My first attempt at offroading... yikes

[lukewilson]

Ooof! Ok, so disclaimer: this was my first attempt at offroading. I have a 2020 Tacoma TRD Off Road 4x4, and it's currently my most prized possession. It's my baby.

The reason I got it is because I've been wanting to get into overlanding for some time now, but my Mazda 3 wasn't cutting it (surprise, surprise). So, I started doing some research on "easy" trails to do around my hometown of Sacramento.

I settled on Slate Mountain Lookout, near Placerville in Northern California. The summary on TrailsOffroad.com read "This is a great beginner road, suitable for stock 4WD vehicles".

"Great!" I thought.

Made it to the trail pretty easily, thanks to a lot of looking at maps and creating a GaiaGPS route the day before. Hopped on the trail, and put the Tacoma into 4H. This was my first time doing it, and even though I had thoroughly reviewed the manual beforehand, I was still nervous to twist that dial. Thankfully, there were no scary beeps or clunks, so I figured I was good to go, so off I went.

The trail started off great. There were some deer running around, it was bumpy but not too bumpy, and the Taco took it like a champ.

Unfortunately, I got to a fork in the road, and relied on my gut rather than spending a few moments looking more carefully at the map. The trail went right, but I went left. After about a hundred yards, I started to suspect that we were on the wrong trail. Glancing at GaiaGPS confirmed this... we were headed down a trail meant for motorbikes and 4 wheelers. I was with a buddy so I tried to put on a brave face.

"It's fine..." I said. "This trail will meet back up with the one we're on. Hopefully."

We never found out. Our trail quickly became very narrow. The bushes on each side closed in, their stiff branch tentacles reaching out to scratch my new truck's paintwork, screeching down the side of the car. With each high-pitched screech I imagined the worst... the horror!

It became apparent that we'd have to find a place to turn around. Thankfully, there was a small patch just big enough for us to do a three-point turn (ok, seven-point turn), so that's what we did.

Once we got back to the main trail (slightly rattled) we continued on the actual trail. But the mood had been set. Our experience after our previous wrong turn was playing on my mind. There were long stretches of trail that would have caused us a pretty big problem if a vehicle was coming the other way.

"Oh no! I'm going to have to pretend I know what I'm doing and drive off the path to let someone pass, creating MORE scratches! NO!"

With me being a total newbie and thus not entirely sure how that scenario would play out, we decided to turn back.

So although my first attempt at offroading had some success, overall it felt like a failure. There were some fun puddles to drive through, but now have a bunch of light scratches that are going to keep me up at night until I figure out how to buff them out...

 

[MidOH]

Wrap.

 

[sakiwest]

Yup. We’ve all gone through the first scratches. My rule is “as long as there is a story”. You’ve got a story. Embrace it.

Want less 4 letter words in your stories? Check out GOAT armor they make magnetic covers.

 

[trail_runn4r]

Ooof! Ok, so disclaimer: this was my first attempt at offroading. I have a 2020 Tacoma TRD Off Road 4x4, and it's currently my most prized possession. It's my baby.

The reason I got it is because I've been wanting to get into overlanding for some time now, but my Mazda 3 wasn't cutting it (surprise, surprise). So, I started doing some research on "easy" trails to do around my hometown of Sacramento.

I settled on Slate Mountain Lookout, near Placerville in Northern California. The summary on TrailsOffroad.com read "This is a great beginner road, suitable for stock 4WD vehicles".

"Great!" I thought.

Made it to the trail pretty easily, thanks to a lot of looking at maps and creating a GaiaGPS route the day before. Hopped on the trail, and put the Tacoma into 4H. This was my first time doing it, and even though I had thoroughly reviewed the manual beforehand, I was still nervous to twist that dial. Thankfully, there were no scary beeps or clunks, so I figured I was good to go, so off I went.

The trail started off great. There were some deer running around, it was bumpy but not too bumpy, and the Taco took it like a champ.

Unfortunately, I got to a fork in the road, and relied on my gut rather than spending a few moments looking more carefully at the map. The trail went right, but I went left. After about a hundred yards, I started to suspect that we were on the wrong trail. Glancing at GaiaGPS confirmed this... we were headed down a trail meant for motorbikes and 4 wheelers. I was with a buddy so I tried to put on a brave face.

"It's fine..." I said. "This trail will meet back up with the one we're on. Hopefully."

