Cool Video of Stock FX4 (and a couple other vehicles) Doing Gnarly Off Road Trails

[lazynorse]

Wow, I'd be worried but those spotters seem to be pros. They say completely stock, I couldn't determine otherwise.

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[Bob902]

Pretty cool. Not sure I have the guts to try it with my truck. If someone wants to loan me their truck, I'm in.

 

[clubber_lang]

Pretty cool. Not sure I have the guts to try it with my truck. If someone wants to loan me their truck, I'm in.

You can borrow mine.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

Pretty surprised at how willing the Grand Cherokee guys were to just bounce it through the hard parts.

Made me cringe several times.

 

[rang19ca]

Just goes to show how capable a stock Ranger is off road.

 

[Wandrr]

Pretty cool to see.
My wife has a GC Trailhawk and we're looking to get her seat time offroad. Might not show her this cause of the rock bouncer. lol

 

[RedlandRanger]

Wow, I'd be worried but those spotters seem to be pros. They say completely stock, I couldn't determine otherwise.

Interesting video - it looked like a stock XLT with different (non stock) tires to me. It also appeared there were experienced spotters with inexperienced drivers.

It is obvious if this is the kind of thing you are into, a Jeep does perform better - I'm always amazed at how much articulation they have - they almost seem like rubber..... But I noticed the Gladiator wasn't as nimble as the regular Jeep was.....

 

[mtbikernate]

I'm surprised that florida guy with the green grand cherokee didn't damage anything with all that smashing through stuff he did.

there are definitely some professional offroad driving guides/instructors that operate at Windrock. a local offroad shop works with some, and they do occasional organized trips. some more beginner oriented and others more advanced. this group looked like more of a beginner group with experienced spotters or maybe even professionals. pretty sure they were on some of Windrock's easier trails. the more advanced trips I know of out there have minimum equipment requirements with tire sizes and minimum recovery equipment and whatnot.

it did look to me like all the people there at least had better than OEM tires. The stock Hankooks on the Ranger would be a mess in those slippery conditions.

 

[D Fresh]

Interesting video - it looked like a stock XLT with different (non stock) tires to me. It also appeared there were experienced spotters with inexperienced drivers.

It is obvious if this is the kind of thing you are into, a Jeep does perform better - I'm always amazed at how much articulation they have - they almost seem like rubber..... But I noticed the Gladiator wasn't as nimble as the regular Jeep was.....

Most of the video gives folks a clear view of the differences between an IFS and a solid axle rig. But that first obstacle with the Ranger's ass end all tooted up was a great example.

The lack of dexterity you're seeing in the Gladiator as compared to the Wrangler is mostly just a function of wheelbase.

And as the Dr mentioned, those Cherokee dudes were sending it! I wish they would have slowed down a bit for us to see a more technical comparison between the IFS Jeeps and the Ranger.

The Ranger could've benefited from a step removal for sure.

Without a doubt if I were to wheel these trails I'd be taking my YJ. Not necessarily just for capability, it's close to 30 years old, underpowered, and overtired. Mostly just cause it's paid for and cheaper to fix.

As offroad screens and under rig trail cams become more common it's increasingly possible for a driver to know their steering angle fairly precisely from behind the wheel. It would be nice if more people would include that in their spotting. "5 degrees passenger" is a lot more clear than "passenger, but just a little bit." While the spotters certainly seemed experienced as far a choosing lines and pacing, their actual communication skills could use some work in my opinion.

Also, listening to the drones buzz around was annoying AF.

 

[YaBoiNewton]

Interesting video - it looked like a stock XLT with different (non stock) tires to me. It also appeared there were experienced spotters with inexperienced drivers.

It is obvious if this is the kind of thing you are into, a Jeep does perform better - I'm always amazed at how much articulation they have - they almost seem like rubber..... But I noticed the Gladiator wasn't as nimble as the regular Jeep was.....

The Gladiator is just so dang long! My dad parked his F150 next to one a while back and my ranger was on his other side. We both immediately noticed the Galdiator had almost the same wheelbase as his truck.

I've since seen many gladiators drag their bellies across features that shorter wheelbase trucks roll right over.

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