BajaNomad

Road from Gonzaga to HWY 1 ?

Ian948 - 12-1-2013 at 10:23 PM

Does anyone have current information on road condition since the rains and the washouts ? Wondering if now passable ?

Any current info appreciated ( first timer on this route )

4x4 2500 Diesel - standard.

larryC - 12-2-2013 at 08:07 AM

42 miles or so of washboard but easily passable. You'll have no problem. I aired down my tires and drove it in 2.5 hours including the time it took to air the tires back up when I got to Chapala. Welcome to the board.
Larry

[Edited on 12-2-2013 by larryC]

TMW - 12-2-2013 at 11:40 AM

I drove it 4 times between Nov. 14th and Nov. 24th. There are holes to the side from Cocos to hwy 1 but nothing to worry about, just don't fall into one. Air down and pick a pace you are comfortable with. I usually air down to 25lbs in my GMC Z71 and my Tacoma. There is a tire shop when you get to hwy 1 and he can air you back up.

Hook - 12-2-2013 at 03:21 PM

Was there any sign of work beginning on the road again, TW? What's the delay?

TMW - 12-2-2013 at 04:21 PM

They are working on it at Gonzaga from the bridge to I guess 6 miles south. I think that's what DK said the contracts are for. Mostly grading and marking.

I should add that they have not touched the Baja 1000 jump on the road in front of the store.

[Edited on 12-2-2013 by TW]

Ian948 - 12-2-2013 at 04:51 PM

Thanks for the help :-) next question - hopefully not too much laughter , how can I find out what to air down to !! Usually running about 50psi - would down to 25 sound about right ?

Thanks in advance !

Udo - 12-2-2013 at 05:04 PM

I know that you are a newbie, Ian, BUT...

There is no correct answer to fit all vehicles. 25 sounds like way too much.

Here is the best way to determine YOUR pressure...forget the gauge:

Find a smooth level part of the road that you are comfortable to stop in for about 10 minutes. Use a nail, a knife, or a fingernail clipper to let out the air from the four tires.
Stop letting air out when you see the sidewalls START to bulge, and when you can shove the tire inwards with the palm of your hand. If you are able to push in the sidewall some, you have reached the correct pressure for your vehicle. Could be 12, 15, 18, of 20 psi. Any more than 20 is too much (unless you are driving a four ton truck with dualies). Use the gauge if you wish after the first tire, but I'll bet you that if you use the same technique on all four tires, you'll be within a pound or two between all the tires.

[Edited on 12-3-2013 by Udo]

David K - 12-2-2013 at 05:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TW
They are working on it at Gonzaga from the bridge to I guess 6 miles south. I think that's what DK said the contracts are for. Mostly grading and marking.

I should add that they have not touched the Baja 1000 jump on the road in front of the store.

[Edited on 12-2-2013 by TW]


When they were building the highway south from Puertecitos, they seemed to complete about 6 miles (10 kms.) each year. As it turned out the average improved once they passed the volcanic ridges that were the first 20 miles.

2007- 2013 (6 years) to finish the paved highway 42 miles (7 miles/ year).

The Bridge (end of highway in 2013) near Papa Fernandez' to Highway One (Laguna Chapala) is 38 miles using the current alignment... so 5-6 years more... if they have started up construction once again... 2019-2020???

A BIG bridge will be required at the Arroyo Santa Maria crossing 5 miles south of Rancho Grande!

Ian948 - 12-2-2013 at 05:37 PM

Udo, thanks that makes sense !

I'll practice here where I have a compressor to get the idea down <BVG>

Appreciate the help / patience

David K - 12-2-2013 at 05:45 PM

Ian, I do recommend a good dial tire gauge so you can find that sweet spot in pressure, know what it is, and RE-INFLATE correctly once you are back on pavement.

In sand driving, I find 50% reduction about right... but truck tires with heavy sidewalls are not what I run. Graded road/ rough road driving not as much removed, as you don't want the sidewalls to be overly vulnerable to rock cuts.

My Tacoma has tires that run 34 psi on the highway and 15 psi on the beach. On rough roads 25-20 psi would be my range. Running 34 psi on rough roads got me too many flat tires from sharp rocks... some air removed will prevent this... and make the ride a bit better.

Udo - 12-2-2013 at 05:51 PM

You are fairly close to what I run on the FJ Cruiser, David.
For the most part, I run about 18 PSI on graded dirt, gravel and washboard roads.
36 PSI on the pavement, and the sand works out to 13 psi on the new AT's.

There is NO substitute for past experience, however.

freediverbrian - 12-2-2013 at 07:27 PM

I posted in Sept 2009 the road to gonzaga would be finished in 2015 . I still stand by that.

dizzyspots - 12-2-2013 at 08:07 PM

four wheeler magazine and expedition journal...In your driveway: loaded the same way that you will travel....measure sidewall height at normal pressure...do the math to find what a 25% reduction is..ex. 4 in -25% = 1 inch reduction....lower your air pressure until you reach that height. This will be your target air pressure, when you decide to air down on the road...simply use that pressure.....and always go back to normal pressure before you jump back on the pavement

churro - 12-2-2013 at 08:31 PM

Thanks for the info... I will be going down this road later in the month

motoged - 12-2-2013 at 10:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Udo
....There is NO substitute for past experience, however.


Udo,
Your finger-poking method sounds a little suspect to me....."guestimation" is a substitute for a pressure gauge....I prefer the gauge method.

Just sayin' ...

