Death Valley Overland Adventure Part 2: Ubehebe Crater and Racetrack Playa All-Terrain Family 2026-09-26 | Death Valley Overland Adventure Part 2: Ubehebe Crater and Racetrack Playa
Vanlife Part 4: Alabama Hills is a S4!t Show! All-Terrain Family 2024-03-17 | If you watch TV, or movies, and you’re over the age of 40, you know the place. Maybe not implicitly. But you’ve seen it. It’s where Tony Stark was captured by Afghan terrorists. It’s where Captain Picard scrambled across an alien world. It’s where Val and Earl discovered and fought Graboids. That’s right. Alabama Hills is everywhere, and nowhere, all at the same time. We’ve been fans of the west slope of the Sierra Nevada for decades, and Alabama Hills in particular. It’s easy to access, has great camping, climbing and unbelievable views. Or at least it used to have great camping. Unfortunately, it got really popular with the rise of Overlanding and Vanlife over the last 10 years and that popularity has lead to a lot of inexperienced visitors who are sloppy, inconsiderate and criminally complacent with their trash and human waste. Littering is a crime on federal land. It’s always been that way. Somehow we forgot about that. I guess we need Hooty the Owl and Iron Eyes to come back and remind us of our heritage of stewardship. Anyway, this post is about how in the spring of 2022, we rented a camper van and left town for 10 days with the goal of seeing new things and going to new places between Reno, Nevada and Death Valley. It was an epic trip that we’ll never forget. And one thing we’ll never forget is how much toilet paper and human poop we found at a campsite, that was hard to find at Alabama Hills.When we first took Lightning Dragon to Alabama hills back in 2012, camping was unrestricted—aside from standard BLM rules for camping on public land. blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping.We camped west of Movie road up near all the rocks and boulders that had good rock climbing. But even back then there were other users camping and driving in unimpacted areas, leaving trash and still burning campfires when they left.In 2018, we went on a trip with both kids to Joshua Tree and camped in the same area, though it was much harder to find an open campsite because of all the other users there. I don’t begrudge others visiting the places I love. They’re there, ostensibly, for the same reason I am, with the same right and entitlement to the shared resources. My familiarity and history doesn’t grant me priority rights or claim to it. But that trip in 2018 was an eye opener as to the greater impact that increased visitation by ignorant and inexperienced visitors was having.Once we set up camp and started exploring around the rocks and caves and canyons nearby, we soon found toilet paper tucked under rocks, and full plastic bags full of human waste loosely buried in the decomposed granite. The TP is common, and has gotten even more common, but the toilet bags was a new thing. Apparently there products being sold that use a heavy plastic bag to catch and contain human waste for campers, RVers and overlanders and van lifers. Instead of transporting them back to a proper place for disposal, which if the bag doesn’t contain some kind of gelling agent, is only a toilet or pit toilet, they just tie them off and dump them in the desert. That was 2018, but we had the same experience in 2022.It isn’t really necessary to say that this is the wrong thing to do. And it isn’t really necessary to go as far as to say that is incredibly irresponsible and inconsiderate to do this. But I guess I just said it. Commiserating with me in the comments, is appreciated, because it helps get this content seen more, but what will actually help?Awareness. Talk about poop. When you go camping and you share images and posts and thoughts and memories, talk about how you cleanly, comfortably and responsibly contain, and dispose of your waste.I made a video a while back about how to dig a cat hole. And that had been the standard for human waste disposal for many, many years. Unfortunately traffic in areas like Alabama hills is too high for that to be an acceptable way to deal with poop. We need to pack it out. We cannot leave it there.DON’T BE A JERKNow I don’t want to be the guy who tells people what to do. Or where you should or shouldn’t go.But whatever you do, and wherever you go, when you get there. You can not shit on the ground and leave it there. You can not toss your shit bags out on the ground, kick some sand over it and leave it there. You can not treat wild places like your own personal landfill and then go on Instagram and complain about government overreach when it all gets taken away. This is our fault. We did this. Ourselves. But we can fix it.
What’s your favorite #toyota? #3rdgen4runner, #2ndgentacoma, #lexusgx460 or #3rdgentacoma All-Terrain Family 2024-03-11 | ...
The history of #mining in #nevada out there for anyone to see up close. All-Terrain Family 2024-03-08 | ...
Lake Manly: Badwater, Death Valley, February 24, 204 All-Terrain Family 2024-02-29 | From the perspective of geologic time, in which mountains rise up and valleys fall away as trap doors hidden the stage, this is more normal than how Badwater basin has presented itself on a human scale. While Lake Manly is prehistoric and has been mostly dry for the last ten thousand years, It has re-emerged from the groundwaters; temporary though it may be, so we took a quick trip to experience the rarity of water in the desert.The channel from the Badwater Basin Trailhead is packed down by foot traffic, so it held enough water to make us think we could paddle out. Instead, we drug the paddle boards out to the start of the “deeper” water to float them. Many explorers came out to see the lake, but we were by no means besieged by crowds. It’s hard to say what the attraction is here. The water was neither warm, nor cold, but it was so saturated with salt that every drip that dried on your skit left a frosting of crystals. The kids were ashey with it and had to be hosed off when they got out. Still, Death Valley is always like that. Travelers get out of their cars, walk to the vista point, or briefly out into the dune, or hillside, or salt flat, whatever it may be, and look around; they’re pilgrims confused by the sacred relics. Then they get back in their cars and drive to the next point on the map. The beauty can be hard to appreciate when the harshness of the landscape and climate can make you fear for your own safety while you’re searching for it.But here, there is water, for now. Something everyone can use, appreciate, and even love. Or at least splash around in and float on in a boat, as long it has a very shallow draft. And that’s pretty much the same thing.
