The Trans America Trail in a 2019 Ford Ranger

Jim Oaks

Observer
August 14th:

I had actually drove some in to the night last night, and then spent the night in the parking lot of a Loves Travel Stop by IS 49 south of Mountainburg. I woke up, paid for a shower, and then hit the trail.

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I big part of today would be spent driving through the Ozarks in the Ozark National Forest.

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It was a good thing I stopped when I did. Today's section of the trail started out rough and rocky.

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The Cooper Discoverer STT PRO's have really gotten a work out since they've been on this truck. I've been very happy with their performance.

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A lot of dense vegetation here.

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One thing about the Ozarks, there is so much dense forest in this area that it can be difficult to find a clearing where you can actually see a view. I got lucky. Someone built a house, and cut the trees down in front of it to see the mountain view.

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Is this what they mean by being between a rock and a hard place? LOL.

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Found another small opening in the trees to see the view.

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This wild hog could sense my love for bacon, and was running down the road in front of me trying to get away.

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Road construction in the forest. :oops:

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I was trying to make it in to Mississippi today, but didn't make it. Getting close though.

Miles:

I drove a total of 307 miles today. That includes venturing off the trail to find dinner, and to and from where I sleep for the night. I spent a lot of miles on narrow paved country roads on the Trans America Trail today as well. So out of the 307 miles I traveled today, 112 of those miles were off pavement.

Video:

 

Jim Oaks

Observer
When I travel and I'm not sleeping / camping somewhere without a shower, I use these Shower Pill Body Wipes. I just go in to a restroom stall, wipe myself off with one, and then throw it in the trash. They're bigger than those little wet wipes, don't leave a residue, and dry pretty quick. They also don't have a weird fragrance. I know this is pretty personal, but someone might find it helpful.

30291
I've also told you guys that I shower at Love's Travel Stops sometimes. I usually sleep in the parking lot, then pay $12.00 for a shower. They provide clean towels and soap / shampoo, but I use my own.

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(Check out that TRS shirt! https://teespring.com/stores/the-ranger-station )

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Jim Oaks

Observer
August 15th:

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So I spent another night in a parking lot in Arkansas, and woke up a little after 7am listening to a crop duster spraying a nearby field.

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There would be a few times on the trip today that the Trans America Trail (TAT) would follow along the top of a levee.

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The TAT is always a little more interesting when the road doesn't resemble a road so much.

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Until you come to something like this. The trail actually makes a right turn in the middle of this 'pond'.

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And since the 2019 Ford Ranger doesn't have a snorkel option, I did a u-turn and went around this.

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That would be the only water hole I skipped. I hit the rest of them. And you'll be able to see more when I publish the video.

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I had to stop and see Percy in Trenton Arkansas. Percy has a guest book, and most of the people that ride / drive the TAT stop and sign it. I was #154 this year. People sign it, list where they're from, and what they're riding / driving. Looking back through the pages, almost everyone of them are on motorcycles. Percy also has had a book printed each year that contains photos of the people that stopped. He had a friend take my photo with the Ranger, so hopefully I'll show up in his next book. There is also a Facebook Page for his place.

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Percy is known for his hospitality, guest book, and offering riders a cold bottle of water as you sit on his porch. I asked how he realized that the TAT ran in front of his place. He told me that a motorcycle had stopped in front of his place, and was in need of someone with a welder. Percy helped get him fixed up, and began asking the rider (a guy from Ohio of all places...) where he was going. That's when he learned that his place was on the Trans America Trail. The rest is history.

It's funny in a way. Of all the areas you go through, and all the spectacular sights you see, one of the most popular stopping points on the trail is Percy's in Trenton, Arkansas.

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Crossing in to Mississippi, the trail was boring paved back roads for a while, but eventually lead to a lot of gravel ones. But even those got boring after a while.

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But then things started getting interesting again.

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Yes, that's actually a county road sign. This was actually a county roads. And there were numerous trails that were marked as county roads.

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Jim Oaks

Observer
August 15th (Continued):

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And then things got a little more fun just outside of Coffeeville, MS.

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I think it's safe to say that this county road is not maintained.

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I was actually pretty pleased at how well the Ranger was working. Even though I got a wheel in the air when I was crossing the deep sections that had been washed out, I didn't hear any rubbing or squeaking sounds, and the Ranger had no trouble maintaining forward movement.

