I haven't been to Moab, but I would assume that cell phone coverage is limited, so get an offline mapping app. You can also download trails as gpx files into your mapping app and make sure you stay on the trail. I am using "Osmand" which is extremely detailed. Mostly free, hillshades and contour lines are extra, but cost a few bucks only. Other useful apps for me are "US Public Lands" and "iOverlander". Camp along your trip for free and save the money for more D2 upgrades.

 

Cvhyatt.
you might want to schedule your Moab trip for September 2021 and join the fun.
https://www.greatamericanroverrally.com

 

Well, I'm going in July and September then.

 

"Emergency use" means it must be life threatening. You can't call for help because you got stuck somewhere. To pass a ham exam and receive a license is not that hard. As technician (lowest level) you can use all ham bands above 50MHz which includes the popular 2 meter band (VHF).

You learn the questions from a question pool, register, go there, pay $15 and take the exam. It should take no more than 30 minutes. Online exams are offered too.
Find an Amateur Radio License Exam in Your Area
Getting Your Technician License

No need to buy books, questions can be downloaded from the ARRL website as well there are great phone apps for learning.

 

Oh wow that looks like fun. Thanks for the tip!

 

The rally should be a great time but not if your goal is to cover a lot of ground. Trail groups that large might finish 1 trail in a day when if solo or smaller group can do 2-3. Just personal preference, I may drive out to see what's going on and do my own thing vs any planned runs.

 

Good point. I think I might do them both separately. I like to move fast and have flexibility in schedule.

 

Found a good price on the smittybilt so I went ahead and pulled the trigger. You guys are a bad influence!

 

I had one of those on my D2 and it worked great, it's a really good value in my opinion. I'm looking pretty hard at the synthetic rope version of it for my next truck because I liked it so much.

 

Hey there,

I have done the same mods minus the bumper and the extensive engine work (just the top end) and would not hesitate to take my truck "as-is" to Moab. Perhaps I'd add diff protection. When you're going with a large group of folks with similar cars and in a well-maintained car, you will not likely to be end up stranded. I crossed the country solo with a small toolkit, spare water, a battery charger, and a spare large oil filter. A compressor was the only thing that I forgot to bring, so I took it easy on a few off road excursions. Also, good call on not having the roof rack. You don't need to lose gas mileage and hear unnecessary noise.

There were only two points of failure.

During the trip my windshield wipers failed. The motor would not stop properly and I had to time when I turned off the wipers so that they would stop where they were supposed to. I replaced the full assembly with the BNIB OEM kit found on Ebay at a great price. But you can buy rebuild motors too.

About 1K after the trip my fuel pump failed. The timing was good for me, but would have been much worse had the pump failed in the middle of nowhere.

Cheers, --mc