BajaNomad - Cabo Pulmo Road Access

Cabo Pulmo Road Access

paulb87 - 10-3-2008 at 12:03 AM

We are going to Cabo Pulmo -Los Frailes area in December. Just wondering what the roads are like from main highway into this area. We have a 30 ft 5th wheel and we'll be coming down from Los Barriles.
Thanks for your input.

Cardon Man - 10-4-2008 at 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by paulb87
We are going to Cabo Pulmo -Los Frailes area in December. Just wondering what the roads are like from main highway into this area. We have a 30 ft 5th wheel and we'll be coming down from Los Barriles.
Thanks for your input.

Once the pavement ends south of La Ribera you can generally expect plenty of washboard. I've never towed a 30ft 5th wheel down the road but if you take it slow and easy and there shouldn't be a problem. Have fun!

wsdunc - 10-6-2008 at 11:56 AM

Serious washboard, but certainly do able.

BAJACAT - 10-6-2008 at 07:41 PM

HAVE ANY PIX GUYS&GALS?

BAJACAT - 10-6-2008 at 07:49 PM

I found this one on GOOGLE, it looks like agreat place

wilderone - 10-7-2008 at 08:55 AM

Definitely no place to turn around if you change your mind!

Crusoe - 10-7-2008 at 01:43 PM

Cat--- This is not a fair reproduction/ picture of the old East Cape dirt road that leaves the pavement south of La Ribera/ Punta Colorado and continues south to Cabo Pulmo and Los Frailles. It sure is a pretty Baja picture though. It is a shot of some side road probably in that area. The old East Cape road is plenty wide for vehicles to pass with alot of room to spare with plenty of good turn around spotsand some grand views. Depending on the season and how much time has elapsed since it was last graded,it can be very, very rough with washboard just like most other roads in Baja......paulb87.....You will do fine with your rig as dozens and dozens of people do it often. Just go slow so you do not shake your trailer interior to bits.. Have fun ++C++

Howard - 10-7-2008 at 06:49 PM

I did that route last year in a rental car. I normally baby my RV and I am very carefull what road I take it on but I would have no problem taking my 30 footer on that road as long as I took my time. Going the beach route from Cabo Pulmo to San Jose del Cabo, NO WAY!

BAJACAT - 10-7-2008 at 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Crusoe
Cat--- This is not a fair reproduction/ picture of the old East Cape dirt road that leaves the pavement south of La Ribera/ Punta Colorado and continues south to Cabo Pulmo and Los Frailles. It sure is a pretty Baja picture though. It is a shot of some side road probably in that area. The old East Cape road is plenty wide for vehicles to pass with alot of room to spare with plenty of good turn around spotsand some grand views. Depending on the season and how much time has elapsed since it was last graded,it can be very, very rough with washboard just like most other roads in Baja......paulb87.....You will do fine with your rig as dozens and dozens of people do it often. Just go slow so you do not shake your trailer interior to bits.. Have fun ++C++

Im sorry i don't want to mis-inform anydody,I just google it and thats what came out.Never the less a nice pix.

landrover65 - 10-8-2008 at 09:34 PM

As the other posts say, a lot of people do it, but if your Fifth Wheel is relatively new and you have a lot invested, I would at least make a dry run without the FW first.

I have driven a heavy truck camper on 2 lane forest roads all over NM and CO with relatively little damage, but while rough and rutted they just don't do the damage that washboard does. I'm still finding things loose in my camper from those Baja washboard roads, and I did air my truck tires down from 80 psi to 50psi (but I would have had to go down to 25psi to really make a difference). At the time I had 235R85-16's at 80psi max. Now I run 285R75-16's at 65psi max. I can air these down to 25 psi for slow driving on washboard and it really smooths the road out.

You really can't go slow enough to avoid a lot of shaking. If you're only going 15 mph that is still 22 feet per second which means you're going to have about 30 shakes per second, per wheel (or at least axle).

On the other hand you can't use the drive at 50-60 mph approach which smooths out the jarring in a car.

You can consider running your tires at very low pressure. But this requires some careful consideration. You should know your actual per wheel loading (as weighed when loaded - not the mfg claim). Ideally, your tires would be sized such that you're only at about 2/3's of their capacity loading. The problems can be delaminating from heat, sidewall puncture, tire comes off the wheel bead. You'll be driving slow, so the heat buildup from the extreme flexing shouldn't be a problem. While the road has a few rocky sections, I don't think you are likely to have a sidewall puncture from rocks which is one of the biggest problems with running at low pressure. To reduce the tire coming off the bead, slow down for dips and turns to reduce the sideways pressure on the tires.

This is the only way I know to reduce the damage.

Do you know where you are going to camp. The camping situation changes frequently there. Unless you're going to stay weeks the damage may not be worth a few days in the area.

Anyone with a lot of experience pulling a trailer or Fifth wheel with aired-down tires?

Another point. It can be difficult to get the right size and load rating tire in the smaller towns (including Loreto) of Baja. So I assume you have a full size spare. Some people carry an unmounted tire of the correct size. But I've never had the space to do so easily.

Cardon Man - 10-10-2008 at 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Crusoe
...It sure is a pretty Baja picture though. It is a shot of some side road probably in that area.

I disagree. That photo looks very much like the dirt road to Pulmo. It's taken facing North heading towards Las Barracas with the long beach at Rincon/ Punta Arena in the background.

[Edited on 10-11-2008 by Cardon Man]

jack - 10-11-2008 at 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cardon Man

Quote:

Originally posted by Crusoe
...It sure is a pretty Baja picture though. It is a shot of some side road probably in that area.

I have to agree with Cardon Man. I'm sure that's the Pulmo road and it looks exactly the way I remember it.

Crusoe - 10-11-2008 at 12:29 PM

I would most definately agree about the long beach shot to the far North that it is Pt. Arena. And the shot of Pulmo just below. However the size and scale from the Google Earth shots can be very decieving. Notice the size of the Cactus heights as compared to the width of the road. There is a couple of narrow roads just North of Bahia Los Frailes, and one leads to a Rancho at the very South end near the end of the reef in Cabo Pulmo Marine Park.This looks to me as the shot in that image. Beautiful area. ++C++ :yes:

bad roads

Cochi - 12-7-2008 at 04:05 PM

yes, i would take the advice of a trial run without the trailer. The 7-8mi of washboard is terrible and we do the road to
Chivato . In November the road was way overdue for grading and in adddition to its poor condition, the cement trucks were flying along dusting everyone. We had a hard time justifying this adventure.........I know whiners stay in town.

Worth the drive

Osprey - 12-7-2008 at 05:59 PM

When you get your rig settled in Los Arbolitos is great for snorkeling.

Cabo Pulmo revised.jpg - 37kB

Cabo Pulmo

paulb87 - 12-24-2008 at 08:58 AM

Hola Amigos

Just answered my own question...we did the Cabo Pulmo road yesterday without our 5th wheel and there is NO WAY i would take a large rig or even a small one there. It is probably the WORST washboard I have been on. Pulmo is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and we will do day trips and save our rig. Like some other posts indicate, you cannot turn a big rig around once committed.
We had our truck in 4X4 all the way simply for traction, but you cannot go much over 10-15mph without ruining your vehicle.
Gracias to all