US Northwest Idaho BDR (and then some!)

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armyRN

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Greetings to everyone going on this excursion. Pete Williams here, from Rocklin, CA. I'll be seeing you in Jarbridge and I'll be doing at least the IDBR. The "And then some" is possible but I'll probably dump off the trail and visit friends in Rathdrum, Idaho. I'll be in a 2016 4Runner towing a SoCal teardrop trailer. I have necessary comm's and all else for this trip. After reading all 5 pages of comments I still have one burning question: Which IS the best spatula for overlanding? See everyone in the thriving metropolis of Jarbridge.
Uh oh... Gotta be careful when talking about spatulas. Some folks have strong opinions. Kinda like Ford vs. Chevy, or Maxtrax vs. X-Bulls, etc.

I mean... I've got my opinion on the best spatula, but I don't want to upset anyone so I'll just keep it to myself for now. And I'm kicking myself for not putting a spatula on the list of required items - I'll remember it for the next trip.

Looking forward to meeting you Pete on the trip. And we'll see how your teardrop trailer does on the trail (I would so love a teardrop trailer).

And with Pete that makes seven vehicles (and that includes mine) signed-up. Awesome. And quite a few of us are doing the optional additional part of the trip. Too cool.
 
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Redruby

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The best spatula is the one your using. But Paul I do have a question and that is how often are you planning for showers at a campground or motel?
 

mtn

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The best spatula is the one your using. But Paul I do have a question and that is how often are you planning for showers at a campground or motel?
I know of a couple of nice creeks on the Magruder...
 

armyRN

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The best spatula is the one your using. But Paul I do have a question and that is how often are you planning for showers at a campground or motel?
You bring up a couple of very good points - thank-you! I was just thinking along these lines... and I may have a couple of spatulas strategically placed in my Jeep for just-in-case.

But a question first: Are there any ladies coming on this trip? I don't think anyone's mentioned bring a spouse or gf.

Anyways....

1. Everyone ordered a paper copy of the IDBDR Map? Good. I hope you've been going over it and reading it. Not required you have one, but IMHO I think you're missing out if you don't have one.

2. If you look at the paper map (and on line) it shows the IDBDR broken down into eight segments. My hope and goal and plan is to do one segment a day. The paper map (worth the price) breaks down each segment, and tells you a bit of what to expect during and at the end of each segment (fuel, food, hotel/motel/camping, highlights, etc.). And I figure the folks who are just doing the IDBDR are kinda planning their trip around the one-segment-a-day thing. I want to be respectful of people's time.

3. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees we'll finish one segment each day. We'll be getting an early start each day, and I'll do my best to keep us moving forward at a decent/comfortable pace, and keep stops to a reasonable time limit. But "stuff happens sometimes" that may delay us (think of it as part of the adventure). Snow, mud, fires, detours, breakdowns, etc. happen. And we might intentionally decide to detour off the IDBDR for a bit (for whatever reason) and then jump back on (same with the TAT later on). Or if we finish a segment early in the day and folks want to keep going, we might just do that.

4. So I try not to plan too far in advance when going on a trip like this (and believe me; as a type A person it doesn't come naturally) when it comes to stops at the end of the day. While my plan is to do one segment a day, I don't have campsites or motels reserved all along the way for every night - all it takes is one day to be off, and there's a domino effect if I had tried to micro-plan every stop. I try to keep flexible - keeps the stress down vs. trying to make a deadline every day. Usually there's someone in the group ("navigator" mentioned in an earlier post) who’s looking ahead that day at what's ahead on their computer/tablet/phone as far as stopping for the evening. There are a couple of good apps for that.

