Thread: 2200km 8 day Road trip from Lampang to the island of Koh Kood

I decided it was time for a road trip. Wife looked at some locations to stay at along the way and picked the resort in Koh Kood. I did all the driving as I really enjoy it.

First stop was in Jomtien area. This was the longest leg of the road trip as I drove us from Lampang to the resort. 688 kms. We stayed at resort called U Pattaya. Initially I was like NO but it really isn't in Pattaya as my wife showed me. This is a cool little resort and no foreigners jammed into the place.



The ride from Lampang to the resort was easy and quite fun. I still to this day do not get what is all the nonsense posted about crap drivers and bad roads. I did not see one accident, never came across bad roads (except one small section being repaved up North) and did not have one close call the entire trip.













Various pics from U Pattaya. I pulled up a stool at the little tikki hut deal and enjoyed a few cocktails. I was able to fly my drone but had some issues with the shutter setting for which I fixed after I left.

We stayed a few days and relaxed, Had some cocktails and enjoyed the quiet place.

Our next stop was Rayong. The plan here was to visit the Piak Off road factory. I wanted a bumper made of steel to replace the plastic skin the Hilux Revo and all new cars and trucks have. I am a firm believer that it pays to have some strength out front anywhere one drives.



We got to the Piak factory and met up with some really cool guys. All off road types. I had been in contact with them about which bumper I wanted however when we got there and looked and my trucks current state the bumper I wanted would not work as my Warn Zeon 10S was to large. The change was going to be their new 2018 bumper.



One thing cool about going to the factory is that the install is free and they pulled my set up right off the assembly line after inspection.



In no time a team of folks were on it tearing it apart. Hard for me to just sit and watch as i love to fab and mod shit myself.



My Revo all apart



The upgraded bumper with the original one I wanted in the fore ground. My factory white plastic skin in upper left. This is a nice piece. 3MM plate steel and the winch and bumper bracket assy are even thicker and slide in to the frame and bolt with all grade 8 hardware.





Winch bumper bracket assembly in place



3.5 hrs later all done and we were ready to go Of course there was an hour lunch in there as we went out to lunch with the guys.

After we left Piak we headed to look for some food snacks for my wife....



Of course as many know, Rayong is huge producer of Durian. While I personally can't stand the stuff my wife LOVES it and she picked up 2 of them. I have to say these did not smell all that bad.

We then headed off to our next resort to stay for 1 night.



This place was empty and huge.





The coast area heading to the resort was pretty nice and very very clean. There were some nice waves



We sat up by pool and ate and enjoyed the breeze.

We got up early as we had to drive to Trat to catch the ferry to Koh Kood.

We caught the ferry to the Island and took a Wild ride in a baht bus to our resort. I was laughing really hard. the other passengers were white knuckled.



We stayed at the The Natural Beach resort. Long story here. So my wife booked a room way off the ocean through Agoda. The resort has about 20 Villas and only 4 were occupied all way off the beach but the 3 facing the ocean were all empty. I asked my wife to see if they would upgrade us cheaply being vacancy is basically empty and this is off season. The first price was silly and I said Naaaah forget it. Then the front desk gal went and saw the manager and asked. I spoke with her and told her that I'd like to stay in the room but not for 12,200 baht a night. She lowered the price down to 10k baht and I said I will pass. As they were putting our luggage in the room we reserved which was 4k bht a night they came back and asked if 7K baht a night would work. I mulled it over and said OK. I look at it this way, Sometimes you have to live a little. I stay so cheaply in Thailand 99% of the time why not splurge.





Room and view we upgraded too.



Place was quite relaxing.



I am not a beer drinker but man this one sure tasted good.



I knocked back a few Mai Tai's and got out my Drone and did some flying. The above pic is of the resort. You can see our room and the nice sitting area.







Various Drone pics of the small bay.



I sat on the pier and enjoyed the view.



Random tropical pic to end the day



Next day I got up and rented a scooter and wife and I did some trekking to see some waterfall areas. This one was right out of a movie. I jumped in and swam over. I wanted to see how deep it was as I wanted to dive off.

We trekked all over the island for the 2 days we were there, had some great sea food and drinks and relaxed. I kick myself in the ass as I brought my GoPro 5 to use when snorkeling but wife convinced me I did not need the accessories stuff I usually pack a long and a vid from the scooter riding around the place would have been awesome. Lesson learned.

