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Moab, UT Trip Report (off-road content)

rickc5

Our back yard
Staff member
100 Posts
Community Leader
We spent 3 nights (2 full off-road days) in Moab, UT this past week. Had an absolute BLAST! The Tundra did very well on the 3 "Easy" trails we took it on. Only did easy trails since we were by ourselves, AND I had no idea how the Tundra would do off-road. Forgot the camera, so no pics--sorry. The trails we did were:

1) Sand Flats Road: 30 miles of Gravel & dirt road up into the La Sal mountains followed by 30 miles of pavement back to town. Lots of climbing steep hills (8.5 MPG) on a very curvy road. Not too challenging as far as off-roading.
2) Bartlett Wash: About 12 miles of dirt road, but included going up a wet wash (not deep with sandy, hard bottom. No mud.) for about 1/2 mile followed by lots of soft red sand and some sandstone formations to slowly crawl over. Just a bunch of fun.
3) Willow Springs Road: About 8 miles of dirt, but with some surprisingly challenging obstacles to negotiate. Had to drive VERY slow over the obstacles. Had to get out several times to scout the best line through. Once I was going down a step (I should have gotten out) and it was more of a drop than I could see. Then CLANG! and I backed up and picked another line. Turns out I dropped the left front tow hook down on a rock. Just scuffed up the paint on the tow hook slightly. No other damage.

I never put the truck in 4WD, cuz those Duratracs had plenty of traction in 2WD. Didn't air down either. But, driving this big, long truck definitely had its own challenges on some of the obstacles, requiring careful spotting/planning and one or two reverses to get by. It's NOT a Jeep!

About Moab
: Summer is the high season, and the town was absolutely packed with tourists. On Monday morning, when we got there, at least 100 vehicles were in line for entrance to Arches National Park. Must have taken at least an hour to get in. Interesting to note that once we got on the trails, we only saw one other vehicle on each trail, going the other way.

This also means really high hotel room prices--like over $200/night in the better hotels--and crowded restaurants for dinner. Still, seems like none of those folks were in town to drive the trails. Thank goodness. If you decide to go, try the late fall as crowds and temperatures will be much less.

Lastly, at freeway speeds (75-82 mph) on I-70, we got 13.5 MPG. Can't forget we're pushing this brick down the road--not too aerodynamic.

Questions?
 
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tbplus10

Moderator
Staff member
1000 Posts
Community Leader
I love Moab.
I Haven't been there since fall 2004, before that trip it was Spring 2001.
From 1977 to 1991 I went every spring and almost every fall.
It's one of the most organized off-road areas I've ever been to.
I've been fortunate enough to live on all three U.S. coast's and travel to almost every off-road area within 1500 miles of each coast and I still prefer Moab.
The slick rock out there makes wheeling "interesting" at times, whoever thought having too much traction would increase the pucker factor that much.
 

toyotafan

Toyota Truck Club Founder
Staff member
1000 Posts
That's sweet. I've driven past moab many times, need to plan a full camping there.

What was the weather like?

Can you get pics of your tow hook damage perhaps?
 

rickc5

Our back yard
Staff member
100 Posts
Community Leader
The damage to the tow hook is negligible--just some light scuffing of the paint, about the size of a nickel or quarter. Not even a paint chip.

Weather was what we expected--warm, but not hot like it will be in a month or so. High temps averaged around 90, + or -.

We don't camp any more--too old for that stuff and we now both use CPAPs that need electricity. We've been staying at the Gonzo Inn so many times that I'm now a member of the "Gonzo Club" and get discounts on rooms. Hotels & restaurants are sure getting expensive though. Still a very fun place to visit, so do it before the tree-huggers ruin everything (like close ALL the unpaved trails except for hiking). Really.
 

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