I ordered the book. Thanks!
Yes, what the above poster said is spot on. And, yes, Charlie Wells is the best overall tool to start from. The intro has all the basic info you need. It is easy to get lost in this forum as good info is mixed with not so good.
I wrote this long post for another person:
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3213414-post3.html
Specifically for what you mentioned, I will add these comments:
The
White Rim Road is a drive of a lifetime. It is true, however, that when done in one day is difficult due to driver fatigue. Otherwise the surface is easy and the two named hills are moderate in terms of steepness and narrowness. You can get a day permit online here:
Canyonlands Backcountry Permits This is where you get the overnight permits, too, but act fast. Camping spots disappear quickly as the WRR is easy to access. I have a pending Elephant Hill reservation, fingers crossed.
I have driven it both ways, but recommend Mineral Bottom to Shafer/Potash. This puts any potential rock slides or deep water behind you early in the day. If time does not suffice, maybe consider Mineral Bottom to just past Hardscrabble HIll and then back out. I like this segment the best for scenery and driving fun alike. Murphy Hogback is the other fun hill, but is right in the middle.
Fins and Things is a straightforward drive but do crawl and do watch out because you can roll if you are not paying attention. The white marks help as would a spotter on a couple spots. The route itself is bizarre. It is really one trail weaved out of several loops. Very unusual. The southern loop off the Sand Flats dirt road is a blast. There is one spot where you will drag your hitch big time so better put a recovery insert in it. Worked great for me. There is one super steep descent on this loop but it is not that hard on the angles. Moving to the northern loop, the first half is not as interesting and is bumpy. You can skip it by entering via the Radio Tower cutoff that you will see in Wells. Then you turn Left on the trail when you join and head towards a super fun section. If you choose to get on the Northern Loop from the start, there is one rocky hill where you will either need very precise wheel placement or you will get tippy. We got tippy, moderately so.
Consider
Tower Arch in Arches National Park. It is a good intro to minor rock crawling for a short distance and more importantly it is an interesting trail with two outstanding arches (Tower at the start and then Eye of the Whale at the end). No permit needed. The sandy sections are fun to drive in cold weather.
We have not done Hells, but if you stick to the main route and avoid all obstacles, including the easier ones, which the legal route and bypasses allow you to do, it is rated the same as Fins by the Red Rock 4Wheelers who run the Jeep Safari. They are the experts.
A Moab friend of mine drove Elephant Hill twice in 2018 in his stock GX 470 but you will want a spotter and very precise driving to do it without a lift.
Speaking of lift, since we are in the offroad section, allow me to offer a bit of critique on yours. No, I am not a suspension expert. But I don't need to be to tell you that once you get beyond 1.5-max 2, you'd better use high quality kits and replace more than just shocks.
You do not technically need any lift or any aftermarket skids for any of the mentioned trails. The issue is that we get distracted, get tired, and so on. Therefore, a small lift or good armor do make a real difference. My armor shows why. But while a lift helps and is more cost effective than armor, it should not tax the suspension and should not come at the expense of dependability. A basic 2.5 lift sounds too much to me. Maybe dial that back to about 1.5 to allow for proper travel and angles. The simple 2.5 lift may ok on road, but offroad it is another story.
The entire area there is amazing. You should have great time!
EDIT: when it comes to tires, I am fine with 265 70 17. If they are P metric, don't air them down excessively except in sand. I would keep them between 20 and 30+ depending on preference, I really just keep them at street pressures. If you have LTs, then airing down is part of the deal. I don't think that 275s will make any difference, depending on which one you get vs which one you have that could be as little as 1/8 in extra clearance since all tires vary slightly in size.
