Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

I remember passing you, mostly because I was very close to doing that exact same setup with my tent and the GFC Topper. Great looking truck!

 

We had the diesel heater and used a Y splitter to share the heat with @essjay . I was warm all night. But the 16 ft hose going to other RTT lost heat due to the length of travel and the exposure to outside element.. In Alabama hills it was really cold. At DV is was a little warmer. But is there a way to insulate the hose? I think that would’ve kept it's heat.. next time I'll just turn it full blast.

 

I dont have a picture but I run a 200 watt space heater and 2 electric blankets in our camper which keep us warm and comfortable on 2 kWh. The electric blankets keep our memory foam mattress nicely soft and warm. Your setup looks pretty amazing, cool that you can share with your friends... amazing!!!

 

Sounds similar to the setup I run to heat the GFC and trailer. I have a 16ft insulated 3" hose that I cut in half. I'll likely purchase a Y that has valves to replace the unadjustable one I currently use and maybe step down to an insulated 60mm hose that I can pull through the existing insulated 3" hose as it would be nice to have a longer length of ducting.

I'm using a 5kw heater in a Plano box that I can shove the extra hose in.

 

I am planning a trip out there soon where it would be really convenient to go out northbound through steel pass/dedeckera but I was a bit wary of doing it in that direction. Never been up that way and while gravity would be on my side going Northbound seems like it also makes it a lot easier to get hung up on something without the ability to back down. Going to be a bit crunched for time with just me, my wife and the dog and I am in a stock height 3rd gen DCLB OR. Also my wife would probably be second guessing every turn I made up there If I had a buddy, more time or a little more ground clearance I think it would make more sense though.

 

It's absolutely possible to get down it in a stock vehicle without issues if the driver knows what they're doing. However, because of how low traffic it is and how far of a hike it is to Eureka Dunes campground, it's probably ill-advised for most people to do it solo in a stock vehicle.

 

One in our crew managed to rip the valve stem on the V shaped water fall. It took us a while to get the tire replaced due to several factors, one being having to get pass the next section with a flat tire so we could get to flat ground. The valve stem it self could not be removed cause it's not a regular valve.

 

A stock rig can do it most years especially recently. Every year the "rock stacks" become less of a stack and more of a ramp. I predict in another 3 years you won't even be able to tell there used to be a 2 foot obstacle there. If you can't rise to the challenge bring the challenge down to your level seems to be the new normal.

 

There are a lot of seemingly easy routes that could leave you stranded a long way from anywhere. Maybe it's because I'm older and drive an older truck that I've chosen fewer solo trips these days

Edit: I am reminded of that one time heading up to Mahogany Flat when all of a sudden, nova! It was pretty cold and when I got out of the truck, I was relieved to find I was only high centered on the transfer case skid and getting out of that situation was easy enough but not many go up that way and had it been more than that (like broken), I'd have to hike down to Wildrose and hopefully, find someone to help Mahogany Flat is a pretty nice spot if you seek solitude or want to go to Telescope Peak.

 

You are very unlikely to get stuck going down, especially as folks are saying it is in very good condition. Typically the issue going down would be body damage. But that might not be much of an issue right now depending on conditions.

The biggest issue is your being "a bit crunched for time". Rushing always makes things worse. If your companion is going to be second guessing you or is panicky, that's another form of "rushing" that will make things even worse.

I've said this before, I'll say it again:

Ken's Procedure When Stuck

1. Apply parking brake, put truck in park - i.e. don't assume I'm actually "stuck".
2. Visually survey that fluids aren't rapidly leaving the truck. If there are, decide if anything can be done to stop them. Otherwise...
3. Get a drink and a snack.
4. Sit someplace comfortable and cool and spend at least five minutes drinking the drink and eating the snack.
5. Reflect that being stuck out in the wilderness is still more enjoyable than being mobile most anywhere else.
6. Evaluate if I'm actually cool, comfortable, and calm. If not, wait longer and potentially get another snack with more sugar in it.
7. Remind self I can live out of the truck for at least a week. I'm not "stuck", rather this is "unscheduled camping".
8. Evaluate how exactly I'm "stuck".
9. Consider multiple options to get "unstuck".
10. Eliminate all options that involve even the remotest risk of physical injury to any person (e.g. never use a hi-lift jack for anything).
11. Sit down for a few minutes and compare the various options, especially evaluate if any of the options risk making things worse rather than better.
12. Compare all of these options to simply waiting for or contacting others for additional help, recalling again that in the worst case I'm just camping here.
13. Attempt chosen "best" option for getting unstuck or form plan for requesting/waiting for help.
14. If that fails, go back to step one and repeat the entire procedure.

Otherwise seemingly rational and capable people have turned into raging fucking morons who convert "stuck" into "severely damaged" or "physical injury" because they feel they absolutely must get themselves "unstuck" as soon as humanly possible. As if "stuck" is some sort of emergency. There is no case in which "stuck" is an emergency, and if such a incident did occur what it really means is you failed to properly plan and provision for being in the wilderness in the first place.

