Well, here's the first group run I've been on that I've taken pictures of. We went out to Farmingdale, near the Badlands, where 4x4's are allowed to roam free; a very fun place.
On the way in:
The (small) group I'm in: My jeep, and two of my co-workers one with an XJ and one with a Toyota Tundra:
We're tackling some very difficult terrain at times... I've got a new record for inclines for my jeep; now I know it is perfectly safe at least up to 40 degrees of slope front to back, and 30 side to side.
The XJ is a trail veteran, very beat up, but still holding together and doing well:
While the Toyota is in completely stock condition, without the wear and tear of hundreds of trail runs, but it still does decently. I do respect the toy:
It does have issues on the trail though... Mostly due to being too long-wheelbase:
And due to having street tires:
It isn't the only one that has problems today though:
This particular situation is the only time we had to use the winch to rescue anybody that day, though everyone had close calls:
The Toyota does keep up for the whole day though, despite taking quite a lot more damage to the underside than the jeeps:
Its long wheelbase did come in handy for climbing though:
This is as high as it got:
The XJ got to a similar level before doing the same thing: spinning the tires uselessly. My TJ, of course, got to the same level also, but I quit for a different reason; I was still getting great traction, but I had the shortest wheelbase of all three, and I was very worried about rolling over backwards:
This particular hill was where my TJ got a chance to shine! First, the XJ took around six tries to get to the top, and failed. Then, the toyota took three tries at the top, and failed each time. Then, it was my turn. On the third try, I made it over the top by climbing Baja style; pedal to the metal from the very start! After I made it up, the toyota followed my example and got to the top. The XJ tried a few more times, but never did make it all the way up, though it came very close once:
Soon, it got too dark to take any more pictures, but we stayed out until it got too dark to navigate safely. In a place like this it is extremely important to be able to see where the trail is, and seldom that your headlights are actually pointing at it.
So, what do you think?
I'll be doing another trail run tomorrow, hopefully with more people involved, so 'stay tuned'. ^.^
On the way in:
The (small) group I'm in: My jeep, and two of my co-workers one with an XJ and one with a Toyota Tundra:
We're tackling some very difficult terrain at times... I've got a new record for inclines for my jeep; now I know it is perfectly safe at least up to 40 degrees of slope front to back, and 30 side to side.
The XJ is a trail veteran, very beat up, but still holding together and doing well:
While the Toyota is in completely stock condition, without the wear and tear of hundreds of trail runs, but it still does decently. I do respect the toy:
It does have issues on the trail though... Mostly due to being too long-wheelbase:
And due to having street tires:
It isn't the only one that has problems today though:
This particular situation is the only time we had to use the winch to rescue anybody that day, though everyone had close calls:
The Toyota does keep up for the whole day though, despite taking quite a lot more damage to the underside than the jeeps:
Its long wheelbase did come in handy for climbing though:
This is as high as it got:
The XJ got to a similar level before doing the same thing: spinning the tires uselessly. My TJ, of course, got to the same level also, but I quit for a different reason; I was still getting great traction, but I had the shortest wheelbase of all three, and I was very worried about rolling over backwards:
This particular hill was where my TJ got a chance to shine! First, the XJ took around six tries to get to the top, and failed. Then, the toyota took three tries at the top, and failed each time. Then, it was my turn. On the third try, I made it over the top by climbing Baja style; pedal to the metal from the very start! After I made it up, the toyota followed my example and got to the top. The XJ tried a few more times, but never did make it all the way up, though it came very close once:
Soon, it got too dark to take any more pictures, but we stayed out until it got too dark to navigate safely. In a place like this it is extremely important to be able to see where the trail is, and seldom that your headlights are actually pointing at it.
So, what do you think?
I'll be doing another trail run tomorrow, hopefully with more people involved, so 'stay tuned'. ^.^
