by "Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
Published 04/13/2017 at 12:09
by "Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
Published 04/13/2017 at 12:09
Tags: TQ Overland
STARS: 11
As detailed in my previous posts , some friends and I got drunk and decided to do a Top Gear special style road trip. We flew to SoCal, bought cars for less than $2,500(ish) and then drove the Pacific coast ~2,000 miles to Seattle and uhh… let’s say sold the cars. Yes, we totally sold them. Stop asking questions!
At some point during that trip, we transitions from “OMG WTF ARE WE DOING!?” to “OMG WHEN CAN WE DO THIS AGAIN!?”
Well, good readers, that time is upon us.
For this next trip, we’re going off the beaten path, literally. We are flying to Sacramento, buying three cars for less than $2,500 each, and driving overland 1,200 miles to Salt Lake City, and then selling the cars when we get there.
Surely one of us will be killed.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
The original plan was to hit Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Valley of Fire, Grand Canyon, Zion, Capitol Reef, and some of great stuff in Utah. Unfortunately, we based on Tioga Pass openings based on the previous five year snowfall averages, not the huge amount they have now. Since the pass is unlikely to be open while we’re there, we’ve ditched Yosemite in favor of Tahoe.
(Side note: While we had an awesome route and accommodations planned in Yosemite, I am happy we’re free of the dangers of tourist traffic and snowy forest service roads.)
As much of the trip as is reasonable will be done, what I now know is called, overland. These are basically roads that you could probably do in a Honda Civic, but would be happier with a little more ground clearance. We will be hitting some more “challenging” off-road routes and I am eager to see how badly we screw the whole thing up!
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
The only requirement is some form of four-wheel-drive. This does not preclude a car being equipped with part time AWD (I admit the idea of a Volvo Cross-Country is appealing) but in general we all want to have an actual transfer case with actual 4WD. We are unlikely to ever actually need it, but if we have it we’ll probably find an excuse to get stuck.
George, of “the bumblebee” Cabriolet, sort of wants a truck this time, preferably a D21 4x4 oddly, but is also open to a small “hair dresser” Tracker or Samurai. That is, of course, unless he finds a mid-nineties Montero, in which case he will go ape shit and buy it. No idea why he has decided he loves those, but here we are.
Taylor, of the Nissan D21, sort of wants a small Japanese truck, but acknowledges we would never let him hear the end of it if he bought another one. He has also been toying with the idea of buying a 4x4 version of his daily driver, a Nissan Xterra, as that’d be fun to hoon. He too has expressed an interest in the “hairdresser” offroaders. Ultimately he really wants a Jeep, but we’re pretty sure we won’t find a decent one in the price range.
(Sidenote: Yes, I know the little 4x4s are well respected and each of us actually likes them. I’m not sorry for calling them “hairdresser” cars because, let’s face it, you knew exactly what I was talking about when I said that.)
I, weirdly, haven’t figured out what I want. A Range/Land Rover would keep with the theme of me buying hopeless cars (see: Alfa Romeo Spider) but that is (A) tempting fate and (B) difficult to find one in our price range. I’ve also considered getting a Tahoe/ Yukon on the basis of I already own one so it will pretty much guarantee I won’t keep it. In reality I like most older 4x4s and really just sort of want a manual. Overall, I’m content with choosing something dissimilar to what they choose and going with it.
Either way, we’ve seen our usual epic Craigslist gold. Stuff like “Runs grate! [sic] Needs new engine.” and “Selling because I got too many DUIs.”
