jabroni619
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Not as exciting as my first video, but thought I'd share anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG6Kw-qdloU&feature=youtu.be
I first encountered this hill nearly 3 years ago when a friend and I were looking for a good spot for some target shooting (BLM land). He was piloting a Nissan Xterra (2wd) that day.
The hill looked challenging but not insurmountable. We attempted to climb it and the Xterra got stock almost as soon as it got started. Hill 1 US 0
About a year later I purchased a 2016 Ford Escape AWD. We decided to try and even the score. It didn't make it much further, and with significantly less ground clearance than the Xterra, attacking it with momentum wasn't really an option. Hill 2 US 0
A few months later, my friend traded in the Xterra for a 2017 Subaru Outback. We were confidant we could get on the score board now. We had the necessary ground clearance and we had an AWD system Subaru and Subaru owners worship with an unwavering devotion. We started slow as we typically do, and to both of our bewilderment, it got stuck in the exact same spot as the Escape. Limiting factor here appeared to be the CVT stalling out and simply refusing to provide the necessary torque to the wheels to get it up and over. But... we had ground clearance so momentum was an option. We tried again and success! We got over the hump that had been a thorn in our side for over a year, but the hill had other tricks up it's sleeve. Mainly it gets steeper as you go up and you need to hang a left turn. The left turn could not be made. Hill 3 US 0
A few weeks later we were back with an Infiniti QX56. Again, we were brimming with confidance. We had loads of ground clearance, tires slighly more suited to off road and a real 4WD system. The losses had taken their toll. We weren't messing around anymore. We aired down and shifted into 4L, the summit would not elude us this day.... Off we go, clears the first obstacle, continues up the hill, here comes the left turn. First obstacle cleared. The left turn is coming up, got some slippage but cleared that as well. It was looking good, the summit is RIGHT THERE when suddenly forward momentum stops and wheels break traction. Driver reverses and tires again.... Same result and gives up.
That last one hurt, I'm fully confidant that QX could have made it up the hill but the driver panicked and was too gun shy about trying it again. But whether you get KO'd or throw in the towel, a loss is a loss. Hill 4 US 0
All that leads us to today. Today is a special day. Today my Raptor turns 10 days old and has almost exactly 1000 miles. The break-in period is over. The day of reckoning is here.... And that's about as far as I can take this over-dramatization. In rock crawl mode it was so ridiculously easy to make it to the top then I went back down and tried it again in 4L without the rear locker engaged. The video posted is of that 2nd run up the hill.
I'm very impressed and how well the truck does in off road environments that aren't "desert racing" we got quite a bit of video from today but I thought I'd post this quick one while I edit the others together.
Oh, and no airing down was necessary either. 38 PSI all around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG6Kw-qdloU&feature=youtu.be
I first encountered this hill nearly 3 years ago when a friend and I were looking for a good spot for some target shooting (BLM land). He was piloting a Nissan Xterra (2wd) that day.
The hill looked challenging but not insurmountable. We attempted to climb it and the Xterra got stock almost as soon as it got started. Hill 1 US 0
About a year later I purchased a 2016 Ford Escape AWD. We decided to try and even the score. It didn't make it much further, and with significantly less ground clearance than the Xterra, attacking it with momentum wasn't really an option. Hill 2 US 0
A few months later, my friend traded in the Xterra for a 2017 Subaru Outback. We were confidant we could get on the score board now. We had the necessary ground clearance and we had an AWD system Subaru and Subaru owners worship with an unwavering devotion. We started slow as we typically do, and to both of our bewilderment, it got stuck in the exact same spot as the Escape. Limiting factor here appeared to be the CVT stalling out and simply refusing to provide the necessary torque to the wheels to get it up and over. But... we had ground clearance so momentum was an option. We tried again and success! We got over the hump that had been a thorn in our side for over a year, but the hill had other tricks up it's sleeve. Mainly it gets steeper as you go up and you need to hang a left turn. The left turn could not be made. Hill 3 US 0
A few weeks later we were back with an Infiniti QX56. Again, we were brimming with confidance. We had loads of ground clearance, tires slighly more suited to off road and a real 4WD system. The losses had taken their toll. We weren't messing around anymore. We aired down and shifted into 4L, the summit would not elude us this day.... Off we go, clears the first obstacle, continues up the hill, here comes the left turn. First obstacle cleared. The left turn is coming up, got some slippage but cleared that as well. It was looking good, the summit is RIGHT THERE when suddenly forward momentum stops and wheels break traction. Driver reverses and tires again.... Same result and gives up.
That last one hurt, I'm fully confidant that QX could have made it up the hill but the driver panicked and was too gun shy about trying it again. But whether you get KO'd or throw in the towel, a loss is a loss. Hill 4 US 0
All that leads us to today. Today is a special day. Today my Raptor turns 10 days old and has almost exactly 1000 miles. The break-in period is over. The day of reckoning is here.... And that's about as far as I can take this over-dramatization. In rock crawl mode it was so ridiculously easy to make it to the top then I went back down and tried it again in 4L without the rear locker engaged. The video posted is of that 2nd run up the hill.
I'm very impressed and how well the truck does in off road environments that aren't "desert racing" we got quite a bit of video from today but I thought I'd post this quick one while I edit the others together.
Oh, and no airing down was necessary either. 38 PSI all around.
