So I just got back from pre-running the WABDR with a great group of folks, and I learned a few things (or had what I'd already known reinforced).
1. I believe about 12 vehicles initially said they were going on this trip we just did. Seven actually started on day #1, and three finished (I was one of the three).
2. This is a hard route! Not for the faint-of-heart - it will be rough on you AND your vehicle. We had snow (hopefully will be melted by September!), mud (lots of mud), and tight spaces to try and get vehicles through. Hill climbs, ruts, rocks... everything. I even got to use my new chainsaw a couple times. If you've got a full-sized 4-door truck or SUV, you should probably think twice about attending. Much of the route has no place to turn around (literally; drop-off on one side; straight-up on the other side). I even over-worked and broke a leaf-spring on my trailer the last day and we had to do a trail repair to finish the route (pictured below). The other spring has flattened out and doesn't have much life left - I'll replace them both (and might even buy a third as a spare).
3. There's a chance even with getting an early start every day, it still might take seven days to complete (just so ya know). I think us driving too fast at times helped to kill my trailer's leaf spring. And my designated "Old-School" vehicle (46 Willys) will be setting a slower pace than we were running on this past trip.
4. Those little hand-held radios come in handy when you're outside your vehicle. A lot of us have the BaoFeng UV-5R radios. If you get one, get a GMRS license to be legal (no test involved; just pay the money [$75 for ten years?] and be done with it).
5. Trailers - keep them on the small side! Think WWII Jeep trailer sized. The widest part of the trailer (usually from the outer surface of one tire to the outer surface of the other tire) should not be wider than your tow vehicle (and narrower would be even better). My trailer's narrower than my TJ (same width as my Willys though) and I spent a lot of time watching out my side mirrors to make sure the trailer would get past an obstacle.
6. One of my tires decided to get a slow leak on day #2, so I drove with my spare the rest of the trip. Reinforced the requirement to have a full-size (same size as the other four tires), mounted on-a-rim spare tire (not a temporary spare). I'm hoping it is just some mud between the tire and the rim that once cleaned out will allow it to hold air.
7. Part of the route later on goes through open cattle range areas. And we saw a lot of cattle along the road (at one point they were blocking our path), which means along with mud you'll be getting cow poop on your vehicle. I stopped at a coin car wash way before I got home to try and get the bulk of the mud (and cow poo) off my Jeep and trailer. Was still hosing big chunks of mud from under the Jeep and trailer once I got home.
8. If you or your passenger has a bad back, this trip will cause you (or them) pain. Keep that in mind. You'll be doing a lot of bouncing.
9. The paper map was nice - I still recommend everyone have one. However, the actual trail marking on the route sucked big-time (seems like usually they weren't even there). We were using GAIA (a GPS thing) and following a route that was programed in to keep us on the WABDR. Mine is programed into my phone. That is what we will be doing on the old-school run to (hopefully) keep us from getting lost.
10. Multiple times we aired-down, and then later aired back-up. Make sure you've got a decent air compressor. If it plugs into your cigarette lighter on the dash,
it is not going to be adequate; you need one that is either hard-wired into your wiring system, or one with clips that attach to the battery. I use an Air Armor M-240 (which we used to reseat a bead on a tire while on the trail), but VIAR and others make good ones that are reasonably priced.
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