

And here's a video from 2023 of the same couple as the Sevenmile video, but this time just in his Jeep (but with her driving).  This is the one where the trail is definitely harder, but I think mostly because of the mud and snow.  From 8:10 - 9:30 they are at that hard spot.  And from about 17:30 on they are on the back side of the loop.

One other warning about watching this video is that they definitely are taking "extra credit" lines at times.  10:50, 12:30 and 14:30 are a few places where I'm pretty sure I see an easier line.  Nothing wrong with taking harder lines if you want the challenge, but nothing wrong with taking easier lines either.

So take a look.  Yes, it's a difficult trail, but it's not at all sneaky or treacherous about it.  You can tell where it'll be a "good learning opportunity" and it won't try to make you pay too much for the education!

Also, as I said, this is the hardest trail I intend to take you on, so don't worry about day three ramping it up farther.  It won't.  As I've said, I'd like to take you on Hell's Revenge.  While that's definitely an easier trail than Top of the World, it is scarier.  So I think it's the better one to leave for later in the trip, after you and Janey have both hopefully been able to build up some confidence.  But don't worry about Hell's Revenge yet, that'll be a topic for another day!

And I'll wrap up this post reminding you that I'm not going to force you to do anything you really don't want to do.

[Gary Lewis]

I'm watching the videos, in order, and will comment:

Your Top Of The World: YIKES!  Ok, I'll get, and hopefully keep, an open mind.  But are you sure Big Blue is capable of doing that?  Some of those places look like the long wheelbase may cause problems.

TrailRecon: Yes, the white Jeep may be on 33's, but doesn't he still have more ground clearance? Anyway, he made it so maybe I can?  But that down stretch looks tough!

Regina, of TrailRecon, driving TOTW: No chance I'm showing Janey that.  "Brand new 392 engine under the hood, which I enjoyed listening to growl and rumble all day long."    "This is probably the hardest trail you'll ever 'wheel... And actually on the way down it is much harder."    The stuff at 13 minutes looks like more than BB could do?  Those big tires look like they make a big difference, especially in the yuk.

Ok, I'm not sure about TOTW, but let's see what the first day is like.  May Big Blue, and I, are better than I think.  

[Nothing Special]

Thanks for the open mind!

It's been a few years, but what I said right after I was there was:

Nothing Special wrote

....  And it's this section that makes me not recommend this trail for beginners.  Or more accurately, it's the trail up to this section that makes me not recommend it.  This section isn't really that hard.  I'm sure a truck like Big Blue could do it, either driving up the right side (two pictures up) or driving and maybe winching up the left side (picture above).  But as I noted, Lesley didn't want me to take what ended up being the easier route.  Gary, I'm actually sure that you and Big Blue could get up this obstacle.  I just think it'll take more experience before you (and Janey) would decide to go forward rather than turn around at this point.  As I've said before, there's no shame in tuning around, but in this case it would be a shame to have traveled the last hour and a half up a rough, not scenic, and not fun trail, only to have to turn around and repeat it without getting to do the rest of the trail (I'm not counting the two hour rond-trip on highway 128 as a loss because it's worth doing anyway).  So if you have the time and want to explore, sure, take a look at Top of the World.  Or if you look at the pictures above and think "I can do that!", go for it!  I just don't want anyone upset with me for wasting 3 hours of their vacation.

Anyway, if you get beyond that first obstacle, from there to the top it's a constant stream of challenging ledges.  Nothing too extreme, but consistently fun!  I did need the front locker one more time, as well as a slight bump once to get the back tires up  (no pictures of that, Lesley was shooting video at that time).  But that one bump and the one winch were the only times in the entire week I didn't crawl all of the obstacles....

So yes, I'm (pretty) sure Big Blue can do this trail.


What down stretch are you talking about from the 2018 Trail Recon video?  If it's from 15:40 - 18:50, that's the part of the trail I think we'll skip.  We can turn around at the top and go back the way we came up rather than do that part of the trail (which is the hardest part from what I've seen on YouTube, I didn't do that part of the trail).  As for the ground clearance, I wouldn't rule out having to stack some rocks now and then.  But from what I remember when I was there and what I've seen in videos since, I'm confident that Big Blue can do it.


In the 2023 Trail Recon video I don't recall the quote exactly, so I could be wrong.  But I think they said it was the hardest trail she had done, not the hardest she would ever do.  It's a hard trail no doubt, but it's not THAT hard.  I think it will be a good level where you'll feel a little (or a lot?) trepidation coming up to the obstacles, but then a big rush when you see that you can do them.   And as the trail goes on the trepidation will wane and it'll be fun!  That's my hope anyway!

Likewise I don't recall the exact quote about going down being harder, but I can speculate two possibilities.  One is that they might be talking about the alternate route, which does seem to be harder (but we won't be doing).  The other is that dropping off a ledge can be scarier than going up it.  It's not harder, but if you pick the wrong line going up you get stuck, back up and try another.  If you pick the wrong line going down backing up might not be a good option, so you might have to make do with your first choice.  But as I said above, the obstacles on this trail are low risk.  You're not doing to fall off a cliff or roll over or anything.  Worst case is you come down hard on your sliders or rear quarter or something.  And I think it won't be too hard to avoid even that.

