Just got back from the trip. Had a great time and the truck did well as expected. The weather was garbage, and it was hotter then i was hoping for, but the wife had a great time and our 6 month old was a champ. We definitely learned a lot and can't wait for tor the next trip.
1) Definitely need to pack more efficiently next time. A tonneau cover will likely aid me in being more space efficient vs using boxes that turned out to not be water tight anyways...
2) Better organization will go a long way...
3) Download any waypoints, music, points of interest, etc. before leaving....You are way more likely to not have internet where expected...(Did not have cell signal the entire trip...that includes in many "towns").
4) More recovery gear will make you more confident.
5) a proper camp shower/toilet will make the wife happier...
6) I defrinitely want rock slider.
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The little one does AWESOME at camp, and even great in the truck while off pavement. Definitely thankful for that, especially at only 6 months old.
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The wife got to do some driving as well, and now i think she had a bit more respect for me when I blast down the logging roads to our cabin. I think she believes I'm not specifically trying to jostle her around now :).
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We had to jump a pretty good amount ahead (was running east to west) and by far the best section was the blue ridge gap area. The roads were very washed out, probably from all of the rain in the area recently. There was a ton of exposed buried wire as well...
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I'm really happy i ended up buying some off brand traction boards. These definitely came in handy in not high siding the truck. A little stacking of rocks and the boards did the trick. This definitely goes back to wanting more recovery gear for the future. We were the only people on the road we saw the entire time, and we had zero cell signal the entire trip...Definitely want a winch for the truck. Not looking forward to the cost of an intercooler relocation kit in order to fit a hidden winch.
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Pics never truly do justice to elevation...
Anyways, super pumped that the wife had a great time and is happy to keep planning more trips (means green light for more mods :) )