huachuca
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Re: Boondocking in the sand -- how soft is too soft??
Dan, I'm from the east coast and admittedly have limited experience off-roading on our western public lands but I have been driving on sand beaches along our NC coast since the early sixties. Also, I spent two years with Uncle Sam playing around the Chihuahuan desert of southern AZ in my youth and we've visited the Four Corners area several times since retirement (thanks for all your tips and photos). My prior two vehicles were 05 and 12 Tacoma 4WD double cabs with the TRD Off Road package so fairly familiar with what you have. I don't think many of those giving advice here have noticed the vehicle in your sig - 2013 Tacoma TRD Off Road. The TRDOR package was most common on 4WD Tacoma's but was also available as an option on the two wheel drive models and I'm not sure which you have. Even if yours's is 2WD, it came standard with an electronic locking rear differential which will send power to equally to BOTH rear wheels when engaged. If you're unfamiliar with it, get your owner's manual out and read up on this feature. Posts regarding open differentials and rear wheel spin don't really apply here. I'm also fairly certain your truck has a feature known as Crawl Control. This is a really slick tech that controls wheel spin via the ABS braking system when activated. Check out the details in the manual for this as well. If your truck is 4WD, the low range transfer case, locking rear diff and Crawl Control features will get you through a lot of questionable terrain. Personally, I'm not a fan of the recommendations to 'just apply more power if you start to lose traction'. The BFG's you're running will quickly bury themselves when they start to spin resulting in the truck's frame contacting the ground. Once that happens, extrication gets much more difficult. I'd suggest stopping immediately at the first sign of tire slippage then get out and lower your air pressure down to 12-14 psi. Actually, I'd do this BEFORE getting into trouble. I always air down when going off road for any distance. The ride is much better, the chance of getting stuck is minimized and it doesn't do any damage to the tires at the reduced speeds you're driving. Don't be afraid to disconnect the camper of necessary - you can always figure out how to get it freed up as long as your truck is mobile. Carry a couple of tow straps (those with no metal hooks) and a soft shackle or three should you need to extricate the trailer. Carpet is better than nothing but, if you plan to spend much time in sand, I recommend at least one set of traction boards. Good ones aren't cheap, $300+/- for a set of MaxTraxx but neither is a tow or damage to your truck and/or camper. You might also want to consider adding a Come-a-Long to your kit. Looking forward to your trip reports and photos on the new adventures. We hope to be back your way in early summer. Al668Views0likes0CommentsRe: Western NC activities
Cradle of Forestry, NC Arboretum, Cades Cove, Cherohala Skyway, Mingus Mill, Nantahala Outdoor Center, Biltmore, Cataloochee, Blue Ridge Parkway, Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. Lots of great camping spots in the National Parks and National Forests if you don't need hookups.354Views0likes0CommentsRe: NC State fairgrounds campground
We've stayed there a few times when we needed to be in the Raleigh/Durham area. Its convenient, secure, well lit, reasonably priced and easy to get into and out off but its just a place to stay and nothing more. Basically, a large gravel lot with no vegetation; sites are reasonably large and they have full time on-site security. I'd prefer to stay at one of the nearby state parks or state lakes but the gates on these are locked at night (hours vary seasonably) which is a no go if we're there because of family medical issues. I don't know how crowded it might get on a holiday weekend but we've never seen it more than a 10-15% full. Any event at the nearby equesterian center or fairgrounds might impact occupancy.269Views0likes0CommentsRe: Big Bend
TxGearhead wrote: Been saying I would go for years. Was thinking about using Seminole Canyon SP as a stopover from Houston. Anyone have experience there? We’ve stayed at Seminole Canyon a few times when traveling from my wife’s family in Baton Rouge to Big Bend. For us, its a great stop to break up the drive and, even though we always arrive after hours, finding a good site has never been a problem. It’s not a destination but easily worth a half day of exploring the Native American history in the area if you have the time. There are also several primitive sites available just off US 90 around the Amistad NRA. As someone posted earlier, Big Bend is a Park you’ll either love or hate - it’s been one of our favorites for over forty years.614Views0likes0CommentsRe: Camping near Biltmore Estate
Dutch_12078 wrote: Our preference in the Asheville area is the Lake Powhatan Recreation Area campground in the Pisgah National Forest. The misnamed Lakeside loop has large paved full hookup sites. This would be my pick as well. Be sure to visit the NC Arboretum which is right next door.2.4KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Using a tow vehicle as a windbreak while boondocking
Having tent camped at Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores on the NC Outer Banks for over fifty years, I've seen some pretty good storms roll through. I've used my vehicle as a windbreak, filled coolers with sand and placed them inside the tent to hold it down and flipped picnic tables over to reduce their profile and tied my guy lines to their skyward pointing legs. Its interesting to check out the campground dumpsters the day after one of these hits. I've got a couple of functional EZ-Ups pieced together from wind damaged units that were discarded. And several of the NPS staff who work there have told me they haven't bought any new camping gear in years. Whenever we suffer through one of these, I'm reminded of Lyndon Johnson's comment on the Viet Nam war as I approached draft age in the mid sixties (paraphrased as I'm sure this isn't exactly accurate) "Being President right now is a lot like being a jackass in a west Texas hailstorm. I can't run. I can't hide. And I can't make it stop."582Views0likes0CommentsRe: Outer Banks National Park Service campgrounds
pbeverly wrote: Do the Oregon sites have Water and Electric? From the website it looks just like electric. Website a little confusing, perhaps because I look at at when I wake up at 5am and am not functioning on all cylinders. While the site says water hookups when you look at reservation section I see electric hookups but no mention of water. We want to do Outer Banks but that trip will probably be in a year or two. Have looked at the commercial CGs, any comments on those? The NPS Oregon Inlet campground has 20-25 sites with both electric and water hookups. I'm not sure of the amperage as we seldom camp there but have seen some big boys plugged in. Camp Hatteras, KOA and Ocean Waves (all in the Rodanthe area) seem to be the most popular commercial cgs. We prefer the more laid back atmosphere found further south around Buxton and Hatteras. Frisco Woods would be my choice there for hookups. Shade and understory vegetation for privacy are pretty much non-existent at any of the Outer Banks campgrounds. The commercial ones pack you in way too close for my liking. The NPS sites are typically a good bit larger and the Frisco campground south of Buxton is located among the dunes has several secluded sites (but no hookups). Hope you're able to visit with us soon.471Views0likes0CommentsRe: Outer Banks National Park Service campgrounds
With the possible exceptions of the W&E sites at Oregon Inlet and over the Labor Day weekend at all four NPS facilities, you will not have a problem getting a spot at any of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore campgrounds at any time from now through the end of the season. Just check recreation.gov for the number of open sites for any day(s) in August and September. We live about a hundred miles from the OBX and camp there frequently - the only times these fill is Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.471Views0likes0CommentsRe: Big Bend campgrounds closed
We’re planning to be there for a few days around June 10 to celebrate our 41st anniversary. The only night of our honeymoon spent under a roof was in one of the CCC built stone cottages there; the rest were in a VW bus. Sorry to hear of the damage at Castolon, my grandfather owned a Gulf service station and the big orange and blue sign there always reminded me of him.286Views0likes0Comments
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