I do not know how long it will take...

I have crossed the continental United States, or significant stretches of it 20 or more times. I love to drive and see. My travels have usually had a purpose, destination or task. Also they have largely been interstate based as time usually mattered. This time it will be different. I love back roads and now have a vehicle that allows for travel off road. I do not need to rock crawl or get extreme so...

The Trans America Trail... Seems like the ultimate cross country driving experience to me. I am going to give it a shot. Multiple stages over who knows how long.

First Stage begins Feb 26 next month. All comers welcome. TAT website https://www.transamtrail.com/
I will start the Atlantic Ocean Spur in Nags Head North Carolina, and look to do about 150 miles per day. Three travel days.

Here is the rig...

I will post plans and updates here.

 

Wow! Now that’s a truck! Good luck! I am doing a Chicago to Central Coast California later this year through Yellowstone and Glacier National Park - but not in a Tacoma that holds a candle to this!! Best of luck and look forward to following.

 

Gathering the gear.

I have put together basic recovery gear:
Fiskars Heavy Duty Shovel
Home Depot Splitting axe
Hatchet
Folding Army Shovel
Come Along/Cable Puller
Tow Strap (2)
Tire Repair Kit
12 Volt Compressor
Full Took Kit
Emergency lights
First Aid Kit
Jumper cables
Shop Towels
Emergency lights

Gotta Eat
55 Liter 12v/120v dual zone fridge/freezer
Pantry Box
CGI camp kitchen
Coleman Clam shell two burner stove
5lb propane tank
5 gallon water tank with 12V electric faucet/pump
Camp cook wear
service for 4 - Lexan

Nature calls
Folding toilet frame and seat with biodegradable bags
privacy tent and porta shower - only when the wife is along?

Recreational gear
fishing poles and basic gear
hiking poles
day pack
Pellet gun (a fun way to kill time)

Truck has a Roof Top Tent and a Rhino Awning

More to come, I am sure.

Next up... Maps

 

I’ve read that a good consideration for the TAT is a small chainsaw. If you get stopped by limbs or fallen trees (definitely possible after winter when some trials haven’t been used much) it can make breaking em down fast and safe (if you’re familiar with chainsaw safety)… it’s also a quick way to process firewood. I have an electric Dewalt saw for work that wasn’t too expensive and worth it for sure on camping trips. I also have an Agawa Boreal folding saw for smaller stuff. Hatchets have their place, but the chance of fucking yourself up with a hatchet is greater than the risk with the other two options in my opinion. A cheap hardware store bow saw will do better, faster work than a hatchet most times anyway.

Also, a set of traction boards can bail you outta some tough spots, great for leveling your truck as well if you’re parked on uneven ground.

I have a map question! What maps are you using/where did you get em?
Best of luck, keep us updated, friend!

 

Small Chain saw is a good idea. Thanks.

I am struggling with maps. While the Atlantic Spur is more on road and I believe I can figure it out more easily, I am having trouble getting a response to my order for GPS tracks from the TAT website. I paid for an email with the needed down load and have not heard back.

 

I have managed to put together a route for this first leg. It is not the TAT Route. I have attempted to get the routes and the organization failed to respond and then refunded my money. Gonna go explore. If anyone has the actual waypoints I would be happy to have them. I have downloaded the GPSKevin files. and modified it to try to capture the TAT route.

 

Good luck!

I wish the LB had a larger fuel tank, I typically get 200 miles towing, another 4/5 gallons would be sweet.

I’ve found the app InRoute to be extremely valuable, can see elevation, wind, precipitation etc…

 

I agree 5 gallons would be a big help. I will look at InRoute. I am trying to figure out Gaia right now.

 

Map and truck update...

Received the tracks from the TAT site for the Atlantic Ocean Spur. Have loaded into Gaia. Will be able to do the planned route now.

Will add the new front hitch and 9000lb Badlands ZXR winch to the truck this weekend.
Picked up a set of recovery boards and I think all my major purchases are now complete.

Grocery shopping and packaging and freezing this week end as well..

