Trans-America Trail

TonyC · Mar 5, 2018

James Brackin said:
My family is also taking this trip this summer starting the end of may. We have decided to Modify the trip a little. starting @Hatteras island NC going sea to shinning sea.

James, welcome to OB. Still planning on September for me and the wife. Got a few mods piling up in the corner of the dinning room. Waiting for the snow to melt so I can start installing skid plates, shocks, leveling kit, and a steering stabilizer. Going to pull out the rear seat and lay a plywood floor to secure our gear. Thinking about lights and a ham radio - still undecided on these two. Really looking forward to this trip. Hope you enjoy yours. Please post pics and/or videos.

Rudyr03 · Mar 5, 2018

Me and the family will be doing the trail the month of August.. any tips or pics u can send during the trip will be appreciated ..

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James Brackin · Mar 5, 2018

TonyC said:
James, welcome to OB. Still planning on September for me and the wife. Got a few mods piling up in the corner of the dinning room. Waiting for the snow to melt so I can start installing skid plates, shocks, leveling kit, and a steering stabilizer. Going to pull out the rear seat and lay a plywood floor to secure our gear. Thinking about lights and a ham radio - still undecided on these two. Really looking forward to this trip. Hope you enjoy yours. Please post pics and/or videos.

Yeah we (wife, daughter,and i) have our rigs ready to go just have to finish the kitchenette in the 07 jk and the rooftop tent on the 16 jku. Right now i am in the process of maping our camp sites so we have enough time for a little down time each day.

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James Brackin · Mar 5, 2018

Rudyr03 said:
Me and the family will be doing the trail the month of August.. any tips or pics u can send during the trip will be appreciated ..

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Tips so far
www.freecampsites.net

Test everything twice before going.
Already found out one of my power inverters when bad.

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Edgrrr · Mar 6, 2018

Bob Raff said:
Gas storage is up in the air at the moment. I would love to keep it off the roof rack and lower to the ground. Like by the rear bumper. But not sure yet. If all else fails, it will end up being a single jerry can on the roof rack. I will be starting to figure out camping etc tomorrow. The paper maps just came in the mail yesterday. So ill be looking at those tomorrow. As for mileage, I am planning on an average speed of 30 mph, traveling roughly 6 to 7 hours per day. But this trip is meant to be spontaneous, and I am not setting any time restraints for day to day. Also I got a decent amount done on the rear storage today. Should be finished up by tomorrow. It is very, very simple, but effective. I'll be sure to upload some pictures tomorrow.

Check out Uneek 4x4 out of Australia. You can add a long range fuel tank which would be close to doubling your range. Two buddies have them (JKU) with no modifications necessary. My 2 door needs a slight exhaust mod for the tank to fit.

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Kris Monroe · Mar 12, 2018

Bob Raff said:
Hello all!
" ..... We also then have to drive back to Wisconsin, and plan on stopping at a couple of parks the way back as well. "
Bob

If you find yourself coming back near the Black Hills, in South Dakota (to see Mt Rushmore or the Badlands National Park) I'd be thrilled to meet up and show you some local trails! Just a random offer of hospitality if you happen upon this part of the country on the way back!

gravelrider · Mar 17, 2018

Did TAT from NC to western AR in 2015 in Ram 1500 solo. Last week I completed from AR to SE CO. The only issues I've had were tire problems on the recent trip as I went with my half used M/S tires and got gravel punctures. My DuraTraks should have been used but I was hasty as the weather looked good for this part of the trip. Main problems I would say would be wet weather causing mud in some places. I must have driven over 10 different kinds of gravel roads and some of this is sharper type of gravel. Any good tire like the DuraMax or similar would be fine.

I stayed in hotels but camping spots would be numerous in many locations. I used Sam's GPS tracks and maps for macro views. Phone mapping worked in most cases and was a good backup and information source. You won't have cellular in all areas but generally good. Carried SPOT locator but my wife was able to track me with Friend Locator very well on this last trip. I was not totally religious about following Sam's trail every mile of the way. In several cases I took a highway that paralled Sam's route due to time crunch, hotel, mud, etc. My focus was seeing the country and usually following Sam's tracks. Let me know if questions. I know the West quite well but may do the remainder of the routes to OR at some point.

WIGGLE · Mar 20, 2018

Starting our trip in April on the new sections starting in Virginia (West Virginia actually), then to NC, TN. We only have about 7 days so we'll see how far we can get before heading home. Going to try and knock it out in sections. Looking forward to it.

2017RECON · Mar 25, 2018

Bob Raff said:
Hello all!

