BretEdge
Adventurer
Good question. I haven't delved into that topic enough to give you a good answer. Read a single blog post about re-gearing for better mileage and it got my wheels turning. If I do it, it's down the road.
2015 F-150 Adventure Rig
- Thread starter BretEdge
- Start date
Good question. I haven't delved into that topic enough to give you a good answer. Read a single blog post about re-gearing for better mileage and it got my wheels turning. If I do it, it's down the road.
BretEdge
Adventurer
We headed out last night and found a stellar campsite only half an hour from our house. Moab has gotten so busy that all of our old go-to campsites have been overrun. Now that we've got a new rig and camper, we're looking forward to getting farther out and finding a few hidden gems where we can camp in relative peace and quiet. We're at Outerbike today and then are heading out to another site I've had my eyes on for a while. If all goes well, we'll have it to ourselves, too.
The road getting out to this spot wasn't too bad. Some deep ruts and a couple washouts with steep ups and downs but the F-150 handled it beautifully. Looking forward to getting it out onto some tougher trails. The air bags are working well but I do wish the backend was a little bit stiffer. Will end up replacing the springs with heavier duty Alcan or Deaver springs with an additional inch of lift before next summer. Wasn't counting on the temps dropping as low as they did (36 this morning) and forgot to close a window so it was quite chilly this morning. Also forgot to turn on the heater. My wife was not happy. D'oh! I'll do better tonight.
The road getting out to this spot wasn't too bad. Some deep ruts and a couple washouts with steep ups and downs but the F-150 handled it beautifully. Looking forward to getting it out onto some tougher trails. The air bags are working well but I do wish the backend was a little bit stiffer. Will end up replacing the springs with heavier duty Alcan or Deaver springs with an additional inch of lift before next summer. Wasn't counting on the temps dropping as low as they did (36 this morning) and forgot to close a window so it was quite chilly this morning. Also forgot to turn on the heater. My wife was not happy. D'oh! I'll do better tonight.
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BretEdge
Adventurer
Last weekend we took the rig out to The Swell, Capitol Reef and Grand Staircase Escalante for a bit of off-road exploration. We would normally do a lot of hiking and/or mountain biking but I'm still on the mend from ankle surgery so we kept it casual. The first night we camped a few miles out from Goblin Valley in an area that felt like the moon. Totally desolate, cold and huge starry skies. On the second night we found a nice campsite among some low sand dunes in Escalante. We'd hoped for a site with some views but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Even managed to have a fire that night. My wife and son love campfires. I'm less enthused but it was cozy and warm. If you've never had a pie from the Gifford House in Capitol Reef, you're missing out. Made fresh in Torrey, sometimes using fresh fruit from the local orchards. We always stop at Stan's Burger Shak in Hanksville, which is surprisingly good and affordable. Homemade onion rings are on point. Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder is a gem. We've been eating there since 2004 and it never disappoints. I mean, just look at those black powder biscuits and gravy!
The rig is performing well. With every trip I'm more convinced that I need to replace the rear springs for something with more support and bottom out resistance. The light bar is moving up on the priority list too as we often find ourselves looking for campsites in the dark and the factory lights don't cut it. I bought a set of jumper cables and a jump pack that will live in the truck. Embarrassing to admit that we didn't already have these items.
We're still dialing in the camper. Absolutely love it it - just some organizational needs to address to make it easier for the 3 of us to comfortably live in on longer trips. With every outing we get it a little bit more figured out. Heading out (somehwere?) for three days this weekend and hope to refine our approach a little bit more. Having the heater was awesome this weekend as the temps at night were in the mid-20's.
Enjoy a few photos from the mini-adventure. We'll have another trip report next week if we ever decide where we want to go!
The rig is performing well. With every trip I'm more convinced that I need to replace the rear springs for something with more support and bottom out resistance. The light bar is moving up on the priority list too as we often find ourselves looking for campsites in the dark and the factory lights don't cut it. I bought a set of jumper cables and a jump pack that will live in the truck. Embarrassing to admit that we didn't already have these items.
We're still dialing in the camper. Absolutely love it it - just some organizational needs to address to make it easier for the 3 of us to comfortably live in on longer trips. With every outing we get it a little bit more figured out. Heading out (somehwere?) for three days this weekend and hope to refine our approach a little bit more. Having the heater was awesome this weekend as the temps at night were in the mid-20's.