Pictures to follow.

 

I'm going to second the small collapsible bow saw option. Much much more control. I also prefer to baton chunks of wood into smaller pieces/kindling with a 'camp chopper' (shorter than a machete but much thicker steel), again, more control. My chopper also takes the place of a hatchet in a pinch.

I'd also suggest looking into a lithium ion jump pack instead of the old school cables.

 

Last major piece of prep for the truck...
Here is the winch install. Load out begins today for the trip... I leave Friday at noon from New Hampshire for Nags Head North Carolina. Will spend the first night in Redding State Park in Delaware.

Badlands 9000lb on a portable cradle and a front hitch. I did not want permanent install. Also wanted affordable as I do not anticipate hardcore off road. Total investment is about 600.00. Hitch, winch, cradle, Synthetic cable and shackles.

 

Did the major staging for my load out today. Set up so It can all go into the truck Thursday Night.
Fridge, Water, Power Station
GCI Camp Kitchen
GCI Camp Chair
Tools and Recovery
Kitchen Box
Recreation Box
Zoleo Satellite Communicator
Camera and First Aid Kit
Shovel and Axe
Recovery Boards
Tent Rigged

 

What kind of MPG on the highway does that setup get all loaded down?

 

between 17 and 20 so far. Friday will be my first trip completely loaded with gear boxes and fridge ect. I will report back next week.

 

Left Manchester, NH yesterday at 330 pm. It was one of those days where you simply do not get anywhere. Stopped twice to nap and once to eat. Not much traffic so that was good. Arrived iat R3dden st Park in Delaware at about 230 am once I discovered I had to open the gate to find the c spots. Slept quickly and pretty warmly for 32 degrees and hit the road at 8 am.

First stop Cambridge Maryland. I have read everything James Michener has written over and over. One of his books Chesapeake was based on this town. It is.also where Harriet Tubman ran the underground railroad

 

Well trip report to come. I just arrived home. MPG ranged between 16 and 22 over the course of the trip. That is the onboard meter as I need to be less obsessive about constantly calculating. As most people note if you put your foot in it and run +65 there is a big drop. I ran around 18 on the highway set at 65 mph.

 

I write this to help me remember. It may be as interesting as your grandmothers vacation slides... Read at your own peril (or boredom)The Trans America Trail (TAT) has begun. Atlantic Ocean Spur is complete. This first leg begins in Nags Head North Carolina and runs northeast to Burnsville Virginia. By the way do not look for Burnsville on the map unless you have a detailed state map. It is so small it does not show on a atlas map. I could not even find a post office. But more on that later. The purpose of this first trip (also my first trip in the new truck and my first trip as an "Overlander." Lots of truck camping but mostly going to a specific spot in the California Deserts and using dune buggies.)It was a very eventful and very fun first trip. I was by myself and learned a lot.

I had planned to leave on Friday at 12:00 p.m. from work. Of course other folks are absent and I have to stay. I do not get to leave until about 3:00. Top up the gas, get a drink, you know the drill aand it is 3:30 when the trip odometer begins to spin.

Leaving Manchester, NH and headed for Redden State Park in Delaware to sleep Friday night. The late departure messed up my travel schedule as it put me through New York City in rush hour. Not a good plan. However, I had several turn off points if I hit traffic for work around. Now the fun begins...

Did you ever have one of those days when you leave and you just never seem to get there? Well Friday was one of those days. I had not slept well the night before with snow coming and a 4:00 a.m. wake up call for the team that calls snow days for our school district and I was out until midnight for an A.J. Croce concert. Oh well. So, I was tired and sleepy. NOT a good thing for cross country driving. Long story short (I know it is usually to late when that is said) I stopped three times for cat naps and twice for gas and dinner. So, I actually arrived in Redden State Park New Jersey at 2:00 a.m. Better safe than sorry, no?

