I am taking the wife and kids out west for a 2 week vacation. Our planned stops are:

Grand Canyon (north and south rims) (staying at the lodge at north rim)
Glen Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Moab

I wish I could say that we were going to be camping, but my wife is NOT a camper! So any things that I need will be for the drive and day trips on trails.

I will be driving my 4 door JK (wife said NO to hauling/towing it) all the way from Indiana. So I will not be doing to hard a 4 wheel, break downs are not allowed (so I have been told). Just the easy to moderate trails to see all the sites.

You can see the mod's in my signature that I have already done. These are the mod's that I have already planned to do:

Winch
Dual batteries
On board air compressor
Rock slides (not sure which brand yet, wife likes my oem steps)
Dana diff gussets and tub strengtheners
Cb radio

Do I need to do diff. lockers? If so, just the back? Or both front and back? I don't plan to change out the factory diff at all, so if I did the front, it would be to the dana 30.



I am also going to be building an off road trailer out of an M 416 military trailer for behind my JK. I will be using it to haul all of our stuff that the JK won't be able to carry.

I have been learning a lot over at expeditionportal dot com.

Mod's to do to the trailer:

Matching tires and rims to the JK
Lid and cargo rack for top
gas can storage
water storage
off road multi-angle hitch

What other mod's do I need to make to get ready for the west? (doing this trip is helping the wife approval for Mods, but she will only go so far )

 

If your in the area you may want to consider Zion's national park, not too far form the Grand Canyon, not much to do in the Jeep, but some awesome hiking for a day or two. There are a ton of trails in Moab that you can do w/o lockers. Have fun.

 

Charles Wells has written a several trail guide books that were of great help to us when we went to Moab for the first time and to Sedona AZ. Was very helpful in picking trails.

Since you are going in the summer, take lots of water as it will be quite hot in both areas.

Did Moab with a 2.5" lift and 33's, same for Sedona. No probs. There is also a guy in Moab, think his name is Dan Mick that can trail guide for you for a fee. Don't know what that fee is, I already had the book.

 

I would think if you are going to be sticking to easy trails and already have the winch on the list that lockers wouldnt be a must, but if you can fit a good locker for the rear into your budget it would give you a little extra assurence that the jeep will get you out of anything you get yourself into. Also just north of moab is Arches National Park, really cool rock structures if you have some time to do I little hiking.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Bonker:
I will take a look at Zion, and see if the wife has ability to add it to our schedule. 2 weeks, is just not enough time, 4 days will be consumed by the trip out and back.

CJ7nvrstk:
I actually have the book for Moab on order in spiral bound. Should be here in a few days. I have already planned for water storage on the trailer, and today, I saw on another website, a skinny water tank that could be installed right behind the back seats of the JK. A guide might not be a bad Idea, Thanks for the advise.

 

I was looking at winches today and Quadratec has the Superwinch lp8500 for only 400. That was less then half of what I had planned on spending for one. If I do that, it would be much easier to do a Arb air locker for the rear. And those are on sale, with a free air compressor. My stars seem to be in alignment right now! Will look into adding Arches to the have to list.

Thanks!

 

Arches National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park are very near Moab and are a must see if you are in the area.

 

In preparation for my trip, I picked up a M416 military trailer over the weekend. We will be pulling it with the JK on the trip. I have a lot of work to do to it before then.

 

Hi Scott,

That sounds like a great trip. I love all of the areas you mentioned. Here in Indiana there's not anything to compare. Hell, maybe there are people in Arizona and Utah drooling for all of the mud we have at some of our parks. I'd trade with them.

One of the other posters mentioned the heat... that is indeed true. One of the guys that works with me was driving back from San Diego. He was going to stop a couple places along the way, so I recommended Moab. He thinks I'm insane now. (He was there in July.)

My wife and I have ridden with Dan Mick. A couple of years ago when we did it, the cost was $325 for a day trip riding in his Jeep. I just checked again with Dan (I will be there for four days with my son in mid February) and he told me his price is $500 for a full day and $325 for a half day. I would call him and ask. (I would be interested in knowing what you are quoted, too.) You can either ride with him in his Jeep, or follow along behind him, and he will spot for you. (The pricing seems kind of inconsistent... I was told the price is the same if you follow or ride; but, I had heard somewhere that you could actually have several Jeeps following him for the same price. Again... you might want to check it out because he really does know his stuff.)

The two National Parks close to Moab are Arches and Canyonlands. Don't miss Canyonlands... it is great. Arches is great, too, it's just different. Dead Horse Point is actually a Utah State Park that is located adjacent to Canyonlands. (If you buy the year-long a National Park Pass, you can get into Arches and Canyonlands (and Bryce , Zion, and the Grand Canyon) without paying extra. Dead Horse Point is an additional charge because it is a state park. I also have several of the books which give information on trails in Utah, and around Moab in particular. Your biggest problem will be deciding what trails and sights to exclude.

That trip will be one your family will never forget. I remember taking my kids there 12 years ago... and we all loved it.

If you have any questions I can help with... don't hesitate to ask.

Jeff

 

You will have an Awesome time!
Invest in at least rear lockers. They will help you from getting stuck OR into trouble with your wife in some of the sandy areas near Bryce and or Zion (which is another gorgeous place to hike and take in some amazing vistas and should not be missed, being that you are so close.)

Also a great place to stay Zion Mountain Resort (you will win huge points with your wife staying here. Eat here too! yum). http://www.zionmountainresort.com/ Its on the east side of Zion close to its entrance. You will stay in a cabin. They range from huge to small 1 bed suites. And they only cost $150. a night. Its between the Bryce and Zion parks.
Have reservations everywhere, but know you cancellation terms, for you may find alternate opportunities along the way that you would like to do.... ie we just drove by Zion Mtn Resort around 4 PM and they had cabins available so we changed our over night lodging.

Have a great time and look forward to seeing your report of your trip upon your return