Alabama to Colorado to South Dakota Trip advice

[Squaregetaway]

Looking for some advice. I am planning a road trip from Birmingham to Denver, and from Denver to Mt. Rushmore, this July. I will be driving my 2010 Tacoma TRD Offroad. My truck has 99k miles on it. I'll be picking my wife up at the Denver airport and driving the rest of the time. Here are my questions.
1. I will get an oil change and tires rotated, balanced and aligned before the trip. What other maintenance should I focus on?
2. I plan on carrying tools, extra water and fuel. What else should I a carry with me?
3. What are some must see places in Denver, Wyoming and South Dakota?

 

[Neal A. Tew]

Looking for some advice. I am planning a road trip from Birmingham to Denver, and from Denver to Mt. Rushmore, this July. I will be driving my 2010 Tacoma TRD Offroad. My truck has 99k miles on it. I'll be picking my wife up at the Denver airport and driving the rest of the time. Here are my questions.
1. I will get an oil change and tires rotated, balanced and aligned before the trip. What other maintenance should I focus on?
2. I plan on carrying tools, extra water and fuel. What else should I a carry with me?
3. What are some must see places in Denver, Wyoming and South Dakota?

Roll Tide or War Eagle?? I moved out to CO in 2005 from Montgomery. I grew up in Dothan.

It sounds like you have the maintenance basics covered. Are you planning to get off the pavement much?

My favorite CO 4WD area would be all the famous trails around Ouray, Silverton & Telluride, etc. That's several hours out of your way, however. Hopefully someone with more experience north of Denver will jump in. You might also check out https://www.trailsoffroad.com/ to look for opportunities along your route. Many trails will open later than normal this year due to the heavy snows. Here is an example from a few days ago:

I hope you have a great time!

 

[jeepinbird]

Roll Tide or War Eagle?? I moved out to CO in 2005 from Montgomery. I grew up in Dothan.

It sounds like you have the maintenance basics covered. Are you planning to get off the pavement much?

My favorite CO 4WD area would be all the famous trails around Ouray, Silverton & Telluride, etc. That's several hours out of your way, however. Hopefully someone with more experience north of Denver will jump in. You might also check out https://www.trailsoffroad.com/ to look for opportunities along your route. Many trails will open later than normal this year due to the heavy snows. Here is an example from a few days ago:

I hope you have a great time!

@neil, I too will be driving from Alabama to Colorado on July 1st with the hopes of riding the Alpine Loop, Black Bear, etc. Do you think they will be open by then with all that snow? Based on the video you shared, it seems that even if they are open, I may need to bring snow chains. I've never experienced more snow than the Blizzard of '93 so, I don't know what to expect. :)

P.S. - Roll tide!

 

[Neal A. Tew]

@neil, I too will be driving from Alabama to Colorado on July 1st with the hopes of riding the Alpine Loop, Black Bear, etc. Do you think they will be open by then with all that snow? Based on the video you shared, it seems that even if they are open, I may need to bring snow chains. I've never experienced more snow than the Blizzard of '93 so, I don't know what to expect. :)

P.S. - Roll tide!

@jeepinbird
I've never been on said trails while they were under snow. I'm not sure they would consider them open without having been cleared. If they required chains I would recommend you avoid them.

It looks like the Alpine Loop (Engineer/Cinnamon Passes) may be open by then. I wouldn't hold my breath on Black Bear. Consider also Imogene, California, Hurricane and Stony Passes. They may be open to some degree . Here's a pretty good source for getting a feel of the conditions: Trail Maps & Conditions - Switzerland of America

How many vehicles in your party and how long will you be here?

 

[jeepinbird]

Tha

@jeepinbird
I've never been on said trails while they were under snow. I'm not sure they would consider them open without having been cleared. If they required chains I would recommend you avoid them.

It looks like the Alpine Loop (Engineer/Cinnamon Passes) may be open by then. I wouldn't hold my breath on Black Bear. Consider also Imogene, California, Hurricane and Stony Passes. They may be open to some degree . Here's a pretty good source for getting a feel of the conditions: Trail Maps & Conditions - Switzerland of America

How many vehicles in your party and how long will you be here?

Thank you, sir. That site will help a lot. It will just be me and my dad in my 2018 Jeep JLU. We're starting with Colorado and working our way through Utah, Arizona, and California. We both are taking all of our annual vacation time from work all at once for the entire month of July. We're planning about four days to hit the Alpine Loop, Black Bear (hopefully), and Imogene and taking the Rimrocker Trail over to Utah. It's the first time either of us have been west of Texas so we're really excited.

 

[Neal A. Tew]

Tha

Thank you, sir. That site will help a lot. It will just be me and my dad in my 2018 Jeep JLU. We're starting with Colorado and working our way through Utah, Arizona, and California. We both are taking all of our annual vacation time from work all at once for the entire month of July. We're planning about four days to hit the Alpine Loop, Black Bear (hopefully), and Imogene and taking the Rimrocker Trail over to Utah. It's the first time either of us have been west of Texas so we're really excited.

That sounds like a great trip!

Could you do it in reverse? A few weeks in July could make a big difference determining what they're able to open up in the Ouray area.

We'll be doing Moab to Rimrocker to Ouray ourselves only a short time later about the first week of August.

Here's another great resource: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/

Will you be camping?