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Unfortunately I came to this part. And although I wouldn't have hesitated to go up it in my TRS-2 Ranger, I was not about to attempt it in the Loan Ranger.

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I backtracked, and then cut back up to the TAT past this section.

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From there, it was back to a lot of gravel sections.

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Here's you can see the mud on the hood from splashing through the mud and water in Arkansas. I stopped to clean my headlights since it was getting dark.

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And after (3) nights sleeping in the Ranger, I decided to stretch out on a real bed for the night.

Miles:

Total miles traveled today: 315 Miles
Total miles traveled off pavement: 93 miles

Video:

 

Jim Oaks

Observer
August 16th:

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After a good nights sleep, I fueled up the Ranger, pressure washed the mud off of the truck, and was back on the Trans America Trail.

I've been seeing a lot of these vines growing in Mississippi. In some spots they were covering fences, trees, and utility poles.

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There was some serious ruts on this road. I bet it would be a lot of fun to drive up when it's muddy.

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I'm confident that my Cooper Discoverer STT PRO's could get the job done.

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Nothing more exciting then traveling down a long trail, and then discovering that it runs through a creek.

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I managed to make it in to Tennessee today. The scenery is definitely a lot greener on this trip than the one in June. LOL.

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I hate seeing areas that have been logged by logging companies. The land always looks like it's a victim of something horrible. I wish logging companies would clean up the mess they create.

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The Trans America Trail can go from wide gravel roads to narrow trails through wooded sections.

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I experienced quite a few water crossings today. I didn't photograph all of them.

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Doesn't this bridge look like it should be an opening to a fun house??

The day was pretty uneventful. A lot of the trail in Tennessee is 2-lane chip and seal roads out in the country. Their were some off pavement sections, but not a whole lot.

I made it to Fayetteville TN for the night. I'm guessing another 5-6 hours of driving, and the whole Trans America Trail will finally be completed.

In the morning I'll be headed towards Tellico Plains.

Miles:

Total miles driven today: 296 Miles

Actual miles driven off pavement: 60 Miles

Video:

 

Jim Oaks

Observer
August 17th:

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This was the final day of the Trans America Trail. It was a fairly boring day as well.

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There was very little off-pavement driving. Most of it was 2-lane back country roads that were either paved or chip and sealed.

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But then near the end, I ran in to a gravel section that had some washouts and downed trees...

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And finally, (4) back to back water crossings. They never look as intimidating in photos because you can't get a perception of depth.

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I'm glad that I can officially say it's over. I ended at Tellico Springs in Tennessee. This is where Sam originally started the TAT (Since then he extended the start down in to Andrews NC).

Since leaving my home in Texas, I traveled 1,869 before finally arriving in Tellico Plains.

Miles:

Today I drove 231 miles, but only 23 of those miles were off pavement.

Video:

 

Jim Oaks

Observer
The Final Trans America Trail Numbers

In June, I drove 3,880 miles exploring the Trans America Trail and surrounding areas. 1,861 of those miles were off pavement.

In August I drove 1,517 miles exploring the Trans America Trail and surrounding areas. 480 of those miles were off pavement.

That means that I drove 5,397 miles exploring the Trans America Trail, and spent 2,341 miles off pavement.

These do not include the miles I spent driving from Texas to hit the trail, and the return trips home.

These numbers will vary from person to person that does this trip. Some venture off the trail to see other areas, get food, gas, or find a place to sleep. Some areas have the option of newer or older routes, and sometimes you have to detour because of a trail / road closure.

If anyone is curious, World Atlas states that the continental United States is 2,680 miles wide.
 

crazysccrmd

Observer
No offense, my friend, but the gate you encountered is one of the more common styles found anywhere in the country. Ranchers and farmers put them up not because they're trying to disguise the gate or discourage its use, but because they can be built on-site for practically nothing money-wise with materials a ranch hand normally has on his horse, ATV, or truck.

Foy
Yep, that gate is fine. Open, roll up, drive though, unroll and clip it back together. Of they wanted to keep you out, it would be straight up barbed wire.

Still looks like fullsize friendly trails. That's good.