A personal note about the Resort we stayed at on Koh Kood. Being this was off season the prices are significantly lower. But with that comes a trade off. The service really sucked ass. It was like a cruise ship. They had the same people doing property upkeep, cooking, waiting tables and making cocktails. (At one point I had to show the guy how to make a Mai Tai). The scooter story is funny (Albeit wife didn't think so). SO we rented a scooter from the resort. 250bht a day. SO they toss us the keys and I go up and inspect it and start it up and pull it out. Wife hops on and rear tire flat. So I push it back in and go down to the counter. Can't find anyone. Finally I see the gardener/bartender/Bellman/Waiter guy and told him. He finds another key. I go up and all seems in order and we leave. We drive to the other side of the island to take in some views and lunch and when we come back...front tire flat. I found a guy to air it up but the valve stem had rotted out. We called the hotel...no answer. So I rode that fkr 16km on a dead flat front tire with wife on the back laughing. It was a wild ride up and down huge hills. We get back to the hotel and I seek out the manager and say WTF, dont you PM your scooters, what happens if some person that is not capable of riding well takes a header on this. You should fix the scooters. They apologized and she gave me another scooter from who knows where that was basically brand new. My wife and I went off again.

My point being, This is a really nice resort but for the price the service should be far better.

After leaving the Island we headed back to Rayong for another night and pick up some stuff before heading back to Ayutthaya to my BIL's house.



We stayed at the Holiday inn in Rayong. Man is this a really nice place. Cheap too. 1600 baht a night. We walked over to Central Plaza for some dinner. The pool is on the 29th floor, I sat at the bar at the 31st floor.




The truck loaded up. HAHA. Wife picked up all sorts of snacks, 4 Durian trees, Some herb tree, 2 Mangosteen trees. In the bed was 4 more Durian and 2 big bags of Sala fruit.

Anyway Back home now. Great Road trip. Our plan is to do these long road trips every 4 to 6 months. They are fun and lots to see. I will look at the Drone Video's and add if the look OK.

That is a good looking front bumper that you had fitted.

May I suggest that you look into the legality of the spotlights? I believe that if you are driving on the public roads that you either must have covers on the spotlights or remove the spotlights. You may have issues at police checkpoints or when you do the annual registration inspections.

A few years ago, I brought a 1967 MGBGT. To finalize the purchase the previous owner and I meet at the DLT to transfer the book over to my name. Before that could be done the car had to be inspected. The only thing that they insisted that had to be done was the removal of the spot lights on the front bumper. The brakes didn’t work very well and when I got the car home and onto a lift I could have pulled the tie rods out of their sockets with my bare hands. But that did not matter, the spotlights were illegal and had to come off if we wanted to transfer the book over.

Originally Posted by Barty

That is a good looking front bumper that you had fitted.

May I suggest that you look into the legality of the spotlights? I believe that if you are driving on the public roads that you either must have covers on the spotlights or remove the spotlights. You may have issues at police checkpoints or when you do the annual registration inspections.

A few years ago, I brought a 1967 MGBGT. To finalize the purchase the previous owner and I meet at the DLT to transfer the book over to my name. Before that could be done the car had to be inspected. The only thing that they insisted that had to be done was the removal of the spot lights on the front bumper. The brakes didn’t work very well and when I got the car home and onto a lift I could have pulled the tie rods out of their sockets with my bare hands. But that did not matter, the spotlights were illegal and had to come off if we wanted to transfer the book over.

Barty,

Thanks on front bumper. It is a stout piece. I really like it.

As for the lights you mentioned. I have had those PIAA HID off road lights on my truck for almost 1.5 years and have never even been given a 2nd look or questioned at any check stop and I have passed many. In fact I have never been stopped at any check point. They see the foreigner and wave us on...

Nice wee trip n pics. Cheers J.

^^ Not just the foreigner.....that machine gives you credibility, like you have serious connections.

nice thread. ive been to that resort you stayed at on koh kood but didnt stay there wish i had of now. likewise the gaff in rayong you stayed looks great. noted if im in rayong. Piak do indeed make some quality gear nice looking bullbar you got there. could be handy if you encounter crap drivers

Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker

nice thread. ive been to that resort you stayed at on koh kood but didnt stay there wish i had of now. likewise the gaff in rayong you stayed looks great. noted if im in rayong. Piak do indeed make some quality gear nice looking bullbar you got there. could be handy if you encounter crap drivers

Koh Kood is a pretty relax island. We only stayed 2 days. I rented the scooter to do a reconnaissance mission of sorts to check out other resorts for a potential next visit for a longer stay. My wife and I noted a few. I know I would not personally want to stay at the resort we just stayed at but there is one to the left away from the front facing East Andaman sea that looks nicer and the water calmer for better snorkeling. I do like Koh Chang because I can ferry my truck over and toss my Honda Wave in the back.

As for the bullbar as called, I added for strength and support in the event I smack a Soi Dog or some scooter kamikaze guy. I also found that if you have heavy stuff mounted on your truck, people tend to stay way away from you. Of course up here avoiding an elephant is not entirely out of the question either.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Did they fill the "gaps" between the upper edge of new bumper and the lower edge of the headlights/wing unit with anything, foam or rubber strips?

