Hello from dreary Ohio

New member here, wanted to say hello and share about myself and what I'm doing here.

I recently retired, and am planning a long road trip From Ohio out West, up to Anchorage, ferry back down to around Seattle, (or drive back through Canada again, not sure at this point)work my way down to Sacramento, then back across US 50 to Ohio again. I plan to avoid interstates as much as psychologically possible, in preference to the old US highway system. I've been to most large cities, many national parks, etc and now I want to see as much of rural America as i can, and, perhaps, some rare out of the way places.

And taht means i'm searching for a robust vehicle capable of soft roading...long stretches of moderately maintained gravel, logging roads, rough county roads, still be decent on hardstands, comfortable enough for long range driving, as small as possible yet still sufficient for carrying proper equipment for said off roading. A Tacoma might fit the bill, but which trim, I wonder?

I haven't' had a truck in years (Had a Bronco when I was in the Military), and I don't fancy the flash of tooling the back-roads in my BMW sedan. Since I just got here, i haven't really had the chance to peruse the forums, but i look forward to doing so. Any advice in terms of the suitability of a Tacoma for my trip, what trim level I should consider, or any other information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Welcome to TW!