![]() Bring the right gear to stay well rested.ĭriving tired can be a serious hazard on a trip, and being well-rested will help out in innumerable ways. Maintaining a well-packed vehicle is worth the effort. Having a cargo net to keep your tent from hitting you over the head on a rough bump or just being able to find everything you need in the dark is undoubtedly one of the biggest stress-avoidance techniques. Packing efficiently can save you a lot of trouble on a rough road. And don’t forget that your medical supplies won’t help you if you don’t know how to use them and that bear spray doesn’t work like bug spray. Be sure to take the proper precautions with things like bear spray, food storage to keep bears away, and a well-stocked emergency medical kit to keep everyone in your party safe. While playing it safe when out in the middle of nowhere is always the best option, sometimes accidents happen. How long does it take an ambulance to drive 150 miles of dirt road? The EMTs might not know either. Scouting can play a huge role in your success. There might be a rock buried in the river that will take your bumper off or a big boulder just over the hill that could stop you dead in your tracks. When coming into a river crossing, a steep rocky climb, or even just a slippery hill, don’t neglect the importance of getting out and walking. Don’t be afraid to get out and scout the road. The weather also plays a big role in what kind of vehicle you can take, as a minivan might make the trip fine during a sunny week in July, but not work with early snowfall on the road in September. A lot of the roads we drove for the Montana by Dirt road trip could be done in a standard, city-going sedan, while others required a vehicle with more ground clearance. Vehicle choice is another crucial consideration when planning out a trip. Pick the right vehicle for the terrain and season. Being able to zoom in on Google Maps or Google Earth will give you a rough idea of the terrain on the desired roads and trails as well. Try a combination of mapping things out on a road atlas and gazetteer, then double check that the roads still exist and that the maps are accurate in Google Maps. Once you get a rough idea of where you want to go, there are likely many different ways to get there. Getting an idea of the feasibility of the route and making sure that there are options is a crucial consideration. It’s pretty discouraging to drive three hours down a rough road only to find out you have to turn around and do it all again. Often times county roads will go out into the middle of nowhere and dead end into private property or even turn into unimproved jeep trails that your vehicle might not be qualified for. Outlining the trip from start to finish is a great place to start when planning a dirt-road trip. There are countless resources online for this kind of travel, but a couple of excellent spots for supplemental information are all vehicles and for those on two wheels. This list of ten tips is derived from that misery-and hopefully serves to increase your time spent having fun. After countless thousands of miles, including multiple loops through the state of Montana driving both four- and two-wheeled vehicles, I have made a ton of mistakes and planning errors when it comes to dirt-road road trips.
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