1/20 Day Trip - Lower Coyote Canyon Trail - Anza Borrego

Cool, everything is looking good

 

Looks like it'll be a nice day out there too!

 

How far are we from the sculptures? My wife is curious.

 

They're spread all over the valley floor. We should see lots as we move from one trail to the other. I was gonna mention them, but thought it would be a cool surprise to anyone who doesn't know. And... they're very cool!

Also, with a few cold nights in December + rain last week + hot days since, there's a chance we'll have early wild flowers. I haven't looked it up-- don't want to jinx it-- but these crazy conditions just might be right....

 

I have my fingers crossed for this! It'd be great to catch the bloom before all the crowds!

 

That would be awesome. Fingers crossed gang

 

Don't mind me.. I'm just lurking.

 

Nobody minds. I got excited there for a minute when someone on the NorCal thread mentioned a run to SoCal. All of us 2WD we're gonna line the highest point we could access along your route, be all like .

 

Maybe one day a run down there would happen.. you never know.

 

Ha ha I saw that too! I thought @joonbug @dcsleeper408 the rest of the NorCal group were going to roll down for the weekend. That would of been epic!

 

I'm stoked to see if you all get some wildflowers out there. Make sure to take some epic shots, drone footage too.

 

Hey for those that haven't off-roaded before please feel free to ask any questions you may have before hitting the dirt!

For one, I highly recommend airing down. This will allow your tires to absorb the small bumps better for a smoother ride, it will also make your footprint wider giving you better traction and flotation over the soft sand. Typically I run between 18-25 psi. 25 psi is usually for hard pack and the lower psi is for softer terrain. I'll probably run around 20-22 psi for anza.

Keep your momentum up when in soft sand! Once you lose your momentum it's easier for your rear tires to dig in and you'll get stuck, so control your throttle and be smooth. With that said, with a little speed it's a total blast to hit it hard and slide around corners
You'll also want to brake smooth and slow in the soft stuff. If you come to a stop too abruptly you can create a sand pile in front of your tires which makes it more difficult to get moving again.

Keep your distance from the vehicle in front of you. It's tough to see through the dust and it would suck to accidentally rear end someone! I'm not saying leave a mile between, but a safe distance is all that's needed.

If there's a turn or split in the road wait for the person behind you. The front vehicle waits for vehicle 2, and vehicle 2 waits for vehicle 3, and so on. This ensures no one missed a turn. Don't mind if you're waiting for your buddy behind you as the guy in front of you will wait for you too!

The game plan is to have fun! A little stress is good, it'll help make you a better driver and improve your skill off road, and I'd have no problem at all spotting you through a difficult section! This trip is for fun, if anything get's too uncomfortable we can turn around or post up to eat and have a drink and look at the obstacle ahead.

 

Would you recommend and ARB single or dual compressor for airing back up then? Do you have a compressor mounted or in a toolbox set-up. I'm thinking about just having one in the truck as a back up in case for a flat, helping other and when I am jamming it off-roading here hopefully sometime soon!

Light bar for night time driving? Any inexpensive recommendations? I love the super expensive NSV but that is too much $$$.

Different tires needed? I have the stock SR5 tires. Been looking at some A/T tired but have no clue really.

Thanks!

 

Look at @boardude 's build. He has a nice lightbar in the bulge for about $100. But you might also need the SDHQ mount which I believe is a little over $100 also.

 

I know for Tacomas there are arb compressor mounts for in the engine bay, I'd assume they exist for the Tundra as well.
My self I use a Co2 tank to air back up. It's wicked fast but runs out of air, I actually don't know how much is left in it soooo hopefully it'll air me back up after haha.

You could use either the single or dual. I know most run the single to accommodate airing up tires and a single air locker. Most with the dual run front and rear lockers. If it's only for airing up your tires Viair also makes some great portable compressors that connect to your battery.

As for light bars, there's not much middle ground. It's either cheap or expensive. If you're just doing some mild night off roading a cheap Amazon light bar will work wonders but the lens will yellow over time, the output isn't awesome but it works. The real difference is the light pattern when you jump to the nicer options. The cheaper bars have a fuzzier cut off and kind of just throw this broad view of light, which again for some mild wheeling actually works very well because it's a fairly even coverage. The more name brand high end bars have lighting "zones" where they are effective. The light is much more focused and concentrated which means they work better for a specific application rather than just some added light.
Right now for myself I have a cheapo 30" double row led bar and two cheapo pods. They've worked great for me and I have no real complaints. Just recently I've upgraded my motorcycle headlight to a Baja Designs Squadron Sport and DAMN is that a nice quality light! Very bright and usable light. Eventually when I upgrade my lights I'm looking at the Baja Designs Squadron Pro lights and the Vision X XPR light bar. They're more expensive, but now that I know where I want light I can fine tune in on nicer lights.
It really makes a big difference seeing some different light bar options in person and at night. Hopefully we can all make a camping trip so you can see different people's lighting set ups.

As for tires there are a million options out there! A well priced and very road/off road friendly tire I like to recommend is the Falken Wildpeak AT3W. Great treadwear warranty, not too expensive, hook up well off road, and still decently quiet on road.
I currently run the Toyo RT tires on my truck and am blown away with how well they're working for me! They're a pricy tire, but they look great, work very well off road, not too too loud on road and have been wearing well.
One big thing here is most people will recommend the tires that they have. Best bet is too read reviews and do your best to compare. Good thing is there are a lot of really great options, but that does make it challenging to decide sometimes.
I'd also look at the Cooper ST MAXX also a very popular choice.

 

Yep yep. Def better than $1100! my Amazon bars are still going strong!!

 

Would it be easy to fab up some mounts? Are they basic or are they specialized in any way? Not sure I want to pay that much for the mounts.

 

The way the mount bolts to the light bar is basic, but the way it bolts to the hood is kinda specialized. There's a custom piece that fits in the groove on the underside of the hood. You might be able drill the mounts that come with light bar through the underside of the hood.. Never even thought about that.

 

It does looks simple, yet complicated -
http://store.sdhqoffroad.com/2014tundrahoodscooplightmount.aspx

 

I'm sure you could you fab something similar and not as complex and make it work.

 

simple, yet complicated is the perfect description.

 

It's the best I could come up with

 

Haha, that could actually work... well for a little bit lol

 

It'll get you to and from the local mall. You'd need to bump up to epoxy and gorilla tape if you plan on hitting the dirt!

 

I'm doing the differential breather mode while reading this...

 

Do it! Piece of cake to do. Will take only 1 beer.

 

Who’s excited??

 

Me me me!

 

I'm going to wait for confirmation before saying who, but we may have a vendor bringing out their Tundra for this trip!