Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Airing down will help regardless of which tires you run. With washboard if you
can get comfortable at speed, 30-50, the vibrations usually smooth out depending on how bad the washboard is. If you haven't driven much off-road take it easy at first. Always plan for worst case scenario. The majority of accidents and deaths in DV are from roll-over accidents.

While stock tires aren't the best I went out to many places before I replaced them with General Grabbers. I got two flats with the Grabbers.

 

Its a gambling alright! I love to gamble!

 

You're a quick quoter...I edited my post. Don't gamble in DV. People die there and stuff.

 

Ahhh. I wouldn't want that..... Maybe ill stick to the main trails lol

 

Or, they end up leaving/abandoning disabled vehicles right in the middle of the roadway blocking traffic in both directions

 

wait how do people roll over? I'm gonna go like 15mph or slower hint (i drive like an old man)

 

yeeee... I don't want my taco to be parted out (((

 

I helped recover a Land Cruiser that had rolled just minutes before we got there. It happens often in Death Valley, and that year alone there were 3 on Saline Valley Road just that year.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/death-valley-off-road-adventures.60777/page-78#post-16797227

 

That's scary!! Top heavy rigs just roll over ?

 

They don't just rollover by themselves...

 

strange....

 

People drive to fast on a washboard road, get into a corner going to fast, slide into the edge of the road and roll over.

 

I went to Titus about 2 years ago. Super easy. I saw a lot of stock Subaru's. IMO, I don't really think you even need good tires to do that trail. It's just bumpy. I saw an outback hauling ass and passing everybody when I went.
Titus is on the top of my list on things to see in DV. I definitely recommend it. One of my favorites in California.
Watch out for sharp rocks, I didn't really see that many though. Just take it slow and enjoy the view!

 

Titus is probably just fine on stock tires - just be dang sure you have your good full size spare, it is in good condition and full of air, and you have the tools to change it. You are extremely unlikely to lose two tires on Titus. But you don't want to be the idiot blocking the road if you lose one tire and discover your spare is also flat, rusted in place or whatever.

Going 15 mph is exactly the thing to do. Greatly reduce the chance of a flat and pretty much eliminate the possibility of a roll over. People roll over from going too dang fast on dirt roads. They are dirt, they provide way less traction. Surprise, surprise you can't turn on them very fast without sliding and then hitting the berm and then "why's everything upside-down all of a sudden?"

Suspension can play role (pun intended) here as well. On bumpy roads a stock suspension may have less traction than a fancy racing suspension. A stock suspension may also overheat on a long run of washboard again resulting in much lower traction. Truck will start drifting side to side even though you are going straight because a broken/overheated suspension provides little traction on washboard when going fast. None of this will be a problem at 15 mph though.

One reason people end up going way to fast is that sometimes washboard will "smooth out" as you go faster. So you feel stuck going either really slow or really fast. Airing down can help a lot with this allowing you to travel at a more modest speed with a better ride.

The other issue with dirt is the ABS system in the truck. If you drive fast with ABS and try to stop in a hurry you will discover you can't actually stop hardly at all going fast on dirt with ABS enabled. So again - just go slow. Or if you expect to go faster do one of the ABS disable mods.

Titus is usually just some washboard on the first part that just goes across mostly flat desert. Once in the mountains and canyons it tends to be mostly nice road with rocky bumpy sections. These days it is typically in quite good condition with mostly clearance issues for things like Subarus. For a stock truck you should have plenty of clearance. Some parts are rather steep, both up and down, so using low gears is a good idea.

Anyway, the vast majority of DV is perfectly fine in a stock truck solo. Just be prepared to fix obvious things like a flat. For your own safety be prepared to spend the night with your truck in an unplanned location. Many people make things worse by rushing unnecessarily once they are stuck. Slow down and think. The first thing I do when I get even minorly stuck is grab a soda and a snack and calm down for 15 minutes and then figure out what to do. Camping overnight right where you are stuck if necessary is a fine thing to do.

 

Yea you'll be fine with your Tacoma on stock tires. Last time I did it I saw a few cars going for it super slow so had to do a lot of passing because most of them have no business leaving the pavement. A stock RAV4 made it through. Now if there's been rain its a whole different story. AFAIK there hasn't been any. As was said make sure your spare is good (ck the air pressure - flip it over). Carry plenty of water. Fill up in Beatty, take it easy and enjoy. Post back

 

I’ve put a fair number of desert miles on the Subaru I had before getting back into a truck, and it was in some ways better than even my TRD Tacoma for the majority of gravel/washboard roads like Titus or the Big Pine/DV Road. Lower CG, and AWD helped stability if I did go fast, and fear of flats on my passenger car all season tires encouraging me to go slow we’re the factors.

 

When do you plan to visit DV? Do you have a schedule for Titus Canyon?
I ask as I am currently headed to Beatty for a day or two and wouldn't mind running Titus again.

 

Leaving on Nov 23rd coming back the 27th its about an 8hr drive.. I have plenty of time depends on my situation when I get there. I do have a list race track, sand dunes, artists drive, telescope peak, Zabriskie point, twenty mule, dantes view, devil golf course, bad water, ubehebe, crater, the kettle maybe the hot springs

 

That's quite a list! Good for you! Which sand dunes are you planning on seeing?

 

uhhh..... To be honest... I don't know... I just wanna slide down it LOL.