What is better than a day in the desert with the boys? How about a complete Anza Borrego desert adventure full of off-road trails, a campout, and some good fun blasting rounds down range? That is exactly what the dudes from Camburg Engineering and Magnaflow Exhaust had planned out a few weeks back. Looking back, we already know that Camburg off-road adventures are a great time!
Of course, when you run a leading automotive aftermarket company known the world over for producing high-performance products, every field day is put to use with testing and development. But that does not mean, your time cannot be full of leisure and fun with good friends. The gang readied a stable of vehicles and rendezvoused at the Magnaflow Oceanside, California headquarters one early Friday morning.
Anza Borrego Desert State Park
Just a short jaunt from the coast, over the inland mountains, the crew set out east on Interstate 8 towards Anza-Borrego. It is not the most direct route, but there is a rhyme to this reason which we will get to. Known as the largest state park in California, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park offers over five hundred miles of dirt roads and multiple points of interest.
Because of the giant landmass footprint of 585,930 acres it occupies, there are many different ways to enter the park and a variety of terrain types to enjoy. Anza-Borrego is also bordered by several OHV areas, BLM land, and private land. For us local to the Southern California gem, it is a terrific destination and one that I traverse often.
Anza Borrego Desert Adventure Vehicle Of Choice
When it comes to exploring this area, you really could get away with almost any vehicle. Off Road Xtreme recommends a four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive at the minimum. This is an important consideration since the most prominent terrain is loose sand found in the dry washes that are often used as the main travel routes. We also recommend traveling in groups and carrying double the amount of fuel and water you plan to use.
The Camburg crew had just about the choicest vehicles on their Anza Borrego desert adventure. We spy a Ford Raptor R, a Ford Raptor decked out for go-fast overlanding, a Ford Bronco Raptor, another tricked-out Ford Bronco, a full-size RAM 2500, and a few more trucks built for fun daily driving.
Anza Borrego Desert Adventure Essentials
As we said earlier, a stock ride would be just fine for most basic travel within the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. But to maximize your time and fun, we encourage vehicle modifications. If you don’t have a Bronco Raptor like Jerry Zaidens, you could upgrade your Bronco to near Bronco Raptor levels with Camburg’s Ford Bronco FOX 2.5 Performance Elite DSC Kit. If you don’t have a Raptor R, you could step up your truck’s performance presence and make it sound like it ought to with Maganflow’s XMOD Series Cat-Back Performance Exhaust System.
Add some sweet KMC Wheels, BFGoodrich Tires, Baja Designs lights, and Fox Factory Shocks, you would fit right in with the Camburg crew.
What else do you need to extend your desert adventures into the multi-day format? A couple of Go Fast Campers Platform RTT, and Camper Platform to rest the head and keep out of the elements. An arrangement of 5.11 Outdoor Gear to tromp through the harsh desert environment. Some ROAM Rugged cases of various sizes to haul all the gear in an organized fashion. A Tembuk Tusk Adventure Skottle to cook up hot meals. And some good food and drink to keep the good times rolling.
Capping Off The Fun With A Bang!
Anytime folks like us head to the desert, chances are we are packing the heat. Although firearms are prohibited anywhere in most California State Parks. We can note Anza-Borrego enjoys close proximity to open land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. On these federal lands, the public can enjoy certain freedoms such as open-range target shooting.
To avoid the risk, just make sure you know where you are at when you break out the hardware. Using a system like onX Offroad maps will keep you informed on your location with clearly defined land designations.
On this trip, Jerry Zaiden and his buddies laid out an arsenal of Sig Sauer firearms. They spent a good few hours sending rounds out, spending brass, and harnessing their skills with some long-range target practice.