Weirdly the one thing we’ve all agreed on is a mutual hatred of the Ford Expedition, Escape, Explorer, and (maybe) Excursion. This hate, again weirdly, does not extend to the F-series of trucks nor the ranger.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Before anyone rushes to the comment and details all the ways we are likely unprepared, yes we have actually given this some thought. Yes we know our cell phones won’t work. Yes, we know AAA doesn’t do off-road recovery. Yes, we know off-road recovery is expensive. Yes, we know there are no gas stations in the desert. Yes, we know jacks won’t really work in the sand. Yes, yes, etc etc…
I’m not saying we know everything, we absolutely do not. We will 100% encounter something unexpected out there despite all the prep we’re doing. Here is a by no means comprehensive list of what we’re going to bring:
Satellite phone (or emergency beacon), 20 gallons fresh water for emergencies only (5 gallons per person), 15 gallons fuel for emergencies only, fix-a-flat, spare tires (3), air compressors (2), fiber-fix, multiple tow straps, winch damper, shackles, buckets of sunscreen, first aid kits (2), list of emergency procedures, lists of emergency numbers, crap ton of tools, flashlights, shovand radios.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Each car will have a safety binder which includes routes, emergency numbers, emergency procedures, rally points, and critical gas stops. We will discuss the route, safety considerations, and logistical considerations prior to setting off each day. We also have a designated external coordinator who will be keeping track of our updates and check-ins.
The emergency procedures cover everything from being split up, to being pulled over, to “unknown threats” in alarming detail. Hopefully we’ll never need any of it.
We’d love to hear your thoughts Oppo! Anything we should be sure to see? Any essential off-roading gear? Suggestions on how to deal with our inevitable flat tires?
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
No but really, we realize this is going to be way more unsafe than our previous trip and are doing our best to make sure no one actually dies.
That said, this trip is going to be one hell of an adventure.
"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
04/13/2017 at 12:22, STARS: 0
sounds awesome!
"4kc" (4kc)
04/13/2017 at 12:33, STARS: 1
my advice:
fuck fix a flat, carry plugs and two big old tire irons. or both at least. you can’t go back and try to plug a tire after trying fix a flat. and it means the next tire shop is gonna charge you for like three hours labor to clean your wheel off later. (between me and my dad we’re at like 0 for 8)
bring a bottle jack or two and some boards. gramps used these to get his old 2wd f100 out of the woods lots of times
"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
04/13/2017 at 12:41, STARS: 0
Good tips, thanks!
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
04/13/2017 at 12:50, STARS: 0
So how exactly do you plan on selling the vehicles at the end? That kind of thing usually takes more than a couple days and I can’t imagine you can check a car in airline baggage...
"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
04/13/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 1
Can’t check them, but you can ship them! It isn’t cheap, but always available as a final option.
That said, the plan is to put them on CL for cheap a few days before we get to SLC. Also maybe Oppo haha. Other options are CarMax buying it or donating the car to NPR.
All participants are told to budget expecting not to sell the car, so any money we get back is essentially a bonus.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
04/13/2017 at 13:00, STARS: 0
How does registration and insurance work with that? Or are you ignoring making them road legal? I always assumed logistics like that would be biggest downfall to keeping something like this fun.I suppose it just takes time and money to work out.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
04/13/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 1
Sounds like fun. Im looking at the map and it seems like most of it is road road, which is fine, there is plenty of cool stuff off the sides of the roads you picked. I shared to O&E to see if anyone has specific notes. I would say 5 gallons spare water is good, but probably little overkill...I guess it all depends on your longest stretch away from services.
My 2 cents is: Spend time BEFOREHAND getting to know your cars (do a shakedown drive someplace locally) and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure they are sound mechanically. Its all well and fun to see top gear break down until you remember they aren’t packing light
and there is PLENTY of support.
SPOT is a good idea for a minimum, a sat phone rental is nice but could be overkill.
Be sure to practice a little or at least read up on safe recovery techniques. Most of the injuries off road are in bad recovery techniques.
Be advised that a lot of the travel you will do in Utah will be weather dependent. There are some roads that are Honda civic grade in the dry but int he wet are impassible even in powerwagons with mud terrain tires.
For cars? I refuse to provide advice, based on your description I would say its not as important as buying the best maintained car you can for the money. I will say that if you are planning to sell in SLC then there are some cars that will sell better than others: Toyota, Subaru, etc. There are a bazillion F150/GMT’s out here so you wont get much for them.
Hit me up if you have specific route questions in Utah as I know the area you are traveling very well.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
04/13/2017 at 13:30, STARS: 1
“mid-nineties Montero...No idea why he has decided he loves those, but here we are.”
um...cause they are awesome!
