Cross Country Willys - Vintage TAT 2020

[Vtpeter]

For a few years I have been thinking about doing a long distance adventure in my old Jeep. I have mentioned this to several other vintage Jeep enthusiasts, and they are interested in joining the trip. Currently the plan would be to drive the Trans America Trail, and exploring points of interest along the way. This is a LONG trip, in an old vehicle ! Hopefully this winter, my Jeep and others will be rebuilt enough to be ready for a few test runs which we are planning in Vermont, Maine , and New Hampshire. These shake down drives will be 100 to 150 mile dirt road loops done each day. The idea is to do several of these practice weekends during 2019, then the big trip in 2020.

This trip is open to all Willy's Jeep owners. Any fairly stock old Jeep set up for Overlanding will work. Its going to be interesting to see what shows up for the practice weekends. These are going to be a lot of fun. We will be starting a Facebook page and website to get this going.

I would like to get some advice/input /thoughts from the Overland Bound community. This is still in the very early planning stage, any help would be appreciated.

 

[Smileyshaun]

well first off : I'm beyond jealous talk about a dream Drive. Two where's the pics of this rig . Three keep this post updated on your trial runs or a link for your build

 

[Vtpeter]

Thanks for your reply. I will be starting a build thread soon. I've been collecting parts and thinking about this for a few years. Taken a lot of pics up to this point. What I'm building is a vehicle that would have been used for this kind of trip, back in maybe the late 1950's. That's the era of most of the parts I'm using. I want a noticeably vintage, old school look. It's going to be a slow process putting this together. This old Jeep has to be VERY dependable.

 

[Vtpeter]

Thanks for your reply. I will be starting a build thread soon. I've been collecting parts and thinking about this for a few years. Taken a lot of pics up to this point. What I'm building is a vehicle that would have been used for this kind of trip, back in maybe the late 1950's. That's the era of most of the parts I'm using. I want a noticeably vintage, old school look. It's going to be a slow process putting this together. This old Jeep has to be VERY dependable.

Update ! We are moving forward with this plan. My Willys build is getting started. Rebuilding everything before it gets installed on the frame. There is a build thread at East Coast Willy's Association, " Pete's 3b build". I will add a build thread here when I get a little further along, and figure out how to post pics . I have the endurance routes figured out for next summer, 4 total. These will help sort out any vehicle issues, and start to build a good group of participants. Currently working on a Facebook page and website to help organize this effort. There will be a lot more information available soon. Several people are already building\restoring old Jeeps in preparation for this 2020 adventure. This is going to be fun !!

Any advice from the Overland Bound community would be greatly appreciated. The more we are prepared, the better chance that this trip is going to be successful. Next summers "practice" runs will tell us a lot. Driving thousands of miles on dirt roads in vehicles built from 60yr old parts, what could possibly go wrong ?? (haha).

More updates coming soon.

 

[Vtpeter]

UPDATE !! The idea of crossing the country in vintage vehicles has been very well received. We are inviting all makes of vintage off road vehicles to join us on the TAT in 2020. Anyone who owns an old Jeep, Land Rover, Land Cruiser, Bronco, etc. should think about coming on this adventure . Join us traveling through this beautiful country with a great group of fellow vintage vehicle owners. Ride the trail for a day, a week, or the entire 5000 plus miles !

We will be using the "official" TAT maps purchased from the founder Sam Correro prior to departure. Using the most currently updated maps and taking into consideration what we are driving, daily routes will be chosen. More info on routes, group size logistics, camping, etc, will be included on the upcoming website, and discussed on the Facebook page.

The website : VintageTAT2020.com , will be online in a few weeks. There will be links to the Facebook page. We encourage input, suggestions, volunteers, etc. 2020 could be a great year for getting out your old classic off roader, and being part of a memorable experience. You have 18 months to get it ready !!

The Vintage TAT 2020 Adventure is not put on by a club, a business, or any one person. There is no entry fee for going on this adventure. The only thing we ask is that you support the founder of the Trans America Trail, Sam Corerro, and purchase his maps. Our motivation for publicly inviting people to join this adventure is simple. It will be alot more fun than doing it alone. Help us make 2020 a big year for vintage vehicles traveling off road. Spread the word, join the adventure, restore a vehicle, get involved !!

