Epic cross-country family road trip. IN --> UT, CO (Imogene Pass), and AZ

[urinalcake]

LX with LC wheels and a V70R with prancing moose sticker?

I see you are truly a man of taste. Well done.

Kind words, thank you.

This trip looks very similar to what I am trying to plan now to attempt next summer (except leaving from GA).
GA --> UT/CO and back.

Couple quick questions, how is the LX outfitted? Sensor lift and larger tires? anything else? Anything you wish you had done differently when setting it up?
Also did you happen to use an app like GAIA to record your route / waypoints?

Ive been downloading random separate .GPX files trying to nail down what trails route I want to take once we get out there.

It’s stock except:

• LC wheels with General Grabber ATX tires in size 275/70R18SL. 33x11x18 in truck tire lingo.
• Aftermarket skid plates (4.6mm thick) for engine, transmission, and transfer case. The OE ones were thin and rusty.
• Hitch skid plate. Should provide some semblance of protection for the rear bumper with the smaller departure angle.

No lift, other than high mode for AHC when in L4.

No changes desired - at this time. Famous last words, right? It is such a comfy and capable rig right out of the box. All-Terrain tires make a huge difference for the trails. Mud terrain tires are too aggressive for my wheeling. I will install rock sliders in the distant future.

As for navigating when off the grid or lack of cell signal (lots of that during the trip), I considered using onX Off-road, but used truck’s GPS based nav. I had a Garmin in glovebox as backup. I also used my iPhone, which many people don’t realize Google Maps will work without cell signal. Can’t search for destinations or routes, but I found if start navigating while in cell signal range, it will track and navigate you when off grid. I also used a good of fashioned paper map around the Grand Canyon, the the two-track I drove was on the GPS as a BLM trail.

 

[urinalcake]

GoPro dashcam footage of the drive from Telluride to Imogene Pass.

Stock except 18" Land Cruiser wheels with 275/70R18 (33") General Grabber ATX tires aired down to 18 psi. This was my first time wheeling on an off-road / overlanding trail, and boy was it a deusey. The truck didn't break a sweat climbing or descending. Transfer case set in 4LO. I estimated it took about an hour to drive each direction, but we stopped and explored Tomboy Mine for some time. The view at the summit is just mind blowing. 13,114' elevation is no joke.

The trails isn't really that difficult, even for a novice like me, but is apparently rated a 6/10 (at least on onX offroad). I stopped a several times to walk the obstacles before navigating the more challenging ones. The pucker factor of the shelf roads with their exposed drop-offs could really persuade those afraid of heights to consider not driving it. Of course, GoPro flattens out the trail making the obstacles not appear as rugged as they are. I would certainly avoid driving it in a crossover with street biased tires because the rocky sections would likely cut or puncture them.

So many other videos are published at normal speed, but cut much of the journey, so for this video playback is at 4x normal speed. Mounted to the windshield just under rear view mirror, the GoPro captured the entire drive up and some of it coming back down before the battery died. Unfortunately, the power cord wasn't working, so the video down was cut short. Furthermore, there was an issue transferring from GoPro to computer so I lost some footage, e.g., driving through the tunnel.

Oh well, it was still so memorable and I cannot wait to drive it again! Enjoy.

 

[dingoboyexplore]

As a fellow Indianian-The fuel in gallons is helpful as I was going to plan this same trip and will add 3 tanks extra to be safe. MANNNNNN I want that v70r. Gorgeous P3 platform car man

 

[TheComedian]

Great trip.
Wish we had that amount of space over here in Europe (but yeah with 2500 years more of civilizations it is pretty crowded historically…)
That amount of fuel would cost me like 15% of what I payed for my 200 ;_;

Maybe next year I will head again to north Africa/ Sahara again… we will see

 

[gasman4u]

GoPro dashcam footage of the drive from Telluride to Imogene Pass.

Stock except 18" Land Cruiser wheels with 275/70R18 (33") General Grabber ATX tires aired down to 18 psi. This was my first time wheeling on an off-road / overlanding trail, and boy was it a deusey. The truck didn't break a sweat climbing or descending. Transfer case set in 4LO. I estimated it took about an hour to drive each direction, but we stopped and explored Tomboy Mine for some time. The view at the summit is just mind blowing. 13,114' elevation is no joke.

The trails isn't really that difficult, even for a novice like me, but is apparently rated a 6/10 (at least on onX offroad). I stopped a several times to walk the obstacles before navigating the more challenging ones. The pucker factor of the shelf roads with their exposed drop-offs could really persuade those afraid of heights to consider not driving it. Of course, GoPro flattens out the trail making the obstacles not appear as rugged as they are. I would certainly avoid driving it in a crossover with street biased tires because the rocky sections would likely cut or puncture them.

So many other videos are published at normal speed, but cut much of the journey, so for this video playback is at 4x normal speed. Mounted to the windshield just under rear view mirror, the GoPro captured the entire drive up and some of it coming back down before the battery died. Unfortunately, the power cord wasn't working, so the video down was cut short. Furthermore, there was an issue transferring from GoPro to computer so I lost some footage, e.g., driving through the tunnel.

Oh well, it was still so memorable and I cannot wait to drive it again! Enjoy.

awesome vid! It looks like one hell of a good time! Is onX off road what you used to for navigation while you were on the trail? TIA.

 

[urinalcake]

See post #21 above for comments about navigation.

 

[gasman4u]

See post #21 above for comments about navigation.

Gotcha. I missed it.

 

[wiseinvestor]

Great stuff!