89macrunner

Well i guess the time of year doesnt really matter in az..

but If all goes as planned im bringing my truck down to tempe for spring semester.

I have pretty much 0 wheeling experience unless you count messing around in snow. I would like to learn some stuff, and have some fun.

According to me, I should be able to do some moderate things on the trail based on my trucks specs. There is a possibilty that I will have 33's by the time spring comes depending on how eaten up my tires get on the way to AZ.

I definitely dont want to do anything that risks injury to myself or more importantly my truck. I spent many years saving for this thing and I dont wanna destroy it.

Anybody have ideas for trails in Sedona or wherever else you guys go?

also, what kind of gear will i be needing? I will only have my basic hand tools with me. I dont own any recovery gear. Nor do I have a trailer hitch. ($100 installed for those?). My truck is pretty stock besides the lift. No fancy bumpers or anything..yet.

last thing. If you know of any offroad shops that would be willing to trade my experienced IT work for product..let me know haha

Mark in Az

With a pair of rock sliders you'll be safe to go on a bunch of fun trails.

Elvota

If you have AC, this is basically true. If you don't, it's still true... but you just have to be a lot tougher.

Your stock 4Runner on 31's will go many places, add 33's and you'll be able to tackle a few more. Sliders would probably be the best mod you could do for AZ. It's easy to make one smallish wrong move and meet up with a boulder that can ruin your day.

AZ has a lot of variety. Take a look through the Trip Report section here on YT to get some ideas. Post up any questions as far as difficulty, or keep an eye out in this section for upcoming runs.


There are a few trails and roads around Sedona. Some will be above your vehicles ability at this point, but there are plenty of scenic routes and hikes if you are into that sort of thing.

If you plan on wheeling alone, which is never really a good idea, you are going to have to invest in some minimal recovery gear. If you start wheeling with others, you can generally rely on someone in the group being able to help get you out. That said, the more self sufficient a wheeler is the more he will contribute to a run. If everyone showed up expecting the other guy to have a shovel... we'd all be walking home.

A good idea would be to familiarize yourself with extraction anchors on your vehicle. If you don't have some front and rear, you need to add them, or others can't really help get you unstuck.

And plenty of water is the number one thing you need to always bring, especially in the summer... even with AC.

Sorry.... I can't help you there. I am mostly under my own truck, and am not all that familiar with local shops.

Welcome to AZ, or welcome soon to AZ. Seems the local YT group is starting to grow with varied vehicles and experience levels. I think you'll find some other drivers that you will mesh well with that can help show you around.

wormhole

Sliders, recovery gear and water are always good to have down here. Plus, I really don't recommend wheeling alone. The AZ group great bunch of peopleto wheel with and are very helpful. Let us know when you get down this way and maybe us stock toyota guys can meet up somewhere.

Welcome,

juststock

Hey 89macrunner, this is definitely great group. I'm new at this too and they have gotten me through CK and Sunflower. I certainly could not have done it without them!

Hmmm, I wouldn't mind trying some of those "moderate" trails listed in the Backroads book by Wells. Anyone interested in trying them too?

Elvota

The Well's book is a great source, especially if you have done some of the trails listed. That way, when he rates a trail you'll have a better understanding of where he is coming from... and what you'd be in for.

Keep in mind, it can be nice to have at least one rig built far beyond any given trail, as they can generally be relied upon to get the others through, should trail conditions have changed.

And if it's a new trail to everyone, perhaps make sure any necessary gear will be included amongst all the rigs planning to attend.

FJ40LVR

X2 - Wheeling alone is never a good idea....I pulled a range rover out of martinez cabin trail that had high centered himself, me and my buddy were the first people along the trail in over six hours that he had been stuck, no cb, no cell signal. If hew had been a little further out he could have been stuck DAYS, not hours.
WELCOME!

hosh

I'm gonna disagree with you there. The last time i was in arizona, flagstaff and grand canyon area. I froze while camping in the kiabib forest. It gets cold at night, very cold. especially at night. Granted i was at 7000 ft elevation and it was spring, about two years ago. They didn't even open the north rim until the day after i left due to heavy snow.

I got stuck in the snow in the north kiabib, and if it weren't for my tree saver, chain, heavy strap and farm jack i would have been along time digging out.

I would highly suggest at least a hi-lift or farm jack (same thing just heavier duty) some kind of tow strap, logging/truckers chain or better yet a jerk strap. This is what i would call minimal recovery gear.

my avitar is a pic taken on that trip. abit higher in elevation and the snow got to deep to continue. it was an offshot of some pass going into flagstaff. easy pass, but the offshots were fun. it was in the wells book

89macrunner

Ok so im starting to gather a checklist of things to buy for spring:

sliders (alreadly talked to steve from sonoran about those)
Heavy duty recoverystrap with tree saver
Shovel
hi-lift jack
rear hitch and shackle for it
people to give me some wheeling pointers (thats you guys)

anything else I should add?

Ill be driving the taco in my sig if that matters.

westy44runner

Rock sliders are a must. Your gear list is fairly complete. Make sure to have a good spare tire. Small air compressor for airing up tires is nice to have. Costco has the MV50 style ones now I believe.

As for what trails you can run - with the rear locker, sliders and 32 or 33s you will be able to run quite a few of the moderately difficult trails. Tempe is a good central location that will leave you with many options not too far away. I would highly suggest picking up the Wells book, or the AZ 4wd Adventures book by Massey. Wells is better for wheeling, while the Massey book is more geared toward stock vehicles, accessing more scenic destinations geared towered just getting out to new places to see.

Some good trails - Coke Ovens, Log Corral, Hackberry, Upper Woodpecker, Rocker Panel, Sycamore, Crown King. Spring time is great in the lower elevation deserts. Generally late winter to early spring brings some good rains, alot of the vegetation is green and the temps are comfortable.

FJ40LVR

Maybe, my buddys shop just got their basic website up and running....can't hurt to ask.


http://www.truck-werks.com/base%20page.html

89macrunner

Well my Tacoma is now in AZ and im working on getting my list of stuff.

I spent all of my money on a road bike recently so im waiting for a few more paychecks till i buy everything.

If you live in the Phx/Tempe/Scottsdale area you probably have seen me riding around in the late afternoon.

toy_tek

Missed this thread before, but good to hear you got your truck here and looking forward to meeting you on the trail. So far everyone I've met here in AZ has been way cool. So you're from Pittsburgh: Go Browns

Edit: if a 4Runner hitch fits a Taco then I have one available, as well as a xfer case skidplate from Skid Row.

89macrunner

i dont think the 4runner hitch will since our trucks are pretty different from the engine and tranny back.

I do need to get some sliders and a rear hitch before i really go wheeling...I have no rear recovery point and i KNOW im going to get stuck.

I just got myself a bunch of stereo gear since i commute almost 40 minutes to work a few times a week and i hate listening to phx traffic.

Good thing im a valet!

bigt

nice i ws a valet for 3years best job ever!!!,,

your not gonna get stuck if your locked that yota will go through or over anything boy!

ozziesironmanoffroad

i dunno, does arizona get that much hotter than vegas?

sh0kk86

it gets really hot during the summer