Modifying your truck for off-roading and #overloverloa doesn’t have to be complicated. All-Terrain Family 2024-02-22 | ...
How to Choose The Right Bump Stop for Overlanding: Timbren vs. Sumo Springs vs. Toyota All-Terrain Family 2024-02-16 | 0:26 Bump Stop Basics1:00 Making Bump Stops Complicated2:42 Timbren Active Off-Road Bumpstop impressions3:05 Sump Springs Impressions3:27 Stock Tacoma Bump Stop4:44 Stack Height Comparison5:17 Timbren Details6:16 Timbren Compression Test7:35 Sumo Spring Detail8:48 Sumo Spring Compression test9:03 Compression Comparison9:34 Sumo Spring Is Softer10:36 Sump Spring Front Bump Stop11:51 ConclusionsPRODUCTS TESTEDSumo Springs for Toyota Tacoma: amzn.to/3wlbpU4 [PAID LINK}Timbren Active Off-Road Bump Stops: amzn.to/4bBaij9 [PAID LINK]Toyota Leaf Spring Bumper: parts.camelbacktoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-leaf-spring-bumper-left-right-rear-4834104100?c=bD0xOCZuPVNlYXJjaCBSZXN1bHRzJmE9dG95b3RhJm89dGFjb21hJnk9MjAxNyZ0PXRyZC1vZmYtcm9hZCZlPTMtNWwtdjYtZ2FzBUMP STOP BASICS1. You definitely need bump stops2. Bump stops are a piece of rubber that prevents metal-on-metal contact when you hit a REALLY big bump with your car or truck.3. Your vehicle comes with these from the factory.4. Unless you’re getting really extreme, or you just like making things complicated, your stock bump stops will work just fine.If you want to move forward to making things really complicated, here’s what you need to know.Our Tacoma has Old Man Emu’s BP-51 suspension, including shocks and springs. So it sits about 2.5 inches over the factory ride height.WHY YOU MIGHT NEED DIFFERENT BUMP STOPSMany lift kits come with a spacer that moves the bump stop closer to the axle. This is to prevent the shocks from bottoming out because the collapsed length exceeds the clearance of the stock bump stop. This would cause the shock to bottom out, which might be bad, depends on the shock.The Old Man Emu kit does not require modified bump stops. The instructions do not require or recommend modifying the bump stops. The specifications state that it is compatible with 0 lift and the collapsed length of the shock is only about an inch greater than the stock shock.So If you like to keep things simple, you can stop here and keep using your stock bump stops.TIMBREN ACTIVE OFF-ROAD BUMPSTOPSamzn.to/4bBaij9I installed Timbren Rubber bump stops a few years ago to help with that, and you can check out the video where I talk about that. The short story there is that even though Timbren markets these bump stops as softer than stock, they are not. When the truck hits them it’s jarring and bouncy and I don’t love it. Sumo Springsamzn.to/3wlbpU4A few months ago Super Springs came across my video and asked if I wanted to try their Sumo Springs Product. Sumo Springs are a bump stop made from micro-cellular Polyurethane foam. They come in three different densities depending on the weight of your vehicle. Some sump springs can be used for carrying constant load, like an overload spring, but for my purposes, it’s just a bump stop. TOYOTA LEAF SPRING BUMPERparts.camelbacktoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-leaf-spring-bumper-left-right-rear-4834104100?c=bD0xOCZuPVNlYXJjaCBSZXN1bHRzJmE9dG95b3RhJm89dGFjb21hJnk9MjAxNyZ0PXRyZC1vZmYtcm9hZCZlPTMtNWwtdjYtZ2FzSo let’s compare. The stock bump stop is short and made of very hard rubber because it’s meant as a last resort padding in case of big impacts. It’s about 61mm of rubber.The Timbren bump stop is made of a similar black rubber, but it’s hollow inside and has a bellowed structure to allow it to be softer than solid rubber. It’s much taller at 95mm and is designed to impact earlier in the travel to spread the harsh stop out over a greater distance and time. The Sumo spring is taller still at 139mm and is made of a completely different material micro-cellular polyurethane designed with less bounce to soften harsh rebounds, the exact thing I was looking for. DISCUSSIONI’ve been driving around with sumo springs on the driver’s side for about a month and Timbren bump stops on the passenger side. I definitely notice that the bottom out is harsher with the Timbrens. Semi-quantitatively, the sumo springs are 1 cm thinner when fully compressed and compress over a longer distance, so they are noticeably softer and theoretically allow more axle up travel when hitting bumps. The Sumo Spring really delivers and I’m definitely glad to switch. while it’s a little taller, it interacts over a greater distance, making its effect a lot more subtle. Plus, the material doesn’t rebound as fast and makes for a much better experience. When it comes right down to it, neither the Timbren Active Off-Road Bump Stops nor the Sumo Springs are actually bump stops; they’re overload springs. They are there to augment the leaf springs when you put a load in the truck so that you don’t get excessive sag. If you need the extra load-carrying capacity, then that may be a tradeoff you’re willing to make.
