Trip Report: SD-to-SD (San Diego to South Dakota)

[jakej]

Oh what a trip!! My dream to do such a trip with my wife. Just curious, what is the make of the camper? I hear Turtleback is out of business.

Fellow San Diegan here

Congrats on the trip! Would love to know what pop up tent you are using?

Awesome!! What is the make/model of your trailer?

Several questions about our pop-up trailer (my other toy!) : It is a 2011 Coleman E1 (Evolution). The E1 comes with 2-ft front platform, but they also make them with 4 and 8-ft platforms for motorcycles and ATVs. The Coleman Evolutions are a little more heavy-duty than typical PUPs. Coleman no longer makes them, but Rockwood makes something very similar (larger tires and lifted).

We love it and get a ton of use out of it, at least 8 camping trips a year since we bought it in 2014. And now that we have the Bronco to tow it there's pretty much no place (that my wife will agree to go to) that we can't camp.

Sponsored

 

[jakej]

Awesome trip!

Who did you see at Red Rocks?

The "Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs". Seeing a show there was bucket list for us, and we lucked out that we ended up seeing a group we liked. Great show, even better venue.

 

[7sKnuckledragger]

Awesome trip!

Who did you see at Red Rocks?

That is the most important question!

 

[Zalford]

Awesome trip; Thank you for sharing!!!

 

[IDyeti]

The "Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs". Seeing a show there was bucket list for us, and we lucked out that we ended up seeing a group we liked. Great show, even better venue.

Lol, I am so out of touch with music I didn't know that was the band name. I just thought you enjoyed some yeah yeah yeahs good time at Red Rocks. I used to live 5 minutes from Red Rocks.

 

[The Bronc]

My wife and I just completed the kind of trip I dreamed about since the day I put in my Bronco resv. (week #1). We traveled from San Diego to South Dakota towing our 3,200 lb. pop-up tent trailer. Other than 2 nights hotel to clean-up/stock-up, we camped in National Parks, Forests, or State Parks every night. It was our first long-range camping trip with more to come.

As others have posted, the Bronco tows well. The Eco 2.7 has plenty of power up grades, and seems solid braking and downhill. We got nearly 19mpg towing (I kept to 65 mph, other than coasting down big grades).

Here are some stats and pictures:
- 12 National Parks/Forests/Monuments or State Parks visited
- 8 states traveled to/within
-13 state lines crossed
- 4,357 miles driven
-237 gallons of gas ($856)
- 18.8 MPG (most of that with trailer!)
- 19 days / 18 nights (only 2 in hotels)
- 2 windshield cracks
- 3 hood dents from hail
- 25+ camper roof dents from hail
- 1 concert (Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs @ Red Rocks)
- 100s of great memories

What mode did you tow in? Eco?

 

[jakej]

What mode did you tow in? Eco?

No, just Normal mode. Based on a little experimentation, and validated by others on this forum, the Eco mode seems to help MPG around town, but not on highways. At least from what I can tell.

 

[PNBLD]

sounds like a good trip
great pictures

 

[MontanaMountainMan]

Awesome trip! My dad and I are doing a father/son, Wildtrak/Badlands road trip to meet up in South Dakota in a few weeks. He's driving from MD, I'm driving from CA, so we're meeting in the "middle"

Did the windshield cracks come from the hail or from other vehicles kicking things up? That is my one fear about this long-haul drive. I've done cross-country a couple times now, but not with this windshield!

 

[Norm A.]

My wife and I just completed the kind of trip I dreamed about since the day I put in my Bronco resv. (week #1). We traveled from San Diego to South Dakota towing our 3,200 lb. pop-up tent trailer. Other than 2 nights hotel to clean-up/stock-up, we camped in National Parks, Forests, or State Parks every night. It was our first long-range camping trip with more to come.

As others have posted, the Bronco tows well. The Eco 2.7 has plenty of power up grades, and seems solid braking and downhill. We got nearly 19mpg towing (I kept to 65 mph, other than coasting down big grades).

Here are some stats and pictures:
- 12 National Parks/Forests/Monuments or State Parks visited
- 8 states traveled to/within
-13 state lines crossed
- 4,357 miles driven
-237 gallons of gas ($856)
- 18.8 MPG (most of that with trailer!)
- 19 days / 18 nights (only 2 in hotels)
- 2 windshield cracks
- 3 hood dents from hail
- 25+ camper roof dents from hail
- 1 concert (Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs @ Red Rocks)
- 100s of great memories

I've been to South Dakota 4 times from San Diego for the Sturgis Rally, it's Beautiful and just one question for ya did they finish Crazy Horse yet lol

 

[jakej]

Awesome trip! My dad and I are doing a father/son, Wildtrak/Badlands road trip to meet up in South Dakota in a few weeks. He's driving from MD, I'm driving from CA, so we're meeting in the "middle"

Did the windshield cracks come from the hail or from other vehicles kicking things up? That is my one fear about this long-haul drive. I've done cross-country a couple times now, but not with this windshield!

We think one of the cracks came from hail, but the second was definitely kicked up by another truck. After doing this trip, I plan to increase insurance to cover cheaper windshield replacement. With the flat windshield, and more long trips planned, I doubt this will be my last replacement.

Enjoy the trip with your dad.

 

[xusarmy]

Did your rig have the Tow package, which I guess comes with sway control, and how did that work? Thanks, just getting our first travel trailer and doing all the research I can.

 

[jakej]

Did your rig have the Tow package, which I guess comes with sway control, and how did that work? Thanks, just getting our first travel trailer and doing all the research I can.

Yes, I ordered the Tow Package and added a trailer brake, which not included with the package. (There are lots of prior posts with instructions/examples to install the trailer brake. Pretty easy; DM me if you want more details on this). Also ordered a 10" extension hitch so I can open the rear gate a bit when connected. My trailer sits a bit high, I've seen posts from others saying they are able to just use a drop-hitch instead of extension. All depends on height of your trailer.

Anyhow, the Bronco tows very well. I've probably towed it 15 times in the 18 months I've had it without any issues. My trailer weighs about 3,200 loaded. I've been pleasantly surprised at the power climbing grades and MPG. I'm also happy with how solid the Bronco feels on the road, despite it's shorter wheel base and weight (vs. larger F150 I towed with prior). I'm fairly conservative when towing, rarely exceeding 65mph.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bellime]

We think one of the cracks came from hail, but the second was definitely kicked up by another truck. After doing this trip, I plan to increase insurance to cover cheaper windshield replacement. With the flat windshield, and more long trips planned, I doubt this will be my last replacement.

Enjoy the trip with your dad.

The plastic armor on the windshield is well worth the investment. Forget the manufacturer, but I’d 5300 mile trip San Diego >> Olympia WA >> Missoula MT >> Park City UT >> Denver >> Colorado Springs >> San Diego

the bugs north of LA was the worse part, had to power wash 3 times throughout the whole trip.

Sponsored