Cross-country Road Trip

[2slo4u]

I just took my Raptor from Utah to San Diego and then 1500 hard miles in Baja. Your truck will be fine. You should consider visiting Crater Lake.

 

[zemuron99]

I agree w/the others. Drive it and enjoy the trip. If you're really that concerned, get an AAA Premium membership. Should cover any emergency. I've taken mine from Seattle to Las Vegas twice, Southern Utah once, and lots of 1-2 day local road trips, and getting stranded is the last thing on my mind when I take off. Check all the fluids first, check the tires, and fire it up. When you're up in WA, see Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, head up to Paradise on Mt. Rainier, and cross East on St Route 20 aka the N. Cascade Highway. If you've got time, the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic Nat'l Park is worth a stop as well.

 

[ChrisMcP05]

Thanks all for the input. Hedging towards taking the truck. I also heard Route 12 through Idaho is a nice drive. Any other recommended side roads in the west / mid west worth exploring? Heading from glacier National park to bend, Oregon and then down to tahoe / yosemite. Anything there would be great to know of. Heading back east will be through Utah (Moab) and Colorado (breckenridge, etc).

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

when is your trip?

 

[TheCzar]

I just got back from a similarly planned trip with some on the fly adjustments due to weather. Overloaded and driven hard off road and had no worries about my truck

 

[John Harshaw]

We just did the drive from Tahoe to Yosemite, but not in a Raptor. We took Carson Pass Hwy. Absolutely gorgeous drive, but my wife got a little car sick on the back half because of a 3.5 mile stretch that was nothing by switchbacks. Make sure you do Tunnel View in Yosemite. Also be sure to have your park reservation in advance!

 

[wheelman55]

Consider taking SD44 across South Dakota. Much better than the interstate.

 

[ChrisMcP05]

We just did the drive from Tahoe to Yosemite, but not in a Raptor. We took Carson Pass Hwy. Absolutely gorgeous drive, but my wife got a little car sick on the back half because of a 3.5 mile stretch that was nothing by switchbacks. Make sure you do Tunnel View in Yosemite. Also be sure to have your park reservation in advance!

Good advice! I used to have a cabin in Mi Wuk Village off the Sonora Pass so used to the drive around there.

Good looks on SD44. Our route shows us going through ND instead of SD. Initially we were hitting Yellowstone but with recent rain / road closures likely skipping and going direct up to Glacier National Park / Flathead national forest. I heard route 12 in Idaho is great and plan to hit that to connect between Glacier and Bend, Oregon.

 

[ChrisMcP05]

when is your trip?

July 3-20 range.

 

[Terry]

That's a lot of miles for a three week trip. You won't have time to stay in one place very long but I think the truck will do fine. Let us know how it went when you're back home!