Florida to California with a 2020 JT

samiam · May 24, 2021

Hello all and thanks for the add. Figured I might as well tell about my cross country experience with my Jeep. Jan 2020 I picked up my JT. I wanted it as basic yet practical as I could since I have a small farm in south Alabama and I tow crap. So sport with max tow for me, and the only extra was the XM radio. I did put on a rough country 9500lb winch on a Fishbone front bumper. Also some no name lights and nerf bars. Me the wife and my German Shepherd took off from Pensacola Fl the last week of April headed to California to visit family. Nothing special on the ride to Houston and then San Antonio except I-10 blows with lots of slow traffic and jams. So we decided to hit some of the lesser traveled roads to Lubbock, Clovis NM and then Albuquerque. Passed right by where Billy the Kid is buried. I am Air Force Vet and people always complained about Clovis and Cannon Afb in New Mexico. I can definitely see why…what a crap hole. I mean if all you want to do is ride in the desert this is nirvana….i don’t. Scenery is cool all throughout Texas and New Mexico and it got interesting from Gallup NM to Flagstaff cause It was snowing in late April. I don’t mind snow when its 35 degrees but when the temp dropped to 28 I did. Even though I didn’t have to put it in 4X4, it was nice having the option and I am running stock AT tires that came with the truck. So I just slowed down a bit and let the truckers keep the road ice broken. From Las Vegas we took the road to Bishop California. There would be times that we didn’t see another vehicle for 20 minutes its that desolate. Felt very comfortable on those roads with my JT. Climbing up the back of the Sierras I got around 16 mpg. (some elevations over 8k ft) Hit the Bristlecone national forest area. These trees are up to 4,000 years old. Did I mention the area was remote? Some of the most spectacular mountain views I have seen. Met some friends in Bishop and did some fishing just east of Yosemite. On the way back from California we hit a tail wind all the way through New Mexico and I got 27 mpg! Must be a world record and I am going to miss that when I change tires. Truck did great but its no speed demon. I kept it mostly at 75 mph. Rough freeways are the only time I knew I was in a Jeep but otherwise it was a great ride.