Fall 2022 Arizona Peace Trail cross country trek - Planning Thread!

[crewcabrob]

Still working out logistics on my end to attend. I think running the trail clockwise with the higher elevations first will be nice. Might even catch fall colors in the mountains.

Rob

 

[crewcabrob]

Just in case any of you are thinking about registering for a plate in SD, I received these documents from SD on how to apply for a title and license your UTV. Based on two of the documents I have attached, the state of SD would like to collect 4% of the purchase price for taxes. This is crazy... My state doesn't even collect taxes...

I believe ID or NM are better choices for anyone wanting to get legal in states that reciprocate.

 

[crewcabrob]

 

[Montecresto]

I believe ID or NM are better choices for anyone wanting to get legal in states that reciprocate.

Yep indeed. I licensed a Pioneer in SD and it cost me $700.00 and I have to pay $35.00 a year to keep it current….

 

[Montecresto]

Still working out logistics on my end to attend.

What kind of progress have you made towards that end???

 

[crewcabrob]

What kind of progress have you made towards that end???

Well, after returning from the Nebraska National Forest, I found out quite a bit about expectations from my traveling party.
The bad:

1. My wife is good with camping, but not in my 4 season, MSR mountaineering tent that I have. While it may work and look like it is at home on the side of Everest, it doesn't look or work well with my wife crawling in to it anywhere...
2. Likewise, the cot that I set her up with was not acceptable accommodations for any length of time.
3. Any time spent on her hands and knees is not going to work.
4. Any amount of dogs, including our 3, in the "so named 1/2 star resort" need their own slice of heaven and no where near my wife's private hell... Actually, my wife had a great time and just wants better lodging.

The good:

1. Coffee and beer make things much better
2. I have all of the supplies I need for water, cooking and general camping.
3. I spent time on the trails with a fully loaded P520 to see what it would do. I went and cut wood one day while at the Forest, and had my chainsaw, extra fuel, my son-in-law and about 50 liters of water and the Pioneer did fine in the soft deep sand.
4. I also narrowed down what equipment I want to have for my next trip.

While at home, I helped my neighbor drag his 1600 pound trailer out of the ravine behind my house and back up to his property. It was steep and soft soil with quite a few logs and stumps to drive over. The Pioneer performed well, but it was a first gear exercise the whole time. The only casualty was a trailer light was broken. I mention this because if I have to pull a small trailer, I bet I won't fuss too much with 600-700 behind the P520. Of course, I do plan on keeping things as light as possible so I'm shooting for no more than 600 pounds. I'm still testing this, but at this point I don't even know if I can get a trailer ready.

I can always by a decent sized cabin tent and taller cots. Hard walls have been requested if I can make that happen. And a mattress that is around 3-4 inches thick, or more... that will certainly be a welcome addition.

I got the thumbs up on power steering and I always planned the locker in the front. New skid plates, a rear window and a way to mount my new ipad for navigation and I feel like the P520 is ready.

Logistically, we have plenty of time to take off and getting there isn't tough. Just finding a dog sitter is the tough thing.

 

[ByronM]

I am on the same page as your wife crewcab, I need to find a comfortable cot and some sort of shelter that it will fit in. Since I will be solo I don’t think I want the hassle of settling up a tent tall enough for a decent cot so maybe a fly anchored to my machine on one end and either a tree or maybe staked to the ground on the other end. Work in progress

 

[crewcabrob]

I am on the same page as your wife crewcab, I need to find a comfortable cot and some sort of shelter that it will fit in. Since I will be solo I don’t think I want the hassle of settling up a tent tall enough for a decent cot so maybe a fly anchored to my machine on one end and either a tree or maybe staked to the ground on the other end. Work in progress

I love the simplicity! That would not fly for us though, the desert has too many, coyotes, snakes, scorpions, cougars, bears, loc ness monsters and big foots for us to camp in the great outdoors.

I would tell you that finding a tree to tie to might be rough. A fly that has a pole or two might be the best plan. There really shouldn't be any rain or snow. Cool temps may happen, but a warm bag off the ground does wonders.

Rob

 

[Montecresto]

Well, after returning from the Nebraska National Forest, I found out quite a bit about expectations from my traveling party.
The bad:

1. My wife is good with camping, but not in my 4 season, MSR mountaineering tent that I have. While it may work and look like it is at home on the side of Everest, it doesn't look or work well with my wife crawling in to it anywhere...
2. Likewise, the cot that I set her up with was not acceptable accommodations for any length of time.
3. Any time spent on her hands and knees is not going to work.
4. Any amount of dogs, including our 3, in the "so named 1/2 star resort" need their own slice of heaven and no where near my wife's private hell... Actually, my wife had a great time and just wants better lodging.

