First overlanding and wheeling trip in the taco, what do you wish you had known before you went?

^^^THIS

^^^THIS

I've talked about this in other threads, and it's amazing how quickly you can get the weight up to if not exceeding the GVWR of the truck. These aren't heavy duty rigs with a huge cargo capacity, they're Tacomas. The 2nd/3rd gen ones don't have all that much more capacity than 1st gens, despite them being the size of a Tundra.

Adding up the weights of f/r bumpers, winch, RTT, rack, and a tank of gas, you're already close to 900 pounds. Add 2 adults and a weekend's worth of water and another 100 or so in camping gear and food, and you're over 1500#. Then you have awnings, recovery/safety gear, spare parts, tools, etc... Then another 100# in camera gear for your instagram account... At this point you have 100% exceeded the GVWR.

These rigs are stupid heavy.

 

I'm not sure what's worse, that noise or the distinct whirrr of a drone overhead getting some sick video.

 

This is the "overlanding" plan: Big Water into Grand Escalante, Utah. We will also hit Moab after that and definitely do the fun wheeling. I love to overpack camp gear but I know that would be a mistake most likely on a trip like this, too heavy too much work to pack up each morning. I think we will be out for 3 days. I think the little trailer Ron rented has a solar shower and solar panels but no potty. Oh and we will be bringing 2 dogs! One will like it one will not.

 

Where would you suggest? We mostly go to Utah and Co.

 

I like going on 2 week vacations and not having all of it planned. My husband is a little less inflexible. But we could always sleep in our vehicles.

 

There are some options up near you if you're interested, the wheeling community of the northern midwest is pretty active and they'll likely have more info. The East coast has some options in Pennsylvania, Vermont, and elsewhere if you care to head that way.

North Carolina has areas definitely worth exploring. Texas has Big Bend and some other places. I'm not familiar with much of the deeper South though.

Obviously, you could hit the far west coast, but you won't avoid the crowds that way.

And honestly, I'm hesitant to offer up my favorite closer-to-me areas as I'd like to enjoy them for as long as possible before the crowds learn about them. But since there isn't really much published info about those areas, just look into the Ozarks. It is pretty different than anything else. Lots and lots of water crossings. Just play nice, observe the signs and make sure to have updated map info. You'll get ticketed hard for being somewhere you aren't supposed to be.

 

Thanks! And don't worry, we were regular trail leaders for a Nissan event in Moab and we preached leave no trace pretty hard core. I was not allowed to venture off the trails either. Which made it hard to pee! Crytobiotic soil!!

 

To a point, I agree. Nothing wrong with people having fun and building and playing.

However, I kinda have to draw the line at a certain point. While I can appreciate people getting out and enjoying nature, we're pretty much victims of our own success. Or at least the success of the commercialization of the hobby. There are countless places we all used to be able to go and not see a soul for weeks, now you can't swing a dead cat and not run into some dude with fully built rig and a drone.

I think what urks me the most about all this commercialized overlanding stuff, is that I see it actually DISCOURAGES people from getting out and enjoying nature. Time and time again, someone with a 4x4 and a pile of "car camping" gear has never tried overlanding because they feel they can't afford the "overlanding" gear. They literally have ALL the gear they need already, but think overlanding requires an RTT and a HAM radio. And that's unfortunate. Or there's the threads where some dude buys a 4x4 truck and asks what mods he needs to get into just off-roading in general, let alone overlanding.

So I guess in the end, I'd probably be less of a crotchety old man about this stuff if there were just more people in 4x4s heading out and exploring nature. I LOVE it when I come up on another group when I'm playing outside, however a lot of the time, many of them seem more interested in getting their drone ready to fly or taking selfies than talking to a fellow outdoor/4x4 enthusiast.

 

Symptoms of heat stroke and heat exhaustion are pretty obvious, no thermometer needed. If there is any doubt, stop and cool down anyways, never rely on a cheap-ass glove-box kept thermometer to confirm what you body is already telling you.

 

Well said. I feel like the instalanding movement is an unholy spawn of car modding culture and tacticool culture, all for the glory of social media. It's strange to me to have a crazy built truck to get you out there and away from people, but not without your toilet, wifi antenna and gourmet food. It's like bringing KOA to the wilderness.

I get a laugh with these youtube personalities, LLOD comes to mind, that go on about their "bug out rig" on 35's that scream tacticool. I guess he is bugging out through an ultra 4 course followed by an airsoft game. On the other side of the coin, you have 4xOverland and The Road Chose Me, 2 guys that have been there and done that. Somehow they did it without MOLLE gear and a $100 dollar shovel.