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/overland-under-budget-1993-1996-mitsubishi-montero-s-1634970536
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
04/13/2017 at 13:35, STARS: 2
Agree on the FAF. Buy a GOOD plug kit and learn to use it. Boards under a bottle jack is another solid idea. Might be a good idea to invest in a set of MAXXSA boards for the group. SOOO much better than digging for stuff that is just a little stuck. I mean obviously you can go nuts preparing and you want to have a little fun with the unknown bit but they sure are handy.
For fuel I always recommend carrying enough to extend your off-road range 50 miles minimum. Be advised that off road your your mileage is about 50% city mileage (depending on the track, could be as good as city). So if you get 15 city, expect 8 mpg off so you would need a little over 5 gallons. I find that even in the remote parts of the west that is USALLY plenty. (obviously each trip is different)
"jasmits" (jasmits)
04/13/2017 at 14:36, STARS: 0
Have dates in mind? I’m going to be driving across the country towards the beginning of summer(going the opposite way) with no set plans yet but my aspirational route takes me through that neck of the woods and spends plenty of time on lighter off-road. It’d be cool to meet up for a day or two on the trails, I have a very open timeframe and my DD 2nd-gen 4Runner’s purchase price last summer exceeds your cap by less than a grand.
"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
04/13/2017 at 14:44, STARS: 0
Registration and insurance are surprisingly easy. In most states, you get at least a 30-day grace period on both and the trip is shorter than that. We go ahead and insure the cars anyway because why not and the insurance company doesn’t care either way. In general we’re only looking at cars that have current reg or buy from dealers so we can get temp plates.
Funny enough, for this trip we’ve discovered you can do a expedited title transfer in California, so we’ll likely do that rather than carrying open titles around for two weeks.
In the end, we weren’t hassled even a little last time too, so there is that.
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
04/13/2017 at 14:58, STARS: 2
You guys should be fine. A $2,500 isn’t going to be too sketchy. I used to make desert runs in my $800 Subaru. Most of those routes will be well traveled. I did a 3k odd mile road trip around the west with two young kids in my wife’s X1 a few years ago. We tent camped in CA, OR, WA, MT, WY, and CO. Also, skip the fix a flat and grab a Safety Seal kit.
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
04/13/2017 at 14:58, STARS: 1
This is the west. Everything is technically “road legal” outside of CA.
"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
04/13/2017 at 15:00, STARS: 0
Thanks! We always do a feasibility analysis beforehand and $2500 seemed like a solid number. We’re actually allowed $2500 + $500 improvement budget before we start losing points too. Figured a good set of tires (including spares) is the best way to head off preventable heartbreak.
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
04/13/2017 at 15:02, STARS: 2
Also, ditch the Fix a Flat and grab a Safety Seal kit.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
04/13/2017 at 15:26, STARS: 0
I bet in California it’s easier also since the plates stay with the car. Whereas I am used to car sale equaling no plate and even the drive over to the DMV from where the car is bought is sketchy enough. Or someone has to lend a plate and make it quasi-legal. But yeah, that makes sense that you kinda just use the grace period in that regard.
"19JRC99" (19jrc99)
04/14/2017 at 23:00, STARS: 0
Ford Bronco. That will be a wise investment. Especially one with the 300 I6 if you can find it (They’re really rather rare)
"Sal Zigtal" (salzigtal)
04/29/2017 at 03:25, STARS: 1
the opening of CA-108 over Sonora Pass. Caltrans vs. the Park Service can have different priorities. Slower & further, but shorter than US-50 or CA-88.
"The Boring Car Guy" (theboringcarguy)
07/06/2017 at 23:32, STARS: 1
I have a whole page of specific cars I am planning on doing a similar challenge through less specific routes. I guess i better get on it and go before you do ‘em all first. (This was one of them... roughly).
"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
07/06/2017 at 23:39, STARS: 0
It was a good route. If we had it to do over again I’d probably do it backwards though. Utah was a little underwhelming and the first week was epic.