Builds My '78 FJ40 "44" (1 Viewer)

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Looking across the Reese Ruver Valley... At the Shoshone Range... Find Chester
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With a little imagination, you can just make 44 out... Center of picture
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A little further away
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This picture shows a two-track that follows alongside the stream and then turns left into a canyon... It becomes a bit hard to see. I was gonna drive thus yesterday, but when I got about 1/2 mile up the track, I found a old, white Ford Ranger parked in the middle of the track... Rather than skirt it, thru the sagebrush, I took it as an omen and turned around and left

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The trip home

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This Tower practically blinded me yesterday and I could feel the heat... You can read about it and see it lit here -->
24-Hour Solar Energy: Molten Salt Makes It Possible, and Prices Are Falling Fast

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The Reese River... being fouled by cattle

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Best buds

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The drive home was miserable, from Beatty on... it was no where near the 108 we drive thru before. But, after a month at altitude, the mid-90s had us both feeling sick, by the time we got home.

Technically, 44 performed very well... three issues:

  1. Fuel pressure gauge quit... probably a fuse. But not worth unloading to get to the aux fuse panel.
  2. Died while running on the main tank in Tonopah. Switched to Aux and drove home. Probably a dirty fuel filter.
  3. Left ambulance door... rod to lower latch broke.
 
Question:

I need to tow a 20’Lx7.5’Wx9.5’H travel trailer, from Vegas to Kingsburg, CA (CA99, south of Fresno) next month.

I really don’t want to go down to Barstow... I’ve been driving thru Barstow for 50+ years and am ready for a change.

Someone mentioned Lee Vining in the past. It may have been @ginmtb...

Anyway... if anyone is familiar with the road thru Lee Vining... what’s the road like? e.g. do truck travel that road?

I’ve been towing for years... I just don’t want to waste a lot of time and miles, if it’s not a good choice.

Can anyone offer another alternative without going all the way up to Reno?

Thx!!
 
The 120 across Yosemite through Lee Vining is pretty far north and then drops you out north of your destination. Lot of extra miles. The Tioga pass is now open but that is a beast of a climb. 120 is two lanes you will run into some slow summer traffic next month. It’s doable and scenic but could be slow sledding. Plus it costs $30 to go across whether or not you stop in Yosemite. Good for 7 days however.

But if you want to skip Barstow probably your best bet. I have never towed anything across that route.
 
The 120 across Yosemite through Lee Vining is pretty far north and then drops you out north of your destination. Lot of extra miles. The Tioga pass is now open but that is a beast of a climb. 120 is two lanes you will run into some slow summer traffic next month. It’s doable and scenic but could be slow sledding. Plus it costs $30 to go across whether or not you stop in Yosemite. Good for 7 days however.

But if you want to skip Barstow probably your best bet. I have never towed anything across that route.

Thanks Mike!!

I was afraid you would say that... it looks like Barstow is the historical mistake I'm bound to repeat... That darned California (eastern) border wall... :cool:
 
Beautiful pictures Danny! Thanks for posting and happy you had a good time,
 
Go the back way through Pahrump/ Death Valley/ then CA 178 over Walker pass to Lake Isabella then either CA 155 to Hwy 99 or stay on 178 to Bakersfield Longer route and a couple of passes kind of tight curves but my family used to tow 18.5 foot boat over pass on 155. Best part-- it is not through Bastow
 
Go the back way through Pahrump/ Death Valley/ then CA 178 over Walker pass to Lake Isabella then either CA 155 to Hwy 99 or stay on 178 to Bakersfield Longer route and a couple of passes kind of tight curves but my family used to tow 18.5 foot boat over pass on 155. Best part-- it is not through Bastow

Thanks!! I’ll give it a shot.
 
Or when you get to hwy 395 go south ---Hwy 14 to Hwy 58 to Hwy 99 No winding mountain roads, no tall passes. I live in Bakersfield. Let me know if I can be of assistance.
 
Go the back way through Pahrump/ Death Valley/ then CA 178 over Walker pass to Lake Isabella then either CA 155 to Hwy 99 or stay on 178 to Bakersfield Longer route and a couple of passes kind of tight curves but my family used to tow 18.5 foot boat over pass on 155. Best part-- it is not through Bastow
We've used Walker Pass (via Ridgecrest) several times, but usually through Beatty because we're already more than a third of the way there on US 95. The only thing is the long steep grade out of Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley. Walker Pass isn't steep.
 
Thanks for posting the great photos of the wild (no, not the Strip) parts of Nevada. We flew from Albuquerque to Seattle on Thursday, May 17th, the flight took us north of where you were - Great Basin National Park - knew you were down there somewhere having a good time. We flew back from Seattle to Las Vegas on Sunday, May 27th, the flight took us over Tonopah. Was able to get a good view of Arc Dome just before it got too dark to see much. Seems like you weren't too far from there.
 
We've used Walker Pass (via Ridgecrest) several times, but usually through Beatty because we're already more than a third of the way there on US 95. The only thing is the long steep grade out of Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley. Walker Pass isn't steep.

Great info... Thanks!!

I’m not concerned with climbs... we’ve towed our trailer over some big passes (like Wolf Creek, in CO).

I was more concerned with the possibility that I’d get into a situation that required backtracking a number of miles.

I like to be prepared...

I’ve had to back my trailer almost a quarter mile before... ergo, the main reason for the front hitch receiver on my Tundra... I can drop the stinger, turn the truck around and insert the stinger into the front receiver and much more easily drive out, with the trailer in front of the truck.
 
Thanks for posting the great photos of the wild (no, not the Strip) parts of Nevada. We flew from Albuquerque to Seattle on Thursday, May 17th, the flight took us north of where you were - Great Basin National Park - knew you were down there somewhere having a good time. We flew back from Seattle to Las Vegas on Sunday, May 27th, the flight took us over Tonopah. Was able to get a good view of Arc Dome just before it got too dark to see much. Seems like you weren't too far from there.

I thought that was you, in row 25!!

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I think we were in Quinn Canyon on the 17th...that’s a hundred miles, or so, southwest of GB Natl Park.

On the 27th, we were on the west side of the Toyoibe Range... a bit north of Arc Dome.

But, all in basically the same area.

Nevada has so many wonderful places... each with their own special personalities... one just has to drive out of town... in any direction.

Oh! ...and now, there’s no excuse for not exploring... not only does Tonopah have a bank of 8 Tesla Superchargers (on the main drag), Beatty also has a bank, about a block east (or, was it west?) of the main drag.

So, charge your Tesla and get out there and enjoy Nevada!!
 
As always, love those pics. It is worth knowing that many parts in Nevada look so much like Central and Eastern Oregon, with the trees, sagebrush, and scenery. I'm enamored with that kind of land. Your pics really have me wishing I could spend more time there, but I'm in the "green" part of Oregon and very little chance of living any closer.

Don

PS- I would enjoy a Tesla (for a while) as I like technology, but diesel will get me much further.
 
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