4 Minimalist Overlanders: 3rd Gen 4Runner, Ford Expedition, 3rd Gen Tacoma, 1st Gen Tundra All-Terrain Family 2024-02-07 | 0:00 Minimalist 3rd Gen 4Runner12:31 Minimalist 2016 Ford Expedition27:54 Minimalist 3rd gen Tacoma TRD Off-Road40:23 Minimalist 1st Gen Toyota Tundra4 Minimalist Overland vehicle builds:1999 Toyota 4Runner:Our overlanding rig is a 1999 Toyota 4Runner. This is what’s known as a 3rd Generation 4Runner. First Gen being the original boxy pickup variant with 2 doors and removable top. Second gens most people can’t tell from thirds, but though they still had a tailgate they were a true SUV with fixed full roof and rounded lines.It seats the four of us plus the dog and all our gear. Well, all the gear we can fit in it. We’ve done multi-day trips in Death Valley expanding storage into a Yakima roof box. Certainly, we can’t take much extra stuff, and if we need to fit in climbing or biking gear then things get tricky, but for the most part it handles us just fine. Our other vehicle is a Ford F-150 Super Crew pickup truck and we can fill that thing to the brim with no problem as well.Read More: allterrainfam.com/our-minimalist-overlander2016 Ford Expedition:In 1996 Ford killed off the last bronco. The full size, two-door beast we'd loved since the seventies, was gone. It took 24 years for them to bring it back. But in 1997 they launched the Expedition, a full-size, 4 door SUV following on from the wildly popular Explorer and taking the next step in the EX naming convention that would end, and die with the full-size+ Excursion. read More: allterrainfam.com/minimalist-overlander-2016-ford-expedition2017 Toyota Tacoma:Hi, I'm mike, I'm an adventurer and a dad and today i'm here to tell you don't need a "rig" with a "build thread" and it's own "instagram profile" to drive out to the middle of nowhere, cook some hot dogs, and watch the sunset.To illustrate this point, I want to show you our 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road and why I think a vehicle like this it a great minimalist vehicle for overlanding, off-road exploring and camping with your family. Read More: youtu.be/bTOOuF9kQiA?si=ZgtRrvPMK6_1bhj2So my friend Harry Wagner really likes the idea of the Minimalist Overlander. If you know harry and follow his writing and photography, you might have just snorted some beer up your nose. But hear me out. While Harry is a mega off-road enthusiast and has the wheels to prove it, he’s been driving and working on his simple 1st Gen Toyota Tundra for a few years now and it REALLY embodies the ethic of minimalism in adventure. I’ve long admired the Tundra as an adventure vehicle an Harry’s in particular, So I’m stoked to bring you the story of what he decided to add to the already great platform.Read More: allterrainfam.com/minimalist-overlander-1st-gen-tundra
How to use traction boards to get unstuck #overland #4x4 #4xoverland All-Terrain Family 2024-01-31 | ...
Don’t go the the mall without your traction boards! #overland #4x4 #overlanding All-Terrain Family 2024-01-26 | ...
Wondering if you need to spend $500+ on traction boards just to go to Whole Foods? #overlanding All-Terrain Family 2024-01-23 | ...
TRACTION BOARDS: do I REALLY need them? Feat: Bunker Indust Prime traction board. All-Terrain Family 2024-01-21 | Bunker Industries Traction Boards: bunkerindust.com/?ref=KZGn4rQd8YX6Kk [PAID LINK}Traction Boards: Do I Need Them?There are a lot of gadgets in the overlanding world that I haven’t bought into. you’ve got single-purpose cooking contraptions based on farm equipment. A mess of hoses to air down all your tires at once. A big balloon that uses your car’s exhaust to lift your vehicle to. And my favorite the ubiquitous Hi-Lift Jack you see mounted as high as possible on vehicles that can’t even use them.and if you don’t know what any of this is, then surely you’ve seen the meter-long orange things mounted to the top, sides fronts and backs of almost every truck out there. Is this just rampant consumerism? Is my friend Harry right? Do “Overlanders love to add to cart.” Or do these things have a purpose? Well, today we’re going to take a look at traction boards. The example we have today is the Bunker Industries Traction board with replaceable teeth and steel plate. These were sent to me for review by VicOffRoad, but these ideas will apply to any of the major traction boards.Given the fact that you see these on so many overland trucks around town every day, you might think that they are a critical piece of equipment that you should never leave for the mall without. But I would say that’s not the case. When we travel in an SUV like our old 4Runner or our Tacoma, or even our Tacoma when it was stock, I never felt the need to spend several hundred dollars to get these traction boards. If you drive a car-based SUV or a Van then I would recommend pthem, especially if you’re like us and take a 2 Wheel Drive van into the sand. So today I’m going to show the main uses for a traction board using these Bunker Industries Traction Boards that VicOffroad sent for this video.oThe main reason you might need to use a traction board is to get out of loose ground like sand, snow, or mud. After that, al other uses they may have are secondary.Using them as a RampUsing them as a bridgeLeveling out your vehicle or camperand as a shovel.Like I said, these were sent to us by VicOffroad and they’re made by Bunker Industries. This is the Prime Traction board, and it comes with two sets of replaceable nubbins that thread into these brass inserts along the surface. They have handles and mounting points along the sides and metal plates at the ends. When you use these boards, often your tires are spinning, and they can melt the plastic and chew up the nubs, so having them be replaceable is great; these metal plates protect the leading and trailing edges where you’re more likely to be spinning. To be honest, I’m kind of worried about these chewing up the tire; there’s a lot of cheese-grater energy here…They come in pairs, with this case and two straps you can use as tethers because they tend to get sent into the ground like splinters.So these are traction boards, and it makes sense that their primary use is when you need extra traction. So here we are in the sand and wouldn’t you know it, we’re stuck.The basic technique is to place these in front of your tires, and hopefully, that will provide enough traction and flotation to get out. First, try to dig out a little bit of the material so you can get the board as close as possible, preferably right up under it. The next thing we want to talk about is using the boards as a bridge. This is one use I don’t see needing in this vehicle because if a gap is big enough that I need a bridge, then this isn’t going to work. But if you have a smaller car, or SUV, or a van, then this could help you get over a gap between a road and the shoulder or across a deep rut. The traction boards are designed to bend and not break, but obviously, that has its limits.Similar to bridging, using these as a ramp is probably in the domain of smaller SUVs and Vans; At the end of the day, my recommendation on traction boards is that if you get any, get 4. Because in my experience if you’re in a modified 4x4 and you’re stuck due to lack of traction, then you need traction on all 4 tires. Unless you have a 2 wheel drive van, in which case, I’d say, get a reservation at KOA. These Bunker Industries traction boards seem like a decent product, and at $200 they’re a pretty good deal.Thanks for watching, and happy trails.
