Trans America Trail - Oklahoma to Oregon

[jrnottarts]

Hey Everyone,

Its been a while since I've posted here but I wanted to finally post the link to our page we made for our TAT attempt. Back in August, my now fiance and I, decided to tackle the Trans America Trail from Oklahoma to Oregon. We allotted roughly 2-weeks for that particular section and completed just ahead of schedule. We skipped NV due to some safety concerns with communication, but that just gives us another excuse to try the whole thing again We were travelling solo and were only relying on cells/CB for communication to the outside world. The remoteness of the Nevada section made us a little apprehensive so we decided to take the paved route. Still great scenery!

Please feel free to ask any questions about our trip. We had an absolute blast and highly encourage anyone even remotely thinking about a trip like this to just take the plunge and do it! We made the trek in a nearly stock FJ (no lift, winch, bumpers, etc) and had absolutely no reservations about the vehicles capability to tackle trail. Never once did the vehicle feel unprepared.

Our only vehicle modifications were:

Tires - ST Maxx 255/80-17
Skids - Ricochet Aluminum
Sliders - All Pro

If anybody has any questions about our gear list, let me know and I'll post if necessary. From what I've read on other members here, we traveled "light".

LINK TO MORE PHOTOS HERE

Enjoy!

Had to edit the post to add my personal favorite:

 

[Stick Figure]

Looks like a good route, I'll have to send your link to the g/f since she is the FB user between us. lol

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

Looks like a fun trip. How would it be for a larger vehicle? Any real tight spots?

 

[jrnottarts]

I can't speak for Nevada, but most of the trail was very manageable. However, part of the route in Utah sent us down a trail that turned out to be a 4 wheeler trail. By the time we realized we were too big for the trail we had no option but to push on. In Colorado the tightest trails were the passes (Imogene and Engineer) but there have been a number of large vehicles prove their worth on those two. Oregon was mostly logging roads so they were plenty big. We followed GPSkevin's maps, so if you are at all familiar with those he has alternate routes (green, blue, and red). We highly recommend the green routes through Utah, and probably Nevada since the terrain is similar.

 

[jrnottarts]

Yeah, sorry about the FB link. It was the easiest way to update friends and family along the route.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

I can't speak for Nevada, but most of the trail was very manageable. However, part of the route in Utah sent us down a trail that turned out to be a 4 wheeler trail. By the time we realized we were too big for the trail we had no option but to push on. In Colorado the tightest trails were the passes (Imogene and Engineer) but there have been a number of large vehicles prove their worth on those two. Oregon was mostly logging roads so they were plenty big. We followed GPSkevin's maps, so if you are at all familiar with those he has alternate routes (green, blue, and red). We highly recommend the green routes through Utah, and probably Nevada since the terrain is similar.

Well this is my truck.



I'm building an Expedition Trailer out of the tan one. I have family in ID and WA and would like to make a trip up there to test everything once it's done. I know ID has plenty of Forest Service or BLM roads that would be fine but not familiar with the other states and routes.

 

[AdventureHare]

Did you ever have to throw it into 4Lo? If so, where (just a color code would be fine)? Were the sliders and skids 'used'? Anything about the FJ you wish were different for the trip?

Any issues with fuel, finding or carrying? Did you have to use any of the extra gear (shovel, ax, chainsaw, etc.)?

My 'rig' will not be as capable as the FJ but would love to know if this route is a possibility. I can't add low range but tires, skids, sliders, even a winch, are possible.

 

[jrnottarts]

Well this is my truck.

View attachment 385895

I'm building an Expedition Trailer out of the tan one. I have family in ID and WA and would like to make a trip up there to test everything once it's done. I know ID has plenty of Forest Service or BLM roads that would be fine but not familiar with the other states and routes.

Sweet rig! Honestly, most of the sections would be fine with this beast. I would stick to the green routes in the mountainous states. A good portion of Colorado was nice wide dirt roads.

 

[jrnottarts]

Did you ever have to throw it into 4Lo? If so, where (just a color code would be fine)? Were the sliders and skids 'used'? Anything about the FJ you wish were different for the trip?