So, based on others reports I suspect you would be fine going through the obstacles with the right mindset and preparation. But "a bit crunched for time" to me is a bit of a red flag.

 

Good points, all of them.

You never see firefighters running to get somewhere. Which is not to say they are not in a hurry. During my first aid training, the very first lesson deals with a) not becoming a victim, b) making sure the scene is safe, c) and deciding if you're going to help or not. The translation is helpful in many situations. Especially when you think shit has hit the fan--sometimes it's not as bad as you think or that you might make it without a moment of reflection.

 

Great advice and basically my general procedure. Got in a cross axle situation recently and I put the parking break on and got out to take a moment and get a better view of the terrain before proceding. Wasn't even really stuck just realized I was getting to terrain where I needed to be more mindful and be using different tools. I was still in 4Hi at the time and the standard traction control was not a happy with 2 wheels in the air. Probably could have dropped it to first gear and given it gentle throttle until it worked things out, or even just rocked it until it had enough traction to pull through but dropping into 4Lo and engaging the rear locker seems a lot gentler on the drive train to me so I did that. Kind of wish I had taken the time to go back through to play with the MTS, auto LSD, etc to see how they would handle things. Only had the truck for a few months and havn't really had a chance to put it through its paces.

Won't be in a real hurry just we are heading up to Idaho and my wife is set on getting to our destination in a certain number of days despite no real plans when we get there. Kind of hoping she will change her mind on that when we get to the hot springs

I have sliders on the truck which will both help reduce the chance of body damage and my chance of wedging it good My main 2 worries with the truck in general are high centering(its a long bed) and the damn hitch getting stuck on something. I have jacks, recovery boards, tow rope and even the ability to winch with the hi-lift if in a pinch but also not trying to worry my wife too much since she doesn't have any experience "offroading"

With high centering I know from experience If I take it slow I can usually back out of it, but that goes out the window downhill which is where my concern is with the ledges. Hell before I got the truck I was taking a sedan with 3in of ground clearance into the desert and I was setting the body right on the ground regularly but never got it stuck. Of course I can take time to stack rocks and/or recovery boards(and afterwards return it to how I found it) but that requires me to have good judgment at the time. Not sure I want to trust future me

The hitch seems to be the thing I usually end up bashing, hasn't really caused a problem yet but in the future I am wanting to move it up behind the license plate and add a nice smooth skid to protect the rear bumper and let me slide off things when needed. Need to do a junkyard run and buy a welder so might be a bit for that project though.

Current plan is to leave the hot spring out of north pass then head over to the dunes before heading out one of the small roads in the NE into Nevada. Just wish I had a buddy so I could feel a bit more comfortable going the shorter more challenging route

Eventually plan to go bigger on the tires but the truck came with a brand new set of stock size AT tires and I am broke. Just ordered parts to throw the 1in rear block from the OEM TRD lift kit in the back. Suprised more people dont seem to be using the OEM blocks. Will probably have to machine some custom shock extensions to not lose any suspension travel. Eventually plan on upgrading shocks and lifting the front an inch as well but wont be until after I have more income and new tires and wheels. Would be nice to do new leaf springs in the rear at some point but really dont want to go higher than an inch over stock and again money.

 

Sliders should greatly reduce the possibility of body damage. Depending on the conditions exit angle can be an issue though. So long bed and hitch at stock height might end up with a scrape which could be unsettling to the wife.

The drive over North Pass and then down into Eureka from the west is also a scenic drive if you haven't done it before. Sure, it is longer, but if it keeps your passenger happier maybe that's the way to go. Steel would be a good backup if North Pass ends up snowy/icy while you are there.

Headed North out of Eureka is usually straightforward with more than one route to choose from.

Sounds like you've got a good plan. Have fun!

 

Everyone in my group, except one, used their sliders. A tacoma going from the Dunes to Saline (not with us), bent their rear bumper pretty bad going up the waterfalls..... So depending on your clearance, you need to make life choices.....

 

Isn't bending things on trails just telling you what you need to upgrade next? ;-)

 

The one saving grace of the hitch receiver being so low is it actually does a good job of protecting the plastic bumper in a lot of situations.

 

I believe the departure angle and rear overhang are exactly the same on the short and long beds. They stretched the wheelbase and added the extra foot in front of the rear tires. It impacts the breakover angle and the turning radius but its not too detrimental.

 

Probably worth noting that if you're concerned about going down it solo and are camping at the springs, you could just wander around, look for a group with appropriate vehicles, and ask if they're headed up Steel to Eureka and if you can join them. Plenty of friendly folks out there.

 

I added the "ARB Rear Tow Hooks" that I used as sliders for my rear bumper.... LOL... I used them this weekend and they work helping my tail slide on the rocks.

 

Thanks! Yea that was the first trip out with the GFC topper. I also did the turbo cubby so it helped keep everything organized and easy to get to in the truck