Roof Top Tents are better than ground tents because you are up and out the dirt. #overlanding All-Terrain Family 2024-01-20 | ...
Are roof top tents better that ground tents? #4x4 #overland #vanlife #overlanding #camping All-Terrain Family 2024-01-17 | ...
STOP leaving your toilet paper and POOP on the ground! #4x4 #vanlife #overlanding #camping All-Terrain Family 2024-01-12 | ...
Minimalist Half-Deck for Toyota Tacoma Short Bed All-Terrain Family 2024-01-11 | Hi, I’m Mike, I’m an adventurer and a dad, and if you’re thinking to yourself, “Is he really making another minimalist drawer system? Isn’t that a little played out?”One: Yes, I amtwo: No, It’s notBut seriously, we loved the full minimalist deck system I built for the Tacoma it had two drawers and a fully carpeted deck. But when I got this SmartCap with the big side doors, it changed how we were using the deck, and I decided to change it.the two design requirements were that it hold my bike inside on one side and then had a deck that could hold my videography gear on the other side so that I could easily do a full video shoot and then go for a bike ride with my gear hidden under the deck. So, I guess I’ll just strap on my flip-flops, fire up the skill saw, and get started.So this is the result! As you can see, I can slide the bike in handlebars first, and then the back wheel is all the way over, leaving room for other gear or another bike. I just bungie the bike to the side, and so far, that’s been working well. The half deck holds most of my gear, and the rest can go on top. I don’t use the temporary deck so much yet, but for next camping season I think we will. So the next project is to build a couple of drawers, minimalist, of course. And if you subscribe to the channel, you’ll probably see that video as well.Thanks for watching, and happy trails.-M
This place is a ghost town, even the ghost are leaving. #nevada #ghosttowns #abandoned #overland All-Terrain Family 2024-01-10 | ...
#minimalist #vanlife Bed setup: just use a cot! #fordtransit #familyvanlife All-Terrain Family 2024-01-09 | ...
DON’T DO THIS! The right way to use a tree as a winch anchor is with a TREE SAVER #4x4 #overlanding All-Terrain Family 2024-01-08 | ...
In Nevada you’re never very far from a dirt road adventure! #overland #4x4 #nevada All-Terrain Family 2024-01-05 | ...
The Country Road State: NEVADA! #overlanding #offroad #toyotatacoma All-Terrain Family 2024-01-04 | ...
Custom #4x4 feature videos at King of The Hammers. #ultra4 #johnsonvalley All-Terrain Family 2024-01-03 | ...
Did your dad let you drive his truck on dirt roads? #overland #4x4 #overlanding #allterrainfamily All-Terrain Family 2024-01-02 | ...
Explore Dog Valley Road in Reno, NV. #reno #nevada #overland #4x4 #offroadfamily #overlanding All-Terrain Family 2023-12-29 | ...
Explore Peavine peak road in Reno, NV #overland #offroadfamily #4x4 #overlanding All-Terrain Family 2023-12-28 | ...
How to find 4x4 trails in northern Nevada. 10 easy dirt roads in Reno All-Terrain Family 2023-12-27 | ...
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AIRING DOWN FOR CASUAL OVERLANDING All-Terrain Family 2023-12-13 | 0:00 Intro0:10 Bad Joke #10:15 Driving Line Air Down Series0:30 Bad Joke #20:49 Why do I even need to air down at all?1:18 Bad joke #32:37 How Do I even Air Down?4:50 How Low Do I Go?6:31 How Do I Air Back Up?9:17 ConclusionRead More: wp.me/p1CTh9-125Driving Line Video Links:The Great Tire Deflator ShowDown: youtube.com/watch?v=RYiGRHOPJTE&t=195sHow Far Can You Air Down Your Tires On The Trail? youtu.be/uVtzK1X1k5Q?si=Nq3jCkUOqhPlgRkiI get a lot questions about how, when, and why to air down your tires when you are driving on dirt roads. And by a lot of questions, I mean absolutely none at all. But this is my channel, so I’m going to make a video about it anyway.Now, you may be aware that I shoot and edit videos with Harry Wagner for the Driving Line channel here on YouTube, and we’re just wrapping up a whole series on air pressure issues for 4-wheeling and overlanding. If you want to check those videos out, I made a playlist that you can find in the comments. And if you don’t want to listen to me or Harry, then I’ve got good news for you! There are literally hundreds, maybe even thousands of other videos here that you can watch by middle-aged tattooed beard bros standing in front of tacticool 4x4s telling you how to let the air out of your tires. So what’s different about me? Simple, I don’t have any tattoos.Why do I need to air down?Simple, you don’t. If you drive down a dirt road and don’t air down, literally nothing will happen. Nobody is going to pop out of a rooftop tent and give you a ticket for not airing down. Your car won’t stop working. That guy in the Bronco will drive by like you don’t exist either way. I shot these clips of driving Toll Road for my last video without airing down, OR turning on 4 wheel drive. And as you can see, I made it all most to the top before the truck exploded. There are some reasons you might want to air down, however. The main reason is that softer tires make for a softer ride. On paved roads, you are traveling at high speeds with lots of traction, so you want a high-pressure tire for stability and efficiency. But on a dirt road, you’re traveling at lower speeds on a surface with less traction and more bumps. This is important. It’s hard to overstate the value of lowering your air pressure when dealing with low-traction driving situations, particularly when driving in sand, snow, and rocks. It can make the difference between making it and getting stuck. HOW DO I AIR DOWN?But here’s what I use and what I recommend for most people driving dirt roads in a regular truck or SUV. The Terraflex deflator. They are compact, which is nice, and they all nest together in one piece, so it’s hard to lose one of them. They come on this keychain that you can leave in your car all the time. You also need a pressure gage. I prefer these dial gages as they’re more accurate (at least I think they are) and easier to read.You screw them onto all your tires one by one. Make sure to wait 30 seconds or so between each. then go around checking the pressure. When the first tire hits your target pressure, take the deflators off one by one.It’s usually not critical