Lets go to Baja!

Greg@RME

Adventurer
"Let's take a newly built and unproven trailer, a recently purchased and modified truck to Mexico over 2,400 miles and take an easy solo trip.... "

2 days later, on the Baja 1000 race course, in 4 low with the rear locker engaged. :eek: (It may not look like much, but it was a steep climb, not to mention the dozens of water crossings and soft sand down in the wash.)

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So some quick thoughts.... the truck was amazing, it's a pleasure to drive on the freeway towing the trailer and offroad, bouncing around offroad and blasting at speed. I was worried about how 'mild' it is, but it turned out to be ideal for the trip.

The EcoBoost engine is impressive, we averaged 14 MPG on the way down and 12 MPG coming back, facing a nasty headwind most of the time. The trailer has enough weight & rolling resistance that the EcoBoost is running with the turbo's spooled up much of the time. I don't really care about the mileage, but LOVED the 36 gallon gas tank. It took so much stress off planning around getting gas in Baja and on the drive down and back. We had 10 gallons of gas in the truck just in case, but never needed to consider dumping it in. On our last 2 days, we drove from Bahia de Los Angeles (8 hours South of the border) and well into California before needing gas again. Last time we went, we took my Jeep which is only good for 220-240 miles per tankful. The truck is so easy to drive it makes all the miles pass easily. Both my wife and I were very happy with how well the truck worked.

The offroad manners of the truck were simply incredible, even more so when we left the trailer behind and pushed the truck at speed on the sandy Baja roads. As simple as this truck is with nothing but shocks, wheels & tires it was ideal for a offroad Baja trip. The Falcon shocks add so much control at speed and the BFG KO2's and Method Wheels helped manage the impacts. There were plenty of times when we had the trailer hooked up that I wish it wasn't there.... because we could have covered ground much quicker! :eek: It's like this truck was built for this kind of stuff... I'd dare say it's not to far off from a Raptor, without the factory long-travel suspension, wide fenders and 35's.

That said, the OUT trailer from Anchor Mountain Overland performed flawlessly and was so nice to have when it came time to set up camp and the ARB RTT. Everything was quick & easy to deploy and put away, I did love how easy it was to access the RTT with it sitting on the lid. Putting away a RTT on the roof of a lifted 4x4 isn't always easy! Speaking of the lid, I was thankful for it as well as the locks to keep everything secure. The whole package was pretty low-key but having things covered and out of sight helped keep interested eyes from seeing anything they wanted. There were several times that we parked the truck & trailer and were away from it for hours and it was nice to know all was secure. We didn't use the hot water shower or cook stove as we had access to running water and food at the places we stayed. The firewood was much needed though, keeping us warm on the chilly, long evenings. Glad I brought so much and had plenty of storage for it on the trailer! The trailer actually got air quite a few times, on road and off... and survived without damage! I think I'm going to make a spring change, I had to add longer shackles after getting it loaded down and I don't like them. I think I could use more arch to the springs.... also seriously thinking about adding shocks to the trailer. It bounces a lot!

The Falcon Sport Tow/Haul shocks were also very nice to have with the trailer in tow, running them set on the #2 'Medium' setting of the Tow/Haul mode. The trailer had more tongue weight than needed, but the Falcons kept that hitch-bounce that you can get, far away. Honestly, it was often hard to tell there was a trailer hooked up at all on the highway and freeway. The truck and trailer were stable and planted at all times.

OK, so this trip wasn't nearly as extensive as our last Baja trip, my wife had family down in San Felipe and they came down over a few different days and we spent quite a bit of time catching up with family that we don't see often enough, which cut into our travel time. I totally understand though, Family is important and spending time together is very valuable, so I can't complain. We did take the whole family into town for some fresh Fish & Shrimp Tacos at Brendas, right on the main street of San Felipe... they were amazing, as always.

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While around San Felipe, we took a quick driving tour thru Valle de los Gigantes (Valley of the Giants). The valley is home to an impressive forest of cardón cacti, the tallest growing cactus in the world. The Verbena were in full bloom, carpeting parts of the valley floor with purple flowers... much of the desert was a brilliant green, the Baja desert looked alive and healthy! The drive thru Valle de los Gigantes is short, but impressive.... highly recommended if you're in the area. It costs $10/vehicle to enter and the the sand on the back-end of the park gets pretty soft & deep, requiring 4WD. The sunrises in Baja are amazing, lighting up the Sea of Cortez and making some beautiful colors.... they're one of my favorite things to photograph.

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We did finally venture out and head 5 hours South, to Bahia de Los Angeles. The attempt by Mexico to finish building a road from South of San Felipe and meeting up with MEX 1.... but it seems that mother nature by way of a recent hurricane is reclaiming any attempt by man to tame the Baja peninsula. About a dozen parts of road have been washed out and made impassible, some times totally washing away the road. There are temporary bypasses that have been built, but they can be pretty rough. We didn't need 4WD, but came close a few times. The road is simply falling apart down there, Mexico can't keep up with the repairs! Most of the damage is around Puertecitos and down to Gonzaga Bay. It'll be quite a few more years before the highway is repaired/completed, which is good news IMO... I'd love to see this part of Baja remain hard to get to.