Their new design has a nice inner lip in those areas making it a clean fit with the allowable tolerances for flex etc.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Is that a standard Toyota sump plate or new fit?

The skid plates are 1/4" plate made by Rival. I have front, trans/transfer case and rear end driveshaft. The Factory TRD unit is a hideous red.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Lastly, did Piak supply the black grill behind the two spot lights or was it already on your pickup?

That is the factory TRD grill from Toyota delivered on my truck. As a side note this bumper is designed for the new 2018 truck with the larger/taller grill. However Piak seeing that the unit could fit on an early model made an insert that bolts on to their bumper to cover the gap. Turned out nice. This is the first one they installed at the factory on a 2016 truck. They have been shipping the grill out to suppliers in Australia for the 2018. They took a lot of pictures.

Here are a few additional pics after I washed up my truck at the house;

Thanks for the info and close ups. They also seem to have improved the welding/grinding . My bumper has very obvious welds.

When you use your spotlights, presumably off-road, how much brighter are the main beam and spots combined over the standard main beam?

Have you upgraded the main light bulbs? How often do you use your winch?

Great trip report.

Originally Posted by JPPR2

Koh Kood is a pretty relax island.

I've never been there, didn't even know where it was, so I looked.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Thanks for the info and close ups. They also seem to have improved the welding/grinding . My bumper has very obvious welds.

You are welcome. Yeah I was impressed on the finish work and the powder coating.

Originally Posted by OhOh

When you use your spotlights, presumably off-road, how much brighter are the main beam and spots combined over the standard main beam?

When I have them all on its extremely bright. In fact I could drive with just the PIAA HID lights alone.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Have you upgraded the main light bulbs?

No I did not. The factory HID lights are quite bright as they are. Revo offered a standard headlight truck and the Twin Beam HID.

Originally Posted by OhOh

How often do you use your winch?

Winches are funny things in that they are more like an insurance policy when off-roading. I have used it twice but not that I really had to but to make sure it all works OK. I had quite a few 4WD trucks in the states and always added a winch. One time when I was back country hunting Turkeys I got buried deep in mud. I was 8 or so miles off road. The winch paid for itself in that one event alone. The tow bill to have me pulled would have been prob a $1,000 or more plus my 8 mile hike to the main road.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

Great trip report.



I've never been there, didn't even know where it was, so I looked.

Thanks David

We left from the pier in Trat. 1.5 hour Ferry ride to Koh Kood.

We have visited and stayed on all of those islands shown. I really like Koh Chang because I can take my truck over but it has become crowded. Koh Mak is very nice as well.

Our next island trip is to Koh Lipe

Originally Posted by David48atTD

Great trip report.



I've never been there, didn't even know where it was, so I looked.

You'll also be passing through the WW2 naval battle area when the Thais took on the French.


The French won, with 2 Thai ships sunk and another heavily damaged.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ko_Chang

great thread thanks for the info

Originally Posted by JPPR2

Winches are funny things in that they are more like an insurance policy when off-roading

I agree entirely.

My trips into the jungle are a days march if anything goes wrong. My one usage was to get up a very slippery red clay slope as my tires, although classed a "All Terrain", are useless in wet mud. There does appear to be a "Mud Tyre" available but that maybe not so useful for highway driving. Which most of my driving is, but at Durian harvest time I am in demand as transport. It cuts the very strenuous march by the "porters", carrying a basket of 50kg, by two thirds. Tough guys for a thousand baht or so, depending on how many kg. they carry.

Originally Posted by OhOh

My trips into the jungle are a days march

Would be great/interesting to see a photo thread.

Thanks for sharing OhOh, I would love a gig going backwoods like you do. Of course when its a job its not as fun as when one plays around.

Tires as you mentioned in a previous point are a tough call. "All Terrain" is such a catch all and it holds true with the tire manufacturers always leaning to the 75% street use. Most general "All Terrain" tires quickly become plugged with mud, sand and clay and it renders them useless as they become slicks (hence the winch insurance). I have BF Goodrich KM2 tires on my Revo and they are mud tires. They are not all terrain at all but around these parts i'd rather live with some road noise then pick up rocks and crap or get stuck. Wear has been really good and when I have been off in mud they stay clean but do make a mess of ones truck as they flip mud everywhere.

I plan on adding the ECU's stage 1 power kit soon. I want to add another 50 or 60HP and 150ft lbs tq. I have been in touch with them.

Anyway great post on the Durian treks. A thread as Luigi said would be really an interesting read. Mount a GoPro on your truck for the next journey...

I've deleted it and try a new thread. Apologies for the intrusion.

Sounds good, I love road trips. I could go for a lot longer but wife is good for about 8 to 10.

Drive safe

Originally Posted by OhOh

I've deleted it and try a new thread. Apologies for the intrusion.

No apologies required.

Cheers