Offroad Range & Utah?

[B984rnr]

I'm, slowly, planning a trip to Utah this fall. I'm hoping to do as much remote travel as possible. There are towns located somewhat conveniently, but sometimes it messes up the "flow" or progress of the trip to have to head into town for gas.

Has anybody truly tested the offroad range of the 5th gen? What distances have you traveled and what kind of roads (hard trails, rough dirt road, well maintained dirt, paved, etc.)?

Also, since you're here, any great locations in Utah to visit? I'm not looking for national parks, white rim, or other common well known locations. Share some "secret" spots if you have them.

Thank you.

 

[CabinFever]

I'm, slowly, planning a trip to Utah this fall. I'm hoping to do as much remote travel as possible. There are towns located somewhat conveniently, but sometimes it messes up the "flow" or progress of the trip to have to head into town for gas.

Has anybody truly tested the offroad range of the 5th gen? What distances have you traveled and what kind of roads (hard trails, rough dirt road, well maintained dirt, paved, etc.)?

Also, since you're here, any great locations in Utah to visit? I'm not looking for national parks, white rim, or other common well known locations. Share some "secret" spots if you have them.

Thank you.

I filled up in Big Water, Utah and pulled a 1600 lb trailer loaded up through Smokey Mountain Road switchbacks and then a series of washes to Hole in the Rock road. Then drove to Escalate to fill up. I'm guessing only 80 miles but still had half a tank of gas. Thats probably one of the longer off road trails you'll find in Utah. The longest is probably White Rim Trail which people complete all the time on a tank of gas. There are plenty of little towns in Southeastern Utah with gas stations. 4runner range would not cut it in Africa or Australia but its fine in the good ol US of A. Some smaller towns will have high gas prices. I recommend filling up in bigger towns like Moab. Get a couple of jerry cans if youre worried about running out of fuel or expensive gas. Can't hurt.

 

[tonkaman]

Also, since you're here, any great locations in Utah to visit? I'm not looking for national parks, white rim, or other common well known locations. Share some "secret" spots if you have them.

Thank you.

Unless you've been to those places before there is no reason to skip past them thinking they are for common folk. Utah isn't like most places the 'secret' spots are so freaking amazing that everyone knows about them. Remember places like Canyonlands are not like list national parks, since you can't access 90% of it by vehicle.

To answer though I would recommend
Moab
Escalate area
Glen canyon are
Canyonlands (especially maze district)
Beef Basin
San Rafael Swell

 

[Dances with Wolves]

You can spend a life time exploring Utah. I moved from Florida to Salt Lake City in 2007, one year later I moved to NE Utah. I'm in Butch Cassidy country now spending the last 7 years poking around Flaming Gorge, Uintah Mtns and Uinta basin. Prior to moving here, I spent at least 2 weeks a year since 1995 exploring. My brother was a teacher in Salt Lake so I had a base.

My advice is schedule at least 2 weeks for 1st trip see Moab, escalante the manti/lasalle area. do a big loop of SE utah. then come back and hone in on specific areas. This place is amazing. I was in Dinosaur, Moab, Price and Page & Tuba City AZ within the last 6 weeks.

 

[p nut]

"Offroad range" is going to be all over the place. Do some planning, and carry a gas can or two for insurance, and you'll be fine.
_
Places to visit: Southern Utah is beautiful. Scenery is amazing. Head to the areas mentioned above, and you can't go wrong. I personally prefer San Rafael Swells, and the Four Corners area vs Moab, myself.
_
Have fun.

 

[B984rnr]

Unless you've been to those places before there is no reason to skip past them thinking they are for common folk. Utah isn't like most places the 'secret' spots are so freaking amazing that everyone knows about them. Remember places like Canyonlands are not like list national parks, since you can't access 90% of it by vehicle.

Yeah, I have been to the parks and Moab areas. I like them a lot, but the purpose of this trip to to get away from the tourist destinations. Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[B984rnr]

I filled up in Big Water, Utah and pulled a 1600 lb trailer loaded up through Smokey Mountain Road switchbacks and then a series of washes to Hole in the Rock road. Then drove to Escalate to fill up. I'm guessing only 80 miles but still had half a tank of gas. Thats probably one of the longer off road trails you'll find in Utah. The longest is probably White Rim Trail which people complete all the time on a tank of gas. There are plenty of little towns in Southeastern Utah with gas stations. 4runner range would not cut it in Africa or Australia but its fine in the good ol US of A. Some smaller towns will have high gas prices. I recommend filling up in bigger towns like Moab. Get a couple of jerry cans if youre worried about running out of fuel or expensive gas. Can't hurt.

That helps a bit. Thank you.

There is one section of the trip that is about 150 miles between possible gas. I'm not sure I'll be able to carry enough extra gas for that portion.

I recall somebody doing the North rim of the Grand Canyon in an FJ. Anybody have a link to that trip report?

 

[Dalko43]

That helps a bit. Thank you.

There is one section of the trip that is about 150 miles between possible gas. I'm not sure I'll be able to carry enough extra gas for that portion.

I recall somebody doing the North rim of the Grand Canyon in an FJ. Anybody have a link to that trip report?

No experience with Utah backcountry or roads, yet... But I've driven my 5th gen on plenty of dirt roads and tracks before.
My experiences have been:
-Relatively flat, easy terrain roads (dirt roads and tracks, not talking about highways) gets you about 20-21mpg, maybe more depending on the terrain and vehicle speed.
-Moderately challenging terrain with elevation changes gets about 16-18mpg.

My vehicle is still mostly stock (stock tire size) with relatively little weight (other than a few hundred lbs worth of gear and occupants) and no trailer. I'm sure once you start upping the cargo, tire size, mods and add a trailer, the mpg does down a bit more. I think it makes sense to have at least a jerry can, or two, of extra gasoline for your planned travels simply due to the remote nature of where you're going...it may be an overkill for some of the trails/roads, but as the saying goes: better safe than sorry.

 

[Utah KJ]

When planning, keep in mind that a mile in UT is a bit longer than a mile in other states.