Trans America Trail: A month's journey in a 96 Jeep XJ.
- Thread starter NHenson
- Start date
Steigergreen
New member
Wow wow and wow.....awesome guys. You all drove right past our farm in Oklahoma, so I can't wait to do this with my family. It will be easy to run the easterly portion then westerly via our families place in OK. I noticed your Coleman stove and lanterns. Were they the dual fuel ones and did you run gas or Coleman fuel? This also made me miss my XJ very much, but thankfully my dad still uses it on occasion with over 300k.
Prost!
Prost!
NHenson
Observer
engineerd: Thanks for reading. I hope you do get a chance to run the trail in a few years. Make sure to get the most updated maps from transamtrail.com as they are normally updated as sections of the trail are closed or modified.
Steigergreen: I'm glad you enjoyed the journey with us. Like you said, you are well positioned to strike at the trail. We ran white gas for the entirety of the trip. Both of the models (stove and lantern) are old enough that I'm not sure if they are dual fuel or not, as they are not labeled. Our XJ has 226k on it right now and running great.
Steigergreen: I'm glad you enjoyed the journey with us. Like you said, you are well positioned to strike at the trail. We ran white gas for the entirety of the trip. Both of the models (stove and lantern) are old enough that I'm not sure if they are dual fuel or not, as they are not labeled. Our XJ has 226k on it right now and running great.
BUBearsFan
New member
I'm coming into this thread just now and can't wait to see how it ends and read the discussion that follows but am enjoying getting it in the order it occurred. But, this quote has me trying to do math already to know if my truck will hit anything on the sides or top.
You say your clearance was sometimes 2 in above you fuel can on the rack. Do you know how high that is from the ground? I have a Ram 2500 that has a 4 in lift. How difficult would it be to deviate off course and around these areas that present clearance concerns?BUBearsFan
New member
Wow, I just finished reading about your drive. Sounds like an incredible experience. I'm taking a number of months away from work and am thinking about doing this! I'm curious of your off-roading skill level before you started. If a 'beginner', I guess a person will learn quick?! I have a 2015 Ram 2500 that has a lift kit and MT tires. I haven't read about any vehicle other than your Jeep and the Land Rovers doing it. I see from your experience that there are areas where clearance (height & width) can be an issue. I also paid attention to where you dealt with loose ground and some sharp turns. Overall, how advanced would you rate the trails? Any reason to believe a non Jeep, 4x4 truck will have a problem? Want to join me!?!? Many thanks, Sean
concretejungle
Adventurer
Thanks for sharing!
NHenson
Observer
garyhaupt & concretejungle: Thanks for reading and leaving comments. We hope that our journey helps describe a journey that is both fun and accessible to many that may think it too hard to accomplish
Off-roading skill level: I grew up driving a variety of vehicles off-road, but nothing of this remote type of driving. The biggest thing is to take your time and get any technical lines correct. With that said, you are only looking at maybe 1-5% of the journey being anything nearing technical (poor weather conditions could change this quickly). You will also learn fast.
Dealing with soft terrain: Err to the side of safety on soft mountain-side trails. Get out and walk it, see if you can shovel some snow to get away from the drop-off, etc. There are some muddy sections that are best walked first, especially in wet weather.
Height & width: There is one trail that had a tight section that I might have problems putting a full-size pickup around the hairpin with boulders hemming it in.
I don't have pictures of the turn, but here is the trail marker for the trail. Even thought this trail marker says 648, I actually believe it to be what Google Maps is referring to as BLM 647. If you look at the map, there are other side trails that could also be 648, but it would join with 647 at some point before it goes under I-70 at the low tunnels. Below is a map with this area centered on it.
View on Google Maps
Here are a couple of videos, you can be the judge on whether or not your vehicle will fit through there. It might with mirrors folded in, as long as you don't have much on top.
Now, here's the catch. The new maps of the trail could be slightly different from the maps that we purchased a long time ago. It is still the best idea to use the newest maps, since Sam C. has spent a lot of time making this a workable trail by eliminating sections of private land etc. With this said, there are often "big bike" (since this trail was developed for dual-sport bikes) bypasses that help larger motorcycles find their way around some of the tougher sections. Experience has told me that I can fit my Jeep on the regular trail, but you could just turn around and mostly likely use the bypasses if the trail is not agreeable to your truck. Also, you could simply meet up with the trail at a later point, if it doesn't work for you.
Off-roading skill level: I grew up driving a variety of vehicles off-road, but nothing of this remote type of driving. The biggest thing is to take your time and get any technical lines correct. With that said, you are only looking at maybe 1-5% of the journey being anything nearing technical (poor weather conditions could change this quickly). You will also learn fast.
Dealing with soft terrain: Err to the side of safety on soft mountain-side trails. Get out and walk it, see if you can shovel some snow to get away from the drop-off, etc. There are some muddy sections that are best walked first, especially in wet weather.
Height & width: There is one trail that had a tight section that I might have problems putting a full-size pickup around the hairpin with boulders hemming it in.
I don't have pictures of the turn, but here is the trail marker for the trail. Even thought this trail marker says 648, I actually believe it to be what Google Maps is referring to as BLM 647. If you look at the map, there are other side trails that could also be 648, but it would join with 647 at some point before it goes under I-70 at the low tunnels. Below is a map with this area centered on it.
View on Google Maps
Here are a couple of videos, you can be the judge on whether or not your vehicle will fit through there. It might with mirrors folded in, as long as you don't have much on top.
Now, here's the catch. The new maps of the trail could be slightly different from the maps that we purchased a long time ago. It is still the best idea to use the newest maps, since Sam C. has spent a lot of time making this a workable trail by eliminating sections of private land etc. With this said, there are often "big bike" (since this trail was developed for dual-sport bikes) bypasses that help larger motorcycles find their way around some of the tougher sections. Experience has told me that I can fit my Jeep on the regular trail, but you could just turn around and mostly likely use the bypasses if the trail is not agreeable to your truck. Also, you could simply meet up with the trail at a later point, if it doesn't work for you.
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PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
:luxhello::bowdown:
dakota123
Adventurer
does this take you through black bear pass? and also i was thinking about doing this as a graduation present to myself once i graduate college this next summer and head home to California from PA. I have a TJ lifted and locked with a winch and was thinking about building a small tear drop trailer or even outfitting a small 8 foot pop up tent to be offroadable. Would this be doable pulling a trailer?
NHenson
Observer
After reviewing pictures and the maps, I see that we followed the trail south of Black Bear Pass. We were on D65 along the Howard Fork and through Ophir.
There are so many passes and canyons, that it is hard to keep track of them all. A small trailer could make most of it, but may take some creativity during tight spots. There are a couple of spots that I wouldn't want anything wider than the Jeep. Keep that in mind when towing a trailer. I suppose you could also bypass most of the tight stuff. There are some "big bike" bypasses and that may be an occasional good idea if towing a trailer.
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Aussie Iron
Explorer
Truly a great read, well written by your wife. I also enjoyed the photos that you have put up.
Dan.
Dan.
Black Bear Pass is a one way trail into Telluride, if you've been down it you would definitely remember it. Its not super technical but it is tight in places with one very nerve racking switch back. You literally have a 180 turn on the side of a massive cliff, several people have gone off here and its always fatal. I would NOT recommend pulling a trailer down it. The pass does have the most breathtaking views of any trail in Colorado I've ever done. I highly recommend it to anyone who is not afraid of heights.