Death Valley 2020 - A Gladiator's Exploration Trip

[WhatExit?]

Every year a group of long-time friends do a Death Valley trip around Presidents' Day weekend. During this trip we all meet up and together we go off road exploring and camping (what the media has proclaimed as "overlanding").

This year's Death Valley 2020 trip was a great success. Good friends, great people, exploring the sites and treasures of Death Valley during the day and enjoying good food, beverages and great company (and fireside stories!) at night.

I'll spend some time providing more details including some of the highlights and waypoints and talk about the Gladiator and how it performed (in a word, "outstanding!") but for now let's get this adventure started with some data:

Days away from home: 4
Total miles driven: 1,278
Off road miles driven: approximately 115
Average speed on road due to traffic: 70+ (estimated)
Typical speed on road: 80+ (Adaptive Cruise Control works really well!)
Average MPG for the whole trip including wheeling: 13.4 MPG (outstanding, in my opinion considering the high and low speeds and the use of 4-Hi and 4-Low)

On the road (freeway) headed to DV:

The Gladiator was an on and off road machine. It rides much better than my previous Jeep, a JK Unlimited Rubicon thanks to the longer wheelbase, vehicle improvements and the Metalcloak suspension lift all of which contributed to an outstanding driving experience.

Off road, it was a trail monster eating up everything Death Valley's trails on this trip presented to us. Driving a Gladiator off road is different than a Wrangler Unlimited in that the wheelbase is longer so you have to pay attention to the distance you go past large rocks and boulders making sure the rear wheels have passed the rocks before turning otherwise the rear wheel hits or climbs the rock instead of navigating around/through them.

I kept expecting the rear end to drag and I was surprised that it only happened twice. While that's mostly a factor of the terrain - the steepness of the ground you're going up or coming down, the Gladiator was an off road machine thanks to the 3.5" lift and the 37" tires that helped us pass over many of the rockobstacles that lower Jeeps might have scraped going over.

The Toyo Open Country R/T's were great on the road and off. This is the first time I've had these tires and they were excellent on the pavement and over the rocky trails. They're super quiet on road which was a must after having lived with M/T tires in the past there was no way I was going with them again. And the tread handled everything the trails threw at them. No slips or any handling or ride issues. I aired them down to 20 lbs. and next time I may air them down to about 15 lbs. to feel the difference.

Much more to come...

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Some info on preparing for the trip...

I took some precautions to protect the Gladiator's new paint finish by applying some Paint Protection Film (PPF) that I purchased online. I applied it to the rear fenders covering the forward facing surfaces up to the top of the fenders' curves. I also applied it to the front faces of the door hinges as my last Jeep's rear hinges were pockmarked from sand and stones thrown at them.

Another precaution I took was applying 3M No Residue Duct Tape to the leading surfaces of the front of the Gladiator. I've used this tape in the past and it works quite well - better than blue painters tape and even "racing tape" which many use when tracking their cars.

As you can see from the picture, there's duct tape applied to the black plastic below the fender lights as well as on the fenders above those lights. Also covered is the leading edge of the hood and almost every front surface on the Gladiator's face. The duct tape is gray so it blended in pretty well on my Granite Crystal Metallic Jeep but it was obvious to anyone paying attention that a lot of duct tape was applied to the Gladiator...

Here's the tape - I purchased it at Home Depot - bought a roll and still have plenty left for the next trip...

Link: https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Scot...No-Residue-Painter-s-Duct-Tape-2425/100653893

 

[WhatExit?]

In brief, Death Valley & Panamint Valley are two valleys in DV National Park. The Amargosa Range is on the Northeast side of Death Valley and the Panamint Range to the south separates Death Valley from Panamint Valley (see pic below).

Death Valley National Park map:
https://www.gifex.com/images/0X0/20...y_National_Park_Map_California_and_Nevada.jpg

While we drove through Death Valley we spent most of our time in the park in Panamint Valley.


We met and camped the first night a couple miles up the road from the Ballarat General Store.

Below: Rocky Novak is on the left (pic I took on Saturday, 2/15/20).

This is from Wikipedia: Today, Ballarat has one full-time resident. As of June 2013 Rocky Novak and his dogs, Potlicker and Brownie, live in the town. Rocky runs the general store on afternoons and weekends to supply tourists, and is working on repairing the water pipes that supply the town, for which he is paid by the government.

Rocky was featured in the 2018 film vignette "The Mayor of Ballarat" by Mickey Todiwala and Monika Delgado. The five-minute character piece features a montage of various Ballarat locations with a voiceover of Rocky describing his life in town and musings on human nature.[4] Every summer, a woman named June and her son move into the former jailhouse/morgue.

Ballarat is used as a meeting point for four-wheel-drive expeditions into the Panamint Range and Death Valley, and in winter up to 300 people camp in the grounds of the town. The town was recently used as a set to tell the story of the Ballarat Bandit. Ballarat was featured in an episode of Top Gear USA and the movie Obselidia. The town has a ZIP Code of 93592, and is inside area codes 442 and 760.

5 of the Jeeps in our group parked in front of the Ballarat General Store:

There's a lot to learn about Death Valley - here's a piece of the story: https://www.desertusa.com/desert-california/ballarat.html

 

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Some pics I took inside the Ballarat General Store ("Trading Post" per the sign)...

 

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Leaving Ballarat on our way to explore...

On the side of the road...

On our way to Reilly Townsite & Mine...

