3600 Miles Road Trip: NorCal, Oregon Coast, Idaho w/ camping, mud & stream crossings, dunes, beaches, forest roads

[matt44west]

Hey, All: Did an epic road trip from San Diego up NorCal, Oregon Coast, into Portland, Coeur d'Alene, Boise National Forest, Sawtooths, and final night camping outside Angel Lake in Nevada. We did highway, mud crossings, stream crossings, dunes and beaches, rough forest roads, etc. All with SmittyBilt Overlander tent, TuffStuff Rack, and the crappy OEM tires. First thing I did when we got back is an oil change and laced up the truck with 235/65r17 Falken Wildpeaks. On the trip, we got 23.9 MPG driving like a Nascar driver and with the RTT above the cab. Plus all the gear, etc. Had my midlength surfboard with me as well and my son's mountain bike. This truck has the Fx4 and 4k tow packages. Truck does well in soft sand and steep grades with loose gravel/rocks. As anticipated, the low ground clearance is an issue for off camber sections.

Really impressed with overall performance of the truck—tires needed upgrading and I am thinking about ways to modify the front/rear bumper fairings to improve angles. No lift for now—maybe when I run these tires down...I anticipate adding a roof rack once we have one available and some offroad lights somehow...Sure would love an aftermarket option for bumpers with integrated ditch light slots or similar.

Anyhow...Pics/vids below...

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[MM Mav]

Love that 2nd shot! Looks and sounds like an amazing trip. Glad you were able to experience and enjoy it.

 

[mdl20813]

Hell yeah!

 

[Maverickman74]

Your creek crossing was harder but mine was faster!

 

[mdl20813]

Your creek crossing was harder but mine was faster!

I want to join the creek crossing crew!

 

[matt44west]

Your creek crossing was harder but mine was faster!

NICE!!! Next time I'll hit it harder haha...

 

[Maverickman74]

I want to join the creek crossing crew!

Nice flow!

 

[matt44west]

Nice flow!

Dang—that was some moving water. Nice!

 

[Maverickman74]

Dang—that was some moving water. Nice!

And they say Maverick arent hardcore offroaders!!

Seriously they do pretty good I think.

 

[matt44west]

And they say Maverick arent hardcore offroaders!!

Seriously they do pretty good I think.

Agreed. I've been driving a lifted Impreza with ATs and I have put that vehicle into some challenging places. The Maverick is WAY better than that so far. I have also extensively driven built Samurai's and a 72 Bronco...A vehicle like the Maverick is better than those 99% of the time. The 1% it's not is usually some obscure spur on a wilderness trail. But I do love a built Gladiator...EXCEPT for the MPGs lol.

 

[Maverickman74]

Agreed. I've been driving a lifted Impreza with ATs and I have put that vehicle into some challenging places. The Maverick is WAY better than that so far. I have also extensively driven built Samurai's and a 72 Bronco...A vehicle like the Maverick is better than those 99% of the time. The 1% it's not is usually some obscure spur on a wilderness trail. But I do love a built Gladiator...EXCEPT for the MPGs lol.

Yeah I built and wheeled a bunch of CJ5s &CJ7s over they years. They are unstoppable heros of offroading, minimal lifts and knobby tires make big budget offroaders look like a beached whale. However they have a couple little problems like being nearly 0% weatherproof, staying running on the road after you dipped them in 3ft deep mud holes, having less storage space than a shopping cart, and keeping the windshield clear(its better to just fold em down as long as you are staying under 35mph). Just minor stuff like that lol. For the crazy stuff I got my lifted, winched, and tool filled Comanche (including a complete parts truck with multiple big upgrades on it). But for actually getting my wife out on a trail the our Tremor will be the one to get her there.

 

[RRaynor2]

That sand shot is interesting. Did you have to air down at all? Were you in "sand mode"?

 

[matt44west]

Yeah I built and wheeled a bunch of CJ5s &CJ7s over they years. They are unstoppable heros of offroading, minimal lifts and knobby tires make big budget offroaders look like a beached whale. However they have a couple little problems like being nearly 0% weatherproof, staying running on the road after you dipped them in 3ft deep mud holes, having less storage space than a shopping cart, and keeping the windshield clear(its better to just fold em down as long as you are staying under 35mph). Just minor stuff like that lol. For the crazy stuff I got my lifted, winched, and tool filled Comanche (including a complete parts truck with multiple big upgrades on it). But for actually getting my wife out on a trail the our Tremor will be the one to get her there.

Yes—you make exactly my point...Still...I am NOW wondering how my Mav could do towing a modest side by side because, you know—those obscure spur trails are still pretty fun haha.

 

[matt44west]

That sand shot is interesting. Did you have to air down at all? Were you in "sand mode"?

I used Sand mode and did not air down. Was running at 40 psi because I felt truck rode better at that on those tires. Stock tires. One turn I made on a dune trail I had to slow to watch for traffic. Truck started to dig and I just punched throttle half way and made the turn. Dug itself out no problem. Later in the trip, I had to turn around on a steep, sandy hill side. Made a driving error and dug all four tires into embankments on each side of the trail. I hit sand mode, brought it up to just above 3k rpms and slowly turned wheel back and forth. Truck dug itself out and no recovery efforts needed.

 

[Maverickman74]

Yes—you make exactly my point...Still...I am NOW wondering how my Mav could do towing a modest side by side because, you know—those obscure spur trails are still pretty fun haha.

I really dont endorse those side by sides. They are cheaply made and over priced. They rust fast and burn up transmissions. Also they are a bit like cheating for offroading. Kind of like a money game. I would rather flat tow a cheap jeep or sammi than buy a trailer to tow a $15k sxs.

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