Trans America Trail Journey *PIC HEAVY*

So I recently had to do a PCS move from North Carolina across the country to California. The wife and I decided to take advantage of the time off and loaded up the rig and the dog and lived in the truck for about 3 weeks. We had some major work done on the truck before leaving and man did it pay off! Before leaving, the truck had a 2.5 Inch lift and no sliders. We got a 6 Inch Rough Country lift installed, and some awesome sliders welded on. Also for cleaning, showering and filling up the dogs water bowl I strapped a 15 gallon water tank with a small pump and kitchen sink type sprayer to the rack in the back. It was wired up to our dual battery setup in the bed of the truck. Our spare tire sits on a DIY roof rack we made for about 30 bucks at Home Depot. We packed a box of freeze dried food, clothes for three weeks, and a few energy drinks and hit the road.
October 11 - We started West of Jacksonville NC and were on farm type roads for 80% of the first day. Due to a late start, we drove into the night until about 1AM in the Smokey Mountains which were unbelievable!! The mood was awesome as we knew there was nothing but adventure and uncertainty ahead! The time of year was perfect for our trip, all the trees were changing color and it made for some awesome pictures. The first 2 or 3 nights we just popped the tent on the truck and stayed wherever we could find enough room, but a few times between Carolina and Arkansas we stayed in camp grounds.
As we made our way down the mountains, our brakes began to give the smell (and feel) of being done...so on a Sunday afternoon in one of the smallest towns I've ever seen, we managed to find an open Autozone and had to switch out the pads in the parking lot. Now I know....its not smart to work on anything without jack stands, but they didn't have any tall enough..but we ended up putting the tires underneath the front end....just in case..
After swapping out the pads we hit the roads and trails again. That same night, we made slow progress as we wound up the foggy Ozarks. Atop a small peak is where we made camp for the night. It was about 25 degrees that night!! Usually we would just set up the dogs crate underneath the ledge that the tent made right up against the truck, but the pup stayed inside the tent that night lol. The next day we had to cross an awesome bridge and got some sweet pictures of it as well as a small water crossing that may or may not have ended in the wife being soaking wet..haha....Towards the end of Arkansas the trail got more technical and exciting but it was short lived. As soon as we hit Oklahoma, it was flat and there wasn't much scenery wise.
October 19 - As soon as we entered Colorado however, the terrain started changing and the excitement started to build again. We stayed in a camp ground the night before we were going to attempt crossing the Rockies but upon waking up and doing our research, some of the trails that we would need to cross are closed due to snow. So we did miss out on part of the Rockies...but we drove though some of them. We went through some valleys during the detour and thats when we found this awesome old church and made some four legged friends.
So we drove again through the night and woke up in the off road "mecca" known only as Moab. We stayed in a camp ground that was right up against the Green River. We knew we would enjoy Moab so we planned on staying for a few days. Well...we ended up staying for a few days alright...as well as spending about a grand on truck repairs...more on that later. So the very first day we headed up to the Salt Flats Recreational Area. We decided to try our luck on the "Fins and Things" trail. First of all...this trail instilled some serious confidence in my truck..I saw things and said to myself..."theres no way we can do that"...like mounds of rocks, giant stair sets of rocks.. We took our time, had lunch mid trail and then finished up and left the recreational area and started down the paved hill back towards town. Except something was off.. for us to go straight, the steering wheel had to be turned at about a 45 degree angle to the left.. We went straight to a shop, had them take a look and sure enough that luck I mentioned had run out... We needed a new Rack and Pinion + alignment. Damn... So we ordered parts, hung out in Moab for a few days (rented a UTV which was badass) and stayed in a hotel for a night while the shop had the truck aka our home. Then as soon as we got the truck back it was time to hit the road again.
October 24th - As we were flying down the freeway to make up time, we saw a canyon that was part of the trail. We decided to make a U-turn and go through the canyon. By the size of it, we figured it'd be a short, 1 maybe 2 hour detour. It turned out to be much larger than we could see and we ended up taking about 4 and a half hours through this damned canyon.. Of course, as soon as we hit the bottom of the riverbed in the canyon, the skies darkened and the clouds opened up and it began to sprinkle on us. Being in the bottom of a canyon nearing dark when the rain starts to fall is not a good feeling.. Oh and to top it off, we had used much more gas than anticipated leaving us with not enough to turn around. Of course we had a 5 gallon Rotopax tank full of extra gas but still...we had to keep pushing. Huge rocks stood in our path in the bottom of the riverbed so it was slow going but eventually we made the last turn and began to ascend the opposite side of the canyon..We made it!! Our lifted spirits were short lived though. Of course it was dark by now, and as we made our way up, the cliff on our left hand side grew taller and taller. Then we came up to a pinched part of the trail where immediately to left was a pretty big drop (maybe 30, 40ft) and the the right was the side of the canyon.. So it took about 20 minutes of the wife and I piling up rocks next the huge rocks so we could make it up, and then the wife had to stand out in front and guide me over the whole thing. Talk about trust lol...she did an awesome job though and we breathed a huge sigh of relief as we finished crawling over. The same canyon can be seen from the Gopro of a guy on a dirt bike here however this guy wasn't so lucky..he actually falls down the cliff..ouch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BOOxl8jQhc
After the canyon of doom we hit the freeway again and made our way to our new home in California arriving on October 25th. All said and done, I would absolutely recommend the trail to others!! I hope this thread inspires someone else to take on the trail!!





































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Great pictures. Looks like an awesome trip

 

Wow I am super jealous! Looks like an awesome time!

 

Wow, what a trip. Do you know the name of the "Canyon of Doom"? Near Moab?

 

Yea, I believe it was Eagle Canyon..it was amazing, but a bit hairy..I think it was closer to Arizona now that I think about it..

 

Awesome

 

Fantastic photos and story of your trip, so envious

 

Thanks!! It was amazing!

 

Wow very cool, awesome scenery - random horse FTW

Thanks for sharing

 

Right? There was a few of them just wandering a dirt road in Colorado...so we fed them lol

 

Sweet looks like fune.

 

Been wanting to do this for a while. Looks like you need about 3 weeks to pull it off

 

Yea it could be in a shorter amount of time, or more if you really like to take in the scenery and people.

 

Hell, I'd have to drive back yo the east coast when i got done

 

When are we gonna do that west cost loop? I really want to do a overland trip. Would be awesome to have another truck with you as well.

 

Awesome trip, I'd love to do something like this. Thanks for sharing.

 

Yea it was one of the best experiences I've had so far!

 

How did the truck do offroad with a drop bracket lift? I've also got a 6" db and wanted to know the offroad capabilities.

 

What a great adventure and thanks for sharing!

 

Nice. Thanks for sharing.