 

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Reilly Townsite & Mine visit (Reilly, CA)

Reilly is a former settlement in Inyo County, California. It was located on the west side of the Panamint Valley, at an elevation of 2582 feet. Reilly was a silver mining community in the late 19th century. A post office operated at Reilly in 1883. Reilly is on the National Register of Historic Places.

View attachment 62163

A pic of the mine site...

Below: A pic of the above sign with Panamint Valley in the background...

 

[AC_1960]

Some info on preparing for the trip...

I took some precautions to protect the Gladiator's new paint finish by applying some Paint Protection Film (PPF) that I purchased online. I applied it to the rear fenders covering the forward facing surfaces up to the top of the fenders' curves. I also applied it to the front faces of the door hinges as my last Jeep's rear hinges were pockmarked from sand and stones thrown at them.

Another precaution I took was applying 3M No Residue Duct Tape to the leading surfaces of the front of the Gladiator. I've used this tape in the past and it works quite well - better than blue painters tape and even "racing tape" which many use when tracking their cars.

As you can see from the picture, there's duct tape applied to the black plastic below the fender lights as well as on the fenders above those lights. Also covered is the leading edge of the hood and almost every front surface on the Gladiator's face. The duct tape is gray so it blended in pretty well on my Granite Crystal Metallic Jeep but it was obvious to anyone paying attention that a lot of duct tape was applied to the Gladiator...

I was just thinking today about how to protect the front surfaces of my GCM JTR since they are still undamaged (no wheeling yet), and am planning to get a quote for a clear bra application from a local shop. No idea on the probable cost. Have you thought of doing that vs. applying/removing the duct tape multiple times? Also, my Gladiator came with clear paint protection film on the front side of the rear painted fenders from the factory. Yours didn't, or did you just extend the application higher?

Reilly Townsite & Mine visit (Reilly, CA)

Reilly is a former settlement in Inyo County, California. It was located on the west side of the Panamint Valley, at an elevation of 2582 feet. Reilly was a silver mining community in the late 19th century. A post office operated at Reilly in 1883. Reilly is on the National Register of Historic Places.

A pic of the mine site...

Looks like an interesting place to explore. That's one of my favorite things to do when running trails in CO is checking out abandoned mining ruins and reading the history on them.

 

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I was just thinking today about how to protect the front surfaces of my GCM JTR since they are still undamaged (no wheeling yet), and am planning to get a quote for a clear bra application from a local shop. No idea on the probable cost. Have you thought of doing that vs. applying/removing the duct tape multiple times? Also, my Gladiator came with clear paint protection film on the front side of the rear painted fenders from the factory. Yours didn't, or did you just extend the application higher?


Looks like an interesting place to explore. That's one of my favorite things to do when running trails in CO is checking out abandoned mining ruins and reading the history on them.

I am looking at PPF (Paint Protection Film)/Clear Bra for the forward facing surfaces of the Gladiator. But I didn't have time to get it done before the trip. Even with the PPF I'll likely tape up these surfaces again. It's fast, inexpensive, works really well (much better than PPF) and comes off very easily and cleanly.

As for the factory PPF on the front of the rear fenders they're inadequate at best as they don't cover all of the front surface and don't go up high enough and over to the top to the peak. I put my PPF (purchased from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004VG8DS0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ), cut it to size and put it right over the factory PPF. It too came off easily and cleanly after I got back home from the trip.

Death Valley is awesome! So huge, so much to explore - so many sites to see and so many miles and miles of off roading. Some trails are quite challenging but most are just awesome.

 

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Wings Over Gladiator

While we were wheeling we witnessed (w6) a couple of C-130 Lockheed planes fly overhead. I was able to capture them on video and we got a "wing wag" from them - very cool!

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

Very cool. Was there the same weekend as you. Bet we passed each other on the road. I’m the guy who was in the white Gladiator towing the Batam T3-C.

 

[5JeepsAz]

Great thread! Looks like a terrific trip. Thanks for the ride along

 

[Frenzyrider]

Great write-up! Do you think a stock Rubicon JT will make it without scrapping in Steel Pass and Lippincott trail? I am trying to see how far can I push the stock height for Rubicon.

 

[WhatExit?]

Great write-up! Do you think a stock Rubicon JT will make it without scrapping in Steel Pass and Lippincott trail? I am trying to see how far can I push the stock height for Rubicon.

Thanks! Yes, but some of it depends on the current road conditions as they change throughout the year. Try visiting the DV websites to get the latest conditions. Nonetheless I’m confident a JT Rubicon will make it all just fine!

 

[Rummie]

Looks like a great trip! We passed through DV with just two nights in Furnace Creek. We would love to take a little more time to explore next time.

How do you like the MC 3.5" lift with 37s? Have you had it on any trails requiring a lot of articulation? How did it do?

 

[WhatExit?]

Looks like a great trip! We passed through DV with just two nights in Furnace Creek. We would love to take a little more time to explore next time.

How do you like the MC 3.5" lift with 37s? Have you had it on any trails requiring a lot of articulation? How did it do?

Good to hear from you. There's nothing like having more ground clearance with the 3.5" MC lift and 37" tires it's a huge factor in clearing obstacles (rocks, etc.) and decreasing the likelihood of high-centering the Gladiator. Every inch matters off road and these 2 factors help significantly. And I've done plenty of miles of obstacles and there are not articulation issues. The Gladiator is a longer truck than the Wrangler Unlimited (4 door) but it does amazingly well!

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