See you on the trail

 

[Jimmy P]

I'm excited to see this progress! What's your definition of vintage does my 85 CJ count? I'd love to make a small part of this trail if I can get everything dialed in in time.

 

[Mtown96]

This sounds like it’s going to be an awesome trip. Wish I had an old Jeep and the time to come along. Good luck!

 

[Vtpeter]

Yes ! The quick answer is any AMC Jeep and earlier built vehicle is vintage. The Land Rover, Toyota, and other groups will decide what they think is vintage. The side bar on the website (coming soon) will have all the vehicle makes that have shown interest in joining this adventure. They can form their own guidelines, and I will post them. I look forward to their input.

The longer answer is this vintage adventure is " open" to everyone who owns, or is passionate about these vehicles. If you don't own an old Jeep , LR, TLC, etc, but you would like to join up with some of them on the trail, please do. If we get enough people traveling on the TAT at roughly the same time, it will be noticable. I am looking forward to pulling into a small town for lunch, and there is already a row of vintage vehicles parked out front of the only restaurant. This is going to be fun !

The rest of the long answer is that the Trans America Trail is public information, the roads are public or open by previous arrangements, the maps are available to everyone. All we are trying to do is let people know that if they are interested in traveling this route, and they own or appreciate these old vehicles, then 2020 might be a good year for them to do it.

Get your 85' ready. This is a good excuse to finish working on it, and start using it. Research the TAT and see what others have driven with good results. You don't need an overly built rig. Just service everything well, using good quality parts. Dependability is important, not necessarily capability. My Willys is a very stock prepared vehicle. But every part of it is properly rebuilt. My fall back Jeep will be my 82' CJ7, if something happens to the old Willys. I will probably be pulling a light off road camp trailer also.

Finish up the 85' and go on some long back road camping trips. Bring friends, and convince them to do the same. There are plenty of forgotten old vehicles that are waiting to be found and appreciated again. They can find one ! Contact us, and we would be happy to add you to the VintageTAT2020 build threads. Many people will enjoy following our progress preparing for 2020.

 

[Vtpeter]

Mtown96, I hear what you are saying. This is a huge commitment, if planning to do the entire trip. That is why I encourage anyone who is interested , try to meet on the trail for a day or two. Or, follow us on social media. We will hopefully be posting daily YouTube updates. If we can let people know where we are each day, meeting us along the way should be fairly easy. It will be fun meeting new people as they show up.

There will be locations along the trail that we will try to get everyone to meet at the same time. Moab is one spot. Great place to spend a few days , and get some awesome pics with the old rigs and beautiful scenery. There is plenty of accommodations in Moab , and it is a well known off road destination. I'd like to find a similar place East of the Mississippi, and one close to the west coast for a big meet up. Any ideas OB members ??

 

[Mojavewanderer]

I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it, but it sounds like fun. I consider my truck vintage, it’s a 1980 Toyota, it will be 40 years old in 2020. I’ll definitely keep following this thread, and the website when it is up.

 

[Vtpeter]

I would say a 1980 Toyota is definitely vintage. Probably still runs great !!

Hopefully next week the website will be up, and we'll get this adventure going. I'm going to start a build thread on my Willys soon. This is my 71' cj5. A great old Jeep. I should be taking this cross country. Not the pile of parts in the barn, that I call a Willys....

 

[Vtpeter]

I've started a build thread on the Willys I'm putting together for this adventure. It's over in the build thread forum. The website that is being created for this TAT trip will have stories and vehicle information on everyone involved. Hope to have this up soon.

I'm starting to look at the TAT in more detail . I would like to add interesting stops along the route. Beautiful scenic views, museums, historical spots, cool little towns, etc. A lot of these can be added as we finalize the route, and start looking at it in more detail. I'll be asking anyone who has traveled this route before to help with advice and suggestions.