Enjoy a few photos from the mini-adventure. We'll have another trip report next week if we ever decide where we want to go!
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BretEdge
Adventurer
We took three days this weekend to explore some new-to-us areas of New Mexico. Hell, essentially ALL of New Mexico is new to us as we just haven't made it a point to visit the Land of Enchantment. After this short visit, we've resolved to go deeper and do more there.
We left Moab on Thursday after work, found a nice campsite in the dark near Hesperus, CO, and then continued down to NM. We explored two separate sets of badlands, destroyed green chile burgers at Lotburger, wasted half a day going to Gallup to check out the flea market (won't do that again), walked around some amazing Native American ruins and drove way too many miles while hiking way too few. We also had to settle for a lame campsite next to a picnic area last night. Chalk it up to a scouting trip. We had planned to bring our MTB's but alas, they don't fit well on the bike rack with the FWC. I ordered a RakAttach swingaway a couple weeks ago and it'll be here on Tuesday. That'll solve the issue and the bikes will be going most places with us. We've had the camper for one month and we've got 8 nights in it so far. Not too bad, huh?
We didn't make it to Taos, Angle Fire, Santa Fe, Silver City, Las Vegas, Las Cruces or many other areas but we saw enough photos of them to know that we've got to go back. I've heard great things about the bike park at Angel Fire, some even calling it a mini-Whistler. Next spring, for sure. This coming weekend we're headed to Virgin, UT for Red Bull Rampage. We'll do at least one ride this weekend and I'm hoping we can fit in a quick Zion hike. If the Gods of Camping are with us we'll find a sweet site up on Gooseberry Mesa or along the Smithsonian Byway.
We're having a hard time figuring out how to pack in such limited space for all the activities we enjoy. As a result, I'm now looking at flatbed options. So far, AT Overland and Nuthouse are highest on the list, but still waiting on pricing. I'm not even sure I want to know what it's gonna cost if we decide to pull the trigger.
Here are a few photos from the weekend's adventures.
We left Moab on Thursday after work, found a nice campsite in the dark near Hesperus, CO, and then continued down to NM. We explored two separate sets of badlands, destroyed green chile burgers at Lotburger, wasted half a day going to Gallup to check out the flea market (won't do that again), walked around some amazing Native American ruins and drove way too many miles while hiking way too few. We also had to settle for a lame campsite next to a picnic area last night. Chalk it up to a scouting trip. We had planned to bring our MTB's but alas, they don't fit well on the bike rack with the FWC. I ordered a RakAttach swingaway a couple weeks ago and it'll be here on Tuesday. That'll solve the issue and the bikes will be going most places with us. We've had the camper for one month and we've got 8 nights in it so far. Not too bad, huh?
We didn't make it to Taos, Angle Fire, Santa Fe, Silver City, Las Vegas, Las Cruces or many other areas but we saw enough photos of them to know that we've got to go back. I've heard great things about the bike park at Angel Fire, some even calling it a mini-Whistler. Next spring, for sure. This coming weekend we're headed to Virgin, UT for Red Bull Rampage. We'll do at least one ride this weekend and I'm hoping we can fit in a quick Zion hike. If the Gods of Camping are with us we'll find a sweet site up on Gooseberry Mesa or along the Smithsonian Byway.
We're having a hard time figuring out how to pack in such limited space for all the activities we enjoy. As a result, I'm now looking at flatbed options. So far, AT Overland and Nuthouse are highest on the list, but still waiting on pricing. I'm not even sure I want to know what it's gonna cost if we decide to pull the trigger.
Here are a few photos from the weekend's adventures.
BretEdge
Adventurer
Spent last weekend at Red Bull Rampage and the surrounding area. Found some crazy good camping spots with insane views. We're less than a month out from a 9 day trip through a small chunk of Nevada and into Arizona. Super stoked for that one. On our last night around St. George the wind kicked up in the middle of the night. The weather report claimed 50 MPH wind gusts and I believe it. Camper took it like a champ and was surprisingly quiet but it was definitely rocking side to side. We got up around 0600 and put the top down. Initially it didn't want to go down more than halfway and then it occurred to me that there was probably negative pressure inside so we opened the door and the top went right down, no problems.