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The Bay of LA is a out-of-the-way, sleepy fishing town with a beautiful bay surrounded by massive, barren islands. It's a place where Whale Sharks come to have their babies and there is plenty of other sea life as well. You can charter boats from many places to go fishing, whale watching, etc. We camped at Daggetts where they offer palapas with fire pits and running water with toilets and hot showers. The facilities are sketchy and questionable, like many other places in outlying Baja.... but it does the job. We dropped the OUT trailer and setup the ARB RTT, then used the truck by itself to run around town and explore.

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Random, friendly doggo (pit bull?) running on the beach.... I was taking pics kneeling down and she body-checked me, damn near knocking me over! Scared the crap out of me too, because I didn't see or hear her coming! She was super friendly and just wanted some attention.

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We had a great breakfast at Costa del Sol and got to see the one-eye'd Great Dane Scooby, who we met 3 years earlier on a previous trip.

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continued....
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
When we left the Bay of LA, we hit MEX 1 headed North and turned off at one of my favorite route.... into Calamauje Wash. The first time I heard about this place, I was warned to stay out. Deep sand, rough two-track and a wash that usually has running water and some deep crossings. The warning had the opposite effect.... I HAD to see it for myself! We've been thru before, 5 years earlier in the '98 Toyota Land Cruiser and is was SOFT, the Baja 1000 had just ran thru and churned up the sandy wash. This route can be broken down into 3 different parts, from the highway turnoff.

The first part is simply incredible, massive Cirio trees, Saguaro cactus and the gigantic Cardón's reach nearly 100' into the sky here! This is Baja's jungle.... and it feels like another world. A whooped out two track stretches for miles, winding it's way thru the beautiful Baja jungle. While we were passing thru a storm moved in and it was lightly raining, which is rare in Baja. We were a little concerned, as dark clouds where hanging over the wash we were headed towards.

The 2nd part of the trail is down in the wash, soft sand and running water have created quite the oasis down in the canyon. It's beautiful, the wash crossings are mostly tame but a few of them got deeper than expected. There are steep canyon walls and rock that has been carved out over hundreds of thousands of years. At one point there's a spring with minerals building up and cascading down the cliff.

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The last part of the trail climbs out of the wash and among the Ocotillo plants, it's very whooped out, diving in and out of rocky washes. It requires careful driving, but there are a few parts that you can pick up the speed. Eventually the trail spits you out at Coco's Corner and the more traveled roads and highway construction in progress.

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From there we hit the road back to San Felipe, getting in just as it got dark. We were tired and needing sleep, as we were heading to the border and on home early the next morning. Our Baja trip was winding down, but it was a good one!
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
Great write up and as often as I have been down there I still find something new to look forward after reading a report like this. Great pics also, thx for the review.
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
Awesome report and pics Greg! How long have you had the F150? Looking clean:cool:

Thanks Jalil, it was Catherines replacement for the 100 Series that you bought from us! We've had it about a month, it's been a great truck. Hope the Cruiser has been treating you well!
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
Great write up and as often as I have been down there I still find something new to look forward after reading a report like this. Great pics also, thx for the review.

Happy to share! I love reading the trip reports of others for the same reason, find somewhere new to explore.
 
That's a good replacement right there. The hundy is spectacular. About to get the cv back from cvj and cleaned out the rear locker actuator so now it works. The front windows stopped working on me a week after I got it but turns out the runs were caked with dust n stuff. Cleaned and conditioned them and working flawlessly now. Not gonna get it back this time:p I adore it. I'll keep ya posted! In the mean time, get down to Ouray soon!
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
That's a good replacement right there. The hundy is spectacular. About to get the cv back from cvj and cleaned out the rear locker actuator so now it works. The front windows stopped working on me a week after I got it but turns out the runs were caked with dust n stuff. Cleaned and conditioned them and working flawlessly now. Not gonna get it back this time:p I adore it. I'll keep ya posted! In the mean time, get down to Ouray soon!

Good to hear you're still loving it and taking care of the small issues! We do need to get to Ouray soon, been prepping for this Baja trip for the last month and been crazy-busy!
 
Good to hear you're still loving it and taking care of the small issues! We do need to get to Ouray soon, been prepping for this Baja trip for the last month and been crazy-busy!
I'll bet. Just remember I can get you a super deal at the Box Canyon Lodge and Hot Springs. Hope you had an awesome New Years! Looking forward to this summer already. Above average snowpack already so hopefully no fires!
 

AnchorMTN

Member
Way to commit to a trip with untested gear!! The best adventures just happen... they dont need to be planned.
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
Way to commit to a trip with untested gear!! The best adventures just happen... they dont need to be planned.

I was pretty confident in my gear and building skills, but was happy that there were no issues! Thanks for offering such an amazing DIY trailer kit, it came together very well and got compliments and interest during the trip.
 

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