5. So back to the question about showers - it depends on where we end up every night if there are showers available.

6. But fear not! I'll be bringing one of these propane Zodi Camp Showers on the trip:

Link: Extreme Self-Contained Portable Hot Shower | A complete System with convenient Stove | Zodi.com

Zodi camp shower.jpg

Zodi Shower in trailer.1.jpg

So if you want to, you can take a shower every day. It is already packed in the trailer (arrow's pointing to it). Along with the shower I've got a portable shower tent (the green thing pictured below) already packed in the trailer too. You can kinda see it on the far left in the picture above - the green thing.

camping.2.jpg
 
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Redruby

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Thx for the reply Paul, I also do not plan ahead as things happen o the trail and I’m good with that, really excited for this trip
 

armyRN

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Thx for the reply Paul, I also do not plan ahead as things happen o the trail and I’m good with that, really excited for this trip
You’re welcome. I’m getting excited too. I’m working on some Jeep projects today getting ready for the trip.

As far as the "and then some" trip after the IDBDR, my plan is to just see how far we can get every day while still enjoying the ride. I don’t have a “miles per day” goal in mind.
 
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Redruby

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I just finished a 5 day camping trip in the White Mountains in Az and I had made some additions to the Jeep and they worked out great so now it’s time to redo it in metal. Ordered the paper maps just waiting for them, see all you guys soon
 

armyRN

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Installed my new little BTECH 25-watt UHF/VHF HAM radio today. It was fairly straight forward.

Last year I added an additional 12-volt accessory port (aka "cigarette lighter") in the Jeep straight from the battery. It runs my iPad (for running GAIA) and little Baofeng 8-watt handheld radio (connected to an external antenna) and sometimes my cellphone. Anyways, when I added that outlet, I knew I would eventually be wanting to mount a HAM radio in the Jeep, so I ran an additional hot and ground wire under the dash and just left them there coiled up and zip tied (with female ends on each wire). I had forgotten I did that till I pulled the dash panel off. A pleasant surprise!

Speaking of which, this was my original HAM/GMRS radio set-up - an 8-watt Baofeng hand-held mounted (clipped) to the dash connected to an external antenna, with a battery delete thingy and instead is connected to a 12-volt outlet (you can see the cord running from the base of the radio to where it is plugged in). You can see the antenna cable coming from the top of the radio, and I also had an external mike attached that was also a speaker. It worked, and did what I wanted it to do. My first HAM radio.

BaoFeng on TJ dash.jpg

I had an extra CB mounting bracket (I had two for some reason - good thing I save stuff), so I mounted the additional CB mount on top of my current CB, and then attached the HAM radio mounting bracket to this additional CB mount. So now the HAM radio is mounted on top of the CB radio. Pictures probably show it better.

Ham radio.2.jpg

Ham radio.3.jpg

HAM radio.1.jpg

I moved the external antenna cable from the Baofeng hand-held radio (that's mounted on the dash - think of it as now my back-up HAM/GMRS radio) to the HAM radio, and put a regular rubber antenna on the dash hand-held.

I mounted the mike mount on the lower left hand speaker cover (you can see it in the first picture). Not happy with that; I need to find a better place to keep the mike.

Now I need to start playing with it and get it programmed. But I'm happy with how the mounting went. There's not a lot of space in a TJ for this kind of stuff and still keep it unobtrusive.

Also today I got my hawse fairlead mounted on the TJ. Today was Jeep project day.

Hawse fairlead.1.jpg
 
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mtn

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Very nice! Are you keeping the ol' hand held as well? Keeping the option of monitoring additional frequencies?

Do you find you use your CB much? I don't have much use for mine other than when on the occasional logging road.
 

armyRN

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Very nice! Are you keeping the ol' hand held as well? Keeping the option of monitoring additional frequencies?

Do you find you use your CB much? I don't have much use for mine other than when on the occasional logging road.
I still have the 8-watt hand held mounted on the dash. Except now it has a rubber antenna (no longer connected to the external antenna), and I don't have the mike attached right now (is in the center console for now since it is sometimes in the way). So yeah; I can have both radios on (HAM and hand held). And I've got two additional UV-5R radios for when I'm outside the Jeep that both transmit and receive on HAM and GMRS. And the Baofeng UV-5R radios use the same battery as the little 8-watt Baofeng.

I don't remember the last time I used the CB radio. I don't have a reason really to remove it (it isn't in the way of anything), and both my truck and other Jeep have CB radios in them. And the little HAM radio mounts nicely above it in the TJ. I guess if I'm ever with a group that wants to use CB or we pick up a stray and they only have CB I'm ready.
 
