Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Wildpeaks AT will do fine? Debating to get those before the trip. Still rocking the OR Tires that are Kevlar.

 

I run KO2's E rated but plan to switch to Cooper ST Maxx when these wear out. @ETAV8R said it perfectly, be prepared.

 

I'm looking forward to this weekend in DV. Hopefully it will be somewhat less populated with everyone back to their day jobs.

 

I’m in the exact same boat.
The E rated ko2’s have had no issues in the sharp rocks.

 

I just got back from another five days in Saline Valley. It was chilly but fairly quiet. Lots of off leash dogs and owners who weren't the most attentive.

 

After ten years I finally saw my first Death Valley tarantula. It was a nice few days but did very little while I was there. In the North Pass and out South with a stop in PSR on the way home.

 

Was this just this week? I’m heading down after the weekend with some friends who’ve never been on North Pass so was thinking of taking that route. I’ve never done either with much snow or ice so I’m curious how conditions are. I have chains and I’m comfortable and experienced with packed or even deep snow but I always feel sketchy on the icy sections on North Pass

 

I came out south yesterday.
If the ice on north pass seems sketchy stay away from the south. Far more ice and mud. Lots of slippin and sliding.

 

I’m not the DV veteran like many folks here are, but I have a couple hundred miles on the backroads there and I’ve never had a flat with P metric tires nor with my current load range E KO2’s. The only flat I’ve had in DV was in our Prius on pavement, in a nearly new OEM tire, from a big screw. I do always carry plugs and a compressor, but the flat repair on the Prius at the Furnace Creek gas station cost about the same as 4 or 5 gallons of their gas and it held for the life of the tire.

 

Thanks. I assumed North would worse because of the elevation.

 

North has mud and some ice but not as bad. At least on the north pass icy sections you're not sliding towards a long drop off.

 

There are always chances of getting flats no matter what tires you have. So be prepared for that and make sure your spare is a full size spare, is in good condition, you can successfully lower it (not rusted in place) and have the ability to change it.

That said the general recommendation is to have some sort of LT tire in preference to a P tire. Usually LT is significantly stronger than P. Within LT there are many different constructions with the major difference usually the sidewall construction.

The biggest control you have over flats is speed. You can certainly do many roads in DV with P tires as long as you take them slow. I did many shorter spur roads (2 to 5 miles) for a number of years in a Honda Civic. Never got a flat because with a car that low I had to practically crawl at low speeds over anything slightly rough.

On the other hand people with great tires can utterly destroy their suspension on Racetrack Road because it is long and usually severely washboarded. A good LT tire can fly over that just fine but with stock shocks they can overheat and literally explode because you are just going to dang fast for too long (one of the review magazines managed to do that a few years ago with I think a Tacoma but it might have been some other truck).

So if as you say you are already looking at some LT tires just make sure you get a matching spare, be prepared, drive slow and the park will be yours to explore!

 

I tend to stay to south half or away from the hot springs when I do go north.

 

I love the springs and most of the park. Unfortunately there were some people with dogs on Saline Dunes. They were from out of state but everyone should know the park regulations.

 

Just started planning for our spring trip to DV. This will be our first year bringing the kids...going to need to remember to bring more wag-bags and to break up the driving a bit more.

Trying to decide if we roll through the springs with a 3 and 4 year old. We won't camp there but a soak is always nice.

 

Kids and hot tubs aren’t the best combination. But if you stop and they have something to do beside soak? Do it.

 

I've seen kids there often. It's not my preference but I don't see why having kids at the springs would be an issue. All dependent on parenting choice of course.

 

We've done other hot springs with them. Just have to make sure the water isn't too hot and they can't spend a lot of time in the tub.

They're good kids who know when to sit and not splash and I think they'd like seeing the burrows. My concern is the other tub users.

 

When people are respectful to others, I don't know it matters. It certainly doesn't to me.

 

Not these tires! And preferably not that vehicle either! Turned the corner on Lip and came across a double flat Lexus with one spare and a terrified driver and child.