that they are precisely the same all the way around. Just get them pretty close. When they’re all done, hit the trail.HOW LOW DO I GO?This is a good question. While the answer is nuanced, It’s also pretty simple. Start with 1/2 of your recommended street air pressure. This is usually printed on a sticker inside your driver’s door sill. So find the pressure that you’re comfortable with and go with it. You can adapt as conditions and your experience change. IF LOW IS GOOD, LOWER IS BETTER. RIGHT?Now, you might be tempted to think that if 20 is good, then 10 is better. And you might be right, but you might be wrong. But be careful because there are consequences to going too low. The main one is that you risk the tire coming off the bead of the wheel, which means your tire is no longer connected to the wheel, and there’s no good way to fix this, even if you have a compressor. HOW DO I AIR BACK UP?This is a pretty critical question because if you’ve lowered your street pressure by 1/2 then you really can’t drive around on paved roads at highway speeds with your tires that low. It isn’t safe. You have much less control, and your tires are likely to overheat and can be damaged.That’s why a lot of us carry a 12v compressor. This is a Smittlbilt compressor I used for a few years, and it’s cheap and easy to use. You clip it onto your battery cables and air up each tire one by one. There are dozens of compressors like this, and you can buy one or borrow one and use the same one for every vehicle in your group.Read More:
Ten Easy Off-Road Trails in Reno, Nevada All-Terrain Family 2023-12-07 | 0:00 Intro0:26 Guidebooks and Maps1:00 Peavine Peak Road2:05 Dog Valley Road3:26 Sunrise Pass Road4:31 Toll Road5:44 Virginia Peak Off-Road6:50 Lousetown Road8:14 Jumbo Grade Road9:33 Ophir Grade Road10:51 Rock Peak Off-Road12:09 Hunter Lake Road13:49 ConclusionReno is an amazing place to live if you love exploring dirt roads that provide access to public lands with amazing backcountry recreation, views and solitude. Here are ten easy off-road trails close to Reno, NV.These trails are all well-traveled and easy to find, but if you want a little extra info, there are links below to writeups on allterrainfam.com and video guides on the All-Terrain Family YouTube Channel. For more info check out these books:More Info: wp.me/p1CTh9-11GNevada Trails, Western Region: amzn.to/4a04dvV [PAID LINK]High Sierra SUV trails: amzn.to/416dOgD [PAID LINK]Nevada Gazetteer: amzn.to/3sZJSGe [PAID LINK]It’s also handy to have something like Gaia GPS (gaiagps.com) or On X Off Road (onxmaps.com) on your phone or tablet. Alright, let’s hit the trail.1 Peavine PeakYou see it every day, but did you know it’s super easy to get to the top? Peavine is probably the easiest dirt road you can do in the Reno area that actually goes somewhere. It’s rough but not particularly steep. It’s wide, with plenty of room to pass or turn around. 2 Sunrise PassSunrise Pass road is the second easiest trail in this list and traverses the Pine Nut mountain range from Carson Valley to Smith Valley. Sunrise Pass road can be done as an out-and-back of any length or as part of a scenic loop around the Pine Nuts encompassing Smith Valley and Topaz Lake. 3 Dog Valley RoadDog Valley Road and Hennessy Pass Road connect Verdi with the North Valleys around the West side of Peavine Peak. The main attraction of this trail is the Verdi Peak Crystal Mine. This is a spot that was a source of Quartz Crystals used in radios during World War 2. Just about any SUV can make this trip, from Subarus and AWD minivans to 4Runners or Suburbans, though this is a bit rougher at the start as you climb out of Verdi.4 Toll RoadToll Road is in my backyard. Most of the videos on this channel were shot in some part there on Toll Road. This is a Historic route from Reno to Virginia City and is maintained by volunteers and enthusiasts and, at the very bottom and top, by landowners who have houses there. 5 Virginia PeakVirginia Peak is the high point of the Pan Rah range, which is the northern extension of the Virginia Range north of the Truckee River corridor. This is another easy dirt road with options to make it a little harder and more adventurous here and there. There are radio towers at the top here, as well as stunning views back towards Spanish Springs, Reno, and the Sierra Nevadas. The real treat is the views East down to Pyramid Lake, and Central Nevada on a clear day.6 Lousetown RoadLousetown Road is another historic road that provides access to some remote areas of the Virginia Range. This road is the hardest so far and might require a more capable vehicle than average or a high sense of adventure or offroad driving skill. Some attractions on this trail are the many Virginia Range Mustangs you’re sure to see, mining ruins, and the Lagomarsino petroglyphs.07 Jumbo GradeJumbo Grade Road is a special trail for us because it’s the first off-road trip we made as a family in our old 4Runner and the first video we made for this channel. At the time, we thought it was pretty extreme in our stock SUV, but it seems pretty tame to us now. 08 Ophir Grade RoadOphir Grade Road is a harder variation of Jumbo Grade Road and starts from the intersection of Carson Reno Highway and East Lake BLVD. This road is rougher and has more rock obstacles than Jumbo, but it’s more fun and less traveled. 09 Rocky PeakRocky Peak is a tough, rocky, steep 4x4 track that heads up a remote part of the Virginia Range to a spot where you can hike the cool, craggy, and aptly named Rocky Peak. This one will be a challenge in a stock 4x4, but I believe it could be done if you know what you’re doing. Prison HillPrison Hill is an off-road recreation area in Carson City. This has everything from easy dirt roads to extreme rock crawling and ATV trails. The basic trail here is short, but gets you up high for great views of the Carson Valley and Sierra Nevada range.Hunter Lake RoadHunter Lake Road is the hardest trail I’ve featured here and if we’re being precise, the only one that starts actually in Reno. This one can be done in a stock SUV, but it’s longer and more consistently challenging than the others featured here. It can be done as a LONG loop that will take most of the day or a shorter half-day out and back.