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Ubiety

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so I just slap them back
You gotta show them who is the boss ;) I use extension cables and have the mic/cable pop out from under the driver's seat; keep the mic either wrapped around the transfer case shifter or in my lap. No waving cables and I know where the mic is and it is easy to grab.
 

Redruby

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Never thought of using extension cables for the mic, I’ll have to look into those, thx.
 
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rslagle

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You did a really nice clean job. I’ve always mounted my radios overhead so that I have a little more leg room the only really issue is when rock crawlering the mic cords then to bounce around and slap me so I just slap them back

I had the same problem. I used a velcro cable tie to wrap the mic cables in the middle so they weren't long enough to slap me in the side of the head. I left just enough on the "MIC" side to comfortably reach it when talking. You can see where I wrapped them right in the middle of the photo. I always carry extra. I'll give you some if you haven't found anything by the time I see you next.


radios.jpg
 
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armyRN

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I didn't like how I had the HAM radio's mike mounted on the dash speaker's cover, so I made a bracket and mounted it close to the roof. I already had a bolt there for the roof rack, so no additional drilling needed. I got it as over to the left and as forward as possible and still letting the sun visor lift up.

The bracket was a simple "L" bracket I picked up at Lowe's, and cut/trimmed/drilled to fit. Then painted it Rustoleum Smoke Gray (figured it would kinda match the gray plastic trim in the Jeep).

And I think that completes the Jeep projects and purchases I wanted to do for this IDBDR trip.

Next week I'll be taking the Jeep and trailer up to BC for the BC Overland Rally (BCOR) in Merritt, BC.

ham radio.4.jpg

ham radio.5.jpg
 
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ctcv1984

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Uh oh... Gotta be careful when talking about spatulas. Some folks have strong opinions. Kinda like Ford vs. Chevy, or Maxtrax vs. X-Bulls, etc.

I mean... I've got my opinion on the best spatula, but I don't want to upset anyone so I'll just keep it to myself for now. And I'm kicking myself for not putting a spatula on the list of required items - I'll remember it for the next trip.

Looking forward to meeting you Pete on the trip. And we'll see how your teardrop trailer does on the trail (I would so love a teardrop trailer).

And with Pete that makes seven vehicles (and that includes mine) signed-up. Awesome. And quite a few of us are doing the optional additional part of the trip. Too cool.
Thanks, Paul. Yeah, this will be my first off road trip with the trailer, a shakedown cruise if you will. Bought it used, it's in near new condition. See you in Jarbridge with my best spatula. Pete.
 
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M Rose

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Thanks, Paul. Yeah, this will be my first off road trip with the trailer, a shakedown cruise if you will. Bought it used, it's in near new condition. See you in Jarbridge with my best spatula. Pete. e.
Please edit your post and remove your phone number… DM the group your contact information instead to keep you privacy private.
 
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Redruby

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Good morning Paul what is DM and how does it work? Remember I’m a techno idiot and proud of it
 

armyRN

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DM I think (someone correct me if I'm wrong) stands for Direct Message. Sometimes called PM (Private Message).

If you click on my avatar (picture in upper left hand corner), it should bring you to a page where you can send me a message.

If there isn't an "edit" button at the bottom of your post, in the upper right hand corner of your post there are three dots. Click on the dots, and it will give you the option to edit your post. Be sure to save your changes.

And remember, having the right spatula for the job can make all the difference.
 
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M Rose

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Good morning Paul what is DM and how does it work? Remember I’m a techno idiot and proud of it
This vvv
DM I think (someone correct me if I'm wrong) stands for Direct Message. Sometimes called PM (Private Message).

If you click on my avatar (picture in upper left hand corner), it should bring you to a page where you can send me a message.

If there isn't an "edit" button at the bottom of your post, in the upper right hand corner of your post there are three dots. Click on the dots, and it will give you the option to edit your post. Be sure to save your changes.

And remember, having the right spatula for the job can make all the difference.