18.5k miles in 3 months!

Late April got started on a solo trip around the western states and finished about a week ago. SD, WY, MT, WA, OR, ID, UT, NV. A true 18.5k miles in 3 months. About 5k was Interstate. Some days I never touched pavement. Camped in the bed 75 of 90 nights. Most of those nights didn't pay a dime to camp. We are all lucky to have access to public lands, but those of you out west are especially lucky. I am jealous for sure.

Learned a few things along the way. We can't always listen to what the web tells you to buy. It's perfectly okay to DIY or do without. While I wouldn't repeat some of the same build, it worked and it was cheap(ish).

What are the musts haves? First, matte black hood. I didn't, and it's my one regret. Still squinting. Two, proper tires. Distant/later third, protection. My sliders and skids both took some hits in Utah. This was more from my inexperience and not having a second set of eyes to choose a line.

Just combing through 2500 pics and found a few of the truck.

 

Looks like a great trip, and sounds like maybe your first from the description. (?) If so, you went big!

I'm curious - you mentioned 18.5K miles and 5K highway.

• Where'd you start? (not "out west" from your description)
• What was the pavement vs. dirt ratio (vs. highway) and how'd you go about planning your route?
• What were some favorite places you visited?
• What were some places where you were surprised by what you saw?

 

@turbodb Excellent questions. First big trip like this. First real off road experience (if you don't count tearing through your neighbors' lawns as a high school kid).

Live in Miami and this is the starting point for the mileage. The real "start" of the trip was Badlands SD.
Call these ballpark numbers. 5k interstate + 12.5k federal, state and county roads + 1k forest/BLM roads = 18.5k

I essentially created a "top 10" list of places I thought I wanted to check out plus the bigger National Parks. From there, I built a Google map and printed it. Overlaying that on an old school atlas from my State Farm agent, I literally drew the basic path. When I got into area, I found local ranger offices and grabbed their MVUM or the BLM equivalent. I have Gaia, but used it sparingly. My '20 has CarPlay so Google and Gaia were easy on screen. I used Campendium and iOverlander apps when I was looking for places to camp but also used the paper maps.

In addition to the "top 10," I met people along the way that suggested different places or experiences. I mentally committed to visiting all of those and was not let down. Single place that struck me the most was Libby, MT and the Kootenai River. Wenatchee, Crater Lake, Wire Pass all beautiful. Loved my time in Bend, OR. Loved the white knuckle of Shafer Trail Road and Kelly Grade.

The most surprising thing is how different each state is from the postcard picture that gets painted to the rest of the world. Montana isn't all mountains. Oregon isn't all douglas fir. Arizona isn't all desert.

I'm ready to go again Oct-Nov then it's back to reality. This time I'll spend a little more in NV, give AZ and the north rim it's proper due (too hot), and add TX. Open to suggestions.

 

Nice. Libby (well, the Kootenai) was a surprise for me too when we when through. The teal was just ... so teal.

This, I think, is a great thing to discover. For a long time, I thought Nevada would be boring since most of the routes through it that I've travelled on highway to get to various other places just seem to go through "nothingness." Recently, I've discovered that it's anything but, and that there's SO MUCH cool stuff to see across the state!

Man, you're one lucky dude to get 5 months of exploration like that. Kudos. I don't have a lot to add for Texas, but you're welcome to check out my Nevada and AZ exploits. Both are fabulous spots. Make sure to spend some time in Gold Butte National Monument and the surrounding area.

Nevada




Arizona

 

Just curious, I don't see any pictures with a tent. Did you sleep in the back of your short bed for 75 nights?? If so, how tall are you and how comfortable was it? Any tips on setup?

Sounds/looks like an awesome trip

 

I don't have a good pic of it right now, but going to set it back up in a couple weeks for another trip. Basically, OSB platform over the wheel wells. Cheap Amazon foam mattress on top of that. I cut the corners from each end at 45 degrees to fit it diagonally in the bed. I'm 6'. It was not the most comfortable. Length is just a bit short - head and feet touch. You cannot sit upright, but there is enough room to change. The topper kept me mostly dry, but now getting aggressive on sealing it and making it more dust resistant. Temps ranged from 12-117. Cold was no issue inside the topper. The heat was outrageous even with the windows and back open. A better tarp or awning setup would have helped keep some of the sideways rain out. My tarp setup was worthless when water accumulated. Tried a pop up from Walmart, but it was a pain to set up and take down and used a lot of space in the bed.

Under the platform, I used a sheet of hardboard to slide easily. Pelican cases with gear on the hardboard. Pelican 1520 is about as big as will fit underneath.

There is a tough balance of mobility and comfort. It's had me thinking about a full size truck, a Land Cruiser, a van, a trailer/camper. Each has their positives and negatives.

 

I am impressed. We are the same height and I haven't even attempted to sleep 1 night in my DCSB, let alone 75. I may have to try it out, I bet 5-7 nights wouldn't be the end of the world. Get a comfortable mattress, sleep diagonally, legs slightly bent.