Any issues with fuel, finding or carrying? Did you have to use any of the extra gear (shovel, ax, chainsaw, etc.)?

My 'rig' will not be as capable as the FJ but would love to know if this route is a possibility. I can't add low range but tires, skids, sliders, even a winch, are possible.

The only times I put it in 4-Lo was on Engineer and Imogene passes. Everything else was fine in 4-Hi or 2wd. The skids took a couple of hits on the passes as well, but other than that I was primarily used for smashing grasshoppers. It was just a safety cushion for not having any lift. The sliders made it through relatively unscathed as well.

Fuel was not a problem, we fueled up at every town we went through and never found ourselves below 1/4 tank. I brought a 5 gallon scepter but we never felt the need to fill it. Had we actually crossed Nevada we would have definitely wanted an extra 5 gallons. Total fuel cost for the trip was $780, and we averaged 18.23 mpg. I was blown away by those figures. We budgeted for about twice that.

As far as gear is concerned, we brought a shovel, axe, chainsaw, Tred Pros, and Hi-lift. We only used the shovel to dig a poo hole in an "emergency" situation. Those greasy spoons can be rough on the gut. Jokes aside, simply having all of the aforementioned gear was a major stress reducer. At one point in Oregon, we were blocked by a roughly 12" downed tree in our path which our tiny chainsaw could have easily handled. So I walked up the trail a little bit and found that it was blocked by an even bigger roughly 3ft diameter tree. It was way to big for the chainsaw and there was no way I was going to spend a day hacking through it with the axe. We ended up just back tracking and using some paper maps to wiggle through the forest. Still nice to have the axe and chainsaw, but honestly not completely necessary. I definitely would not have done without the Treds, shovel, and Hi-Lift given our lack of a winch.

The FJ was overkill for almost all situations (again can't speak on behalf of NV), especially if you stick to green routes. There was one green route in Utah, just outside of Green River that was hairier than we were expecting. We heard about some problems with the blue route so we opted for the green route. It ended up taking us through a system of dried up riverbeds and even with GPS and paper maps the trail was very difficult to locate. Never any need for 4-lo in on that section but 4-Hi was a life-saver in the sandy bottoms.

 

[AdventureHare]

Thanks for the response. 18+ mpg is definitely surprising. My intent would be to carry all of the oh-******** tools including a 5G gas can, and whatever else would fit. I've seen a few vids of non-4Lo cars going over Engineer so I know that can be done. I'll look for some Imogene footage. But this trip is going on the bucket list.

 

[jrnottarts]

Thanks for the response. 18+ mpg is definitely surprising. My intent would be to carry all of the oh-******** tools including a 5G gas can, and whatever else would fit. I've seen a few vids of non-4Lo cars going over Engineer so I know that can be done. I'll look for some Imogene footage. But this trip is going on the bucket list.

It's absolutely possible. We would have been fine in 4-hi, but used 4-Lo since it was available. Tool wise we brought the standard assortment of wrenches, sockets, bailing wire, duct tape, etc. basically what we could fit in a medium sized tool bag. Luckily we didn't need any of that either!

We had a blast! It was one of my bucket list items as well. My fiancé wasn't extremely hyped about the "ruggedness" of camping for 2 weeks straight, but no sooner did we get home and she was begging to do it all over again. It was worth every mile!

 

[unkamonkey]

Well this is my truck.

View attachment 385895

I'm building an Expedition Trailer out of the tan one. I have family in ID and WA and would like to make a trip up there to test everything once it's done. I know ID has plenty of Forest Service or BLM roads that would be fine but not familiar with the other states and routes.

I've driven a lot of larger trucks than yours with longer trailers than yours. (It was my job) on narrow roads. So you might want to reconsider doing the alpine route in your rig, tough to back a rig up for a switch back when a Jeep needs to do it as well.
At the very least, don't bring the trailer.

 

[C-Fish]

Cool trip report. Congrats on the engagement....

 

[jrnottarts]

Cool trip report. Congrats on the engagement....

Thank you! It was the icing on the cake

 

[Gs WK2]

I only learned about TAT a few days ago thanks to this forum. I am now envisioning a SoCal to Durango type of adventure in my future. Thanks for posting the GPS site!!