The 13 minute mark is one place I think they are taking a harder line than they would need to.  The Gladiator clearly does this as his tires are swallowed by the ledge at first, and then when he moves a couple feet to the right he makes it up pretty easily.  Then Regina goes up where she just saw him succeed, but if you look about 10' to her right it looks like the ledge might be only about a foot or so high.  I might be surprised and we might find the trail is a lot harder than I remember.  But I haven't seen anything that make me expect that.  (and yes, big tires do make a big difference, which is why they try to do the extra credit lines)

[Gary Lewis]

Interesting!  I forgot about that discussion.  

Yes, the down the stretch is the section between 15:40 - 18:50.  That really looks tough.  Happy to skip that.  

And you may be right about the quote, but he was still saying it is really tough.  I was just saying that I'm not sure I want to show that bit to Janey.

You are right about the lines at the 13 minute mark.  They weren't trying the easy lines, with the Gladiator clearing taking the harder line to prove a point.  So yes, we should be able to find an easier line.

Anyway, I'm working on opening up my mind.  Not there yet, but I'm seeing glimmers of light.  

[Nothing Special]

The trail I'd REALLY like to take you on is Hell's Revenge.  I've been trying to find some good videos to include to show you why you should do it, but honestly I'm not finding anything that I think will help.  Hell's Revenge is the BEST place to see the other-worldly beauty of the uniqueness of the Moab area, but no pictures or video can do it justice.  And if you spend too much time looking at videos of Hell's Revenge I think you'll mostly see the steepness of the hills (which will tend to scare you off) but you can't see the traction you get that makes those hills so much fun.  So I think all I can you is refer you back to what I said about it right after our trip in 2019.  Here's a link to the full post, but here's an excerpt about the trail:

Nothing Special wrote

....  Hell's Revenge is very close to Moab (about a 5 minute drive from our campground).  And I have to agree with the "experts" I consulted with, as well as the book, if you're in Moab, Hell's Revenge is a must-do trail!  It ended up being both Lesley's and my favorite trail of the trip!  The terrain is so unlike anything we typically see.  And experiencing the traction you get on slickrock is amazing!  Throughout the week there were several places that I couldn't walk on, but the Bronco could just putt up or down easily!  It took a few of these for the butterflies to settle down to the point where it was just fun, but a few butterflies are fun too!  There were a few places that made me pick a line carefully, but nothing I would consider difficult for me or my vehicle (we took the bypasses on all of the named obstacles: Hell's Gate, the Escalator and Tipover Challenge, as well as all of the hot tubs).  Overall we spent about 5 hours on the trail, including time for lunch, watching a few others play, and taking 187 pictures!....

As much as I'd like you to experience Hell's Revenge, I'm thinking it might be a bit of a long shot.  I know Big Blue can do it, and I'm sure that with some spotting you will be able to drive it.  But I'm not sure that by day three you and Janey will be ready to believe that.  I'm not giving up!  As we see how things are going there are probably a couple obstacles that we can take a look at without committing to the entire trail and see what you think about taking it on.  But I also want to make sure that the trip is fun for both of you, and if you aren't ready to have fun on Hell's Revenge then it won't be fun.

So the back-up trail for day three is Fins 'N Things.  Here's a link to my trail report from 2019, here's my report from 2021 and here's an excerpt from the 2019 report:

Nothing Special wrote

....  Our back-up trail for this day was Fins & Things, so we headed over there.  This trail is near Hell's Revenge, and is pretty similar in many ways, but different too.  Fins & Things is probably easier, but there are more just kind of rough trail sections between "Moab type" trail sections.  It was a good trail, and we're glad we did it, but if someone is there with a limited amount of time I'm not sure I'd recommend doing both of these.  But then again, if I'm glad we did them both maybe I should be recommending people do both.  Sorry, I can't make up my mind on that.

So if you are going to do only one of these, which should it be?  If you're up to it I'd say Hell's Revenge.  If you're less sure, definitely Fins & Things.  It's not that much easier, but the scariest fins are at the end instead of the beginning, and you can bypass them.  Plus there are numerous "escape routes" if you decide you don't want to do the whole thing.

We only took 35 pictures on this trail.  Part of the reduction from the 187 pictures from Hell's Revenge was likely that this was day 2 and that was day 1.  But also Lesley rode more on Fins & Things and she takes more pictures when she's out walking.  As I said above, she walks when the trail makes her nervous, so that tells you something about the two trails too (although the fact that this was day 2 I'm sure had an impact on that as well)....

So we'll keep Fin 'N Things in our back pocket.

[Gary Lewis]

I would have thought that Fin 'N Things is the plan for Day 3 and Hell's Revenge is in the back pocket.  Or, did I miss something?  

