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ecidiego

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Stock Mojave can't get up to to Top of the World?
 

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Did you end up hitting the mother of all storms in Tahoe area?
 

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The truck actually will be driven primarily between Andalusia, Spain and Dolomites, Italy plus north Africa and Turkey, Israel, Georgia, Tajikistan.
I had bigger challenges driving through Italian and Spanish villages than through narrowest roads in Poland.
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What in the hell…are you Jason Bourne lol
 
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MartinIT

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Thanks. Think 35s would cut it? That's as big as I'd go.
Hard to say but I think a couple of inches of lift might be beneficial to get to the top without becoming a mason. I would ask if anyone made it there with just 35s. I cannot say yes or no with even 80% certainty.
 

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Hard to say but I think a couple of inches of lift might be beneficial to get to the top without becoming a mason. I would ask if anyone made it there with just 35s. I cannot say yes or no with even 80% certainty.
I did it on 37s on my 1 week old JTRD, I was scraping so 35s you could do it if you want to use your sliders alot, or stack rocks. I also did it at dusk, alone, by myself... so you know Im the smartest guy either lol. Im sure day light would help.
 

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Brilliant write-up and excellent trip!
 

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Just a quick recap.

  1. I planned this trip (including truck purchase) for 4 months from oversees
  2. I flew in from Poland to US in early June
  3. The new truck was picked up at Gupton near Nashville - great buying experience
  4. Drove to Dallas leaving the truck at Texas Vehicle Exchange for kevlar coating - incredible service from these guys.
  5. Flew to Mexico for 2 weeks with my GF.
  6. Back to Dallas to pickup the freshly painted truck - WHOW
  7. Drove to Laguna Niguel and dropped off the truck at Rebel Off Road for some customization - the guys messed up but later made everything well - at the end a top service.

The truck has:
  • kevlar paint
  • DV8 rails
  • DV8 hood
  • ADD bumpers
  • APEX 1200 winch
  • AWE exhaust
  • S&B CAI
  • Pedal commander
  • ARB compressor
  • Stinger infotainment
  • ARB traction boards
  • Coastway fridge
  • axe
  • shovel
  • bed rack
  • Roam Vagabond RTT
  • bed tonneau
  • sunrider soft top
  • tire repair kit - never had to use it
  • fool tool set - handy always

Ordered but missing:
  • 35" wheels/tires
  • water/gasoline Rotopax containers - got alternative canisters
  • bed AC/DC outlet
  • grab handles
  • front bumper lights
  • front skid plate was not trimmed and installed

The trip started and went through:
  • Big Bear Lake -great illegal but locally approved small camping site near https://goo.gl/maps/4tNBjDWvowGDxBgaA
  • Mojave National Preserve - fantastic 2 days with not a single vehicle around
  • section of old route 66 - Oatman - Kingman - fantastic
  • Lake Mojave - superb secluded camping spot - https://goo.gl/maps/bvrbA3NRetaYFeUr7
  • Lake Mead - survived the sand storm here
  • Grand Canyon Point Sublime near North Rim - incredible camping spot - https://goo.gl/maps/LeR1aM4SPSPbbNik7. The axe saved the day on the way back after the thunder storm of the century
  • Lake Powell - great hike through Buckskin Gulch Canyon (better alternative to Antelope Canyon)
  • Warm Creek Bay at Lake Powell - great drive there but the bay is dried (huge surprised after getting there at 11 PM); incredible camping spat at Alstrom Point - https://goo.gl/maps/xm7T9YhMKFmPiy1V6
  • Monument Valley - must see
  • Grand Junction
  • Cocopelli trail to Moab - no way to get through the upper section of the Top of The World on 33s (had to hike). Traction boards saved the day at Cisco Wash Crossing (tough moment for someone doing off-roading for the 1st time), 2nd section Dewey Bridge - Moab much more interesting than the 1st one. Chickened out at the Rock Garden Hill
  • Moab - tourism killed the town but an incredible light show at the Grandstaff Canyon camping
  • Arches National Park - long hikes (even in 110F) are well worth it
  • Bryce Canyon at sunset
  • Yosemite - nothing but whow!!!
  • Big Sur - the road is great but the spot is killed by the tourists
  • San Francisco - just a quick drive north through the Golden Gate
  • Napa Valley - great camping at Putah Canyon - https://goo.gl/maps/WTFd7dB6aeJX9X5t9; super wine-tasting and atmosphere at Yountville
  • Klammath Lake - not recommended camping at Rocky Point Resort - https://goo.gl/maps/Y6Nyhc5csV5VnTT6A; Odessa campground much better
  • Crater Lake - Cleetwood cove trail with the swim at the lake was fantastic
  • Bend, OR - love this town and the brewery atmosphere
  • Seattle, WA - what a change during last 3 years of my absence (used to live there for 30 years)

