BajaNomad

Solo and first-time Baja Norte trip - Intro

edm1 - 7-19-2007 at 05:37 PM

Part 1: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=25799
Part 2A: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=25839
Part 2B: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=25844
Part 3: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=26053
Part 4: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=26055

Solo and first-time Baja Norte trip.

Purpose:
1. to find out for myself what's in Baja that many "nomads" love so much
2. to test the capability, integrity and endurance of the RV that I myself assembled, many components I fabricated and installed myself.
3. to familiarize myself with a potential place where in later trips I could bring others to enjoy

Vehicle:
Body: self-contained 21.5-foot dually RV, GMC Vandura chassis, fiberglass body, 10500 GVWR
Engine: 1998 GM 7.4L Vortec engine
Powertrain: 4L80E transmission, 4.10:1 differential, a BW 4470 Transfer case / 2.7 underdrive in 4LO
Wheels/Tires: Rickson 19.5 with Bridgestone M724 14-ply tires, twin-spare tire carcasses in rear-mounted carrier
Specialty equipment: ARB air-switched differential locker, winch, 45-inch lift hydraulic jack, 12X12X6 wood block, tire-demount/mount equipment, axe/pick combo, shovel, welder, 5KW inverter/battery-bank, solar panels, electric refrigeration air-conditioning, console-mounted Garmin/LBS laptop GPS, Iridium satellite phone
Passenger: Uzi, my 115lb black/tan Rottweiler/Doberman mix
Total weight with driver, passenger and equipment: 10100 lbs.

(Ambitious/Wishful) Planned Itinerary (camping indicates spending the night and/or part of day):
(A) indicates mission accomplished, some were delayed (AD)
(X) indicates not attempted due to time contraints; itinerary for next trip


Thursday (07/12/2007) -

1. Tecate border crossing and highway to La Rumorosa (A)
2. La Rumorosa trail to Laguna Hanson (A)
3. Laguna Hanson (camping) (A)

Subtitles:
My first border crossing experience;
Teeth-rattling ride;
A cool place to be in summer


Friday/Saturday

4. Laguna Hanson trail to Mex3 (A)
5. Mex3/5 drive through San Felipe and south (A)
6. Shell Beach / "Island" (camp) (AD?)

Subtitles:
Air-down for milder ride, but damage has been done
Search for Shell Island - stuck in sand for the first time
Floating on sand for miles before you know it - stuck for the second time / another place
Vehicle recovery, I wish I brought sand ladders
A friendly english-speaking Mexican and his dog Canelo
If you haven't found it, go look again - stuck for the third time
I think we found Shell Beach


Sunday

7. Mex5 drive through Puertecitos, Gonzaga Bay (AD)
8. La Turquesa East (camping) (X)

Subtitles:
Beginning of unpaved road
Who in their right mind would drive this trail for hours and hours?
Photos along the way
To go in or not to go, that is the question


Monday

9. Coco's corner (AD)
10. Calamajue (X)
11. La Turquesa West (camping) (X)

Subtitles:
I'm scared to go in, is there a dead body in there?


Tuesday/Wednesday

12. Mex1 drive from Chapala junction(A)
13. Mision Sta Maria trail (X)
14. El Volcan / El Marmol (X)
15. El Rosario La Bocana (camping) (X)
16. Punta Baja (X)
17. Toll Roads to Tijuana / San Ysidro border crossing (A)

Subtitles:
I will not drive through this highway again
Time for some welding work
Ooops it broke again, damned toll road potholes!
Not so easy to find San Diego
Through the secondary, again.


[Edited on 8-3-2007 by edm1]

cpg - 7-19-2007 at 10:13 PM

I do not see the photos

BajaWarrior - 7-19-2007 at 10:23 PM

It's always an adventure, glad you made it home ok, and have some stories to tell...

edm1 - 7-20-2007 at 06:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by cpg
I do not see the photos


cpg, this is just the intro/summary, sort of like the table of contents of the report. Photos will be interspersed/imbedded in the individual subtitle writeups.

David K - 7-20-2007 at 08:20 AM

Shell Island access is Km 26, and if it is a full or new moon and high tide, you will know why it is called 'island' and not just 'beach'.

