Driving to Moab

[Roky]

Hey, I’d like to know how many of you drove your rig to Moab this year wheeled it and drove home. How’d it do, gas mileage, how far of trip was it for you, and whatever else I’m forgetting ?
Would you do it the same way next time you go or trailer it?
Where did you stay, hotel, tent, rv, etc...
I’d love to go next year , but it’s a haul from Florida. So I’d like to hear how you did it.
My apologies if there’s already a thread on this.
Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[uglyyeti]

I know wheeling your own rig is big part of the fun but you're a long way from Moab. Last year I flew from NC and just rented a Jeep from Cliffhanger. They have Rubicons on 35s 4" lift for $305/day. (And I didn't break anything on my Jeep.) My profile pic is one of theirs.

If you have the time and the drive is part of your adventure then go for it. Moab's a cool town. Just know they roll the sidewalks up early.

 

[RubiRob]

I drove in from Chicago . Stayed at the Hyatt. Mpg was terrible going there as it was a 35-45mpg head wind for a solid 8 hours .brought us down to 11.2mpg on 37s . Going back I think I got 14ish mpg . It's just not the same renting but it's better than nothing. I know there are trailering services you could do too but that could get pricey if you can find a group to go in on it with .

Also, if you're gonna rent check out outlaw and twisted Jeep's .Outlaw actually has JLs on metalcloak lifts, some even with bead locks .

 

[Roky]

I drove in from Chicago . Stayed at the Hyatt. Mpg was terrible going there as it was a 35-45mpg head wind for a solid 8 hours .brought us down to 11.2mpg on 37s . Going back I think I got 14ish mpg . It's just not the same renting but it's better than nothing. I know there are trailering services you could do too but that could get pricey if you can find a group to go in on it with .

Also, if you're gonna rent check out outlaw and twisted Jeep's .Outlaw actually has JLs on metalcloak lifts, some even with bead locks .

Yeah.... the more I think about it, I’d like to wheel my own rig. Meet some people and get some cool ideas from other rigs, and maybe some tips on different mods, crap like that. Just wouldn’t be the same standing there talking about all this while leaning on a rented rig, lol.

 

[WIJLU]

I drove in from Chicago . Stayed at the Hyatt. Mpg was terrible going there as it was a 35-45mpg head wind for a solid 8 hours .brought us down to 11.2mpg on 37s . Going back I think I got 14ish mpg . It's just not the same renting but it's better than nothing. I know there are trailering services you could do too but that could get pricey if you can find a group to go in on it with .

Also, if you're gonna rent check out outlaw and twisted Jeep's .Outlaw actually has JLs on metalcloak lifts, some even with bead locks .

I drove in from Wisconsin...hit the same head wind that RubiRob did on the way there...it was horrible!!!

Heading home I was close to 17 mpg...on 37's.

It's worth it to me to drive mine...

Stayed in a cabin at the KOA. It was great...would definitely stat there again.

 

[rustyshakelford]

We trailered ours there. It’s a weight off my shoulders thinking we could still get home if we tear something up bad. Matter of fact, we trailer for any wheeling trip. Worked out well and was able to bring 5 37s home for some great folks that won them in the raffle.

In your shoes, if you don’t have a tow truck and trailer I’d explore having it shipped out there unless you really enjoy driving. If you break, there are some awesome shops in town

We’re making Moab and annual trip and going to do the rubicon next July. We have a lot of driving planned

Brett

 

[Roky]

We trailered ours there. It’s a weight off my shoulders thinking we could still get home if we tear something up bad. Matter of fact, we trailer for any wheeling trip. Worked out well and was able to bring 5 37s home for some great folks that won them in the raffle.

In your shoes, if you don’t have a tow truck and trailer I’d explore having it shipped out there unless you really enjoy driving. If you break, there are some awesome shops in town

We’re making Moab and annual trip and going to do the rubicon next July. We have a lot of driving planned

Brett

Yeah.. that’s a good point, getting home if tear something up. Might have to look into a tow pig, I have access to a trailer, just don’t have anything to pull it with.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Yeah.. that’s a good point, getting home if tear something up. Might have to look into a tow pig, I have access to a trailer, just don’t have anything to pull it with.

