Prepping for long road trip!

Great info! Looks like I know what ill be doing with my afternoon today! headed to google right now Thank you sir!

 

I didn't read all the posts, but make sure you check the reciprocity for your concealed carry permit, or traveling with gun laws in each state so you're legal.

As far as comfort I use one of those butt pillows for old people with ciatic problems. It helps on long road trips.

 

Awesome! You're going at the right time of year when the days are longer, so you'll have a lot more time to explore. We were pressed for time due to the 5PM sunset.

Make sure you take plenty of water in the summer.

The guy who set up the wave.info site has a pretty good map of the area with .gpx files free for download - http://www.thewave.info/WhitePocketCode/Map.html.

You might as well hit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on the way south once you leave the Cliffs. It's only open in the summer, so it will be accessible. They have a lodge there too, so that would be a nice respite from a days worth of hiking.

Flagstaff is on your way to Sedona and worth stopping at. It's a college town with plenty of local restaurants and breweries to check out. And again, I would consider keeping south on 17 and turning off at Schnebly Hill Rd. for your entrance to Sedona. It's a well maintained dirt road - folks take stock 4WDs up and down it all the time. It's also only open in the summer, so again your timing is spot on. Some links to check out:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/trav...nic-drive-schnebly-hill-road-sedona/16914023/

http://www.everytrail.com/guide/schnebly-hill-4x4-road

 

Pretty good map that gets updated pretty often. I also check the state law websites on regular basis to keep up to date on it.

 

The wave site is cool! That map is bad ass! We have made plans to hit up food and Breweries in flagstaff for sure. Its one of the places we will spend time roaming around when we get in to town. The North Rim of GC lodging is a pretty nice idea, Ill check that out. Some kick ass info you got here Yonah, strong work my friend!

 

No worries man, glad I could pass the info along. Sedona is in my top five towns in the U.S. too - I would pick it over Asheville to give you an idea. The people are nice and there are established hiking trails spurring off of the road everywhere. We ate at the Hideaway House one night. They have great pizza and beer if you're into that. In Sedona there is a ton to see and do. We hiked Cathedral Rock as well as a couple of other trails. The Chapel of The Holy Cross is a well-known landmark and a neat place to check out and snap some photos.

 

Pizza and beer is my number one! We are most likely going to move to Asheville here soon. We have a realtor and are checking it out. We travel to Asheville multiple times a year, and just cant get enough of the area. I will go broke because I will want to eat Barley's and go to Wicked Weed brewery every day

 

i made the drive from Oregon to Texas last year with some college buddies. Took us two weeks, we visited many random places. If you need any ideas or recommendations in visiting places, let me know.

 

Send me what ya got! I am always looking for cool places to check out

 

Good deal, I lived there for awhile and I have family in Weaverville just north of Asheville. It's a special place for sure.

 

Yup best to check up before you go on these states...VA within the past couple weeks decided to revoke reciprocity with every other state. As a result...most of those states have terminated their agreement with VA.

 

Took some pics of some mods in and around my truck you may find helpful.

My cheapest: large convex mirror. $4 at Autozone. I can see motorcyclists without turning my head.


Bottom: Mictuning USB port


Foxnovo USB port on passenger side. Add little pouch for stuff (Wallyworld)


Magnadyne USB/Cig lighter port; hard-wired. Why so many USB ports? In the 07 Taco, the cig lighter ports are right over the cub holders.


Bestek inverter; hard-wired. 4 USB ports work without turning on the inverter. Attached behind armrest.


That means beer! D-rings on corners. Also did D-ring mod on bed front bolts.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/installed-d-rings-in-the-bed-pics.28533/


If you have the Sport model. Very bright Ridgid Hyperspot LED light.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hood-scoop-led-lightbar-bracket-by-c4fab.353700/

 

A lot of good info, but no one mentions (maybe I missed it) improving seat comfort. I recommend Wet-Okole seat covers. Mine are heated (WI) within 15min I turn them off lest I will have sweaty butthole lol. I also have the CCW pockets in the front of the seat. The Neoprene goes a long way in improving seat comfort.
Sounds like a great trip. Looking forward to pics

 

@Chuy Very strong posts here folks! I've got me a Guinness bottle opener already mounted for all of the tailgating we do the other mods are much needed. I've been wanting to throw in some extra usb locations and an inverter, now this will give me an excuse to do so, along with idea locations! Thank you sir!

@robssol ive been looking at the wet okole, but the problem I have are my two German shepherds would tear up that back of them. I was thinking of some ballistic ones, but when installing I thought about adding some memory foam cushions underneath them...

 

I agree, ballistic nylon would be a more durable option.

Here are a few more things that I have come to mind today:

-Full coverage floor liners (especially in the front), Weatertech, Husky, or otherwise. The loose sand and red dirt is a pain to clean out of carpet.

-Some type of auxiliary lighting (driving lights) for long stretches of highway at night - to spot deer, coyotes, elk, moose, etc. at the 300m+ range that factory headlamps cannot. An animal strike in the backcountry can be castostrophic at worse, and at the least it will end your trip early due to vehicle damage. A solid bullbar and a set of aftermarket driving lights are a great 1-2 defense, but I would splurge on a set of lights before armoring up.

-I try to keep at least one extra bulb in my toolbag for all of my marker, brake, turn signal lights. They're cheap to keep on hand and easy to replace. Doing this saves me a trip to auto parts store while on vacation and keeps the vehicle in regs.

-A tent brush/dust pan combo is nice to keep in the truck to sweep out the bed and tidy up the vehicle when pumping gas. We also keep a fine bristle paint brush in the center console to dust off the dash, gauges, and radio bezel.

 

I'm a huge fan of pizza and beer and i'll preface this with it's not pizza and beer joint, but there's a place called Brandy's that has absolutely amazing food. Good friend lives in Flagstaff and I've been there multiple times, every trip I've hit up Brandy's multiple times. Enjoy your time there!

I'm also planning a road trip in my taco soon... honeymoon is driving from Maryland to Key West and back. I'm big into backpacking and camping so have most of the go-to gear, but it's good to see what others take/ plan on taking on road trips like this. B&Bs, camp sites, Duval St are all on the menu, so I am taking notes of what others are recommending for you. Happy trails!

 

Not to hijack, SpruceJPG check out the BlueRidge Parkway for your trip. Awesome scenery I highly recommend it.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread

 

The paint brush is a great idea!

 

I am in process of ordering huskys right now I am hoping to get a flush mount lower bumper light soon. Not a fan of bullbars, and wanting to save up for some metal up front, probably won't happen before trip though.

We will for sure check out Brandy's thanks for the recommendation!

Yesssssss! When you are driving down it, there is a ranger station at the highest point in the road, and it has the most amazing view. You gotta stop there for sure!

 

Great thread! Lots of useful info for my upcoming trip in June. Ill be leaving Maine and making stops in Chicago, Denver, Jackson Hole, Telluride, Salt Lake City, Lake Tahoe, Vancouver and Calgary. Thinking the trip will take around 2-months from there I will make a decision on where to stay for the winter. Keep the Tips coming!!