I know it's an older post but I ran into those in August as well. That "gate" and the one on the other end of the road are not the standard rancher built style. They both would require tools and extensive time to open and close. Instead of the normal loop of wire across the fencepost they were figure eight loops wrapping top and bottom of both the fence and the "gate" on both sides.

One of them is directly positioned on the boundary of the NF land so it could very well be a legal closure of private land that the rancher no longer wanted people traveling across. Other bypass routes I tried based off smaller FS roads and trails were fenced off with private property signs as well.

There are parts of the Oregon section that are 100% not full-size friendly, my Tacoma was scrapping bushes and tree limbs on both sides at times.
 
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4x4x4doors

Explorer
Thanks for the report. Followed along and enjoyed. Maybe it will get added to my list one of these days.
The vine you mention on August 16 which covers most of the Southeast is Kudzu, an invasive species deliberately imported to cut down on erosion that has spread and is virtually uncontrollable. Folklore says if you stand still long enough, it will cover you and move on.
 
Great trip thanks for sharing. If you were to run start to finish and roads were open how long do you think it would take to finish?
 

billiebob

Well-known member
There are ranchers and timber companies with leases on federal lands that think those land leases give them the right to close of public roads
What you call a public road is often a road the timber company built to extract the resource. They paid for it. It is theirs to gate when 4 wheelers start causing erosion problems by driving thru ditches and fields.
 

Sunpilot

Observer
I enjoyed reading the account of the trip. I have some questions for you, if you don't mind.
First, what tablet did you use to run the Gaia app?
Second, I saw a few places that the tablet was mounted somewhere on the console, but nothing showed the actual mounting (unless I missed it) . BTW, I have a new Ranger coming in this week and am ready to go exploring. Gonna sell my '07 4Runner after I get the Ranger ready.
Third, how did the Gaia app work for you, what maps did you use, and was the app useful when you had no internet connection, which looks like a lot of the time? I currently use paper maps, but want to have something like the Gaia or maybe a Magellan TRX7.

Thanks for any info you can provide. Happy trails
 

Jim Oaks

Observer
I enjoyed reading the account of the trip. I have some questions for you, if you don't mind.
First, what tablet did you use to run the Gaia app?
Second, I saw a few places that the tablet was mounted somewhere on the console, but nothing showed the actual mounting (unless I missed it) . BTW, I have a new Ranger coming in this week and am ready to go exploring. Gonna sell my '07 4Runner after I get the Ranger ready.
Third, how did the Gaia app work for you, what maps did you use, and was the app useful when you had no internet connection, which looks like a lot of the time? I currently use paper maps, but want to have something like the Gaia or maybe a Magellan TRX7.

Thanks for any info you can provide. Happy trails

Sorry I'm just now replying...

I used an Arkon TAB086-12 Heavy Duty Tablet Clamp Mount with 12 inch Neck that I got from Amazon. I was able to clamp it to the top lip of the console up by the tray.

I've had a 10-inch Samsung tablet for years, and used that. It has a built in GPS just like a cell phone.

I used this map:


It's a combination of Sam's map, and KevinGPS' map. Clicking the 3 little dots in the right corner of the legend will give you a drop menu where you can download a KML file. When you create an account with https://www.gaiagps.com/ you can go in to your 'Tracks' and upload the KML file. You can then decide which part of the track you want to be visible on your mobile device. When you go to your mobile device (my tablet), you can download the map on to your tablet. The tablet will always show a line indicating your route, and your position on that route. If you have an internet signal, it will show the map. If not, you'll just see a line like this:

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I would strongly suggest using the Gaia GPS app.

I also had the factory GPS, but I don't like it because it loses detail if you try to zoom out. Ford can put terrain management and traction control in their trucks, but the factory GPS' suck. Another thing to consider is going in to Google Maps on your mobile device, finding the areas you're going to be travelling through, and saving those sections of map on your device. It will allow you to view the map of that area even if your offline. It can't show you the TAT route, but it will show you everything else.
 

Jim Oaks

Observer
What you call a public road is often a road the timber company built to extract the resource. They paid for it. It is theirs to gate when 4 wheelers start causing erosion problems by driving thru ditches and fields.

While I'm sure that's the case sometimes, the roads I encountered problems with were actually named roads on maps.
 

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