Nvusone

9 hours ago, Lord of the Dunes said:

Where is the BLM side?

East of the railroad tracks. You can still camp out there, as long as you are one mile east of the tracks, unless you have a dune permit. You must camp within 50'ft of an authorized route, can only take an OHV on an authorized route or within the "navigable" portions of washes, and you can not access the dunes, unless you push the OHV over the tracks, or tow it with a street legal vehicle (CA street legal)... So... if you want to dune, get a permit and hit the washes. With the improved road, you can easily get down to the 20's, and should be fine pulling off from the road 100 feet or so, more in some spots. Past wash 20, you'll have issues clearing the angles in the washes. 

If you aren't fixed to the north dunes, look at the Ogilby Flats or Dunes Vista area, between Ogilby Road on the east, I8 on the South, and the Railroad crossing/Sidewinder Road to the north. Its all hard pack, easy highway access, less folks on the big weekends, and can be good rides to the dunes from the east side. 

On 10/11/2022 at 4:13 PM, MWB said:

Was on pad 3 this past weekend and the dunes were empty so I can say without a doubt it wasn't bandwidth that was a problem, but my verizon was terrible.

To say reception was bad is a understatement.  Had trouble even making a call. Sending texts was a crapshoot. I cannot tell you how many times I dropped a call, I know it happened at least three times while trying to complete one call.

Verizon is bad in that area because it cant see the tower at the beach store, and it cant see the tower out near the Highline Canal. If you get a signal booster on a 9 foot monopole for your RV, it will work great... Reception wise. You will still have slow speed when the circus is in town.

My plan this year is to use my starlink for wifi calling, and then base internet. I've used it on a few trips this summer and its hands down worth it if you "need" internet. The wifi calling can be trickier, but still works most of the time. 

2 hours ago, Don Parscale said:

I would love to take CA to court on that one. I use to tell them if my truck is street legal in AZ does that mean it is not legal in CA, never got a straight answer.  My sand car was street legal in AZ. DON~~~

You "can" make your buggy street legal in CA, but you wont want to take it in the dunes once you do... You will need all the things every other street legal vehicle needs. Windshield, wipers, turn signals, fenders, bumpers, and so on and so on. State Parks even made a handout some years back to show what your vehicle would need to have to be legal on the road. I've only seen a few buggys do this, and most are used for filming, like Pursuit Systems, but even they like to use normal street legal vehicles whenever they can otherwise do so.  

2 hours ago, Vikter said:

Cameras maybe but no agents to work the area. 

There are lots of agents... it just depends on the time. There may only be one or two line agents on the fence at anyone time, but there are others on ATV's and buggies, and still more on the interstate. As with everything, its all dependent on the conditions. Right now, at night, there are more than a dozen BP agents in the dunes on OHV's, as it is very active. Its so active right now CHP and CalTran put up signs to warn motorists to look out for pedestrians on the highway.

If you are paying 13.95 an ounce for 1234YF, you are getting outrageously ripped off. Its 6.50 an ounce retail in the valley, and can be bought for less in bulk.

As to the changes, well, just like with R12, you gotta bite the bullet on that cost if you want to fix it right. 

The signs at buttercup just mean that no part of your rig can be on or over the pavement. There is no "set back" rule like on gecko, they just want the pavement clear so vehicles can turn around in the turnabout. I'd give your rig a few feet, as I have seen folks get smacked when parking right along the road. That area is pretty good to drive on, as is everything south of the interstate. Like others have said, be prepared for lots of action at night. That area is very active with Border Patrol right now.

When folks talk about Gordons/Dunebuggy Flats, they mean the Coachella or along the power line next to the old All American Canal. Like was said, think of it as a baseball field, powerline is first baseline, Coachella is third baseline, bathrooms are home. Stick to the Baselines to access the field, but even they can get soft sometimes. BLM used to waterdown the first base line to the bottom of the drags hill for dust abatement, but I haven't seen that done as much lately.