 

I wouldn't say I necessarily seek out people when I'm out in nature either, but I do enjoy chatting up people I happen to see. I don't become anti social when I'm outside, though I still do like being away from people. I was more referring to the people who seem more interested in filming or taking selfies for their followers than they are talking with the dude right in front of them.

Yeah, the industry is booming - obviously. But that's kinda my point. For every 20 overland racks someone sells, there's 1 person who figures they can't afford it so they won't try. THAT is who I'm talking about. The industry seems to be more interested in shear numbers, sales figures and clicks, rather than fostering a spirit of adventure and the love of the outdoors, and how simple (and affordable) it is to get out and explore. But like I said, that doesn't really sell product.

 

This. I used to be an outdoor guide, with wilderness first aid cert. We never carried a thermometer. Precise temps are irrelevant because they are highly individualized, and a low reading doesn't mean you're out of danger.

 

Has anyone done this route before: Big Water into Grand Escalante, Utah

 

Our entire trip to Colorado was done by the seat of our pants. It was very fun that way. As a matter of fact, we weren't even planning on going to Colorado until the week prior to going. We made it into Moab, Utah. But, since we didn't have any of our own stuff, there was no camping or off roading for us. The closest thing was reaching the Decalibrat Trail. That was pretty cool to see. Planning our own road trip out there next year, hopefully.

 

you bring up the road chose me guy. yea his first jeep was super basic, but there must be a reason he got all the gear when he did africa. obviously his trips are a lot longer than a weekend trip from home, but regardless he has all the molle gear and shovel. its progression

 

unless its going out in the bush for weeks at a time I just call it camping. Someone else said car camping with extra $$$. I also don't have a rig, I have a pickup truck/Tacoma....

I would like rock sliders just as protection for the lower part of the cab body. I like to be a little bit prepared but not overly. I have a winch in a low profile mount, wildpeak tires, and enough recovery gear to get myself out.

I like to fly under the radar, I don't care to accesorize....

 

I'd say his africa jeep was pretty basic, too, compared to a lot of other overland channels. The camper conversion was expensive, im sure, but that it's highly functional. He didn't have monster tires and a ridiculous lift. He talked a lot about how important it was to stay low key and not draw attention with your setup. If he had some MOLLE and a Gucci shovel, I can't criticize him. Wasn't he on the road for 3 or 4 months? I guess my point is the "hey whats up guys, don't forget to like and subscribe to my overland channel" troupe make people believe they need some ridiculous gear when I doubt they have done more than a weekend to their local state park themselves.

There is another channel out there, I can't remember the name, but the guy does it in a pretty stock f250 with a pretty basic trailer. I enjoyed that channel a lot until his episodes became half overlanding and 1/2 product placement. The long, warmly lit dramatic shots on his particular coffee bags and whiskey bottles, labels always perfectly centered, with some generic atmospheric music in the background, became really painful.

 

Big Water to Escalante via Alstrom and the mesa-top? Yup - great trip that's easy stock with a lot of beautiful dirt.

Plan your route early: lots of side roads between the mesa and Escalante. Gaia works great.

If you can, add an extra day and hit White Pocket first. Well worth the detour.

Club portable toilet here. We're desert, and between the delicate ecosystem and the slickrock.... cat holes are suboptimal. At least bring some wag bags as a backup, but strongly consider a portable toilet for backcountry sites.

Alstrom is amazing, but windy and, in the summer, gets stupid hot. Also, main road/trail in is easy, one of the side spurs out has a sharp drainage that would be exciting with a trailer. Easy reroute if you find it.

 

For me, its always; dang I need a container to properly washy my dishes. Vs trying to wash and let it splash all over my feet.

 

Thanks and great pics. This route is just part of a 2 week vacation we are taking. We didn't want to do anything crazy our first time out with new vehicles. After we finish this leg we are off to Moab where we are hitting some challenging trails. I've been to Moab 5-6 times but my husband has been going for 13-15 years. I don't know if we over build but we are big on protection, armor and recovery when we are on the trails. We have had to duct tape, wire and band aid truck parts on the trail before. We have had to pull rigs off trails - sometimes in reverse after something granaded on the trail. Once we had to help a dirt biker get to the hospital who had crashed on the trail and broke her arm. My husband brings a crap ton of tools and spare parts and maybe we didn't need them all but we used a lot of them almost every trip. Somebody manages to break something. This is an old pic.