USA August 2024

[ghummer]

Hi everyone,
we are an Italian family of 2 adults and two girls aged 11 and 14 who will come from August 4th to 24th to take an OnTheRoad tour in the western USA.
We will land at LAX and we will always leave from LAX and we would like to rent a semi-camperized 4x4 or one large enough to be able to travel around the national parks and, in case we can't find a motel, to be able to sleep inside the off-road vehicle or possibly place a tent on the ground.
We usually travel in Europe and North Africa with an HDJ100 with a roof tent or with an old camperized Iveco Daily 4x4.
Do you have any advice for rental and/or unmissable visits in addition to the classic ones?thanks in advance, bye everyone
Matteo Malnati
+393356035125

 

[Workhorse]

Where are you planning to take your family? Which areas are the classic trails/places and what states are you planning to visit? The San Juan’s of southwest Colorado have lots of history and beauty, as do many of the national parks of Utah and Colorado. There are many great places to visit. Moab Utah is also a scenic place to consider visiting.

As for rentals, you might consider renting a Mercedes 4X4 Sprinter camping van. I can’t recommend where to rent one from as I haven’t ever done so.

 

[GerLC100]

Rentals:
Companies: Escape Vans, Indie Vans, Juicy Rentals --> all not really 4x4, but good enough to see NPs
Outdoorsy is an alternative where private people rent out their vehicles. You'll find all kind of vehicles.

Alternative/ price question:
You could also rent a regular truck at Enterprise or whatever, bring some gear from Italy and just buy some stuff here locally to scrap afterwards. Or rent some stuff at Sports Basement. They offer some sets for car camping and you can choose single items:

2-Person Deluxe Car Camping Package

When maximal comfort is a priority our Deluxe camping Package has you covered. Perfect for 2 people, this package includes: One 4-Person Tent 2 Sleeping Bags 2 Therm-a-Rest Dreamtime Sleeping Pads 2 Camping Cots 2 TravelChair Camp Chairs 2 Therm-a-Rest Hammocks 2 Rechargeable Black Diamond...

shop.sportsbasement.com

Locations (beside the big parks):
Anza Borrego/ Galleta Meadows
Joshua Tree (try to get a first come first serve at Hidden Valley)
Valley for Fire 1h north of Las Vegas
Area around Alabama Hills, Kennedy Meadows

Download offline maps! you'll not have reception in a lot of areas.

For more precise tips I think a basic route layout would be good to know.
And my very personal advice: skip half of the big spots everybody talks about and instead spend more time at the other half! I met a lot of people and they were just overwhelmed and had no idea where they saw what after a 3 week roadtrip...

 

[matzell]

Post up a list of Parks or areas that you are planning to visit. That way we can let you know what is nearby or along the way. Lot to see along the West coast. Yosemite, Lake Tahoe up north, Yellowstone, the Tetons in WY. Arches in Utah, Drop down to the San Juans like mentioned. You have 19 days roughly it looks like. I would try to do a large loop.

 

[ghummer]

Hi everyone, thanks for the valuable information.

The loop we should do is the "classic" one seen in the image:

We don't understand if it is really necessary to have a 4x4 vehicle as at the moment it could only be used in Monument Valley, unless you give further advice.

It is probably more advantageous to rent a van and camping equipment so that the nights for which we can't manage to find a place in motels we can still be independent.

Our idea is to book the first night in Los Angeles, one or two nights in Las Vegas, two nights in San Francisco and finally the last two or three nights in Los Angeles again before flying back to Italy and therefore leaving the other nights for free.

Thanks in advance for the advice, bye
Matteo

 

[GerLC100]

The track helps already, going around the clock:
Pappy + Harriet's in Pioneertown on your way from LA to Joshua Tree. Sign up at the entrance and use the wait time to explore the western city in the back.
Schnelby Hill Road and Sedona on the way to Flagstaff.
Dinosaur Tracks north of Flagstaff: 36.1008257, -111.3229187)
Valley of the Gods, Sand Island or Goosenecks Campground and Muley Point around Monument Valley
Goblin Valley State Park
Factory Butte
Kodachrome Basin State Park

And for the stuff aorund Bryce and Zion watch some video of Matts Offroad Recovery and Fab Rats so see some areas

 

[ghummer]

Thanks, now I'm studying all your advice carefully , we will loop counterclockwise.
The most urgent thing we should decide is whether to rent a 4x4 or 2x4 vehicle; What would you recommend?
We decided not to take it already camperized but to get the spartan equipment for camping/sleeping in the car when we land in LA. thanks,
Ciao

 

[GerLC100]

To be honest: most of the people from Europe do this kind of trip with an RV... So I'd get a truck or SUV as rental and go from there.

 

[Firemedic831]

How is the planning going ?

 

[peesalot]

I heard they cut down a bunch of the Joshua trees

 

[vipergrhd]

Thanks, now I'm studying all your advice carefully , we will loop counterclockwise.
The most urgent thing we should decide is whether to rent a 4x4 or 2x4 vehicle; What would you recommend?
We decided not to take it already camperized but to get the spartan equipment for camping/sleeping in the car when we land in LA. thanks,
Ciao

I say "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it". I get a 4x4 or AWD in case you decide to hit that trail and maybe a SAT phone if your going off the grid.

 

[ghummer]

Hi everyone, sorry if I didn't respond immediately.
We have more or less planned the following route....very challenging!!!