We never found out. Our trail quickly became very narrow. The bushes on each side closed in, their stiff branch tentacles reaching out to scratch my new truck's paintwork, screeching down the side of the car. With each high-pitched screech I imagined the worst... the horror!

It became apparent that we'd have to find a place to turn around. Thankfully, there was a small patch just big enough for us to do a three-point turn (ok, seven-point turn), so that's what we did.

Once we got back to the main trail (slightly rattled) we continued on the actual trail. But the mood had been set. Our experience after our previous wrong turn was playing on my mind. There were long stretches of trail that would have caused us a pretty big problem if a vehicle was coming the other way.

"Oh no! I'm going to have to pretend I know what I'm doing and drive off the path to let someone pass, creating MORE scratches! NO!"

With me being a total newbie and thus not entirely sure how that scenario would play out, we decided to turn back.

So although my first attempt at offroading had some success, overall it felt like a failure. There were some fun puddles to drive through, but now have a bunch of light scratches that are going to keep me up at night until I figure out how to buff them out...

 

[PonoAdventures]

The only way you learn is by going out and doing it and you learn the most through the failures. Keep at it!

 

[Christian Chua]

Whew! Thank god Im not the only first-timer who turned back lol, that was me in genoa trail few months ago

 

[diabetiktaco]

Wash and clay the truck. Then apply sonax polymer net shield on it. Top it off with a coat of sonax speed wax. You'll limit scratches big time. They will be unavoidable if you keep it up but you will see what I mean if you do it.

 

[ryanorr280]

A day out on a trail is never a failure IMHO. It may not be how you planned it, but at least you got out there. Next time will be easier, and you learn something every time you go out. Even if it’s to check the map every time.

as far as scratches, I am wrapping our 4Runner with clear vinyl to try to help with it. It seems to be working well so far.

 

[Boostpowered]

Just sounds like you found a normal trail around oklahoma or arkansas. Its just pinstriping it will give ya street cred with mall crawlers.

 

[Dave K]

Spray liner. Badass overlander look, no scratching. Problem solved.

 

[Esipili]

Ooof! Ok, so disclaimer: this was my first attempt at offroading. I have a 2020 Tacoma TRD Off Road 4x4, and it's currently my most prized possession. It's my baby.

The reason I got it is because I've been wanting to get into overlanding for some time now, but my Mazda 3 wasn't cutting it (surprise, surprise). So, I started doing some research on "easy" trails to do around my hometown of Sacramento.

I settled on Slate Mountain Lookout, near Placerville in Northern California. The summary on TrailsOffroad.com read "This is a great beginner road, suitable for stock 4WD vehicles".

"Great!" I thought.

Made it to the trail pretty easily, thanks to a lot of looking at maps and creating a GaiaGPS route the day before. Hopped on the trail, and put the Tacoma into 4H. This was my first time doing it, and even though I had thoroughly reviewed the manual beforehand, I was still nervous to twist that dial. Thankfully, there were no scary beeps or clunks, so I figured I was good to go, so off I went.

The trail started off great. There were some deer running around, it was bumpy but not too bumpy, and the Taco took it like a champ.

Unfortunately, I got to a fork in the road, and relied on my gut rather than spending a few moments looking more carefully at the map. The trail went right, but I went left. After about a hundred yards, I started to suspect that we were on the wrong trail. Glancing at GaiaGPS confirmed this... we were headed down a trail meant for motorbikes and 4 wheelers. I was with a buddy so I tried to put on a brave face.

"It's fine..." I said. "This trail will meet back up with the one we're on. Hopefully."

We never found out. Our trail quickly became very narrow. The bushes on each side closed in, their stiff branch tentacles reaching out to scratch my new truck's paintwork, screeching down the side of the car. With each high-pitched screech I imagined the worst... the horror!

It became apparent that we'd have to find a place to turn around. Thankfully, there was a small patch just big enough for us to do a three-point turn (ok, seven-point turn), so that's what we did.

Once we got back to the main trail (slightly rattled) we continued on the actual trail. But the mood had been set. Our experience after our previous wrong turn was playing on my mind. There were long stretches of trail that would have caused us a pretty big problem if a vehicle was coming the other way.

"Oh no! I'm going to have to pretend I know what I'm doing and drive off the path to let someone pass, creating MORE scratches! NO!"

With me being a total newbie and thus not entirely sure how that scenario would play out, we decided to turn back.

