Mojave Rd open invite

In September my brother and I will be going from Barstow to Laughlin via the Mojave Rd/trail.

The trip will be from September 2nd (sarurday) to the 4th (monday/labor day). I will be in my taco and he will be in his built Cherokee. Two other jeeps might be coming along but they haven't confirmed yet.

It's an open invite to whoever wants to come along.

Some tips and suggestions are also welcome since we've never done this trip before.

Edit.
We will spen one night on the trail and one night in Laughlin in a hotel.

 

I do pretty good in the desert heat but hopefully it's not too bad. It's set in stone since that's my brothers birthday weekend and we're doing it for his birthday.

Hopefully the water crossings aren't too deep.

 

Did this trek last December with a group of guys on here, it was a ton of fun...most memorable wheeling trip I've had to date. We went the opposite way though, started in Nevada and ended in Barstow. Took 3 days (2 nights) and we were rushed toward the end...next time I'd do it over 4 days to be able to stop and see more of the sights.

 

Do you guys think 2wd can make it through the water or should I attach my truck to his jeep before we even start the water crossing? LOL

I'm fairly confident I can make it through but I have never personally been there. I currently have 285's toyo open country at's with a 3" spacer lift in the front. I will have 4" spindle lift and bilsteins by the time the trip comes around. I also already completed the diff breather extension going into the cubby in the bed.

 

I figured I'll just let one of the other trucks go first and make the call based on that. Worst case scenario I'll have to take a dip on a hot day to hook up the truck LOL

 

We had two guys in our group that were 2wd and they both did fine the whole trip...there were some sections where us 4x4 guys got to mess around on technical stuff, but for the most part the main trail is 4x2 friendly (provided the weather is good, if the weather goes to shit then that's completely turned around).

Only time one of the 2wd guys got stuck and had to get tugged was in the sand dunes toward the end (after Soda Lake)....or before if you start from the CA end. The trail wasn't visible to the eye and we got off track, he got a little buried and had to be tugged out. Everyone was fine in the water crossing, it was easy when we did it.

 

That's good to hear.

 

A 2WD truck should be fine as long as you have a decent tire and the "dry lake" isn't muddy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zG87RgEjxA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fj7APbhmhA&t=29s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUdk6i6mmcQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7O6eEsup8A

 

i have done this run several times before and i don't even have a locker... air down and drive smart and you will be fine... it does help to have at least one 4wd rig with you...

 

I've personally crossed the river 3 times playing around in my 2wd 4Runner with Drunner97 and OneLuv13T4R last year. Just keep the throttle steady and you'll be fine especially with the lift you have. I didn't have all that when I went across.

 

Thanks man! That makes me feel at ease. I was going to cross it either way but it feels way nicer knowing that I can cross it by driving it instead of getting dragged across it LOL

 

Make sure you have the trail clearly mapped out on a GPS unit, otherwise you will get lost. There are tons of side trails and sections where the "main" trail isn't visible at all, or distinguishable from other trails.

 

Thank you for the heads up!

 

No problem! Along the Mojave Rd trail you'll see stacks of rocks built up like little pyramids every few miles or so, sometimes more sometimes less, that let's you know you're on the right path. Not something you want to rely on primarily though, lol.

 

That's good to know. The more info the better. I do know that my brother bought the book and paper map dedicated to the mojave rd

 

Dude that trip was epic! I wanna go again but Septembers too hot. Ryan, I'm heading to the Shaver Lake area Labor Day weekend for some wheeling and camping.You should roll.

@LOLLY your gonna love this trail. Check out the Lava caves. There's a tough section heading east bout 2/3 in. 2wd drive will likely not make it up rutted hill. Has to be a bypass somewhere close I'm sure. Id fore sure join ya if it was a little later in the year. When we went in December it was like 10 degree wind chill at night so maybe the heats not so bad.lol

 

I heard that it hit 120 degrees in Death Valley this week....fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck that, lol. I'll take that freezing cold we had to deal with over blazing heat. Waking up that first morning with a huge hangover from that cheap whisky around the campfire the night before, only to find out all of our water was frozen solid....that was fun, haha.

 

Mojave Rd was a blast. See my build thread for the pic dump

 

@LOLLY sorry to revive an old thread but out of all the ones I've came across on here this is the only one I've seen that explicitly stated it had a 2wd go on it. I know it was a while back but overall how did the truck do?

Any tips? (I mainly use my rzr for most my offloading now but a OC group I ride with asked me to tag along with them but I just had some concerns considering my Taco is only a 2wd prerunner with a rear e lock ... only mods I have are 5100 bilstein all around with the fronts set to stock height and maxtrac spindles with a add a leaf out back from pro comp)

I was even looking at not doing the water crossing but if I need to is the diff breather a must have?

 

I went on the Mojave run twice a year with the guys from 2005 to about 2014. I am 2WD and never had an issue. Did the water crossing just fine with no diff breather. I no longer have a locker since I went long travel and have a T100 axle. You will be fine with a prerunner and locker. I would still recommend having a 4wd with you.

Remember, there is no cell service out there so I would strong suggest a HAM radio or race radio which essentially the same thing but with only race frequencies. I forgot the exact frequencies but you can direct message me about that.

Bring tools and spare nuts and bolts. We would pack 9/16" bolts with nylock nuts. Air compressor and fix a flat just in case you run out of spare tire(s). A floor jack as you will be on sand and hi-lifts can sometimes dig in the sand and slip out so make sure you aren't in the line of fire with that one. Big tow straps. A SHIT TON OF WATER and 50% more food than necessary in case you get stranded. Tow trucks out there take a day or two to get and will likely charge you at least $2,500 so having other trucks with you is a must. We once dragged a truck off the dirt to a nearby road. Called AAA and they showed up 2 days later i think. I know I am forgetting stuff.

Anywho, here is the cheesiest video of us from 2010. I am the red first gen dcab with no diff locker at the time. Watch in mute cuz we were dumb back then about editing and song selection. hahahahah

https://youtu.be/orWsIlA6WrM