Mojave Rd, Mojave desert, CA

[thane]

hello, looking for anyone with info who has done the Mojave Rd (i am planning east-west) with a friend in his Sportsmobile van. I have a Ford SuperDuty, crew cab, long bed, with 03 Alaskan 8' c/o.

have seen pics, read articles with many Sportsmobiles doing this route, but none including Alaskans. I know there are a few tight sections and just curious if the 89" width of camper is going to be an issue....thinking mainly with overhanging Joshua trees. Looks like most of the rigs i've seen pics of are smaller 4x4, and jeep types. don't think length will be an issue tho.

Also, seems like solft sand could be the only real technical issue on the route. I typically run a set of 285 75 16 Michelin M/S during the Summer as they are nice on road tires, but also have 255 85 16 BFG MT (same diameter)that i run during winter, or when think i may deal with mud. I know with any rain you simply don't even try to move along this route, but hoping someone has some feedback on the sand with a heavy rig/camper...as in should i run the thinner MT tires for the aggressive tread, or go with the slighty larger floatation of the Michelins?

Thanks for any input.

 

[Basin Deranged]

Much of the Mojave Road looks like this:

I don't think you will have a problem with overhanging vegetation but the tallest vehicle I've taken on it is about 7'.

Flotation is your friend in sand. I'd opt for the wider tires, and don't be afraid to air way down. (20-25 psi maybe in a rig that heavy)

 

[Bigfoot]

We traveled the Mojave Road twice in 80s with Jeeps before it was a preserve. Not much help to you, of course, but good memories of navigating pre-GPS and with film in the camera. I remember it was one-third road, one-third trail and one-third sand--that's a lot of sand! Pretty in the spring, I'd love to visit there again. I think a full-size 4x4 truck would be fine. The weight and size of a camper would be a handicap but doable with care.

Camping 1983 style along the Mojave Road

April 1983 was a good spring for flowers

 

[camelracer]

I did that run last year in a Dodge quad cab long bed with a FWC Grandby. There were a few tight sections for a large truck but it's doable. On my trip in april the weather ranged from 102* at the river to rain at Piute Creek and snow at higher elevations - and always the WIND.

Get Dennis Casebier's guide for good maps, directions and history. The Joshua trees are tight in a few areas and did some desert pin striping and damaged my awning and side porch light. The hill west of Piute Creek had a few washouts but wasn't that much of a problem. Sand was never a problem as long as you air down and keep moving through the soft spots. If I remember right the softest stuff was west of Soda Lake. If I do this trail again there's a steep, narrow, rutted downhill at point 49 on Casebier's map that I would avoid. If you stay on the road here you'll be back on the trail in about a 1/2 mile.

I got into some mud in the higher elevations. It was very slick but not deep and my 265 75 16 BFG all Terrains seemed to work fine. Soda Lake was semi-dry when I crossed but could be a problem if it's wet. Put on your wide tires and have a great trip.

 

[Lee G]

I did the Mojave Road about 3 months ago, from East to West. Conditions were great, just a couple of sandy sections that are easily doable with the right tire/air pressure set-up. I saw a full size F250 4x4 longbed sporting a FWC on the trail-had BFG AT's. I'm sure he dragged his tow hitch on a few drop offs.

Here are a few pics of the trail. They are posted on another site but they're my pics and they will give you a little insight of the trail conditions as of Nov 2014.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/southern-california/350377-mojave-trail-11-7-11-9-a.html

I'm heading back out to the Mojave Road in late March. There is so much to explore in the Mojave Desert!
Have a fun ride!

 

[dakozicki]

We just went through the Mojave while on our way to and from the Overland Exposition. I had done research on the Mojave Road and planned on doing some of it as we didn't have time to do it all and a 29-mile detour was in place for the East end.. I also planned to start at the Western terminus in ZZyzx and cross the dry Soda Lake over to Kelbaker Road.

I was surprised to find that there was no place to access the road from ZZyzx (at least that I could find), and nobody around at the research center to talk to on a Wednesday afternoon. All of the places where it appeared people had started the route across were blocked with rocks, logs, or signs prohibiting vehicle access.

There were several other blocked dirt roads including some which the Park Service had listed online as access points to camping spots (Granite Spires camping near the SOuth end of Kelbaker Rd). It seemed that the NPS has moved to aggressively curtail off-road driving in the Preserve, but they have failed to update their websites to let people know.