So although my first attempt at offroading had some success, overall it felt like a failure. There were some fun puddles to drive through, but now have a bunch of light scratches that are going to keep me up at night until I figure out how to buff them out...

This is so awesome! Thank you for a great narrative! I had my first off-roading experience last Saturday and it was scary in parts.

I learned a lot! I definitely need to get used to off-roading with a stick-shift...so much fun! I came home and signed up for Overland Bound. Can’t wait to get back out there!

We need “community” and the expertise of overland veterans

 

[Boostpowered]

Spray liner. Badass overlander look, no scratching. Problem solved.

Also a couple hundred lbs of weight, changing the center of gravity. Best place for bedliner is in the bed and under body.

 

[Dave K]

Also a couple hundred lbs of weight, changing the center of gravity. Best place for bedliner is in the bed and under body.

Completely disagree. I have all of the product to spray my FJ80 right now (Raptor). Including packaging it weighs less than 40lbs. Spread across the surface area of the entire vehicle it should be hardly noticeable. Perhaps you are referencing a liner brand that I am completely unaware of?
In either case I stand by my original comment. Of course, my rig is a dedicated rig with no worries of looks or resale. YMMV.

 

[Boostpowered]

Completely disagree. I have all of the product to spray my FJ80 right now (Raptor). Including packaging it weighs less than 40lbs. Spread across the surface area of the entire vehicle it should be hardly noticeable. Perhaps you are referencing a liner brand that I am completely unaware of?
In either case I stand by my original comment. Of course, my rig is a dedicated rig with no worries of looks or resale. YMMV.

If your only going to do 40 lbs you probably wont coat the whole vehicle and if it does it will be a light coat that wont stay on unless your going to fully prep your vehicle ie sand sand sand then apply the bedliner. Im not reffering to any 1 brand they are all about the same. ive used a few different brands on beds and some other stuff both roll on and spray on they put on weight as they dry. Example spray liner from krylon added 2 oz to this knife thats 1.5oz so now its 3.5oz only 1 coat and its not even covering it all.

 

[Boostpowered]

that 40 lbs is likely only going to give you 1 coat if that much and 1 coat will chip off kind of easily after weather has gotten to it . Your going to likely need 3 coats to really make anything scratchproof or durable, of all the fully lined trucks ive seen its usally 3 to 4 coats at the least so 120- 160lb

 

[Boostpowered]

Here is what linex says just a truck bed normally weighs and how much it takes for just the bed.

There is no set answer as it depends on the size of the bed. Generally the answer is somewhere between 40 pounds and 70 pounds. In the grand scheme of things that is not all that heavy and the protection that LINE-X offers is second to none. LINE-X weights around .7 pounds per square foot and it is sprayed to a thickness of ⅛ of an inch so it is not thick.

Dont get me wrong i really love the look of it and the protection idea, i even looked into having my whole truck done with clear bed liner then i talked to guys who have done it and they let me know the pitfalls of it. 1 weight added, 2 more lift to compensate and maintain the original lift, 3 if you get a dent its a pita to pop, 4 if its not properly prepared it flakes off. 5 expensive.

 

[Billiebob]

The pinstripes will buff out.... literally.

You need to get practice backing up. Find a big empty parking lot. Thinking in an industrial area. Beg, Borrow, Steal, Rent a bunch of pylons.
AIM yer mirrors. And practice. The key to backing up. GO SLOW !!! Practice in 4LO. Watch BOTH mirrors. Pull ahead if you get off the center of the trail.

Reverse will save the paint on yer truck. You should be able to reverse for miles with confidence. Take a driving course if you need to. Practice backing into loading docks and stop centered and straight and touching the dock. When you can do that go find another trail.

And thanks for the post. Your candor is much appreciated.

 

[tritonl]

Sounds like you learned a few lessons, now go out again, dont make the same mistakes and learn more as you explore. Each trip will give you experiance and confidence.

 

[1Louder]

You only cry once... Well twice if you also own a trailer. I cried once with my FJ. With my latest trailer it got pinstriped 14 hours after I picked it up. It was either going to get scratched up that day or some future day. This is a part of off-roading and overlanding. Plenty of that stuff can be found when on the proper trail. Get used to it and enjoy the scenery.

 

[KLTH19]

I picked up some Paint Shield 5720 to help avoid pinstriping. It paints on with a roller and by all accounts simply peels off. You can indeed buff out pinstriping on clear coated panels, but good luck with plastic trim.