The big question is, what maps should we start with ? I'm going to buy some maps from Sam Correro. I'd like to support what he has done. I'm not sure we would even be considering this trip if it wasn't for the efforts of Sam, and the adventure motorcycle community. With that being said, many have used mapping from GPSKevin and other online open sources with good results. Any suggestions ? This will be a work in progress till the trip in over.

 

[Vtpeter]

The first scheduled endurance run for the vintage vehicles is in southern Vermont, on June 1st. The route is 130 miles of dirt roads and some easy trails. The Camp will be available for participants to come early, and stay afterwards to enjoy more of what the area has to offer. I have plenty of tent and camper space (no hook ups) and some small rustic cabins available. The cook shack will be open for breakfast Saturday morning.

Hopefully these planned endurance events will get people out with their vehicles, and use them. The trails we use are not very difficult. Most of the route is slow back roads, good scenery, and lots of places to stop for food and drink. I hope that anyone thinking about doing the VintageTAT2020 will join in on these "practice" runs. These give us a chance to put some miles on the rigs, and get to know the folks who might be part of the 2020 adventure. As we get more people involved, we hope to see similar meet ups around the country to prepare for 2020.

Details on these events will be on the upcoming website. Please join the conversation on the Facebook page , also coming soon.

 

[Vtpeter]

I've been spending way too much time researching the Trans America Trail. I am very impressed with the content that has been posted to various forums regarding this route. The quality of video and photos is really amazing. With the equipment available today, an amateur YouTube blogger can post a very good product. I've got a lot to learn in this department.

The TAT maps I have seen can vary widely, depending on where they originate from and who the intended user group is. As a former cyclist, I'm very familiar with the TAT route used for this purpose. Motorcycle road riders have their route. Adventure motorcyclists have devoloped the route we're interested in for driving dirt across the country. There are three different option ratings in difficulty. The more difficult trails look to be too narrow for vehicles. I will be following the easier routes, and focusing on scenery and other points of interest. There will be some who choose the more difficult routes, and I look forward to hearing their stories.

The information from the GPSKevin website has been very helpful. Each day of the route has a feedback section that many have posted to. This will help when we plan our schedule. Sam's maps should arrive soon, and I expect them to have a lot of supporting information also. I really want to know as much as I can about this trip before we depart.

This spring I will be heading to the Moab Easter Jeep Safari. Planning to hit as much of the TAT as I can along the way. The weather and the trail conditions will be the main factor in how much I will do. Not interested in slogging through mud all day, just to say I did it. Looking forward to doing this trip, and thinking about how it will be different in a 60yr old Willys Jeep next year.

We are not ready to launch the website yet. Things are changing so quickly, I can't keep up with the content I want to put out . There seems to be a !ot of interested people that would like to be part of this Vintage TAT Adventure. We'll keep working on it, and see what happens...

 

[Vtpeter]

Everything is moving forward on the planning of this adventure. The website is coming along pretty well. We already have several people committed to joining us. Their current build threads, and a brief bio will be on the website. A lot of very good advice regarding a trip like this has been shared with me. Learning more about the TAT every day. This trail passes through , or near , endless places to explore. We can't do it all, but we'll try to do something fun every day.

 

[Vtpeter]

It's been a while since I have updated this thread. The last few months have been very busy with the planning this trip. I traveled from Vermont to meet with Sam Correro in Tennessee, the founder of the TAT. He is a great guy, and was very interested in hearing about this adventure. Sam has dedicated much of his life to creating this route across America. Please show your appreciation and purchase maps from him. From here I headed to Moab to the Easter Jeep Safari. I haven't been to Moab in 25yrs, it's a lot busier now. There were a lot of Jeeps in town for the week, and a good amount of vintage vehicles. I spoke to a lot of the vintage owners , and gave them information on the cross country adventure. We are 11 months away from departing on this trip, and people are contacting me already. Still have a lot of planning to do, and a few Jeeps to build. I'll try to keep this updated on a regular basis.

For more information :
VintageTAT2020.com. Or VintageTAT2020 on Instagram