TAT-2020 Post-03 19 May 2019

This post is an update of our preparations for another run of the TAT starting in May of 2020. I had planned on trying to make updates at least monthly until we get closer to the launch date and since my last post was on 28 March, I guess it’s past due for an update.

The primary differences focus on Jeff’s selection of dual-sport to use and my modifications to the Jeep Wrangler I will be using.

Jeff’s Dual-Sport - As I stated in earlier posts, Jeff planned on using my KTM 350 EXC-F which I used on the last half of our TAT ride 2016-18. He parted out his Yamaha WR250R (disassembled and sold parts) with great success so we thought his KTM  bike selection was settled. Well, my experience in doing multiple adventure motorcycle trips is change is the norm and nothing is ever 100% settled. He had been riding the KTM in recent months and recently confessed that he would rather ride a WR20R than the KTM 350 EXC-F on the East coast to AR trip. His rationale hit the same reasons I already knew about the KTM. It is a very powerful bike and with the Rekluse Clutch works great in the tough stuff. The down side is it can’t carry a load due to the lite aluminum frame in back and it’s very sensitive on the throttle. The WR250R, even though it is not as fast or powerful as the KTM, is a tough ole bird that can carry a big load plus is bulletproof (reliable). I told him to sell the KTM and get the bike he wants. I’ve never been emotionally attached to any vehicle like some folks are. They are tools I use to achieve a goal I have. That’s why I sold my Harley Davidson after AK1 and got a Yamaha Super Tenere for AK2. The Yamaha was a much better tool to achieve the Alaska/Arctic Circle ride than the HD.

The KTM is now for sell with several potential buyers. Please don’t get me wrong, the KTM did everything I wanted on the TAT but we were using a support vehicle to carry our gear so all I carried was fuel and a few emergency items. A self-supporting rider would need something like a KTM 690 instead to carry the load required. BTW, Jeff carried all the tools and more on his WR-250R on our TAT ride.

Jeff has his eyes on several good WR’s including a very low mileage one so he should be all set shortly. It may seem strange that he took a perfectly good WR, sold all the parts, and is now getting another WR, but the real story is that the money made from selling the WR parts was significantly more than we could have sold the bike for as-is. That money was used on my Jeep so I’m pretty satisfied.

Mike’s Jeep Wrangler – One of my many character flaws (wife’s opinion) is I like to buy high and then put more money into getting my vehicle fine-tuned to my desires. To continue in that fine tradition, I paid top blue book price for my 2006 Jeep TJ Wrangler X but in my defense, it had only 51K miles and looked in excellent condition. This first impression turned out to be pretty accurate except for the ride of the jeep. I had only ever driven 3 Jeeps in the past and 2 were rentals during our Hawaii vacation last December. They were both new 4 door Wranglers and they rode just like a big SUV. The 3rd was a 2002 Wrangler TJ with 4” lift kit I test drove while looking for one to buy. It had over 110K miles and had several other issues I didn’t like but I recognized that the TJ didn’t ride like the 4-doors I had rented, much rougher ride.

After driving my Jeep TJ (TJ) for over 3,000 miles I finally decided I had to do something about the rough ride. It felt every bump in the road, had a tenancy to take its own path when hitting a dip in the road and just plain scared the crap out of me at anything over 50 mph. I plan on driving the TJ all the way to the start of the TAT which is at Andrews N.C. (over 600 miles). Since Liz will be riding with me I wanted it to be a pleasant experience but 600 miles in that rough riding SOB was not going to be pleasant for her or me. In addition, the TJ was hard to get into reverse and when in reverse, would jump out of gear occasionally. This definitely had me concerned so I searched the yellow pages and found Mud 4X4 in Little Rock. I asked them to inspect my TJ and tell me what was wrong and how to fix both the ride and the transmission. These guys are great! They told me that the transmission wasn’t the problem, it was ok. The problem was a common issue with lift kits. Part of the kit lowers the transmission so as to provide a better angle for all the drive shafts and other suspension components. This caused the gear shift to hit the floor pan and while in reverse, the engine torque would cause the shift lever to hit and knock it out of gear. They also found several worn ball joints and other suspension parts that needed replacement. They also recommended unless I was installing bigger tires such as 35” (has 31”) it would drive much better with only a 2” lift kit. We discussed all the issues/price and I told them to replace the lift kit with 2” and replace any worn components.

It now rides like a dream, not like the 4-Door Wranglers but pretty close. I can now do 75 mph for hours on the highway and it actually absorbs the rough roads like it should. That brings me to the trip report below.

I wanted to take the TJ on a small section of the TAT to see how it would perform after all the modifications. My original plans were to pick up the TAT where it passes 50 miles north of my home and ride it all the way to northeast Oklahoma where I would then exit and proceed to Tulsa area to spend time with my kids and mom. That would be ~250 miles of the TAT and take a couple of days to accomplish. I had all my camping gear ready to load then the weather intervened. A severe weather front was passing over OK and heading to AR so I had to cut my trip down to a single round robin ride; i.e. depart and return from Little Rock. Route plan:

•         Depart home and drive 50 miles on highways to Damascus, AR.
•         Drive TAT from Damascus to Oark, AR (134 miles) through the Ozark National Forest.
•         Depart TAT and drive 121 miles on highways to home.

