My 4 Years Of Slowly Planning Road Trip!

I'm thinking about venturing up to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier, Mount Rushmore, and more around that area. Then once that is done eventually go to Cali and see all the parks out there!

 

@Ford2YotaGuy a co worker just got back from Glacier. Absolutely beautiful of some the pictures he had taken from around that area.


Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Like I said in the previous post, a friend of mine and I are planning a trip just like this for next year. If you find time, care to share what's some things you wish you had done differently if you had to do it again. Maybe when planning, what to pack, etc. Not as much places you want to see what something that may have made your trip a little easier.

 

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

I did a 6 week, 10,000 mile road trip WAY back in 2006 that took me through 37 states. I am pathetically overdue for another trip. Life got in the way, but soon...

 

Hmmm, lets see... part of me wishes I would have cooked more and slowed down a little bit but if I did that I wouldn't have been able to see as much as I did. Also, another reason why I didn't cook dinner very often was that I was just so exhausted when I got done with the day that all I wanted to do was relax and enjoy a local meal. I did the whole trip solo. Which had its positives and negatives. Positives were that I could move at my own pace and do what I wanted to do and not worry about another person be like " Oh, I don't want to wake up that early" or "I don't want to see that". Negatives were that I was alone. Which most of the time I didn't mind since I saw at least 1 person I knew every week and I had an Instagram story that I would post and everyone could sort of see what I was seeing. When packing I bought a Trasharoo. I did not use it the entire trip. Mostly due to me staying at campgrounds and they have trash cans along with gas stations which I was at most of the trip. How I had everything organized was perfect for me! I had a sleeping platform I built, put a 4" memory foam mattress on, and put a sleeping bag on that which worked perfectly. Next to my bed, my bike fit exactly right, and the Yeti cooler I had couldn't have fit better. I had a Walmart cooler in the cab for bottled water that I could get to while I was driving but it kept melting the ice. The Yeti would last days without having to buy more ice while the other cooler would need ice everyday. Under my sleeping platform I had all my camping stuff. Camping stove, 7 Gal jug of water, bike helmet, pump, shoes, a rubbermaid container with cooking stuff like utensils, pots, pans, and some random fluids like distilled water for the radiator, just in case, brake fluid, PB blaster, etc... I had a ton of tools under the back seat storage that worked well. I also had a 17mm wrench that was an odd size that I knew my truck used, and actually came in handy. I kept part of a floor jack handle in the bed just in case I needed a big breaker bar. When I changed my tie rods, I didn't have a 22mm wrench, but my 4 way had a 22mm and actually worked! LOL! I had a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, and air compressor in the back seat. I used the air compressor a decent amount whenever I had to air up after off roading. On the roof rack I had bolted a gun case and kept a bunch of random stuff in it. Jumper cables, zip ties, bungy cables, tow strap, D rings, ratchet straps, ball hitch, etc... I have to say the whole truck was packed but I still had room for another person to ride shot gun and everything had its place and it fit perfectly! I wish I could have done some more off roading in Moab but didn't want to risk breaking more stuff after spending a bunch of money already fixing it, especially that far away from home. I'll probably think of some more stuff in a little while but this was the bulk. A good GPS helps and I had an Ultra gauge too so I can keep an eye on temps.

 

Geez! That's awesome! I understand the life getting in the way part. I figured, I had the time and the money to do it, so I did!

 

Usually have most of this stuff for wheeling trips like you described above. Should have a RTT by then that will be used for camping on my bed rack. An IPad will most likely be the GPS for the trip, mounted inside the cab. If my buddy backs out, i'll probably be making the trip alone as well! Too much into it to back out!

 

I know the feeling man! It's hard for people to take time off the same amount of time and actually commit to the trip. Another reason for my trip being solo. If you do solo, you still meet a bunch of awesome people that usually are doing the same thing as you! Happened to me a few times!

 

Haha ya that was my Runner. The starter went out right at the park. Looks like you had a blast and thanks for compliments on the Runner. It's back up and running.

 

That's me, on my road trip to Moab! It was cool to see another built truck when I pulled up, and of course had to park next to it.

 

No problem man! Glad to hear she's good to go!

 

I was on my way to Moab at that point too! And I feel like its mandatory to park next to another built taco!

 

We did the same trails as you did in Ouray in my buddies 17 Taco. Beautiful trails and area

 

100% agree!

 

Did you hit the Shafer trail back into Moab? We did in June and it was awesome.

 

Unfortunately, it was getting dark out and I didn't feel like driving the whole thing in the dark.

 

Gotcha. Made me want to do the White Rim Trail next time

Did those this summer (Minus Glacier). Do it!

 

Really thinking about it! Due to some career changes it might be pushed back a little but I WILL get there eventually!

 

It was an absolute haul for us to Badlands (27hrs straight) but so worth it! Yellowstone is so huge, we only saw a fraction of it so beware! Got a sweet spot just outside the Tetons with beautiful views of the range.

 

Yeah, I could only imagine the drive there from NC! Iv'e also heard that about Yellowstone, that it is HUGE. I bet the Tetons were beautiful! I had a buddy from high school hike up to the top to see the eclipse a few weeks ago!

 

Epic trip