Should we take a pop up on White Rim road

[robcc]

We have a 4-day White Rim bike trip and the only vehicle we can bring for a SAG wagon is our Nissan Frontier with an ATC Bobcat. We’re debating whether to keep the camper on it or take it off for the first time. It’s 100 miles of 4x4 in late October with 4 bike riders and 1 driver. The pros for bringing the camper are: the convenience of all the amenities of the camper, wind shelter, shade, easy storage of gas etc and the hassle of removing the camper. The cons of bringing it are the mainly weight of the 850 lb camper, storage of 20 gallons of water, food and 5 people’s gear and wear and tear. We have helper springs and Springworks in Grand Junction is going to add something to give us 1-2” more lift. Any thoughts are welcome.

 

[kmcintyre]

Tough call but I'd take it off. In our case 1 year, we had snow, rain, etc. and all of a sudden, everyone wanted to load their bikes, gear, etc. into the truck! Not enough room. Somewhere I have a picture of about 8 people piled into an outhouse trying to get warm... while I doubt you'll have snow, if you need extra space, the truck bed would allow you more flexibility. Hassle? Yes. Also, you wouldn't worry about the FWC on the trail and make you a bit more manuverable (esp. w/ a Frontier). Just my opinion.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

My inclination would be to leave the Bobcat on the truck. Good truck, great camper, the convenience seems worth it.

 

[Missing Link]

While not a cyclist, I have done the WRT twice (once in each direction) and tend to agree with kmcintyre regarding the flexibility of not having the camper. Here is another thing that might influence your decision. A few years ago, we were entering the Island in the Sky District (where the WRT is located) and there were four or five cyclists on their bikes directly in front of us. They had one pickup truck for the group. The ranger who was manning the entry kiosk demanded that either each individual pay the entry fee ($25.00 at the time) OR that they needed to have all of the riders and their bikes in the truck in order to pay only one entry fee. The riders were understandably upset and pulled to the side of the road to figure out how to get all of them and their gear into the vehicle. It seemed pretty "chicken s##t" to us, but the ranger held his/her ground and the riders eventually squeezed everything in and gained admittance. was this an anomaly, and they just happened to run into an overly zealous bureaucratic gatekeeper? I don't know but it might be worth considering. Either way, camper/no camper, have a great trip!

 

[Wallowa]

I assume you have reservations for camp sites...great road and fantastic views...couple of very steep and "one way' sections [I made a plea to set up one way routing but Parks never responded, if you meet a vehicle going the other way on a few sections it would be VERY dangerous to resolve the issue]....we did this in 2020 for 5 nights....'05 Tundra / '16 Hawk Feb 29...Mar 5...not sure what you can hit for weather in late October...but shelter inside camper could be golden...outhouse camping is tough!

Enjoy....

Phil

 

[BlueSky]

I put a front hitch receiver and a bike rack on the front of my Tundra, use it a lot. You can fit a lot of bikes if you had front and rear racks (for a short distance to get through the gate). Last time I was there I saw no gate or rangers. I would not hesitate to take my Tundra/Camper on the White rim. I don't recall there being very many vehicles on it, but the Moab area has gotten insanely crowded so you might have a problem on the one-way sections even with no camper. I personally avoid Moab now, it is like a giant moron magnate.

 

[AWG_Pics]

I personally avoid Moab now, it is like a giant moron magnate.

I agree! We spend a lot of time in southern Utah -- but nowhere near Moab!