Road to Trailhead Vehicle Requirements

[ttretta]

Twice I've come across trail heads that were difficult to access in my 2WD Ford F150. I searched the AZT forum, and read the triplogs and the guidebook but didn't see anything to tell me the vehicle requirements to access the trail heads. Since I'm section hiking, I frequently have to drive to the trail heads.

Does anyone know of a website where I can look for road conditions prior to setting out on my journeys? I did find one on Trails.com, but they are saying a CAR can make it up El Oso Road. My truck was slipping and sliding all over about 1/2 way up, so I parked it and walked the remaining 4.2 miles up 1600 feet of elevation.

I will be investing soon in a beater 4x4 to help me get to the trail heads, but in the meantime, any help on road requirements would be great. Thank you!

[Tough_Boots]

In dry conditions, a car should be able to make it up El Oso. I've seen plenty up there. My old 2wd Sonoma never had problems. I have found the basic road condition listings here on HAZ (which are found in the hike descriptions) to be fairly accurate though dirt road conditions are constantly changing. Sometimes just to be safe, I PM people who have posted recent triplogs and ask for info.

[Tough_Boots]

ahhh-- I see that the AZT section descriptions have less road condition info than the specific trail descriptions. Look at the hike description that's the beginning of the section you are doing and you'll find better info.

[SuperstitionGuy]

Throw 300 pounds of sandbags in the back of that pickup and you will be amazed how much better it can handle those Forest Service roads.

[ttretta]

I would think a front wheel drive car would do much better than my 2wd truck did. But yeah SuperstitionGuy, I seriously considered doing something like that. I think it would have made it just fine with some weight in the back. The tires just wouldn't grab, and I have AT tires on it. It made up to Roger's Trough Trailhead, but it was incredibly scary and I was sliding all over the place.

[Sredfield]

The Arizona Trail Driver's Guide by Robert Garber, Kindle format only, from Amazon

[ttretta]

THANK YOU Sredfield!!

[CannondaleKid]

The Arizona Trail Driver's Guide by Ron Garber

Note: The only poor review ( on Amazon ) was from someone who expected more information about the Arizona Trail itself. But the title says Driver's Guide (not Hiker's Guide) so their expectations were unrealistic.