This #toyotatacoma from ARB has everything, literally! What would you do differently? All-Terrain Family 2023-11-19 | ...
How to modify your off-road bumper for soft shackles All-Terrain Family 2023-11-16 | #allterrainfamily #4x4 #diySoft Shackle Recovery Points0:01 Introduction0:07 Soft Shackles0:15 Steel Shackles0:20 41.22 Hitch Slider0:55 Warn Semi Hiden bumper1:20 Why you can’t use a soft shackle1:50 Modifying the recovery points3:00 Using the new recovery points3:55 ConclusionHow to Modify Your Recovery Points for Soft ShacklesHi, I’m Mike, and I don’t use this winch or my front recovery points very often. But when I do use it, I like to use soft shackles because they’re light, strong, and a lot softer than a steel bow shackle. A soft shackle is a loop of high-strength synthetic rope with a ball knot at one end and a slip knot at the other end. They can be used to make incredibly strong connections for winch and kinetic vehicle recovery. Their advantage is that they are lighter, stronger, and, if they end up flying through the air, much safer than steel shackles.If you want to use a soft shackle, you need to have a recovery point that has rounded edges. I have a receiver recovery loop from 41:22. This has a large loop for attaching a soft shackle that has round edges. This one is so well designed for a soft shackle that it probably wouldn’t be safe to use it with a steel shackle.Unfortunately, most steel bumpers have recovery points designed for bow shackles, like this Warn semi-hidden front bumper I have on the Tacoma. These have hard right-angle edges that will abraid and cut a soft shackle if you try to recover with it. So, one thing I’ve been meaning to do for a while is to round out these edges so I can use soft shackles and get rid of these heavy bow shackles. To do that, I’m going to use a pneumatic die grinder I borrowed from Harry. These die grinders really need a high-volume compressor and tank, but I was able to get it done with my small pancake compressor. I also used a small file to help chamfer the edges, as well as some sandpaper. To check if it was smooth enough, I ran my finger over the edges and kept grinding wherever it was still sharp.Once I got it nice and smooth, I sprayed it with a little black paint to keep the steel from rusting. And that’s all I’m going to do. I didn’t take off enough metal to compromise the strength, and now I can safely use my soft shackles on the recovery pints. Let me know what you think of this fix and if you would take a grinder to a brand-new steel bumper like this.Thanks for watching and Happy Trails.
You can’t use a soft shackle with most off road bumpers. Full video on the channel. All-Terrain Family 2023-11-16 | ...
Mono Lake Van Life #allterrainfamily #adventurevan All-Terrain Family 2023-11-13 | #shorts #vanlife #familyvanlife Check out part three of our vanlife adventure series where we take a 2wd camper van #overlanding. youtu.be/OYdYc6QcGy0?si=8DpWEOENkSJj7TAZ
Vanlife Part 3: Mono Lake Tufa and Chidago Canyon All-Terrain Family 2023-11-04 | 0:02 Preamble0:49 Introduction1:15 Mono Lake Tufa3:55 A word about conservation and storytelling7:10 Chidago Canyon10:52 Chidago Petroglyph Site12:54 No high fiving the camera“Mono Lake lies in a lifeless, treeless, hideous desert, eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, and is guarded by mountains two thousand feet higher, whose summits are always clothed in clouds. This solemn, silent, sail-less sea—this lonely tenant of the loneliest spot on earth—is little graced with the picturesque. It is an unpretending expanse of grayish water, about a hundred miles in circumference, with two islands in its centre, mere upheavals of rent and scorched and blistered lava, snowed over with gray banks and drifts of pumice-stone and ashes, the winding sheet of the dead volcano, whose vast crater the lake has seized upon and occupied.” Mark Twain, Roughing It Chapter, 1872If a place is worth going to, chances are, it’s worth going back. But even in a lifetime of adventure, there are still things we haven’t seen. The world doesn’t always seem that small when you’re driving or hiking and meandering down back roads. Someone has always been there before. yesterday, or farther back. We’re not the first to walk out and look up and know there’s something special here—sometimes, there are a bunch of them right there with you. Sometimes, you’re all alone. You can look at it one of two ways. You’re either all alone or enjoying the solitude. You’re either besieged by crowds or part of a community. It all depends on your point of view.Chidago Canyon PetroglyphsThere’s more than one way to get anywhere. Usually, a long way, a short way, and an “I wouldn’t go that way.” We usually prefer the third option because it’s more fun. In the case of getting to the native american petroglyph sites in the Volcanic tablelands north of Bishop, Ca, the ultimate option is Chidago Canyon Road. Chidago Canyon Road is an easy dirt road that, at one point, follows a wash through a tight but shallow canyon cut through volcanic tuff from the Long Valley Caldera in the Volcanic Table Lands just north of Bishop, CA. From US Highway 395 South past the Mammoth Lakes Exit, turn left on Benton Crossing Road then right on Chidago Canyon Road, then right on Fish Slough Road. It’s about 16.5 miles from the intersection with Benton Crossing Road.Would we advise you to take a rented 2-wheel drive wagon with no spare tire on that road? We would not. Would we do it again? We sure would.You can play it safe and bypass all that mess from a shorter, simpler dirt road to access this site from the south end of Fish Slough Road in Bishop. Playing it safe is a relative practice, though. Most things we worry about never happen anyway[Tom Petty], except the regret that inevitably follows missing out on something epically cool because you played it safe. Anyway, “Worry is dividend paid to disaster