The Delmarva Peninsula has long been a destination I wanted to explore. I am a huge fan of the author James Michener. He wrote sweeping multi-generational novels of historical fiction. Those of us that are old enough will remember the miniseries "Centennial" from the late 70s which was based on one of his books. It was the next big miniseries after Roots. I was about 13 when it came out and started reading his books. His book "Chesapeake" was set on the eastern shore of Maryland. I spent Saturday Morning driving around this area. But first, the Taco Needed a bath! Time for the road salt to go. We will find out if it is replaced with any mud! Near the town of Cambridge on which the fictional town in the book is based, was the birthplace and home of Harriet Tubman. We read about her in school. She was known as the founder of the underground railroad.
It really gives a moment of pause when you stand in the field she walked and really think about the horrors of slavery were not simply something we read about in a book. They were real and tragic. Much like the feeling I had when visiting the holocaust museum in D.C. The feelings evoked make you really think.

The drive continued - Short Video Link https://youtu.be/KBf_qzH3wOw

The Delmarva Peninsula is gorgeous! Well worth the drive. It will now be a location for a three or four day trip.
Leaving the Delmarva to the south requires the use of a bridge and tunnel complex that takes you to Norfolk VA!. I know it is not the world's longest bridge but it is very cool.

This is an 8 min Video it is only about 70% of the crossing https://youtu.be/4s8aT8q-MIk

Drove to Nags Head, NC and stopped at Kitty Hawk, the site of the Wright Brother's first flight and then into Hatteras Seashore National Seashore. Spent the night at Oregon Inlet campground. Arrived after dark. It was raining and very windy. Used my truck as a windbreak to set up my stove and had my Tbone steak and green beans. Then there was the morning of day one for my first section of the TAT. The Atlantic Ocean Spur.

I did the dishes, packed up and took a walk to the beach to officially start at the waterline.


Next stop Oregon Inlet Light just around the corner.
Then I got on the road. As advertised the North Carolina section of the trail is all paved. State Highway and two lane road but very picturesque. I had a planned break for the middle of the day to make a delivery to the daughter of a man I work with. He asked me to drop off her first saddle used when she was a child. This took a 350 mile round trip off the trail so at 11:00 a.m. I left Roper NC and drove to Fuquay Varina to do the drop. I returned to Goose Creek State Park for the night.
Up for day two. Returned to the trail in Roper and continued on. As I said the NC section is state highway but it is scenic.

It was on a bridge... No off road thrill here.
The good news on crossing into Virginia... First Dirt!

The second day was a long day. It is early in the season and I had a hard time finding a place to camp. State Parks were not open yet and had not reached National. Very scenic and a decent amount of dirt farm roads. I ended up crossing the Shenandoa Parkway in the dark and the rain. Came out on Highway 81 and grabbed a hotel rather than put up the tent in a truck stop. Oh well, better planning needed.

The third day was the best. I had only about 75 miles left but they proved to be the most scenic and eventful. It was almost all dirt in the George Washington National Forest and the views were pretty good. Here are some pictures and a video.
https://youtube.com/shorts/uCJOJwe58LU?feature=share

Now the fun begins. I am nearing what I believe is the last of the dirt road and find I have planned just enough. With the rain and storms the previous night, I spent about 3 hours cutting my way through blow downs on the mountain. I did not count but estimate I cut my way through 15 in the span of 2-3 miles. It added about 2.5 hours. Here are a few shots.
I found I had prepared just enough. I had a hatchet and ax. I need to add a bow saw or an electric chain saw. I debated adding a winch and did. Boy was I glad I did. I used it to pull some of the trees aside.

The day I thought would take three hours took 6. I ended up in Burnsville. I almost missed it! I only noticed the name on a church. The town was so small I really did not know were I was on the atlas map. Gaia did not have a street overlay and I had no cell service to see about adding it. I had to pull out the old school, cheap GPS to get directions out of the deep hollow the track ended in.
It is not salt anymore but rather mud and pinstripes!

 

Nice trip. Definitely need to get a chainsaw

 

Yea, Thinking about an electric chain saw but really a good bow saw would have made quick work. Cutting the tops to give me enough room to pass by was only 6 inches or less diameter.