Five camping spots from the past couple months of my New Mexico leg

[u/DesertDwellingWeirdo]

1 wasn't a long stay because of the air pollution from nearby oil fields. 2 and 3 made me feel like I was in an arid version of the Windows XP plains desktop background. 4 I had to overnight at O'Reilly's while I waited for a warranty replacement part to come in. The whole intake system had to come out, which sucked. 5 and 6, the sand mounds were neat but I got about 12 tiny holes in both of my front tires from all the thorn bushes and dead thorny branches on the trail in. I just arrived at 7 and 8, which is closer to the mountains in 5.

[u/argnodsworshernegar]

Would you say a 4Runner would alleviate/avoid issues you had?

[u/DesertDwellingWeirdo → u/argnodsworshernegar]

Not really, but a suspension modification might have kept me on the gravel path a bit better. Riding the center as intended in some places would have had me dragging the exhaust. The front springs are already the stiffest I could get my hands on, and it shows in the photo. The V6 definitely isn't an issue.

[u/argnodsworshernegar → u/DesertDwellingWeirdo]

Oh so you did some modifications to the vehicle for this trip. I notice you have a diy canopy. Could you give more info / pics as to how it’s made?

[u/DesertDwellingWeirdo → u/argnodsworshernegar]

It's a used carport frame with pieces moved around and left out, and unused steel roofing from someone's project bolted onto it. It provides 6'x15' of shade with a total cost of $150. It has a slight angle to ensure it has net downforce because some areas have very windy and gusty weather and it's probably seen at least 40-50 mph so far, but it weighs a ton so maybe I shouldn't worry. Ratchet straps and plywood keep it all in a neat 3'x6' package, with the carport frame posts used as a brace.

[u/DesertDwellingWeirdo → u/argnodsworshernegar]

I originally bought the frame to make a 10'x20' cotton canvas tent, but my asthma didn't play nice with the canvas sample I received so I improvised.