CortezBlue - 12-3-2013 at 07:56 AM

If it is true that Carlos and Vicente have invested in this area, I think the connection to hwy 1 will be done much faster.

David K - 12-3-2013 at 08:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by freediverbrian
I posted in Sept 2009 the road to gonzaga would be finished in 2015 . I still stand by that.


It is almost 2014 now... so you say in TWO years there will be 38 new paved highway miles completed? Well, it is possible with more crews on the project. They completed Hwy. 1 in 1973 at an even faster rate. San Quintin to Santa Rosalia (400 miles) was built in a year and a half!

TMW - 12-3-2013 at 09:53 AM

I run BFG TA KO tires on both my 04 GMC Z71 and my 04 Tacoma 4x4. The Z71 has LT285/75R16 tires and I run 45 psi hot (35 in the rear unloaded) on the hwy and 25 psi off hwy. I have LT265/75R16 on my Tacoma and run 35 psi hot (28 psi rear unloaded) on the hwy and 20-25 psi off hwy. The BFG TA KO has a hard 3 ply sidewall which doesn't show low air easy. I have taken them to 10 psi in the sand to get unstuck. At pressure, low like 10 psi, be careful not to make sudden steering changes or you could pop a bead.

From Gonzaga south I run the first 8-10 miles at 35-50mph. After that I run anywhere from 10 to 35mph to Cocos and on to hwy 1. I seldom run on the sand roads to the side. Driving too slow can be rough. You have to drive at a speed you are comfortable with. The suspension on your vehicle makes a lot of difference too.

Phil S - 12-3-2013 at 09:54 AM

Anothers theory on tire deflation. Yesterday we returned north through Coco's Corner from hwy 1. I drive a Toyota Sienna minivan. I'm 79 years young. 25 years of driving Baja roads and sometimes twice a year. Many years in Dodge 4X4 pickups, and a 4X4 Chev. suburban diesel. (250,000 miles on it, & never a pan removed or heads removed. Just good maintenance) There is part of "that" road that has some really nasty jagged, sharp rocks on it south of Coco's corner. Some in uphill sections where if your loaded down with goods' you've got a pretty substantial load on those tires. My preference is to not have MY sidewalls vulnerable to those hazard rocks. full inflation is my preference. PLUS, damned good quality tires on my rigs anytime. Now. To the fellow driving a white suburban type vehicle at that area where the big 'shovel' was digging a load, and you darned near 'got me', thank you for noticing me, who had slammed on his brakes & stopped just before you swerved back on your side. The lord does work in mysterious ways to keep his followers alive.

TMW - 12-3-2013 at 10:05 AM

Another thing about driving the Gonzaga road and any other non-paved road. The ABS systems sucks on modern vehicles. The manufactures have not figured out how to make it work off hwy, probably too many variables. On GM SUVs and trucks you can pull the 60 amp fuse in the engine compartment. You could pull the 10 amp fuse on the drives side of the dash but you would lose your proportioning valve. In either case the ABS and brake warning light will come on for a little while. Now the brakes will work as they should off hwy and you won't get that uneasy feeling of will I stop or not.

I have not tried pulling the fuse on the Tacoma yet as it doesn't seem to react as sensitive as the GMC.

David K - 12-3-2013 at 10:23 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by TW
Another thing about driving the Gonzaga road and any other non-paved road. The ABS systems sucks on modern vehicles. The manufactures have not figured out how to make it work off hwy, probably too many variables. On GM SUVs and trucks you can pull the 60 amp fuse in the engine compartment. You could pull the 10 amp fuse on the drives side of the dash but you would lose your proportioning valve. In either case the ABS and brake warning light will come on for a little while. Now the brakes will work as they should off hwy and you won't get that uneasy feeling of will I stop or not.

I have not tried pulling the fuse on the Tacoma yet as it doesn't seem to react as sensitive as the GMC.


I had a world of difference experience between my 2005 and 2010 Tacoma ABS. The 2005 sucked braking off road, and my truck would almost hit something before I could stop it... never did, but I didn't like it. The 2010 (same model truck) was totally improved and the ABS didn't prevent the truck from braking well on dirt. On Tacoma World, there are many posts on disabling the ABS system, however. One involves tricking the truck into thinking the rear locker is on (ABS goes off when you lock the rear differential).

Update Gonzaga - Chapala

Ian948 - 12-11-2013 at 06:25 PM

Thanks all the inputs.

Made the trip with no problems at all , did not air down as turned out pretty much like rough roads in back country areas of Colorado , I did stick to solid road as had heavy load of diesel in back , I can see in the sand roads alongside airing down would be needed.

A slow easy 3 hours, one section would have been nasty if the 18 wheeler flatbed had been 60 seconds earlier on the narrow edge of hill section !

Thanks to you all who provided the knowledge to make me comfortable trying it !

:D

David K - 12-11-2013 at 07:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ian948
Thanks all the inputs.

Made the trip with no problems at all , did not air down as turned out pretty much like rough roads in back country areas of Colorado , I did stick to solid road as had heavy load of diesel in back , I can see in the sand roads alongside airing down would be needed.

A slow easy 3 hours, one section would have been nasty if the 18 wheeler flatbed had been 60 seconds earlier on the narrow edge of hill section !

Thanks to you all who provided the knowledge to make me comfortable trying it !

:D


Thank you for reporting back... airing down for washboard or rocky/ graded roads is also a benefit, not as much air out as for sand or traction needs, but to prevent sharp rock flats and make the ride smoother!