before it is due.” [Ian Flemming]Once you get to the Chicago Canyon Petroglyph site, you’ll find a volcanic outcrop at the base of a butte decorated with petroglyphs and excluded by a split rail fence. you can scramble over the tuff talus to the top of the hill and take in the sweeping vistas there of the East side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the west face of the White Mountains. Please respect the site for what it is and be mindful of your impact on it. Not all have done so, but that doesn’t mean you have a pss.We weren’t completely alone for our visit, but it also wasn’t super crowded. The kids took the camera around to be silly and shoot some footage for this video. I definitely think we’ll go back to the places we visited that day. The landscape is changing there and everywhere we go, you can’t deny that. And we all leave our mark minimal though it may be. We might be alone. We might be besieged by crowds. With any luck though, we’ll find that community.There are no services or facilities there. To get out head on down Fish Slough Road and into the town of Bishop, CA.Happy Trails
SmartCap EVO Sport for Minimalist Toyota Tacoma Review All-Terrain Family 2023-10-21 | #allterrainfamily #minimalistoverlander #SmartCap0:00 preface0:44 Intro1:04 About the SmartCap1:13 Compared to a Snugtop1:44 RSI SmartCap weight and capacity2:21 Total Chaos Bed Stiffeners2:32 Roof Rails and Racks2:52 RSI SmartCap Advantages3:31 The Side doors!4:37 Rear Access4:52 Steel and Magnets5:34 Breather Vent5:58 Looks and styling6:15 RSI SnartCap Accessories6:25 Installation tips7:04 Locks and Latches9:33 Conclusion and RecommendationRead the whole story here: allterrainfam.com/minimalist-overland-rsi-smartcap-reviewThe nice thing about an SUV is that it’s easy to get stuff in and out of the cargo area.The nice thing about a pickup truck is that the cargo area is a lot bigger, even on a short bed like our Tacoma. But if you have a bed cap on it, you get some shelter from dust, elements, and thieves, like an SUV, but it also reduces your access to your stuff, because, unlike an SUV, you can’t get at it from the front.To help with access to our 4Runner, I built a nifty deck to make storage more efficient, and you can see a video about that out here.To help with that in our Tacoma with the Snugtop on it I build these drawers. That helped a lot, but I still wanted more.What is it?The RSI Smart Cap is a modular stainless steel truck cap or camper shell made in South Africa and shipped in 5 pieces to a dealer or your home. Weight and loadingFor this video, I’m going to compare it to the previous cap, which was a Snugtop GB Sport with the Sportsmen’s package, carpet, and single rear hatch. The sportsmen’s package gave it a 500# load capacity with extra fiberglass and roof rails. The top was very rigid and strong, and I never saw any cracks or flexing in it at all. I do not know how much it weighed, but I can tell you that it took three of us to lift it off the truck, which I only did a couple of times, including when I took it off the Tacoma and put it on the truck I sold it to. So I’ll say it weighed 200+ pounds.The RSI Smart Cap is listed as weighing between 168 and 198 pounds on their model comparison page. Since this is the smallest one they make, I’ll say it’s in the 168-pound range. I know that’s not precise, but I’m confident in saying that it’s lighter than a fiberglass cap with a high load capacity and 2 windoors.Weight capacity is 330 pounds dynamic and 770 pounds static. So you can load 330# when driving and #770 when parked. So asl long as we all weigh less than 192 pounds each (and we do), we’re good. Whether the Toyota Tacoma bed is strong enough for all that weight is debatable, but to help, I use these bed stiffeners from Total Chaos. The Snugtop did not give separate dynamic and static loading stats for the GB Sport.The roof rails on the Snugtop were rhino or Yakima rails with tiny stainless steel bolts, while the rails on the smart cap are big and thick and integrated into the bolts that hold the whole cap together.The feet and bars I have here are from Frontrunner Outfitters, and I got them at Rack2Roam in Reno, where this smart cap was originally purchased, assembled, and installed.FeaturesThe RSI Smartcap has a lot of advantages over a fiberglass cap, but let me get two things out of the way first:First, there are multiple other companies that make nearly identical caps, including RLD Designs, Alucab, GoFast Camper, and BYND 4x4.Second, there’s nothing wrong with fiberglass. They like to use steel as a marketing point and say that it’s built like a truck, not a boat, but boats are certified and have a lot more riding on them than a truck topper.Doors and AccessYou can get side doors on a fiberglass cap, but on these steel caps, the doors are much bigger. Rear access on this allows me to load in my biggest cooler or fridge, even on top of the deck. The side doors allow tremendous access to the back from both sides and lets us use the space way up near the cab in ways you just can’t without those side doors.Locks and latchesThese caps have two locking latches on each door. As far as I can tell, caps and campers all use the same ones. They take the same key, of course, and are secure enough. They can be a pain, though. Locking six locks is tedious, and the keys are flimsy. Also, they are not watertight, and they can get frozen shut in the winter. I did find a solution to this, though. Either WD40 or this lock de-icer works well and actually lasts a while. Once I figured this out this winter, I could get through most of the late winter without any more lock freezing after just one application. And we had a lot of cold storms.WindowsThe side and front panels on the Eco Sport model have sliding window openings if you need to let fresh air in. They slide on a track and have a nice gasket seal. I haven’t had any leak issues with these at all.