Currently in the middle of planning a trip to complete the TAT! Vehicle is a 2016 4 door JK. If anybody has any tips, cool things to do or see along the way, or recommendations please let me know! The trip is slated to begin May 28th, and finish some time late June/Early July. We also then have to drive back to Wisconsin, and plan on stopping at a couple of parks the way back as well.

EDIT: I guess I should have included a few other things worth noting. I've done a fair amount of research on the TAT and all things related. I bought the maps and roll charts as a back up and am planning on using the GPS plots from Sam loaded onto a Garmin as the primary navigation.

As for the gear, here is what I have so far....

Jeep: Smittybilt SRC Gen 2 w/ 9.5k winch, Rhino Roof Rack w/ Backbone system. sPod 6 bank, ARB on board compressor, Front Runner tailgate table, Front runner interior rack, Trasharoo.
Soon to Come for the Jeep: CVT Roof Top tent, Full 2.5 inch suspension lift from Teraflex, couple LED lights, MaxTraxs.

General Stuff: Full compliment of tools, ARB recovery kit, ARB compressor kit w/ pressure gauge, ARB tire repair kit, and a basic camping kitchen (coleman stove, dry storage, 2- 5 gallon water jugs) and RTIC 75L cooler (no fridge/freezer in this trips budget :( ) Full Trauma Kit & Basic Med Bag. Extra fluids.

Monday I will be making a rear storage system and will be sure to get some pictures up of it.

I'm also wondering what spare parts I should bring with? I'm pretty mechanically inclined (heavy equipment mechanic turned Firefighter/Paramedic) and with a brand new Jeep I am not terribly worried about breakage. I have a general idea with fuses, clamps, bolts, etc. But that's about it.

Thanks!

Bob

2017RECON · Mar 25, 2018

Hello Bob:
I too am planning to do the Trans America Trail, unfortunately I will not be able to leave until the 2nd - 3rd week of June and end sometime late July early August.

TonyC · Apr 5, 2018

WIGGLE said:
Starting our trip in April on the new sections starting in Virginia (West Virginia actually), then to NC, TN. We only have about 7 days so we'll see how far we can get before heading home. Going to try and knock it out in sections. Looking forward to it.

Hi Wiggle. Still planning on doing the TAT this month?

WIGGLE · Apr 6, 2018

TonyC said:
Hi Wiggle. Still planning on doing the TAT this month?

Yep! Two weeks from today! We'll be driving down to the start of the new sections in Marlinton West Virginia on the 20th, staying the night there, repacking the rig, grabbing last minute grocery supplies, getting a good nights sleep and then setting out to the trail on the morning of the 21st. I've only got a week off of work right now so we'll be driving till the 28th then heading home. Hopefully we'll be able to come back later in the year and tack on a few more miles (states?) to our trip then.

TonyC · Apr 7, 2018

WIGGLE said:
Yep! Two weeks from today! We'll be driving down to the start of the new sections in Marlinton West Virginia on the 20th, staying the night there, repacking the rig, grabbing last minute grocery supplies, getting a good nights sleep and then setting out to the trail on the morning of the 21st. I've only got a week off of work right now so we'll be driving till the 28th then heading home. Hopefully we'll be able to come back later in the year and tack on a few more miles (states?) to our trip then.

I'm excited for you. We are still planning ours for September. Looking forward to reading your 'trip report'. Have a good trip, have fun, and lots of pics please.

RootedWanderers · May 27, 2018

Those of you that started in NC and were in vehicles other than bikes how far did you get each day? I have just ordered all the material from Sam , so it will be a few days till I get it. Did you camp most of it *what me and a friend will do* We will not be able to do the entire thing in one trip so just trying to judge some distances for some initial planning. We will drive from Birmingham, AL up to NC and then start heading back west.

gravelrider · May 29, 2018

OBJK said:
Those of you that started in NC and were in vehicles other than bikes how far did you get each day? I have just ordered all the material from Sam , so it will be a few days till I get it. Did you camp most of it *what me and a friend will do* We will not be able to do the entire thing in one trip so just trying to judge some distances for some initial planning. We will drive from Birmingham, AL up to NC and then start heading back west.

Two years ago I went from Andrews NC to highway 49 south of Fayetteville, AR in my Ram 1500 in about 5 days. I stayed in motels. I think about 200-250 miles a day. I followed Sam's route. Motels gave me a chance to look at next days routes and any challenges, charge devices, etc. In eastern AR just after the River, I had to take the blacktop for an morning as a big overnight rain flooded roads. I was not one to think I had to follow every foot of Sam's route as I was using it to see the country. I did notice I was crossing the same areas several times for the sake of staying off the pavement.

This past April I picked up my route again and went through western AR, northern OK, NE NM and SE CO. That was about 4 pretty long days.

