Road Trip Prep

[Jer5091]

I'm seriously considering taking 2-3 weeks next year to get in the truck and drive. It'd be me and my dog, for thousands of miles, and maybe a few friends or two on separate legs of the trip. It'd be more of a camping, scenic, sleep in tent/truck kind of trip then a "find the nearest motel 8" kind of trip. Aiming to do ~5000 miles, depending if I had a buddy along with me or not, and I live in Austin TX, so the possibilities are endless.

I'm considering going to a ton of different places, but do you guys have any hidden gems?

Also, I haven't given much though yet to breakdown prep, or recovery prep. Anything you all would recommend I should 100% definitely bring (tools, necessities, etc). I'm not planning to crawl over rocks, but would LOVE to drive some backcountry trails in Big Bend or Death Valley.

 

[Paisano]

I'm seriously considering taking 2-3 weeks next year to get in the truck and drive. It'd be me and my dog, for thousands of miles, and maybe a few friends or two on separate legs of the trip. It'd be more of a camping, scenic, sleep in tent/truck kind of trip then a "find the nearest motel 8" kind of trip. Aiming to do ~5000 miles, depending if I had a buddy along with me or not, and I live in Austin TX, so the possibilities are endless.

I'm considering going to a ton of different places, but do you guys have any hidden gems?

Also, I haven't given much though yet to breakdown prep, or recovery prep. Anything you all would recommend I should 100% definitely bring (tools, necessities, etc). I'm not planning to crawl over rocks, but would LOVE to drive some backcountry trails in Big Bend or Death Valley.

Big Bend is fantastic (Big Bend Ranch too), Death Valley is fantastic - Canyonlands also has some backcountry driving available. You're gonna have a blast man.

 

[Jer5091]

Big Bend is fantastic (Big Bend Ranch too), Death Valley is fantastic - Canyonlands also has some backcountry driving available. You're gonna have a blast man.

Big Bend and Death Valley are really high on my list! But I would LOVE to get up to Yellowstone and Yosemite. I have done a lot of the east coast, but never up the central US. Colorado, and Montana are on my list too. I'd love to visit Chicago too.

 

[wnelax04sr5]

[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION] knows some great spots i know

 

[NuclearN8]

My wife and I are planning a 10 day road trip out west over the holidays in her 4Runner...

Our list is more sight see related (she's not really into offroading at all...) with the typical spots, but I do hope to do some off pavement driving in Arches national forest (north of Moab) on our leg from Vegas to Grand Junction.

If you're in to photography you may want to try the Wave in Arizona (google it), I think it's the northern Buttes national park and permits are 6-9 month wait list out now via the BLM there. Wish we could go but our trip is too short notice to apply for a permit.

good luck and next time I'm out in SanDog visitng my boys I'm gonna make them take me out to Death Valley for a camping trip.

Our trip will probably be 20+ states and 5000 miles when it's all over... I'll post up pics once we get back home in my build blog.

 

[Martinjmpr]

If you're in Austin you could hit Big Bend on a long weekend.

Moab is awesome. So is Colorado, but keep in mind that the high passes won't be open until late June at the earliest. For planning purposes, don't figure on hitting them until mid- or late-July.

TrailDamage.com for a great source of info on trails in CO, UT and elsewhere. Anything rated 3 or below should be a piece of cake in a stock 4wd 4runner.

For sleeping in your 4runner, consider taking out one or both of the seat bottom cushions. Super easy to do (2 x 14mm bolts for each seat) and it gives you more room to stretch out in back (I'm 6'1" so I need the room.)

Recovery gear? I'd say a good strap, a shackle receiver, a good air compressor so you can air your tires down, and basic tools are all you need.

Whatever you do, please, PLEASE don't bolt a hi-lift jack to the hood in front of the windshield.

Decent tires and a good set of maps and you are all set. A way to sleep, a way to cook and a way to keep food cool will enhance your camping experiences. Then just get out there!

 

[AKmoney]

Make sure your tires are in good shape. Some of the stuff in Death Valley (like the Racetrack Rd) isn't technically difficult but the combination of washboard surface and small, sharp rocks on the road surface will slice through worn/cheap tires in no time. Something in the AT class, maybe even with an "LT" rating might be worth it (and don't forget the matching spare).