I have a ford diesel Dually but am considering buying a new 19 ram dually. They are nice. I had a new 450 but drove my 350 all the time so sold the 450 and now I miss I the creature comforts of a brand new truck. The 350 has an aluminum flatbed and I don’t care about putting miles on it though

Brett

 

[TexRivers]

I’ll be driving from Houston to SW CO, north rim of the Grand Canyon, Moab and then northern CA Sierra Nevadas in late June - July. Loving retirement.

 

[Watchthis]

A lot depends on what trails you want to do. We drove out May 1 about 1750 miles and the roughest trails we did was Finns and Hells Revenge but made it just fine. We were gone 22 days and did 6300 miles ,spent $953.08 on gas,and had a blast. Already planning on doing Moab again next year.

 

[RubiRob]

How long did it take you to get there? And did driving there, knowing you had to drive it home, keep you from trying any trails you might have tried if you’d trailered it, or was that not a factor in your decision making?

From Chicagoland it was 19hrs. Stopped in Denver that first night then it was only 5.5hrs to finish up and get into town. Worked out perfectly.

I didn't limit myself to any trails there based on anything breaking. Just experience and comfort. I'd like to eventually go back and do the rim, Kane Creek, metal masher and pritchett. Also hole in the Rock and elephant Hill would be cool but a little ways out of town.

Food for thought, just like Brett said there's some great shops there to get you fixed up and even during EJS there's a large tent where there's a bunch of mechanics fixing vehicles for free. I think they were sponsored by BFG this year.

 

[JeepTime]

So I know you want to take your own rig out there, and I do too. But its so far and sounds like a pain, I'd probably just ship mine out there somehow if I was going to do a trip and wanted my car. Would probably be around the same cost with wear and tear, hotels, food etc along the way. But of course YMMV. You'd be surprised how many people rent Jeeps out there for offroading and don't take their own. I go to Grand Junction, CO a lot for work and If i get a few days free I drive out to Moab (about 1.5 hours) and rent a jeep and hit the trails. There's companies as mentioned that specialize in Jeeps to use on the trails. My friend and I were debating driving mine to Moab later this year from FL like yourself, but we decided to go though the renting a jeep route. Less to worry about, easier all around, and saves us a few days on each side. If you are going to go that route I would recommend flying into Grand Junction, CO (1.5 hours away) has a lot of airline service, or you can go directly into Canyonlands (Moab) on United out of Denver.

Of course the benefit in taking your own car is you can toss the Jeep Badge of Honor on there for the trail!

 

[LLANERO]

Hey, I’d like to know how many of you drove your rig to Moab this year wheeled it and drove home. How’d it do, gas mileage, how far of trip was it for you, and whatever else I’m forgetting ?
Would you do it the same way next time you go or trailer it?
Where did you stay, hotel, tent, rv, etc...
I’d love to go next year , but it’s a haul from Florida. So I’d like to hear how you did it.
My apologies if there’s already a thread on this.
Thanks!

Not with my JL, but I drove my 2-door JK all the way from Miami to Moab back in 2016.We were a group of 4, 3 wranglers and 1 FJ cruiser. We contemplated the idea of flying and renting or trailing, but decided that driving our rigs all the way to Moab was the fun way to do it.

We drove through Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and then came back through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee (visited wind rock), Georgia. (I may be missing a state).

I took us 3 days to get there. We drove until we were tired and look for the closed hotel to spend the night.

I will definitely do it again

 

[MedicalCowboy]

Hey, I’d like to know how many of you drove your rig to Moab this year wheeled it and drove home. How’d it do, gas mileage, how far of trip was it for you, and whatever else I’m forgetting ?
Would you do it the same way next time you go or trailer it?
Where did you stay, hotel, tent, rv, etc...
I’d love to go next year , but it’s a haul from Florida. So I’d like to hear how you did it.
My apologies if there’s already a thread on this.
Thanks!

Screw Moab. Wait until July and head up to Colorado. You can do the Alpine Loop. Imogene and black bear pass. Hopefully by then they would have the road to Animas Forks cleared as well. Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride are all awesome places. Plus there’s a lot less tourists and a lot less bros. We just drove from north Alabama and have been all over the area including Moab. If we would have known we would have just skipped Moab and stayed in Colorado an extra few nights. We’re averaging 16.5 mpg on a sport with 35’s and a ton of gear.

 

[MedicalCowboy]

Just curious.... what about Moab didn’t you like, the wheeling, the people, atmosphere, etc.?

The people and the tourist atmosphere. The wheeling was definitely interesting, but we’re not rock crawlers lol.

Sponsored