opinions on off road caravans ?

What is your opinion on off road caravans where like 10-15 vehicles run the trails together ?

 

Personally, I hate groups of more than 5. Everything bogs down and its even more annoying if you're behind the group

 

fine if the clown up front atleast signals to others on a 1 lane area how many are following him/her.

I hate when they dont stop to holler how many behind, or throw up a count on their fingers..............If I am going uphill, I dont wanna keep backing down because someone forgot to say "5 more" or something

 

You should never have to back down. People going up hill always have right of way.

 

for me personally I feel it kinda ruins the atmosphere of a backcountry trip. I like being alone and solitude in wilderness.

 

I always end up closest to a wide patch it seems

 

Fuck that.

 

A few rigs is cool but 10-15 is a lot

 

Caravans with great people are great fun.

The thing you must remember in planning the day's events is everything will take longer with more people.

I was in a caravan of 15 4WDs in Baja last month... led by Cameron Steele (CBS Sports/ off road racing). Mostly Ford Raptors, a Jeep, a Tundra, and a couple Dodge/Ram trucks.







Oh, and a helicopter!





That's Cameron





Look for the Trail of Missions 2014 on CBS Sports in the near future...

 

I would caravan in Mexico for safety reasons.

 

It's subjective really, depending on type of trailing you're doing, difficulty of trails/amount of experience others have within the group, rule of thumb is the more difficult the trails, the fewer you want on trail with you regardless of experience....

I used to love going to mexico in the past, but like alot of others I don't feel safe there anymore so I just don't go, no biggie...

 

The more in the group, the longer it takes. For an overland trip, this might not be a big deal. For a technical trail, it could slow the group down considerably. Especially if someone breaks down or cannot make it on parts of the trail.

It's always fun to hang out at the end of the day and even at a lunch stop. But not behind a group that can't get it's collective shit together.

 

I'm always stuck behind someone who breaks something. I quit doing large club runs because of this. Spend 12 hours on a trail and only go a mile or only hit one trail. Now I only go with 3-4 people max.

 

Some of the other problems with large groups. Some don't have comms. If you do have comms, there are so many people talking, you don't know what you need to listen to. They don't know to wait at turns so everyone behind them is left wondering which way.

Don't get me wrong, a well organized group is easy to work with but poorly organized? No thanks.

 

Traveling/ camping in Baja California, Mexico is as safe, or safer than doing most anything up here, IMO.

Watch the nightly news in any American city: murders, robberies, crime. To scare people, the media must repeat very old news about crime in Mexico between drug gangs and cops. American tourists on vacation (and not breaking the law) are not the targets of drug cartels.











But, that's okay... the fear is keeping Baja less busy for those who go south.

 

I wonder how Harry Devert feels about that now? Or the other missing motorcyclist?

Baja might be safer but traveling anywhere remote, especially out of the country, you really need to stay aware of your situation.

 

Are you anywhere near Poteau or Heavner ??

& with regards to David's statements, although he travels baja extensively, & problem free the cartels DO target U.S. citizens & it's not old news, it's a daily occurance, you just don't hear about all of it, & to suggest otherwise is somewhat foolhardy, I live about 35 miles from the border & started going to Baja when I was about 9 or 10 & continued up until about 5-10 years ago when I noticed how out of control border violence had gotten & noticed how complacent & dis-interested the mex. gov. was/is in doing anything about it. I've witnessed first hand how federales deal with yankees & their "toys". They get rolled up on frivilous charges & the first thing that happens is confiscation of vehicles.(say goodbye to your RV/sand toys/ other property 'cause most likely you'll never get them back) Saw it happen near Cantamar,mex.

 

Sorry that happened to anyone... But, if people who were not in the drug business or breaking laws were really harassed then tourism (one of Mexico's leading source of revenue) would be dead. The Cantamar sand dunes are private property, and only 30 minutes south of Tijuana and Rosarito cities... I would never recommend camping along the highway near any city. As I said before, if you are afraid of crime, then you can never leave your home... because crime happens in your American community every day. If you don't have a sense of adventure, where something bad MIGHT happen, then Baja is not for you... nor is most anywhere else you can go with your Tacoma.

Cameron Steele leads caravans of the most expensive 'toys' across the border into Baja many times a year, without incident. Others as well... If you want to read about real people who go to Baja all the time, then read the forums at BajaNomad.com. The same way if you want to read about Tacomas, you come here to TacomaWorld.com.

 

I get edgy being behind even one other vehicle, frankly. I once thought that caravaning and sharing these backcountry expeditions with others would be fun. Then I tried to coordinate one and it was far more frustration than it ever could have been worth. Pulled the plug and absolutely love doing our own thing.

 

What Max said, x2.

Since 2009 I have completed numerous back country trips solo, and I've loved every one of them. One year I teamed up with another Tacoma owner that I randomly met in Death Valley to take Lippincott pass together.

This. And I wouldn't do it any other way no matter what people tell me.