The good:

1. Coffee and beer make things much better
2. I have all of the supplies I need for water, cooking and general camping.
3. I spent time on the trails with a fully loaded P520 to see what it would do. I went and cut wood one day while at the Forest, and had my chainsaw, extra fuel, my son-in-law and about 50 liters of water and the Pioneer did fine in the soft deep sand.
4. I also narrowed down what equipment I want to have for my next trip.

While at home, I helped my neighbor drag his 1600 pound trailer out of the ravine behind my house and back up to his property. It was steep and soft soil with quite a few logs and stumps to drive over. The Pioneer performed well, but it was a first gear exercise the whole time. The only casualty was a trailer light was broken. I mention this because if I have to pull a small trailer, I bet I won't fuss too much with 600-700 behind the P520. Of course, I do plan on keeping things as light as possible so I'm shooting for no more than 600 pounds. I'm still testing this, but at this point I don't even know if I can get a trailer ready.

I can always by a decent sized cabin tent and taller cots. Hard walls have been requested if I can make that happen. And a mattress that is around 3-4 inches thick, or more... that will certainly be a welcome addition.

I got the thumbs up on power steering and I always planned the locker in the front. New skid plates, a rear window and a way to mount my new ipad for navigation and I feel like the P520 is ready.

Logistically, we have plenty of time to take off and getting there isn't tough. Just finding a dog sitter is the tough thing.

WOW, very funny and equally informative. 👍

You’ve made great progress. I agree with your wife on the camping/sleeping accommodations. All but a couple on the Rimrocker Trail ride had tents you could stand up in and 12-18” thick air mattresses as I recall. I’d say that you really can’t beat a trailer though, and everybody complained about the amount of work to make and break camp every day, while we had a minimal amount to do….

😎

 

[Montecresto]

I am on the same page as your wife crewcab, I need to find a comfortable cot and some sort of shelter that it will fit in. Since I will be solo I don’t think I want the hassle of settling up a tent tall enough for a decent cot so maybe a fly anchored to my machine on one end and either a tree or maybe staked to the ground on the other end. Work in progress

Lol, I don’t think you’re on the same page as Rob’s wife if you’re willing to sleep under a fly on a cot… 😂

But, I do agree with Rob that the simplicity is cool….the good part about batching it…😎

 

[Montecresto]

I would tell you that finding a tree to tie to might be rough.

😂😂😂😂 Saguaro cactus grow as big as many trees. But do present hazards….🤔

 

[Keebler]

Well, after returning from the Nebraska National Forest, I found out quite a bit about expectations from my traveling party.
The bad:

1. My wife is good with camping, but not in my 4 season, MSR mountaineering tent that I have. While it may work and look like it is at home on the side of Everest, it doesn't look or work well with my wife crawling in to it anywhere...
2. Likewise, the cot that I set her up with was not acceptable accommodations for any length of time.
3. Any time spent on her hands and knees is not going to work.
4. Any amount of dogs, including our 3, in the "so named 1/2 star resort" need their own slice of heaven and no where near my wife's private hell... Actually, my wife had a great time and just wants better lodging.

The good:

1. Coffee and beer make things much better
2. I have all of the supplies I need for water, cooking and general camping.
3. I spent time on the trails with a fully loaded P520 to see what it would do. I went and cut wood one day while at the Forest, and had my chainsaw, extra fuel, my son-in-law and about 50 liters of water and the Pioneer did fine in the soft deep sand.
4. I also narrowed down what equipment I want to have for my next trip.

While at home, I helped my neighbor drag his 1600 pound trailer out of the ravine behind my house and back up to his property. It was steep and soft soil with quite a few logs and stumps to drive over. The Pioneer performed well, but it was a first gear exercise the whole time. The only casualty was a trailer light was broken. I mention this because if I have to pull a small trailer, I bet I won't fuss too much with 600-700 behind the P520. Of course, I do plan on keeping things as light as possible so I'm shooting for no more than 600 pounds. I'm still testing this, but at this point I don't even know if I can get a trailer ready.

I can always by a decent sized cabin tent and taller cots. Hard walls have been requested if I can make that happen. And a mattress that is around 3-4 inches thick, or more... that will certainly be a welcome addition.

I got the thumbs up on power steering and I always planned the locker in the front. New skid plates, a rear window and a way to mount my new ipad for navigation and I feel like the P520 is ready.

Logistically, we have plenty of time to take off and getting there isn't tough. Just finding a dog sitter is the tough thing.