The TAT section I drove is shown below:

My goals for this test drive were:

•         Evaluate how the TJ handled the rough roads found on the TAT
•         Determine the average speed on these types of roads
•         Determine the miles per gallon used on the TAT (I knew the highway mileage from several trips back and forth to Tulsa over the last several months (17 mpg))
•         See if anything fails under continued hammering on rough roads
•         Evaluate the use of my GPS(s) in the TJ (I had both a Garmin nuvi 2555LMT for highways and a Garmin Oregon 650t for the TAT loaded with the track from our original TAT 2016-18 ride)

I departed home at 6:15 am and drove the 50 miles to Damascus where I picked up the TAT and headed west. This TAT section is 134 miles through very similar conditions found on most of the TAT from the east coast to the Rocky Mountains. Lost of dual track dirt/gravel roads, rough in many sections, occasional water crossings, steep climbs and descents and some paved roads between the dirt sections. No mud on this section at this time but I could see the weather coming in from the West so wanted to head home before it hit. For those that like specifics:

•         TAT Damascus, AR to Oark, AR
•         134 miles
•         Total Time 5 hours 15 min (includes breaks, gas stops and taking pictures)
•         Moving time 4 hours 33 min
•         Average speed 30 mph

I arrived back home at 3:15, 9 hours after departing.

I found that the TJ was excellent in handling the rough roads, especially the steep climbs and descents on these rough roads. Just a side note – the roads were usually roughest on the climbs and descents because water run-off exposes the rocks more. The magic numbers for the rough sections were the 3 deuces:

•         2^nd gear
•         2,000 RPM
•         20 mph

At that setting I only once had to go down to 1^st gear to get through some deep tennis ball sized gravel used to fill a wash-out on the trail. I never used 4 wheel drive but the high clearance of the TJ came in useful in some sections.

This ride brought back a lot of memories of my motorcycle adventure tips. Although you may be riding with a few other riders, it’s still a solitary type endeavor. You have lots of time to think while riding hundreds of miles alone on a motorcycle through the wilderness. Some of my thoughts generated the text below.

Motorcycles require extensive concentration in adventure riding to watch for hazards and picking the best line in the trail to ride. I found that the TJ also required lots of concentration on the TAT. Because it is a 6-speed manual transmission, you are constantly changing gears to get the right RPM/speed for the ever changing road conditions. The sweet spot on the TJ 4.0L in-line 6 cyl engine is 1800 to 2500 RPM. You drive the TJ by RMP gage much more than by the speedometer. An automatic transmission would definitely be easier but I like being a participant rather than just an observer on my adventures.

Here are some of my trip highlights:

I had only one water crossing and it was river rock bottom and only about 8"of water. Not much to speak of except I did get the TJ's feet wet.

I found lots of downed trees along the early stretches of this TAT section. They had all been moved off the road but clearly some recent storm came through this area.

I passed several scenic areas on this section so it’s worth the trip just for the views.

I went though an old town named Scotland so had to take a few pictures of the buildings plus I passed an old log cabin next to the trail.

I included a picture of a mailbox I passed that had the Trans-America Trail logo painted on the side. On our 5,623 mile ride from Charleston, SC to Port Orford, OR we found two types of people. Those that knew about the TAT and were very interested in hearing about out trip and those that knew nothing about the TAT but also were interested in hearing our story. I guess it hits a nerve with a lot of people who find it hard to believe you can go coast to coast on dirt like they had to do back in the early days of the country. Stories about old Highway 66 from Chicago to LA and the first drive on the coast to coast Lincoln Highway would give you an idea of what the TAT is like.

Safety note - Stay on the right side of the road at all sharp turns and hill tops. I knew this already from motorcycle trips but on a motorcycle you can be a little more relaxed since you only take up one track rather than 2 like a car. Several times on this section of the TAT I met an oncoming vehicle at a sharp turn (even 5 in trail once). They where moving fast and if I had not been on the right side, neither of us would have had time to swerve to avoid a head-on. BTW I didn’t see any TAT motorcycles on this ride. Not surprising because it’s too early to get through the Rocky Mountain passes due to snow.

I pasted numerous animals on the TAT, two groups of deer crossing the trail, lots of baby rabbits, several turtles and even a snake crossing the road. I even think I saw a bald eagle at one point but can’t be 100% sure.

As I stated as one of my goals, gas usage was one thing I needed to know in order to plan for TAT 2020. The TAT does not go through many towns of any size so access to gas must be one of the primary planning subjects. On this ride I made the mistake of not topping off my tank when I reach Damascus. I know from making several 600 mile round trips to Tulsa that I need to get gas around 200-220 miles to be safe. At 100 miles on the TAT yesterday I realized that I may not pass any gas stations until I reached Oark. This meant I would have to bail out early to drive to a town somewhere. Luckily the TAT dipped out of the Ozark National Forest to pass though a small town named Hector, AR where there was a small gas station and snacks. I filled up the TJ then remembered my second mistake of not bringing any food on the trip. One of the pictures below shows my lunch at Hector and I’m sure that corndog hadn’t been setting in the heater more than a couple of weeks.

As I got closer to my Oark destination, I could see the dark clouds moving in from the west. If the weather had not been a factor I would have been camping for the night a little further past Oark at the Turner Bend camp ground on highway 23. For any TAT riders reading this, Byrds camp ground and Turner Bend camp ground are excellent camping sites with all the facilities to make the trip a bit more comfortable.

As I pasted Oark and turned south on highway 103, I drove down a steep road to go under the 103 bridge over the Mulberry River to take some pictures with the TJ next to the river on the rock beach. This is the only time I used the 4-wheel drive due to some mud holes and the rock beach.

Back on 103 heading south to intersect with highway 64 eastbound I finally started getting heavy rain at Atkins, AR. Glad I was not still on the TAT when that rain hit. Riding the TAT on a motorcycle you have to take the weather as it comes since you are usually on a pretty strict time table. I rode many miles in rain, cold rain, extremely cold rain and I will be happy to be in my TJ in 2020 while those young guys on the motorcycles in our group are suffering😊