BOREAS ADVENTURES : EXPLORING THE WHITE RIM TRAIL WITH AN OVERLAND CAMPER TRAILER

Boreas owners Franklin and Lauren recently took a trip to Moab and the famed White Rim Trail. When we saw the pictures we knew we had to get the details. Turns out, it’s good to do some planning for this trip! We sat down with Franklin to get his suggestions on how to make the trek a successful one, and get his thoughts on tackling this classic route with an overland camper trailer!

Franklin and Lauren love the desert and started planning for this specific trip a year in advance. They picked their dates (a weekend in September) and stayed up late to snag permits at midnight for the campsites they wanted. They weren’t quick enough the first night so ended up booking sites for Friday and Saturday night instead of the original Thur/Fri.

          - Permits become available 4 months in advance

          - Campsites are for 3 vehicles, and a trailer counts as a vehicle

          - Permits are available day-of to drive the entire Trail in one shot (it’s about 90 miles)

Franklin and Lauren, along with their 4 and 6 year old girls (who sleep in the ikamper mini roof top tent on the trailer), along with their friends in a Hallmark Camper setup, camped at a dispersed campsite on Thursday night so they could get an early start on Friday morning.

The White Rim Trail starts off with the Shafer switchbacks. Lauren (the main driver) had no issues with it, even with their 6’ bed, king cab Ford F-150 and the trailer behind. This section was smooth, packed dirt.

          - The White Rim Trail runs both directions the whole way, so make sure to be aware of oncoming vehicles in tight spots

          - Fortunately, long vistas exist so it is easy to see both ahead and behind and make a plan for pulling off 

          - Note: Side by sides are not allowed on the White Rim Trail

The first day they travelled a little over half of the entire route. Past the initial switchbacks the trail became more rocky and there were rock ledges that kept them hugging the inside of the trail. There were a few arches to hike to off the trail to break it up for the kids, and an offshoot to go down to the Colorado River, which they passed.

The day ended after conquering the Murphy Hogback, a sandy section with some big rock chunks that goes straight up! They hugged the inside a little too tight and ended up damaging a rim and getting a lug stuck. Thanks to some kind ‘Toyota bros’ (meant in the best way possible) loaning a large wrench, they were able to swap the tire and made it up. They ended up camping on top of the Hogback the first night, and loved the spot!

In the morning they got back on the trail, and realized that going down the Hogback was gnarlier than going up! But cleared it just fine.

The second day included more ledges and a big horn ram sighting. The next big obstacle was the Hard Scrabble. Twice they had to do a 4-point turn to make the tight switchbacks. The overland camper trailer did well because the Lock N Roll hitch allows for a 90 degree angle without the tongue hitting the truck.

Their second campsite was by the Green River so they were able to go for a swim after a dusty day.

The last day was notably easier than the first two, but Franklin noted that there was a sandy river bed that was dry that looked like it would be an issue if there was any amount of water flowing in it. There were also a few rock overhangs on the trail that were no issue for the truck/trailer, but were tight for the Hallmark camper.

The trail wraps with Mineral Bottom, an easy switchback section. After about 20 minutes of dirt road they were back to the highway.

          - They gassed up the night before they hit the trail, and had about a half tank left when they finished

          - For 2 adults and 2 kids, they used 8-9 gallons of water over the course of the trip for drinking, cooking and coffee

After 2 nights and 3 days on the trail, they were the only trailer they saw on the entire White Rim Trail!

Franklin and Lauren love their Boreas because their girls want to get out in it as much as they do! And especially on trips like these where they get to explore they are exhausted at the end of the day. The next trip on the list: Death Valley or the Mojave Desert!

Thanks to Franklin for sharing the details of this fun trip! And to their travel buddies Adam and Val for the pictures! Let us know if you’ve taken your Boreas Campers overland camper trailer on a rugged offroad trip that we can share – email maggie@boreascampers.com.

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