Getting out of the AZ Heat: Mt. Graham

[RockYacht2020]

Took the Rebel up Mt. Graham (SE AZ) this weekend. ~20 miles of tight switchback paved road followed by ~12 miles of dirt road. Nothing that required 4WD, but still a fun trip. The tight twisties on the paved road made me seriously consider the Hellwig Rear Sway Bar, but I don't want to take away from the off-road articulation.

Lots of dispersed sites, and a few campgrounds if that's your thing. Riggs Lake at the top has about 15 spots at the campground, but lots of dispersed nearby, too, though not as close to the water. Highs in the upper 70s beats 108 in Tucson any day! A skunk came through camp Friday night, but otherwise, no interesting wildlife of note.

If you've got other Southwest Cool Getaways, start new threads in this regional section! Always looking for cool places to camp within driving distance.

 

[orange01z28]

That's a really sweet tent rig you've got there

 

[RockYacht2020]

That's a really sweet tent rig you've got there

Thanks! Built it a couple years ago. Solar, 125 Ah gel battery, 1100W inverter, kitchen that has a countertop and built-in sink and running water with a 10 gal tank, ARB awning, propane hookups with a stove and a tent heater, 24" scissor lift for the RTT (23Zero and I'd do that brand again in a heartbeat), propane heated shower, and everything you need fits inside (table, chairs, pop-up shade that we never use anymore, portable SoloStove fire pit, shower tent, leveling blocks, area rugs, etc.). I'm really pleased with it. The best part is after I've set up camp I can drive away and go exploring! The only downside is I don't have the spare from the Subaru anymore now that I traded it in for the truck, so I'm either carrying a spare in the truck bed or going without one at all. Oh well. Worth it.

 

[ram-man]

And your dog ROCKS!

 

[RockYacht2020]

And your dog ROCKS!

Heck yes he does! Pericles loves camping. More of his adventures here. We went up to the Chiracauas last week. He almost didn't make it, but he's good.

 

[TheGoogleNinja]

Fun stuff. This is exactly why I bought this truck after owning mostly cars for the last 25 years. Exploration and escape from the grind. I'm trying to outfit this truck to be something that I can have a basic "overlanding" type setup that is 99% removable. I hate the idea of permanently mounting racks and stuff to my pickup. I may go with some sort of a trailer setup like yours.

 

[RockYacht2020]

Fun stuff. This is exactly why I bought this truck after owning mostly cars for the last 25 years. Exploration and escape from the grind. I'm trying to outfit this truck to be something that I can have a basic "overlanding" type setup that is 99% removable. I hate the idea of permanently mounting racks and stuff to my pickup. I may go with some sort of a trailer setup like yours.

I REALLY like the idea of overlanding without having an overlander as my daily driver. The trailer is the best answer, as far as I can tell. The other nice thing is leaving a campsite set up if you want to do a day trip and get out exploring. My buddy turned his Power Wagon into an overland vehicle, and it's all but destroyed his Rooftop Tent because he can't get it into his garage (though that's mostly because the crew cab and long bed wouldn't fit the truck without the RTT and I make fun of him for that, but we'll leave that alone).

If you go down the build or buy a trailer road, I've got some suggestions on how to do it on the cheap if you're interested.

 

[TheGoogleNinja]

I REALLY like the idea of overlanding without having an overlander as my daily driver. The trailer is the best answer, as far as I can tell. The other nice thing is leaving a campsite set up if you want to do a day trip and get out exploring. My buddy turned his Power Wagon into an overland vehicle, and it's all but destroyed his Rooftop Tent because he can't get it into his garage (though that's mostly because the crew cab and long bed wouldn't fit the truck without the RTT and I make fun of him for that, but we'll leave that alone).

If you go down the build or buy a trailer road, I've got some suggestions on how to do it on the cheap if you're interested.

I think more than just myself would be interested in seeing that kind of information. I'm exactly there myself, overlanding without having the daily driver overlander. The trailer seems like the best option for my lifestyle. That or a removable rack system that will work with my tonneau cover. I'm thinking of doing an Adarac with a rooftop tent and then setting up one of those lift systems in my garage to take it off when not in use. The Adarac requires a rail to be mounted to your bed rails but it isn't unsightly or anything. Plus I could use the Adarac for bike mounts or storage boxes for various types of travel.