My wife and I had a small tent that you could not stand up in. As a matter of fact, with two single air mattresses it was wall to wall air mattresses. Our air mattresses where 14" thick and perfect, you can loose a bit of air due to temp drop or slight leak and still sleep comfortably. Our lessons learned was get a bigger temp and a really good cooler (we didn't have a cooler). As far as the vehicle; we had 26X11/26X9 and they worked good, better ground clearance and traction with larger radius for a bit higher gearing; had an enhanced skid plate which based on the rocks bouncing off the bottom of the rig, it cam in handy; We did have to run into the dark one night and the stock headlight would not have been anywhere need enough, the 24" light bar was a life saver. Not having power steering was not a big deal to me. Rear window wasn't an issue because we had stuff stacked to the roofline. Better shocks would be nice but I am way to cheap to put them on. We did bring seat cushions to sit on which were really appreciated by both the wife and I. All in all the P550 did good, although It needs a bigger rack to hold everything. Another thought, it took us a bit of time to tie everything down each morning, I will be working on a quick load system for the Peace trail. Hope my lessons learned helps.

 

[Montecresto]

My wife and I had a small tent that you could not stand up in. As a matter of fact, with two single air mattresses it was wall to wall air mattresses. Our air mattresses where 14" thick and perfect, you can loose a bit of air due to temp drop or slight leak and still sleep comfortably. Our lessons learned was get a bigger temp and a really good cooler (we didn't have a cooler). As far as the vehicle; we had 26X11/26X9 and they worked good, better ground clearance and traction with larger radius for a bit higher gearing; had an enhanced skid plate which based on the rocks bouncing off the bottom of the rig, it cam in handy; We did have to run into the dark one night and the stock headlight would not have been anywhere need enough, the 24" light bar was a life saver. Not having power steering was not a big deal to me. Rear window wasn't an issue because we had stuff stacked to the roofline. Better shocks would be nice but I am way to cheap to put them on. We did bring seat cushions to sit on which were really appreciated by both the wife and I. All in all the P550 did good, although It needs a bigger rack to hold everything. Another thought, it took us a bit of time to tie everything down each morning, I will be working on a quick load system for the Peace trail. Hope my lessons learned helps.

Great info Keebler….👍😊

 

[crewcabrob]

WOW, very funny and equally informative.

. I’d say that you really can’t beat a trailer though, and everybody complained about the amount of work to make and break camp every day, while we had a minimal amount to do….

😎

That’s what I’m trying to do also, limit my time setting up and packing up camp each day.

I’ll get a solution figured out….

 

[crewcabrob]

My wife and I had a small tent that you could not stand up in. As a matter of fact, with two single air mattresses it was wall to wall air mattresses. Our air mattresses where 14" thick and perfect, you can loose a bit of air due to temp drop or slight leak and still sleep comfortably. Our lessons learned was get a bigger temp and a really good cooler (we didn't have a cooler). As far as the vehicle; we had 26X11/26X9 and they worked good, better ground clearance and traction with larger radius for a bit higher gearing; had an enhanced skid plate which based on the rocks bouncing off the bottom of the rig, it cam in handy; We did have to run into the dark one night and the stock headlight would not have been anywhere need enough, the 24" light bar was a life saver. Not having power steering was not a big deal to me. Rear window wasn't an issue because we had stuff stacked to the roofline. Better shocks would be nice but I am way to cheap to put them on. We did bring seat cushions to sit on which were really appreciated by both the wife and I. All in all the P550 did good, although It needs a bigger rack to hold everything. Another thought, it took us a bit of time to tie everything down each morning, I will be working on a quick load system for the Peace trail. Hope my lessons learned helps.

This was awesome! Thank you.

I agree shocks would be nice. I have 27” radials, so hopefully that will help.

 

[Killer223]

Are any of you on the Facebook group Arizona Peace Trail Group?
it's a great group and valuable to have in case of breakdown on the trail. lots of people willing to come to the rescue at a moments notice.

 

[PJon]

Are any of you on the Facebook group Arizona Peace Trail Group?
it's a great group and valuable to have in case of breakdown on the trail. lots of people willing to come to the rescue at a moments notice.

Sorry, I’ve never used Facebook and don’t plan to in the future.

 

[Silverback3]

I live in North Carolina. I camp out of a Kamp Rite oversized tent cot. Easy set up and take down. Very comfortable. Might be worth a look.

 

[crewcabrob]

T

I live in North Carolina. I camp out of a Kamp Rite oversized tent cot. Easy set up and take down. Very comfortable. Might be worth a look.

Thanks for joining the discussion and for your suggestion. I will go take a look.

Rob

 

[Montecresto]

I live in North Carolina. I camp out of a Kamp Rite oversized tent cot. Easy set up and take down. Very comfortable. Might be worth a look.

Cool, are you going to join us on our ride with that Kamp Rite….🤔