Other than that I agree with the others.. Have some basic tools handy. Duct tape. Maybe a couple of those LED headband lights you can get from Home Depot for cheap. Lots of AA/AAA batteries. Matches/fire starters. A halfway decent compressor (search for "MV50" on Amazon). And maybe one of those Spot/GPS locator gadgets if you plan on being way off the grid by yourself.

I'm jealous.. sounds like you will have an awesome trip.

 

[Jer5091]

I'm not sure how to multi quote yet....I spend too much time in an office building writing excel spreadsheet formulae:mad2:

My preliminary route includes Yellowstone, Death Valley, and Big Bend. Ohhh man I'm getting pumped!
[MENTION=87178]NuclearN8[/MENTION] - That sounds awesome! I'm from PA originally, but was never really into traveling when I lived there. And I was driving a TL type-s. Glad I 'graduated' to a 4runner. Where in PA are you? I'm not too into photography, but will be taking massive amounts of pics. I'm hoping to do a lot of scenic driving though. Ive never been much further west than Texas, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing different scenery and crossing a bunch of places off my list in one massively awesome trip. I just hope to find a co-driver aside from my cute pup Junedog. Please be sure to share pics when you get home!
[MENTION=45517]Martinjmpr[/MENTION] - Great advise! Thank you, sir! I realize I won't be able to do any major trail driving due to weather in CO, but I flew over souther UT once, and it looked absolutely beautifully secluded. I've slept in my runner while camping down in Padre Island Natl Seashore, and it is definitely doable (I'm 6 foot), but will get cramped with 2 people. I'll look into the compressor...that was already on my list of prep gear. I can't afford to be caught out there with a flat. Was also thinking a decent spare jack (although i'm sure the one that comes stock will do the trick). Maybe the hi-lift jack will fight bolted to on my windshield....yeah, that'll work....KIDDING. Was thinking about a good fridge, but that will be out of the question unless I find one super cheap, cant blow the gas budget on gadgets.
[MENTION=84801]AKmoney[/MENTION] - Thanks for the advise. I need new tires, was thinking some Nitto terra grapplers, my brother has used them on several vehicles and loves them, so we'll see. I also have the daystar 2.5/1.5 spacers, so hopefully i'll be OK with just trail running. I'll get some fixaflat too (for times of desperation) I will be trying to get off the grid as much as I can, so a GPS is a great idea. And I will definitely look into the MV50. I heard the 'Green' compressors are decent? They seem pretty cheap too. I'm fairly stocked on camping gear as well.


For all:
I found this article about a truly epic road trip...I don't have this kind of time or money, but this guy is a true explorer! Hope you enjoy the read. I don't think these trips would be practical with vehicles today.

Gunther, Christine and Otto

 

[KidVermicious]

[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION] knows some great spots i know

Lies. I don't know any hidden gems or great scenic spots nobody knows about. :spy:

Jer, if you're intending to come up this way, allow me to point you to the Utah Trails series by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson. The Southwest Region and Moab Region books cover most of southern Utah between them, and they're full of the sort of adventurous and scenic backcountry drives I think you're looking for.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I wouldn't waste money on another jack, the factory bottle jack works fine. It's worth it to spend a little money on a compressor, though, especially if you're hitting Death Valley. Having too much pressure in your tires when you go over those miles and miles of washboard can cause your tires to fail - when I was there in 2011 we ran into 2 women in a Suburban who had 3 tires destroyed coming back from The Racetrack. This is not a 4wd road, it is a flat dirt road with no curves on it, BUT it has some of the worst washboard I've ever seen. If your tires are at full pressure or overinflated you will feel every bump on that washboard, so it's better to air down to about 20 PSI. Having the compressor means that when you get back to a paved road you can pump your tires back up.

Fridge: They're nice and I love mine but a decent cooler will work. Freeze some gallon jugs of water ahead of time and put them in the cooler, they'll last longer than cubes and you can drink the water afterwards.

Tires: I would recommend LT rated tires, generally speaking they have stronger sidewalls. I run BFG ATs and before that I had MTs, no issues. Yes, they're expensive, but I was on a trip in 2013 where one guy who was running some cheap Hankook P rated tires had two catastrophic failures in 3 days, and ended up having to borrow a spare tire, drive 16 hours to the nearest town (Bishop, CA), and pay something like $500 to get 2 new tires because of it.

I'll bet he wished he had just gone for the better tires to begin with.