 

[RockYacht2020]

I think more than just myself would be interested in seeing that kind of information. I'm exactly there myself, overlanding without having the daily driver overlander. The trailer seems like the best option for my lifestyle. That or a removable rack system that will work with my tonneau cover. I'm thinking of doing an Adarac with a rooftop tent and then setting up one of those lift systems in my garage to take it off when not in use. The Adarac requires a rail to be mounted to your bed rails but it isn't unsightly or anything. Plus I could use the Adarac for bike mounts or storage boxes for various types of travel.

The racks are cool choices, but it depends how you travel/camp. If you set up a RTT on your truck, you have to fold it up every time you want to drive ANYWHERE while camping. Trailhead you want to hike from is 3 miles from your vista campsite? Fold up the RTT (10-15mins at least) and leave a minimal campsite, because all that's left is chairs and a table...doesn't look like much. Then when you get back to camp, you have to set up again (another 10-15 mins) and spread out all your crap again. Makes me annoyed just thinking about it. But again, this is all just my opinion. My wife and I OFTEN go to the nearest town for a bite or a beer in a longer trip. We've also taken our paddle boards (which are inflatable) and camped a ways from the lake (because generally I hate "lake people"; not my crowd, usually).


The trailer option gives you that base camp feeling. And then I just park it when I get home and (because I don't have a garage) throw a car cover over it to protect it from the sun (AZ is brutal). So I'm biased on the trailer thing. The Adarac DOES have the advantage of multiple uses as you pointed out, though. The trailer would be (ideally) more of a one-trick pony. I added a hitch receiver to the back of my trailer for a bike rack when I need it.


I could talk about this stuff all day.

 

[TheGoogleNinja]

The racks are cool choices, but it depends how you travel/camp. If you set up a RTT on your truck, you have to fold it up every time you want to drive ANYWHERE while camping. Trailhead you want to hike from is 3 miles from your vista campsite? Fold up the RTT (10-15mins at least) and leave a minimal campsite, because all that's left is chairs and a table...doesn't look like much. Then when you get back to camp, you have to set up again (another 10-15 mins) and spread out all your crap again. Makes me annoyed just thinking about it. But again, this is all just my opinion. My wife and I OFTEN go to the nearest town for a bite or a beer in a longer trip. We've also taken our paddle boards (which are inflatable) and camped a ways from the lake (because generally I hate "lake people"; not my crowd, usually).
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The trailer option gives you that base camp feeling. And then I just park it when I get home and (because I don't have a garage) throw a car cover over it to protect it from the sun (AZ is brutal). So I'm biased on the trailer thing. The Adarac DOES have the advantage of multiple uses as you pointed out, though. The trailer would be (ideally) more of a one-trick pony. I added a hitch receiver to the back of my trailer for a bike rack when I need it.
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I could talk about this stuff all day.

You bring up a lot of viable points I hadn't necessarily considered. I've heard of issues with losing your camp site because there isn't enough stuff there and some ******* thinks they can move it while you're gone for a few hours. I like the trailer idea and had always considered it before, but I was worried it would be cumbersome off road. That said, when I was considering that I was looking more toward the direction of a Gladiator or a Tacoma which are more geared toward off-road than a Ram is. Now that I have the Ram I don't imagine ever doing the off roading I had thought I might want to do in a daily driver. I think I'll save that for when I can get that 3rd vehicle that I can make an off roader that I don't have to worry about breaking all the time. lol

I also like how your trailer is small enough to be towed by your Outback. My wife REALLY wants a new Bronco so it would be nice to have something we could tow with either. Thanks for the suggestions! I also could talk about this stuff all day. lol, I'm addicted to YouTube!

I can relate to that AZ sun! My profile may say Utah but I split my time between here and Arizona. Long story, but my wife and kids are down there taking care of my mom while I am up here finishing up some school and working for a bit. Hopefully not much longer though and we will be moving on to the next chapter. Probably east, but who knows?