Truck Camping Photo Thread

... Great picture!

 

Great picture I love it.

 

Fantastic!

 

Did you order the water containers in the back or get them locally?

 

Few weeks ago.

 

Packed to the gills! Held everything three ladies and two dogs needed for the weekend. Including an inflatable 10 foot raft, battery, trolling motor, fishing poles, stove, two tents, etc etc etc.

 

Great pic!
Thanks for sharing!

 

Any issues with the Ayer? Seems lots of people have issues with the build quality. How's it working for you?

 

my weekend.

 

No issues for me. Makes camping much more comfortable. I did just order a kukenam sky just to have a bit more room.

 

They're gas cans. They got pretty beat over the years so they got a fresh coat of "desert tan" before the trip

 

Wow, this is amazing. I'm scared to go to death valley by myself, I'm afraid I'll get stuck somewhere with no way out. How treacherous is the drive in to this spot? Feel free to PM me

 

Outside of Mormon Lake near Flagstaff

 

Colockum Pass wagon tail in Central Washington

 

This spot is not too bad to access from late spring through fall. The road accessing it over Hunter Mountain can get snowy and then very muddy in winter. Otherwise the rest of the year it would be just fine in a bone stock 4WD and I think anyone with a bit of experience could do it in 2WD too. A little past that point on that road it gets rather steep and personally I'd want the low gears of the 4WD transfer case. Road conditions of course change out there whenever there is a storm and more road erosion.

As far as being scared to do to Death Valley the rules to stay safe are pretty straight forward:

1. Make sure someone knows where you are going, when you are getting back and can be relied upon to call the NPS or other search and rescue if you are overdue.

2. Carry enough water and food to survive comfortably for two days beyond your planned itinerary.

3. If you do get stuck stay with your vehicle until help arrives. Never attempt to walk out unless you are positive you are just a few miles from a heavily traveled road and you are walking in low temps with adequate water. Knowing where you are is important, distances are deceptive and many people have died thinking they are close enough to walk back to a highway. Never walk during the daytime in summer.

If you follow those rules then getting stuck is just unexpectedly camping someplace for a little bit longer than you expected. Obviously be prepared and don't tackle roads where you are likely to get stuck solo, but the key point is if you have enough food and water there is no need to panic when stuck. If someone knows when to expect you then assistance is just a matter of waiting.

There is a Death Valley thread here on TW and that would be a great place to find someone who is headed out that way anyway if you wanted to tag along on your first trip just to build some confidence. In general I recommend doing most of it from late fall through early spring, the temperatures are very mild at the low elevations and very pleasant. As you get towards summer you will want to head to higher and higher elevations in the park.

 

Thank you, I really appreciate the thought out response!

 

IF you do get stuck, as in tires in the sand, it is easily fixed by letting more air out of the tires.

So, knowing that deflating is a primary part of off roading:
Have a good dial style tire gauge that reads less than 10 psi.
Have a good tire pump, usually it will be a model that clips onto the battery, such as the MV-50 (the ones that plug into a cigarette lighter take a long long time to refill the tires).
Drop your tire pressure to 20-25 psi for most dirt road driving and to 15 psi for sand driving. It is possible to go to 10 psi or a bit less if the sand is extra fine and the truck won't 'float' at 15 psi. That is usually the case if you are running mud terrain or three-ply sidewall tires.

If you can't go forward, go in reverse instead of spinning the tires trying to go forward. Put the truck into H4 off the pavement and L4 if there is a steep or uneven condition. If you have the Off Road, make sure when you are in L4 that A-TRAC is on or MTS is at the correct setting.

 

What a beautiful place! I was just outside of Mormon Lake myself on Thursday night. The weather was just perfect, even though there were a lot of people, it was easy to find a place of solitude all to yourself. We camped off the road to Lake Kinnikinick. I definitely want to go back!
We were going to camp here (we being my dog and I) but we found this spot instead with a view of the meadow and small pond and sun.

 

@HBMurphy took us to a cool camping spot in Old Dale Mining District. I love finding preserved structures hidden deep inside the desert: