Hey [MENTION=212766]Nmac65[/MENTION],
Good to virtually meet you and welcome to the forum. Off-topic, but a fair question...
As E mentioned, reach out to Pete (General Overland) for a great contact in NC. He’s really well tapped into the scene down there.
They do trail cleanup days at Uwharrie NF pretty regularly and advertise via Instagram. That would be a great way to socialize with the broader community further south and get to know some of the key people.
Beyond that, some general advice for getting started wheeling with your daily driver:
Start small and build experience slowly. Breaking your truck in the middle of nowhere or swamping/flooding it in a stanky mud hole is no fun. That is, unless you’re an expert at bush repairs, travel w/ a full kit of tools and commonly broken spare parts *and/or* plan to rag out your rig/just don’t care.
We do a couple of open events each year and post them here in “/off-roading”, so stay tuned and sign up if you’re willing to make the drive up North.
Hope that helps and will hopefully see you in the Spring!
If you can make it up for this trip, it’s definitely a good time! Tires would be a big plus. That said, I’ve seen a bone stock 5th gen do the day one leg of the trip...
Also, agree that this annual winter trip is fun, but adjusting [MENTION=174597]gfxcruncher[/MENTION] ‘s commentary slightly, this trip requires one of two scenarios: experience or a moderately built truck (or both). Anyone missing one or the other is almost certain to have a bad time and very likely to damage their vehicle.
I agree with the “tires” comment, but would actually recommend that recovery equipment be higher on the list (then tires). Minimally, a quality elastic recovery strap (with closed loop ends), 2-3 quality shackles/soft shackles, and quality recovery points front and rear should probably be on your priority list. Lots of people swear by MaxTrax or equivalent traction boards also.
Lots of arguments/discussion/recommendations elsewhere on the forum re: recovery gear, so I’ll leave it at that for now and hope that it’s helpful.
:cheers: