Renting a Gladiator and doing the Mojave Road and more?

[BourbonRunner]

Kicking around flying out to California and renting an overland-ready rig for my birthday in March and hitting Joshua Tree and the Mojave Road. Since I don't currently have a truck that is drivable anymore, this is also going to be a good time to demo a Gladiator rigged for the type of travel I'm looking to do.

The trip could go a couple different ways- it could be just the two of us, and could possibly be 2-3 additional couples driving rentals as well. Depending on who goes, we we've got a Land Rover driving instructor, a wilderness S&R medic, and easily 100+ years combined camping experience in everything from solo lightweight Appalachian Trail treks, and truck based all over the Mid-Atlantic plus cross country, Glacier NP, Acadia, Assateague (my favorite) but no desert- yet.

Tentative route would be 7 days, self guided. It would be an out and back trip most likely. It is about $5-600 to do a one way per vehicle. I kicked that around and it isn't off the table yet but it is equivalent to about 2 days rental. Each of the rental companies can provide an itinerary, and I've been stalking some overlanding forums and YouTube for ideas.

Without naming them specifically quite yet:

Right now, one outfitter is based in San Diego and San Francisco, they have Gladiators, Tacomas, Wranglers.

One is based in Vegas, they have Gladiators, Tacomas, 4Runners, Wranglers.

One is in San Diego but only rents out Wranglers.

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions on this, have any of you rented and had good experiences?

Any tips/tricks on destinations?

If you had 7 days to do the trip of a lifetime, where would you go in the Mojave/Death Valley/Grand Canyon/Southwest?

I have enough Southwest credit card points that by the time we are ready to go in March we can fly for free to SF, SD, LV, or even Phoenix.

Thanks!

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[rharr]

Death valley is a must, no other place like it. Mojave is OK, just a big desert. Grand canyon is cool but can do most of that in a rental car. Dv in a jt is a good match, because there is lots to see off the beaten path.

 

[TroutFishingInAmerica]

The Mojave Road is rated moderate. I did most of it solo, didn't do the water ford because self recovery in water didn't sound fun. This is a excellent book: https://desertusa-store.com/collect...e-road-guide-and-map-mojave-national-preserve
The book is very detailed with GPS coordinates, and cool history, absolutely recommend. I wouldn't do it solo without something like a inReach, I have the inReach mini myself, it's just a little extra layer of protection, just in case.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Death valley is a must, no other place like it. Mojave is OK, just a big desert. Grand canyon is cool but can do most of that in a rental car. Dv in a jt is a good match, because there is lots to see off the beaten path.

I'm thinking a lot of our travel depends on where we pickup and drop off. A Vegas start makes a lot more sense to head south west into DV and eventually Joshua Tree NP. San Diego heads northeast into Joshua Tree NP, Mojave Road and maybe up into DV.

The Mojave Road is rated moderate. I did most of it solo, didn't do the water ford because self recovery in water didn't sound fun. This is a excellent book: https://desertusa-store.com/collect...e-road-guide-and-map-mojave-national-preserve
The book is very detailed with GPS coordinates, and cool history, absolutely recommend. I wouldn't do it solo without something like a inReach, I have the inReach mini myself, it's just a little extra layer of protection, just in case.

That's a good point. Everything I have read/watched said Mojave Road is a good cut your teeth trail. I'll take a look at the book you suggest. Thanks!

 

[fourfa]

First timer, yeah get the book. It adds a lot

I did the creek crossing start and definitely had to winch out of the mud

It's not really as remote as the out of the way Death Valley trips, it's an extremely popular dual sport route and you wouldn't be alone for long if you ever get stuck

 

[Bob Alpaca]

We used Escape Campervans https://www.escapecampervans.com/campervans/ to rent a Wrangler, completely outfitted for camping. That was when we were trying to decide if we wanted to buy a Gladiator. We hadn't driven a newer Jeep than my '84 CJ7 that I bought in 1986. We were happy with the rental. We went to Death Valley. Their rental office in Los Angeles is very near LAX. Good luck!

 

[RMFSJT]

I grew up in Joshua Tree well YV but it’s all the same. It’s beautiful but really packed now. Death Valley is awesome. I love Anza burrago. I’m actually wanting to go do Mojave road too after my Gladiator is built (23 on order) also want to hit El Camino Diablo.

 

[PJZ]

Add one more vote for DV. My favorite place to go. These are from our last trip just before I sold the JK in December and ordered the JT. Probably headed back again end of September or early October. You can make it as easy or difficult as you like. Lots to see. Huge park so you do have to do some planning and prioritizing. There is a big horn sheep hiding in the middle of the mountainside pic.

 

[joeym7]

We used Escape Campervans https://www.escapecampervans.com/campervans/ to rent a Wrangler, completely outfitted for camping. That was when we were trying to decide if we wanted to buy a Gladiator. We hadn't driven a newer Jeep than my '84 CJ7 that I bought in 1986. We were happy with the rental. We went to Death Valley. Their rental office in Los Angeles is very near LAX. Good luck!

That is awesomely convenient!

 

[joeym7]

What do you guys use for self defense "just in case" on the Mojave Road. I'm guessing California doesn't do any "reciprocity" even if one has a carry permit from another state?

 

[BourbonRunner]

What do you guys use for self defense "just in case" on the Mojave Road. I'm guessing California doesn't do any "reciprocity" even if one has a carry permit from another state?

CA doesn't have reciprocity to any state last I checked. Honestly, that's part of why solo'ing it with all the crazy shit out there is less appealing. Safety in numbers.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions, and please keep it coming.

Like i said, this is sort of a dry run before I order a JT to see if the overlanding thing is really something we want to pursue.

It would require an unloading of much of our heavier gear --which I'm totally okay with, we camp too heavy as is-- but that's a win because we could use the additional storage space in our basement.

With our current setup we'd get into camp and spend too much time unpacking and setting up the tent, then breaking down and packing up. I want to be able to roll in, pop the tent, and get to business. I would load the Tacoma down and spend too much time sorting through to find stuff. A RTT with a Batwing and maybe some screens/sides would be perfect, especially at places like Assateaugue where there is zero shade and no place to tie a tarp to.

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