A different kind of Lithium Power Bank All-Terrain Family 2023-09-26 | Hi this is Mike I’m an adventurer and a Dad and today I want to give you an update on the OES Pro power bank product from Craft Autoworks.I’m showing you this for two reasons. 1. I had to buy a new battery system because I sold the Aerotow, and the OES mini with it. Craft discontinued the OES Mini and TBH it was too small for my needs anyway, so I got the OES Pro2. This really is a different product from other things you can get so I wanted to highlight that.3. I purchased this unit myself and this is not a promo.THE OES PROHere are the relevant details* Cost, this retails for $1995 * DC focused * Only a 500w inverter with a single outlet. * 5 dc 12v * 2 dc Anderson Powerpole * 5 USBs of varying output* Input heavy: other similar batteries are limited * 120 in * Alternator in 30 amp charging * Solar inNew thingsSome things are new from the previous video I posted* Anderson Powerpole * Better than SAE* Dual Powerpole outputs * Can be used for direct wiring Van or overlander fixed loads* Custom battery * Good form factor * Metal case * Serviceable * Lower low state of charge resetVehicle integration kit* About $100* Wire* Connectors* Breaker* Panel mount outlet * Trailer lead* I don’t know if it’s cheaper than making your own, but you get the right amount of everything and don’t have to guess.Initial ImpressionsI’ve used this to run a fridge a couple of times so far and am really impressed. The two times I used it were without any charge input because I don’t have that installed yet. Both times, it ran the fridge for 24 hours with no noticeable drop in voltage. * It fits in the trailer tongue box, and because it’s in a wolf case, I can stack other gear on top of it.* It fits under the bench seat in a Ford Transit crew van. * Point the outputs forward or back.Positives* Serviceable* Fuses and breakers* Vehicle integration is more affordable. * It doesn’t preclude other high-capacity inputs* Upgradeable * Can swap out panel accessories if you want to* Stackable* Protected in the case* Not a lot of wasted 120v outputsDownsides* DC12v ports have trouble holding onto the plugs * No standard outlet * No standard plug * Still, I haven’t had a problem with the fridge plug slipping out of other power banks.* No low amp DC in * Can’t plug it into a regular 12v DC 15 amp * Can’t swap it into a vehicle NOT set up for integration* 500w isn’t enough to run an electric kettle or induction cooktop* Big * Because it’s assembled from OTS parts, it’s much bigger than a Goal Zero, Jackery or Ecoflow of the same power.If you’re interested in this battery system, check out Craft Autoworks at craftautoworks.com, and also stay tuned here for how to install the vehicle integration wiring and connection to the trailer.
Dawn of the Van Age: Our AWD Ford Transit 250 148 wb Medium Roof adventure van. All-Terrain Family 2023-09-25 | #Vanage #allterrainfamily #fordtransit Hi, I'm Danielle with All Terrain Family, and we came out to the Black Rock Desert to show you our new van.We got a van because we really enjoy camping and the outdoors. And many times we're traveling during the shoulder season, which can be really nice because there are less people and, uh, the temperatures are not as hot as during the summertime, but the weather is also unpredictable. And we really wanted to have.The ability to be comfortable and warm and out of the wind and the weather when we were out camping.Alright, this is a mouthful. This is a 2021 Ford Transit Crew Van. It's all wheel drive, has the EcoBoost engine. It's a 148 inch wheelbase, and this is the long version, not the extended version. And it has a medium roof.We chose the Ford Transit because we were looking for a van that was economical. The Ford has a lot of great safety features in it. We chose the Crew Van because it has enough seats so that we can safely transport our entire family in the van. We chose the 148 inch wheelbase because the 130 inch wheelbase was just too short for a family of four.And we didn't want the extended option on the van because it's just too big. So I guess it's a Goldilocks story, right? Like the 148 inch wheelbase, long version was... Just right for us. All wheel drive was something that was really important to us. We're not intending to make this van into a rock crawler, but it needs to be capable on dirt roads, be able to handle weather conditions, mud, snow, rain.All wheel drive was definitely something at the top of the list for options.So again, with kind of the Goldilocks situation, we didn't really want a low roof. A high roof would be nice, uh, but the medium roof had enough headroom and, uh, it was available. So this van was kind of a unicorn and we were actually really lucky to find it. The crew vans have actually just been discontinued by Ford and they're no longer taking orders for them.So the crew van, you know, carries again five people and it also has these great safety features for the second row of seats. It actually has airbags, side curtain airbags. But in addition to that, this van had all sorts of extras and upgrades. Part of it was this adventure prep package and it had wiring harnesses for, you know, building out a camper van.It has an extended range gas tank. It's got two batteries under the front driver's seat and it had four Fancy stuff in it too, like motorized seats and heated seats, and it's got, I think it has an upgraded stereo. It has the blackout wheels and the blackout front grill. So again, it was fully loaded, this van, um, and it only had 28, 000 miles on it, so it was really incredible that we were able to find it.So, we've only had the van for a couple of weeks, and we were really excited to come out on our first trip. We came out to the Black Rock Desert, and it's full moon, and we needed a way to sleep in the van. So, Mike came up with this idea.It's modular. It's minimalist, uh, it's lightweight, there's tons of storage, and, uh, it's actually really comfortable. Van life. Back in my day, they used to call it car camping.Alright, seriously though, we have some big plans for this van and some cool ideas on how to turn this into a really great adventure rig for our family. Thanks for joining us. Happy Trails.
