White Rim Road?

7.62M43

New member
Wanting to take my 2000 Toyota 4Runner (new for me) on it's "maiden voyage" to the White Rim Road in Canyonlands National Park in a few weeks (march 19-25). My daughters will be going with me (13yo twins) so I don't want to get into anything too wild. Will this be a good "first time out" trip with them? Any specalized equipment I should be thinking about taking just in case?
 

cruiseroutfit

Supporting Sponsor: Cruiser Outfitters
The 4Runner itself should be fine. Spring on WRT (and SE Utah in general) can be a bit iffy, if we get a freak snow they can/do close the White Rim or at least the switchbacks for a day or two at a time. On the flip side if it warms up in a hurry and the river comes up to high, they have to close the route due to flooding. As far as gear, recovery gear, all the tools/spares you feel you will need and spare fuel in case you do get 80 miles in and have to retreat the way you came in.
 

7.62M43

New member
I grew up in Los Angeles, and spent a lot of time in the Mojave as a kid - so I know how fast things can change (good or bad) in the desert. I have the basic recovery tools (shovel, hilift jack with an ORK attachment, chain, rope, etc.) and more important a good 12v compressor. I plan on carrying 15 gal. of spare fuel and extra fluids (both for vehicle and us). Sounds like the gear I have and some common sense (most important in my book, but lacking more and more these days) should work.

Thanks!
 

Moody

Needs to get out more
The road is fairly mellow, as long as your truck is in a solid and reliable condition, you probably won't need to go crazy with a bunch of spare alternators and such. I would suspect you'll be fine with a single 5 gallon fuel can. I will be down there the 23-26th of March. What sites do you have?

Specialized equipment? Camera. Two, preferably.

There is a great book, 'A Naturalists Guide to the White Rim' (or something along those lines) that is nice to have along. I enjoy reading through it as I travel the road.

Enjoy it out there.
 

adventureduo

Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
Can i ask an additional question from a trailer guys point of view? I heard that the switchbacks were tight and you have to do a 3 point turn to maneuver through with a regular 4-wheel drive. Is it possible to get a trailer through this section if you're not afraid to work hard to accomplish it? We have this trail on the books for 2012 and would like to know.
 
Can i ask an additional question from a trailer guys point of view? I heard that the switchbacks were tight and you have to do a 3 point turn to maneuver through with a regular 4-wheel drive. Is it possible to get a trailer through this section if you're not afraid to work hard to accomplish it? We have this trail on the books for 2012 and would like to know.

My truck is about as long as a Chevy Tahoe and I have run this road twice with my children. Only once did I have to do a 2 point turn and that was because I was not paying attention. With a trailer, it would be a bit more work.
 

BigSwede

The Credible Hulk
If you don't think you can make it down the switchbacks, all is not lost... you can go back to Moab after getting your permits etc. and approach via Potash Road instead of going down the switchbacks. Call that "Plan B".
 

WeeJeep2

Adventurer
Can i ask an additional question from a trailer guys point of view? I heard that the switchbacks were tight and you have to do a 3 point turn to maneuver through with a regular 4-wheel drive. Is it possible to get a trailer through this section if you're not afraid to work hard to accomplish it? We have this trail on the books for 2012 and would like to know.

We did it towing our Horizon in 2009. The main switchbacks down and back, (Schafer and Mineral Bottom) are fairly wide and accomodate two way traffic. It looks worse in the photos you see than in real life. There is one tight turn out towards Hardscrabble hill, (running clockwise) that turns up through some ledges. It was a one forward and back to get the trailer through. It's all in tight and not exposed to a large drop off so it dosen't have a high fear factor, at worst you back into the rock. There are plenty of sections where wider is not better, but the extra length of the trailer wasn't an issue.
 

ktm360mx

New member
I guess you already went on your trip, hope you had a great time.

For others that are going in the future-

I'd recommend skipping the switchbacks- the road from Potash is worth the drive. We love it. You will see very few people and it's a wonderful drive. I prefer it to a lot of other roads in the area. The switchbacks are fun the first time, though.

As far as the rest of the gear you suggested- keep in mind we take more of a minimalist approach-- the trail is ~100 miles- just fill up before you go- maybe a 5 gal can if you feel so inclined. You'd have to get 5 mpg to begin to run out of gas. Tow strap- always, but winches are not needed, neither are compressors, or tons of extra parts. There is sand, so you may be more comfortable with hi-lift jacks and the like. I quit bringing one and have never used one or been stuck. If you get a flat, just drive to the next flat spot and change it. We have driven the mini van down Schaffer trail many a time for a quick day trip. You can do the entire trail in a day, but it's long. We do it on the motorcycles as a day trip or mountain bike it over 5 days.

Gotta stop at Muscleman Arch- hike a cross with the kids holding hands of course, then put them down, step 5-6 feet away, have your wife snap the picture of just the kids on the arch and use that as the picture on your christmas card. We did that one year and got a lot of calls from the family......Priceless.

As far as moab goes, the WRT is more highway than off road. It's beautiful, nostalgic, and a must do, but it's not a very tough trail. Heck- I ride it on my bicycle every year :)

You will have a great time!

PS- check out Pritchett Arch coming in from the south- it's a fun drive with kids too. There are lots of tough trails that start or end on the same road, so you can give them a whirl too.
 

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