Couple photos from the weekend:
Couple photos from the weekend:
BretEdge
Adventurer
Yesterday I bought the Sony A7III camera with the 28-70mm kit lens. As a former pro adventure/landscape photographer, buying a camera with a kit lens isn't something I'd normally do but this one actually gets good reviews and with Christmas right around the corner I couldn't justify spending another $4,000 on lenses. I went for a hike up the Moab Rim today and then drove Kane Creek Road out a few miles, stopping to take a couple photos along the way. These are just test photos as I was curious about the sensor's dynamic range (exceptional) and lens sharpness (surprisingly good for a, ahem...$200 lens). Might head out for a quick night in the desert Sunday night. Wife and son are both sick this weekend so hopefully they're 100% next weekend (and I don't catch the bug) so we can get out for a night or two. Our Nevada/Arizona trip is coming up in two weeks. We'll be out for 9 1/2 days, which will be our longest trip in the FWC yet. Slowly starting to figure out how to pack everything in such a small space. At any rate, now the images...
That's one of my favorite mountain bike trails in the background: Captain Ahab. Probably the best trail in Moab.
That's one of my favorite mountain bike trails in the background: Captain Ahab. Probably the best trail in Moab.
BretEdge
Adventurer
Went out for a MTB ride at the Klonzo trails yesterday and finished up with a drive on Willow Springs all the way into Arches NP. I was curious to see how the truck would do with the RakAttach swing away in the hitch. Unfortunately, it performed as expected - not well. The Rak Attach is a solid piece of gear but it hangs down too low and unfortunately it scraped in a couple spots on what's really a pretty easy dirt road. It might work better on trucks with more lift/bigger tires but for any type of off-roading, it's a non-starter on my truck. We'll have to use it only on easy forest service roads. Love the utility of it, though.
Here's an iPhone photo of Betty flexin' a little bit on a small ledge.
And here's one of the Rak Attach in action. Awesome utility, just too low. On another note, that bike rack is a Rocky Mount and it's TERRIBLE. Just ordered a Velocirax to replace it. Saw it at Outerbike and was very impressed with the engineering and build quality. Keeping my fingers crossed that we can make it work without the Rak Attach and maybe just a small hitch extension.
Here's an iPhone photo of Betty flexin' a little bit on a small ledge.
And here's one of the Rak Attach in action. Awesome utility, just too low. On another note, that bike rack is a Rocky Mount and it's TERRIBLE. Just ordered a Velocirax to replace it. Saw it at Outerbike and was very impressed with the engineering and build quality. Keeping my fingers crossed that we can make it work without the Rak Attach and maybe just a small hitch extension.
You're giving me hope I can get my 2018 Sierra on 1/2 these trails.
Did Capt. Ahab this past summer in July with a 4 other friends, that said I was the youngest by 13 years, with the oldest being 67. One guy is a great roadie, but limited MTB experience.I had a good time other than all the stops.
BretEdge
Adventurer
Damn, that's awesome! I hope I'm still shredding at 67. Living here, I see quite a few older men and women who are absolute beasts on the bike. Definitely inspiring.
I'm finding that I need a bit more lift and 35's to really go where I want to go. The truck'll get there but not this year.
I've ridden with him for years and this was the first year I saw him slow down a bit, but that seemed more to do with him traveling more.
I'm with you there, trying to see if I can run 35s with a 3in front lift, might have to stick to 33s, that said, if I really get into it I'll just build a Jeep or something.
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D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
IIRC it takes ~4" to run 35's. You might be able to cheat and do it with less if you remove the crash bars (or flip the front set over) that are in front and behind the front tires.