Teresa Waldron · Jun 19, 2018

Bob Raff said:
Hello all!

Currently in the middle of planning a trip to complete the TAT! Vehicle is a 2016 4 door JK. If anybody has any tips, cool things to do or see along the way, or recommendations please let me know! The trip is slated to begin May 28th, and finish some time late June/Early July. We also then have to drive back to Wisconsin, and plan on stopping at a couple of parks the way back as well.

EDIT: I guess I should have included a few other things worth noting. I've done a fair amount of research on the TAT and all things related. I bought the maps and roll charts as a back up and am planning on using the GPS plots from Sam loaded onto a Garmin as the primary navigation.

As for the gear, here is what I have so far....

Jeep: Smittybilt SRC Gen 2 w/ 9.5k winch, Rhino Roof Rack w/ Backbone system. sPod 6 bank, ARB on board compressor, Front Runner tailgate table, Front runner interior rack, Trasharoo.
Soon to Come for the Jeep: CVT Roof Top tent, Full 2.5 inch suspension lift from Teraflex, couple LED lights, MaxTraxs.

General Stuff: Full compliment of tools, ARB recovery kit, ARB compressor kit w/ pressure gauge, ARB tire repair kit, and a basic camping kitchen (coleman stove, dry storage, 2- 5 gallon water jugs) and RTIC 75L cooler (no fridge/freezer in this trips budget :( ) Full Trauma Kit & Basic Med Bag. Extra fluids.

Monday I will be making a rear storage system and will be sure to get some pictures up of it.

I'm also wondering what spare parts I should bring with? I'm pretty mechanically inclined (heavy equipment mechanic turned Firefighter/Paramedic) and with a brand new Jeep I am not terribly worried about breakage. I have a general idea with fuses, clamps, bolts, etc. But that's about it.

Thanks!

Bob

Hi Bob,

If you don't mind, what made you decide on the map formats you used? Since you've already gone, how did they work for you? Would you change anything if you were to do it again? My husband and I are doing the TAT in August, on bikes. If you have any advice not related to maps, I am open to that as well!
Thank you,
Teresa

gravelrider · Jun 19, 2018

Some very good preparations going on here but this is not exactly a wilderness trip. You'll be surprised how much paved road there is, especially through TN. Don't think I ever got below a half tank of gas before seeing a gas station, and many pointed out on Sam's tracks. I also had cellular service 90-95% of the time on Verizon and used "maps" for a bigger view of the route. I also carried a gen 3 SPOT although the new one now allows two way texting. Also see the Delorme (now Garmin InReach device) On my last trip my wife could follow me on Life 360 and follow my route from western AR to Trinidad, CO., about 800 miles. Departing from OK panhandle through NE New Mexico was pretty remote but mainly gravel ranch roads with little cell service and no services till CO.

For actually following Sam's tracks I had a dash mounted Garmin Montana 600. At the end of each track I simply found the next one, reaffirmed the big picture and continued.

Remember that Sam conceived this route over 20 years ago when many roads had not been paved. I read somewhere that the current TAT is about 10% paved. Main thing is being capable of self extrication mainly in cases of mud. I was lucky and had mostly good weather but did diverge a bit from the "trail" to avoid mud that seemed unnecessary as I was seeing the same terrain on a parallel road.

Now that Nevada is largely out of the route the main "wild" areas will be southern Idaho northwest through the logging country and I have not traveled that route yet. Food, fuel and supplies are largely available on at least a daily basis through UT. In CO make sure you do the Alpine Loop or at least part of it outside Lake City. I think the TAT does part of that. The high altitude trails are rocky but little rock crawling. The San Juan National Forest is closed entirely at the moment due to high fire danger and some fires but suspect that won't last long when rains occur. I was just in southern CO near South Fork and there is little snow remaining even at 12,000 ft. due to low snow year and current drought. Have a safe and fun trip all.

Captain Ken · Jun 22, 2018

I'll be driving the TAT in August-September. For this trip I'll be taking my 2013 Ford Raptor.

Rudyr03 · Jun 22, 2018

I’ll be doing the modified version of the TAT for the month of August .. picking it up in western Oklahoma and going from there .. decided to drop the first portion of it.. and Maximize my time on the western portion.. starting in Miami fl and ending in Oregon..

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Captain Ken · Jun 22, 2018

Rudyr03 said:
I’ll be doing the modified version of the TAT for the month of August .. picking it up in western Oklahoma and going from there .. decided to drop the first portion of it.. and Maximize my time on the western portion.. starting in Miami fl and ending in Oregon..

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I'll be a couple of weeks behind you, but plan to do the entire trip from TN to OR

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