So right now you are thinking of:

Day 1: Sevenmile Rim

Day 2: Top of the World

Day 3: Fin 'N Things if you don't convince me to try Hell's Revenge

Do I have that right?

I still need to take the on-line test, review the other videos a few times, and then sit down and show some of them to Janey.  I feel like I'm getting way behind.  

[Nothing Special]

We're still 118 days out (but who's counting ) so you're not behind.

I'm still calling Hell's Revenge plan A for day three, with Fins 'N Things as plan B.  Optimism!

And yes, those are the trails I'm thinking about.

[Gary Lewis]

Bob - You just mentioned departure angle in a side conversation and we then agreed to have a discussion about it here.  But I have a question with regard to that before I start measuring.  (And, by the way, it may be this evening before I reply as am trying to get some stuff done in the shop during the day and then, while sitting with Janey with the TV off since she can't see it right now, I'll do some posting.

What do you think about making a special "skid plate"?  Maybe a piece of plate welded to a drawbar that takes some pressure off the hitch itself as it is the low spot instead of the bumper.  I have several extra drawbars that don't get used, so...

I'm planning on taking several pics and measurements and then posting later.  But if a special skid plate would help then I'll mock that up and take pics of it as well.

[Nothing Special]

I'm not sure what you mean by a skid plate welded to a draw bar taking pressure off the hitch.  Doesn't anything attached to the draw bar put pressure directly on the hitch?  And with more leverage than if the drawbar wasn't there?

That said, something in the receiver can definitely take pressure off the BUMPER.  While that may not be a good choice for on-road use (getting rear-ended against a "drop bumper" in the receiver will bend you frame more easily than getting hit in the bumper that's in line with the frame), it might be a good choice off road, where the impacts are probably more likely, but not nearly as hard.

In the side conversation I mentioned that I've seen some people put a "stinger" in the receiver to protect the spare tire on a Jeep.  Below is a picture of that.  I know Big Blue doesn't have his spare there, but it gives you an idea of what others have done.  (With the spare on a Jeep, or Pluto for that matter, being mounted to the body, dragging it can lead to body damage where the carrier attaches.  The stinger hits before the spare and lets you slide off the rock without trying to pull your spare tire off the vehicle.)

Another thing I've seen is people have a pintle hook in the receiver.  The bottom of a pintle hook is curved, so it's less likely to hook on something than a conventional ball mount.  And while it sticking out more hurts your departure angle, that still might be a net gain if it will easily support the weight of the rear of the truck and will slide smoothly off the rock.  (remember how I bent one end of Pluto's rear bumper back last year)  And a pintle hook has the added benefit of being a great recovery point if it's needed.

Those are my thoughts.  I'm not sure what would be best for Big Blue.  But I'm thinking that it won't be possible to completely keep him from dragging his tail, so it's at least worth considering what would be the best thing to drag.

[Gary Lewis]

Here's what I'm thinking.  The bottom of the receiver is 6 1/4" below the bumper, so will be the first to drag.  And there's a lip on the receiver where the the drawbar goes in that will drag on rocks.  But if I were to put a drawbar in that has a flat plate welded to it then it could take the load off that lip.

In the pic you can see how it would be with that drawbar, and the bottom of the plate would be ~7" below the bumper.  But the measurements I'm talking about would include figuring out what the departure angle is and determining from that what height the plate should be at in order to give the max clearance but still prevent getting hung up on the front of the receiver.

Boy, this is a really good case for the bumper I've been planning 'cause it doesn't have anything below it.  Yes, I might need the stinger you pictured to protect the spare tire, but that's easy.

So is that hitch going to cause a problem?  Maybe I should remove it for the trip and move the backup lights & trailer connector elsewhere for the interim.

[Nothing Special]

I think I'd leave the receiver on, but don't put anything in it.  It being below the bumper will protect the bumper.  And although it does hurt departure angle quite a bit, it shouldn't really cause any trouble when it drags.

I wouldn't be worried about that lip catching on things.  It's not a very big hook, so it won't catch anything too solidly.

What am I seeing in the very foreground of the picture?  It looks like a long rectangle piece hanging down, with maybe a little green at the bottom?  If that's hanging below the receiver frame it looks like it will be likely to drag.

I can't guarantee that nothing else will hit, but the trailer plug is close to the receiver, so that's pretty well protected.  The lights are close behind the receiver frame and don't hang below it, so they are pretty well protected.  The ends of the bumper are probably the most vulnerable.  They're quite a bit above the receiver, but if there's a taller rock near the end of the bumper that the receiver misses, then the bumper can hit.  We can try to be careful about that.

[Gary Lewis]

LOL!  The thing sticking down is a magnetic work light as it is dark under the truck and I was having trouble taking a picture.  It won't cause a problem as it'll fall off easily if I forget it.  

As for the receiver, I really shouldn't take it off as that plus this is my rear recovery point.  Which brings up the question of how many recovery points I ought to have.  I'd planned to use that in both the rear and the front.  Do I need more?  The front is via the front hitch which uses the same four G8 bolts that hold the winch on, but they aren't that big.