BretEdge
Adventurer
Over Thanksgiving we took a 9 day road trip through Vegas, over to Kingman and then down to Phoenix. We lived out of the FWC and truck the entire time. Worked out some bugs as this was the longest trip we've done in it and we're still learning how to pack super light on multi-day trips. One key: multi-use gear & clothing. I would usually bring my MTB pack and a hiking pack. This time, I brought only the MTB pack. Instead of hiking and MTB clothes, I brought only MTB clothes and wore them for hiking and riding. We got rid of the large pots and pans in favor of a smaller set. Three pairs of shoes each: MTB shoes, casual shoes, hiking boots. Installed some puck lights in the storage area under the rollover sofa that do a great job of lighting up that area so we can actually see what the heck is in there. Got our first desert pinstriping on the camper :-( but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Found some outrageous campsites along the way and spent one of the craziest nights ever outside. Thanksgiving evening a storm rolled in and dropped over an inch of rain in a few hours, winds gusting to over 50 MPH and lightning crashing down all around us. The camper swayed from side to side and you could hear the aluminum rippling when the gusts hit us. My son slept right through it. My wife and I - not so much. Camper held up just fine, though.
We camped at the top of Schnebly Hill Road. We arrived after dark and drove the road from I-17 down to the last legal campsite. Big mistake. Didn't realize that Sedona had weather roll through recently and the road was 100% mud, muck, snow and ice. It took us about 1.5 hours to go 7 miles into town as the road was so rough and rocky the entire way. Had we not had bikes on the back we could have gone quite a bit faster but I was worried that the rack might impact the camper as it was swinging to and fro. Held up just fine and never had any issues, though. Also found a couple stellar campsites in the Superstition Mountains and one outside Red Rock Canyon NCA near Vegas. The first night we camped near Mesquite, NV. Fairly nice site but windy, which has been our experience in that area.
Some things we learned: The airbags are definitely not enough. Next year I'll swap out the factory springs for a set of custom Alcan springs with an extra inch or so of lift. The truck's got a squat that I don't like. I want it level front to back. Will also swap the 295/70/17 tires for a 305/70/17 or possibly a 285/75/17. Need just a little more ground clearance. Still need to get rid of the running boards and replace them with sliders but...in due time.
We're headed back to Phoenix for two weeks over Christmas. I'm sure we'll further refine our packing strategy. Hoping to have it all nailed down before spring rolls around and we're in the thing nearly every weekend. As of now, we've got 20 nights in it in just over 2 months. After the Xmas trip we'll have 34 nights in three months. Not too shabby for folks who both work full-time, eh?
Here's a handful of photos from the trip. Hope you enjoy them!
We camped at the top of Schnebly Hill Road. We arrived after dark and drove the road from I-17 down to the last legal campsite. Big mistake. Didn't realize that Sedona had weather roll through recently and the road was 100% mud, muck, snow and ice. It took us about 1.5 hours to go 7 miles into town as the road was so rough and rocky the entire way. Had we not had bikes on the back we could have gone quite a bit faster but I was worried that the rack might impact the camper as it was swinging to and fro. Held up just fine and never had any issues, though. Also found a couple stellar campsites in the Superstition Mountains and one outside Red Rock Canyon NCA near Vegas. The first night we camped near Mesquite, NV. Fairly nice site but windy, which has been our experience in that area.
Some things we learned: The airbags are definitely not enough. Next year I'll swap out the factory springs for a set of custom Alcan springs with an extra inch or so of lift. The truck's got a squat that I don't like. I want it level front to back. Will also swap the 295/70/17 tires for a 305/70/17 or possibly a 285/75/17. Need just a little more ground clearance. Still need to get rid of the running boards and replace them with sliders but...in due time.
We're headed back to Phoenix for two weeks over Christmas. I'm sure we'll further refine our packing strategy. Hoping to have it all nailed down before spring rolls around and we're in the thing nearly every weekend. As of now, we've got 20 nights in it in just over 2 months. After the Xmas trip we'll have 34 nights in three months. Not too shabby for folks who both work full-time, eh?
Here's a handful of photos from the trip. Hope you enjoy them!
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Sunset Over Superstition Mountains near Peralta Trail-Edit.jpg -
Saguaro Cactus Ribs Framing Female Mountain Biker on K Trail.jpg -
Superstition Mountains Overlander Campsite-2-Edit.jpg -
Superstition Mountains Overlander Campsite-Edit.jpg -
Yucca Plant Framing Mountain Biker Hitting Jump on Landmine Loop.jpg -
Prickly Pear Cactus in Monochrome.jpg -
Mountain Biker Riding Steep Rock Roll Below Superstition Mountain Peaks.jpg -
Overlanding Campiste near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.jpg