A backcountry trip to Utah sells the wife on overlanding!

[GREENI]

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

 

[scanny]

Amazing trip! I'm quite far from Utah, but I think one day I'll drive there.

 

[eurosonic]

wow, what an amazing adventure. Glad to see that your other half is on board with exploration and adventure.

Really enjoyed your pictures, especially the panoramas.

Montero is a mighty machine even in its stock form.

 

[SmoothLC]

Nice pics and report!

You proved - yet again - that many SUVs can go off the beaten trail in stock form.

I've got to go try that Eye of the Whale trail too. It's been on my list of things to do near Moab / Arches for years. Now I just gotta get it done.

 

[Mauka2Makai]

Sabre, Great writing, amazing pictures, and most of all... what an awesome adventure you two had. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sabre]

Nice pics and report!

You proved - yet again - that many SUVs can go off the beaten trail in stock form.

I've got to go try that Eye of the Whale trail too. It's been on my list of things to do near Moab / Arches for years. Now I just gotta get it done.

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words.

A fellow we met in Arches was in a Jeep from Colorado, and he told us of his first visit to Eye of the Whale before he'd done anything to his (then new) Jeep. He said that he had been moving rocks just like we were! Damn straight...we weren't going to rip the guts out of the family soccer team transport truck!

But SabreWife will get her wish; plans for a mild lift are in the works. After all, I have to keep the little woman happy!

 

[rkj__]

Awesome report, thanks.

 

[4D55 Performance]

Looks great, what kind of mileage have you been getting with since you bought your Gen III? I am really considering getting a Gen III.

 

[mudmony]

Great report.. thank you and to imagine you did all this with out a $150k expedition vehicle..how is that possible?????

 

[Willman]

Thanks for sharing!

Great to see some fellow Washingtion people make the trip down. This is why i live in this state.... Living WA was a little hard to find places off the beaten path without running into a locked gate...

Glad you guys had fun....Great shots!

 

[targa88]

Great story, excellent pix.
I suspect that Bill Burke was the cherry on the sundae!

 

[ExpoMike]

Great report and pics. Glad you found your wife is enjoying overlanding travels. I too found a wonderful woman who enjoys this to. My ex did not want to do any of this.

I am SOOOO wanting to get to Utah and these recent trip reports are totally making me envious!!! :drool:

 

[Sabre]

what kind of mileage have you been getting with since you bought your Gen III?

Ahh, yes, mileage. Well, we just happened to have kept accurate track of this. Bear in mind that this is a stock Montero, but with slightly oversized tires (265/75 R16) at 52 psi, a roof rack with a fair amount of stuff up there, and quite heavily loaded. Like, FULL of stuff.

Freeway at 65 - 70 mph average and a light foot on grades (avoiding transmission downshift): 15 to 17 mpg
Freeway at 70 - 75 mph average and moderate downshift on grades to maintain speed: 14 mpg
Offroad, walking speed up to occasional 20-30 mph, tires at 20 psi: 12 mpg

Back home as a general family wagon we get 17 to 19 mpg routinely and occasionally a bit more.

 

[Lord Al Sorna]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7522074840_2f8cec7c30_c.jpg
EPIC.

Thanks for sharing a great writeup, I love your enthusiasm! This looks like a GREAT trip, and I believe these memories and photos will inspire you and others for a long time to come. What a shame the wife is pressuring you into a mild lift...

 

[rustyjames]

Wow, what an awesome trip and write up! I was impressed by how well the stock Montero performed. Looking forward to seeing where your next adventure takes you.