Texas boy headed to the Colorado fire roads - tips appreciated

Hey guys,

I'm taking the family up to Pagosa Springs for a summer vacation and I talked my wife into use taking the truck. Two quick questions-

1) I'm going to do some easy to maybe moderate fire roads for the first time. I'm stock, but do have 4wd. I still have the 265/65/17s on. Any tips or warnings I should know about regarding driving on these roads?

2) This'll be my first time driving this truck up and down steep grades for extended periods of time. How does this truck handle that? Should I shut off overdrive? Take some brake breaks? Any other tips?

I apologize for my ignorance. As a born and bred Texan, my driving skills involve going 80 on the highway, running red lights, and driving through mud holes... but not much more.

 

Also pagosa springs is or was a cool place. We used to go every summer for two weeks out in the woods. The hot springs are a must, and Williams reservoir is another cool spot to check out

 

1) You'll be fine.

2) Yes. Use the gears. Take it out of overdrive uphill and downhill. Should be sufficient for most of the grades you'll encounter. If it gets steeper and you don't want the tranny to hunt going uphill, shift it down to 2. Same for downhill. Use 2 for max engine braking. Doing this on descents will limit controlling speed with brakes on the downhills. Warped rotors are a reality in the mountains. Make sure your rear brakes are adjusted and functioning correctly. Don't be that guy.

3) Have fun.

BTW, born and raised in CO, so I might know a thing or two. Only temporarily in AZ.

 

exactly what I figured you would say

Been thinking about the rear brakes for a while now. I'm glad you said that. Didn't think about needing the rear brakes more in the mountains. I'll try to get to that this weekend.

 

Worth noting... It's WAYYY easier on your brakes to maintain a lower speed on the downhills than it is to get to a lower speed.

It feel strange at first to start down the hill going much slower than you could easily go, but going normal speed and then slowing for turns, then speeding up and slowing for the next turn is harder on your brakes.

Pick the speed you want and let your gears help keep you there.

I had to employ this technique a lot towing the travel trailer in my 1st Gen, as they're severely underbraked and rotors would heat up fast on the grades from the mountains down to a couple of my favorite desert camping spots.
Takes some getting used to but much easier on the binders.

 

Even though a lot of the trails/fire roads in Colorado can be driven in 2wd, I prefer to use 4LO simply for better gearing. Your transmission will thank you.

 

Yeah I've never really used 4Lo much at all. Like I said, my main "off roading" experience is just driving thru mud holes. I thought 4LO was really mostly for uphill grades when you really need some torque. Am I wrong about that? Guy I bought the truck from said he just used it on the ramp to get the boat out of the lake.

 

download the OnX off road app, it should help navigate those trails and give you an idea of what to expect. You get 7 days free with full access.

 

I was already looking at that earlier today and went ahead and started my trial. It has such a crazy amount of info, its wild.

 

You won't need 4LO on fire roads. In fact you'd be crazy to drive around in 4LO unless you really need it. I.E. steep, loose gravel, wet, etc.

 

When you have miles of downhill trail that take you from 13,000' to 7,000' you want the engine to help keep your speed in check, not your brakes. Transmission in first and tcase in high range will usually be too fast for the road. Transmission in 1st or 2nd and the tcase in low range will give you a lot more control over the descent.

 

Don't forget to air down. One of these is super handy. It's what I use to air back up.



Also, if you're stopping in Amarillo, holler at me. I'll buy y'all a good meal.

 

I'd put one of these in the truck as well. It's saved me a couple of times when wheeling, even using it as a light axe to clear brush and tree roots:

$44 2 Piece Military Grade Entrenching Tool Set – Tri Fold Metal Alloy Foldable Camping Shovel w/ACU Pouch – Compact, Multipurpose Collapsible Shovel – Versatile Survival Gear for Outdoor Enthusiasts

https://www.amazon.com/Military-Original-Entrenching-MultiCam-Carrying/dp/B00WJ8V12W/

 

How do you like that compressor ? Does it get hot? Been trying to find onboard air and I’m a Milwaukee guy and have tons of battery’s already

Going from 20 psi to 35?

 

What do you leave the psi at? I'll be on and off the highway a lot. I assume you don't air down and up every time you hit the dirt do, do you?

 

18 to 35 yes. On a 6.0 battery it usually airs up all 4 about 8 times. It doesn't get too hot either. You just set it to 35 and wait. Best milwaukee tool I've bought.

18. If it's a short run on paved roads I'll leave em down.

 

Man, a lot of people don't realize how big that steak is. @NickB_01TRD and his wife stopped here and we went there. They got to see it in person.

 

When on fire roads and it gets even remotely steep or can only be traversed at a slow speed, put your rig in 4 wheel drive. Even if you don't need it, it's less wear on the road. If we don't take care of the backcountry, there are all kinds of people that will be happy to shut us out of it.

 

Hey take him up on the offer @TXTundraGuy23 The Big Texan is a touristy type place but it's a good time if you haven't been.

That shmeat ain't no joke. Good luck to any of y'all that try it.

 

Yeah I've driven past lots of times but never been able to stop in. With 3 little kids packed in the back of the truck, we're probably just gonna power on as fast as we can. I'm hoping I can do these sort of trips with my boys as they get older and take more time to slow down. Be really fun to take each one on a solo off-road/camping trip. There are great things and not so great things about living in Suburban Texas. One of the bad things is that public land is basically unheard of so things like fire roads don't exist. I'm really pumped to try these out on this trip.

 

I hunt Pagosa annually.... Fireroads are fine, but get ready to have your teeth jarred out on the washboards in some areas if they've had good rains. There's a cafe downtown that has amazing breakfast burritos....

 

I went Harbor Freight special. Just tested it out and it went from 21 to 35 psi in a little over 5 minutes. Not great, but for $40 I’m in. I just ran it off the cigarette lighter.

 

One thing I didn't see mentioned, if your going into Pagosa on Hwy 160, you'll be going down Wolf Creek Pass. Definitely use the gears to help hold you back like others said. I've personally been over Wolf Creek close to, if not more than a hundred times while in college. I've seen many a truck and overloaded weekend warrior camper smoke their brakes coming down the west side. This thread is full of great advice for the novice mountain driver.

Otherwise it's a beautiful area. The hot springs are great and there are plenty of little shops and activities for the family.