What worked very well:
  • Kevlar coating - the original paint would be all scratched up after few segments of this trip; no signs on Kevlar
  • ARB compressor - i was deflating and inflating tires several times
  • ARB traction boards - life savers at the Cisco Wash crossing
  • the axe - life saver on the way back from the Sublime Point
  • Roam Vagabond RTT - uber comfy and easy to use
  • sunrider soft top - super handy and quiet
  • Literider tonneau - protected the luggage well especially during the sand storm
  • AWE exhaust + CAI + pedal commander - V6 was definitely more responsive and agile
  • the Mojave itself - I am overall very pleased with the truck for both highway, road and off road. Good mph, comfy, quiet and can do it almost all
  • GAIA GPS app - lifesaver in the terrain (no other maps have these details)
  • coastway fridge - great capacity and getting to proper temp in a short time
  • Mojave suspension - what a joy to smash gravel roads and trails at high speed
  • lots of storage on the truck

What did not work very well:
  • AWE + CAI is a bit too loud long term - below 2.5K rmp sweet but when punched or on inclines starts get annoying; the sound is great but not long term
  • front lights misadjusted from the factory
  • not having direct battery connected DC outlet in the bed (had to keep the fridge inside and could not run it when engine shut off)
  • not having passenger side grab handle (off road hard to not get tossed all over the place)
  • cruise control is badly calibrated
  • windshield - it cracked in two spots
  • some vehicle angles: you see your infotainment flashing in the rear view mirror, dashboard controls in the driver side mirror, water streaming onto driver and passenger windows badly when windshield is spray washed while driving

NOTES:
  • anyone who wants to do some even lite rack crawling needs to get above factory tire size - nothing new here i guess
  • anyone who does not care about more aggressive rock crawling - Mojave is the ticket IMHO - great on paved and superb on tracks/gravels
  • I discovered i don't care about rock crawling at all - just not my thing
  • desert driving, gravel roads, bumpy tracks - ohh yeahhh!!!!
  • V6 gasoline is not bad at all
  • mph in this vehicle is good but you need to control well your foot; my GF has not much feel in the foot and she was burning easily 2 mpg less than I did and I could hear in in engine revving. We averaged in this trip about 17 with 19 on paved and 15 off road. rack and RTT and smashing ~ 70 mph on highways

Few pictures from the trip:

mojave.jpg

Cocopelli

IMG-20210719-WA0010.jpg

at Cisco Wash Crossing

IMG-20210719-WA0016.jpg

Getting to Top of the World

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On the way to Sublime Point

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To Warm Creek Bay at Lake Powell

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Somewhere on the road

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Bringing an axe was a top choice

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Putah Canyon Camping

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light show near Grandstaff Canyon camping

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inside Mojave desert

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just before the sand storm at Lake Mead

20210716_151949.jpg

mudding through Buckskin Gulch Canyon

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campsite at Mojave

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somewhere along the route

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Horseshoe Bay near Page

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Arches National Park

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Forest fires at Yosemite NP

20210720_153148.jpg

Arches NP

20210716_193022.jpg


Another day on the road :)
What a great trip. I've been to most of those places - excellent. Your images are superb. I've been considering the Costway fridge. Did it stay cold overnight when not powered?
 
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MartinIT

MartinIT

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the Costway fridge - it warms up relatively quickly but I now have a 12V DC outlet that is powered off of the battery and I run the fridge on it while engine is off. It draws little power so there is no issue maintaining 6C without running out of battery juice
the kevlar paint is, well, a kevlar paint. Kind of like a bedliner in texture but it has different properties. After driving the truck in rougher terrain for over a year I continue being in love with it. Durable, cleans well and looks great
I now stay close to 6 months a year in southern Spain but will be in Poland from time to time. The truck is not Spanish pueblos blancos street friendly but it works fantastic on the Andalusian backroads. Soon a trip to Morocco. Will post images from there
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