DATA		TRATTA	KM - h	TEMPO STIMATO visita
4-ago	matt/pome	MXP - LOS ANGELES	atterragio previsto h 17:00 locali (2 di notte per noi)	14 h di volo circa - 2 h per bagaglio e recupero auto - 1h circa per uscire dalla città
4-ago	sera	LAX - Covina / Moreno Valley	57 km - 50'
5-ago	matt	Covina - Calico Ghost City	170 km - 1h40
5-ago	pome	CGC - Joshua Tree NP	160 km - 2h	auto + trail a piedi = TOT 3/4h
5-ago	sera	Joshua - Twentynine Palms	7/10 km - 7/10'
05/08/2024 ALT	matt	LAX (Moreno Valley) - Joshua Tree NP	128 km - 1h30	auto + trail a piedi = TOT 3/4h
05/08/2024 ALT	pome/sera	Joshua Tree NP - Pioneertown - twentynine palms	43 km - 35'
6-ago	matt	Twentynine palms - Peach Spring (Route 66) - Grand Canyon SR	630km - 6h30 (7h30/8h con pranzo e soste)
6-ago	pome/sera	Grand Canyon SR		3h tra passeggiate - tramonto - uscita
7-ago	matt	Grand Canyon SR
	pome/sera	Grand Canyon - Page	191 km - 2h
8-ago	matt	Page - Antelope Canyon X	20 km - 15'
8-ago	pome	Antelope Canyon x - Monument Valley Artist's Point	190 km - 2h15 + 1h di fuso	!! Tra i 2 parchi c'è 1 ora di fuso!! Monument è avanti
8-ago	sera	Monument - Bluff	80 km - 1h scarsa
9-ago	mattina	Bluff - Mesa Verde National Park (colorado)	170 km - 2h15	2h
9-ago	pome/sera	Mesa Verde - Moab	233 km - 2h50
10-ago	matt	Moab - Arches Park	9 km - 10'	1/2 giornata
10-ago	pome/sera	Arches Park - Boulder	340 km - 3h45
11-ago	matt	Boulder - Escalante Interagency (Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument)	46 km - 39'	2h
11-ago	pome	GSENM - Bryce Nat Park	77 km - 54'
11-ago	sera	Bryce NP - direzione Las Vegas (Luxor) (Nevada)	420 km - 3h50	!! Tra i 2 stati c'è 1 ora di fuso!! Las Vegas è 1h indietro
12-ago	matt	raggiungiamo Las Vegas	420 km - 3h50
12-ago	Pome	Las Vegas
12-ago	sera
13-ago	matt	Las Vegas - Death Valley	168 km - 2h	viaggio + 3h visita
13-ago	pome	Death Valley - Visalia	400 km - 4h15
14-ago	matt	Visalia - Sequoia	60 km - 45'	mattina
14-ago	pome	Sequoia - Gardnervill (lago Tahoe)	534 km - 5h15
15-ago		giro del lago Tahoe	30'
16-ago	matt	Lago Tahoe west coast - San Francisco	313 km - 3h50
16-ago	pome	San Francisco
17-ago		SAN FRANCISCO - giro città		2 h
18-ago		SAN FRANCISCO - giro città
19-ago		San Francisco - Los Angeles	620 km - 6h30	+ 2/3 ore per varie soste
20-ago		LA - Hollywood - Santa Monica - walk of fame - Hermosa beach -Zuma Beach
21-ago		LA - Studios - GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY		2 o 3 gg
22-ago		ABBIAMO UN GIORNO CUSCINETTO!
23-ago		LOS ANGELES - MXP

 

[ghummer]

There will be a very tight schedule but we are quite used to making long trips independently with our HDJ.
We have booked a 2017 GMC Yukon XL and as soon as we arrive we plan to stop and rent the camping equipment so that we can easily sleep for several nights in free parking ( if it is possible ?!?! )

We will certainly book motels/hotels in big cities and in this way we hope to travel more freely, even often at night, driving in turns so that we can then run less during visits during the day.

Ciaooooooo

 

[GerLC100]

Yep, that's an intense trip I personally would skip 50% or the targets and have more time in the others But you'll see and can still do that in case you really like one place.

Generally: apps like GaiaGPS or similar have layers you can download showing quite some stuff. I personally use Gaia and have following layers:
- USFS recreation Sites (for all National Forest)
- Public Lands (US) (shows BLM/ public lands)

In both you can camp where ever you want or you USFS shows campgrounds where you at least have a table. Camping in those campgrounds is typically 5-10 USD cash/ check and if you stay outside of campgrounds it's free.

We stayed in Calico's campground. To be honest: with this trip you will see much more exciting spots! I'd skip it. But in case you decide to go: Peggy Sue's Diner is around the corner.

Joshua Tree: try to book a campsite and then you can check for a first come first serve at Hidden Valley Campground. Nicest place to me.

Bryce to Vegas you could drive through Valley of Fire State Park.

Drive times seem ok, just keep in mind Route 1 around Big Sur might still be closed.

 

[ghummer]

H

 

[ghummer]

Hi everyone,
this will almost certainly be the definitive trip:

Can you recommend a SIM to insert into a travel wifi router to provide data connection to the various devices?
Thank you and hello to everyone!!!

 

[matzell]

I will add that you might want to check with the National Parks you plan to visit. Some, like Arches, require a pre purchased pass for a set time to get in. I am not sure what others have this policy. I would hate for you to get there and not be able to get in. Good luck on your trip!

 

[GerLC100]

I got good experience with airalo esim and then creating a hotspot on the phone.

 

[GerLC100]

Now you should have seen some stuff already. Let us know what your favorite places/ restaurants are/were!
Waiting for pics!