I always tell people it is for 4WD only and you ALSO must deflate your tires until they buldge (10-20 psi usually)... and keep up your speed/ momentum... It is a learned experience.

We all have gotten stuck out there... I did last year with the new aggressive tires... that needed to be lowered more to 'float' on that bottomless sand-shell mix! By digging the sand out from the front and differentials, pouring buckets of sea water in front of the tires, and lowering the pressure to 10 psi (from 15), I drove right out and the truck floated fine the rest of the weekend.

It is true that large 2WD motorhomes drive onto the beach there, but that family (The Hale's) have done so for many years and learned what tires to use and how low to air down. The local fisherman also drives his 2WD pickup on the beach to get his nets... again, its reall all about air pressure.

Anyway, I am sorry you got stuck... but hope you got to see one of the best beaches is Baja. I am looking forward to the details and photos... Probably will see them after my week long Baja trip that begins today!?!

Thank you!!

[Edited on 7-20-2007 by David K]

tripledigitken - 7-20-2007 at 08:41 AM

My short story of getting stuck at Shell Island..........

It was our first trip to Baja in our Xterra. I wanted to see how far it would go in the sand without letting the air out. Well we got up onto the sand and about 100 feet before it was buried, to the frame.

We had firewood on the roof rack. I aired the tires down to about 15#'s dug out all four tires and placed the firewood infront of all 4 wheels. It did this 2 times until I got "up ontop of the sand", drove on down the beach and turned around and came back. At the lower pressures it just floated on that sand. By the way the sand seems particulary fine grained! The retrival process took about 20 minutes. It could have been half that with 2 sand matts. Eventually I will add them to my "Baja Kit".

(Time enough for Paula to do some beach coaming, and accuse me of being crazy for my experiment.)

By the way there was a motorhome up on the sand with a couple of pickups nearby, so I never felt like we would have gotten stranded!

Ken

[Edited on 7-20-2007 by tripledigitken]

Iflyfish - 7-20-2007 at 09:45 AM

It is reassuring that even high dollar rigs get stuck too.

Iflyfish

tripledigitken - 7-20-2007 at 09:56 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Iflyfish
It is reassuring that even high dollar rigs get stuck too.

Iflyfish


Iflyfish,

If your post is directed at me, our Xterra is anything but high dollar. At $29,000 out the door it is the least expensive 4 by 4 SUV in its class. Considering the fact that it has 265HP, hill decent control, locking rear differential, and vehicle dynamic control (switchable for offroad use), it is a very capable machine comparable to rigs costing $20,000 more.

Any rig can get stuck in sand if you don't drive it properly.

Regards,

Ken

3dken

edm1 - 7-20-2007 at 12:15 PM

3dken, I'll put it in another way:

"It's reassuring that even locked 4WD vehicles get stuck".

I guess air pressure comes first before 4WD.

My son now insists on me to install the front drive axle (I already had the transfer case / rear-locker in my recent trip). But, stubborn as I am and considering how difficult to fabricate and install it in a rig like mine, I will make another single-axle-drive attemp/experiment (I'm like you I like pushing things to their limit) into Baja but next time I'll bring sand ladders.

[Edited on 7-20-2007 by edm1]

edm1 - 7-20-2007 at 12:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Anyway, I am sorry you got stuck... but hope you got to see one of the best beaches is Baja. I am looking forward to the details and photos... Probably will see them after my week long Baja trip that begins today!?!

Thank you!!

[Edited on 7-20-2007 by David K]


Da nada.

Getting stuck was expected and delays were expected too. But the delays were longer than expected that I had to forego half of the plans.

David, thanks for all the info you've provided both here and in your baja website. You've provided me with the encouragement and hyped me up during my preparation.

cpg - 7-20-2007 at 11:31 PM

What kind of EDM?

Neal Johns - 7-26-2007 at 02:36 PM

Really enjoyed your trip reports. We all remember getting lost crossing the border and then taking wrong roads and forks in the backcountry and it is even tougher to do all that solo.

Like the rest of us, you are having fun!