Rock Crawling Ranger

[AzScorpion]

Just came back from a quick trip up to Sedona. I was finally able to check out the 4 wheel drive controls. I aired down to 24 lbs,was going to go lower but found it wasn’t necessary, it was very smooth over the washboard fire roads. We hit a few good stair steppers and I set the terrain management control to gravel and then the trail control to 3-4 mph for some of the steep/deeper steps. The Ranger climbed these effortlessly and at times where I wanted more speed you just give it some gas and take over and let off and it goes right back to your set mph setting. I’m also extremely happy with the Nitto Ridge Grapplers as the highway ride was very smooth and quite and they never slipped one bit off road. I would not have felt comfortable doing any of these steps or going over sharp rock beds with the stock Hankook tires!

This truck has exceeded my expectations and the technology just blows me away and I’m glad I splurged and went with the Lariat and all the options. An even better surprise was after washing it there was no desert pin striping which was amazing as there was a few very tight brush areas. All in all it was a really fun day and it was the first time I actually got to put some miles on since taking delivery back in July.

One last observation. I’ve made this trip many times in my Tacoma and hated every minute of it. You leave the valley at around 970 ft and Sedona is at 4800 ft so it’s a constant uphill climb. The Tacoma would always be reving very high (3500 rpm’s+ and sometimes up to 5000) and constantly shifting in/out of gears where as the ranger was so smooth, it was a consistent 2200 rpm’s for the most part,the highest I saw was 2500 but I was doing 85 up a steep incline. I really like the lane assist and all the other sensors but didn’t use the adaptive cruise control.

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[IdahoRanger]

Love the pics and the insight!

 

[AzScorpion]

Love the pics and the insight!

Thanks! I know some people are on the fence whether to spring for the Fx4 package and all I can say it's defiantly worth every cent. Most of my off roading here at home is usually sandy stuff with a little gravel mixed in,mostly in areas where we go shooting out in the desert. I was really excited to see how it did on some tougher terrain. We did a lot of these trails in Sedona a few years back in a side by side so I now wanted to hit them with the Ranger. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to go back.

 

[IdahoRanger]

Thanks! I know some people are on the fence whether to spring for the Fx4 package and all I can say it's defiantly worth every cent. Most of my off roading here at home is usually sandy stuff with a little gravel mixed in,mostly in areas where we go shooting out in the desert. I was really excited to see how it did on some tougher terrain. We did a lot of these trails in Sedona a few years back in a side by side so I know wanted to hit them with the Ranger. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to go back.

The FX4 package was a must for me. I plan on hitting some of the forest roads up here and some snow so am looking forward to terrain management.

 

[FULLSCALE]

Nice pics, looks like a fun time! Can’t wait until the opportunity presents itself to try out the trail control on my truck.

 

[fusseli]

I'm so jealous, I would love a trip to Sedona! Thanks for posting the pics, looks fun.

I have had similar experience playing a little in the Ranger so far. Effortless off road, even on 3 wheels.

 

[AzScorpion]

I'm so jealous, I would love a trip to Sedona! Thanks for posting the pics, looks fun.

I have had similar experience playing a little in the Ranger so far. Effortless off road, even on 3 wheels.

Not to far from CO,you should plan a trip out here sometime. Would be fun to get a group to meet up for some off roading.

 

[doug910]

Not to far from CO,you should plan a trip out here sometime. Would be fun to get a group to meet up for some off roading.

I'll be working in Pheonix for Jan-March and I get a company vehicle to drive while I'm down there which is great, but I'm debating whether I want to drive my Ranger down there to get some cool off roading terrain experience...would definitely be interested if we got a Ranger5G group meet up. Just depends if I want to put the 4000 mile round trip on the truck or not. We'll see!

 

[AzScorpion]

I'll be working in Pheonix for Jan-March and I get a company vehicle to drive while I'm down there which is great, but I'm debating whether I want to drive my Ranger down there to get some cool off roading terrain experience...would definitely be interested if we got a Ranger5G group meet up. Just depends if I want to put the 4000 mile round trip on the truck or not. We'll see!

That would be a really fun time. Feb/March is really nice up north,maybe you can have the company rent you a Ranger?

 

[Fjsteven]

Not to far from CO,you should plan a trip out here sometime. Would be fun to get a group to meet up for some off roading.

Ouray is a great place to hit the trail and see nature.

 

[AzScorpion]

Ouray is a great place to hit the trail and see nature.

We were in Durango/ Silverton over July 4th and it was really nice there,fantastic scenery. We rented a side by side and hit the trails in Silverton but a lot of the Alpine Loop was still close because of all the snow/avalanches up there. I didn't have my Ranger at that time but I'm looking forward to going back there soon with it. We're thinking about going to Southern Utah for next years summer vacation.

 

[LightningBlue]

You had me at

shooting

 

[TGinAZ]

Just came back from a quick trip up to Sedona.

Geeze, were you behind a RED CORVETTE just as you got into town on 89A? If so, that was me also taking a not-so-quick (traffic) trip to Sedona!

 

[Michael Bailey]

I l

Thanks! I know some people are on the fence whether to spring for the Fx4 package and all I can say it's defiantly worth every cent. Most of my off roading here at home is usually sandy stuff with a little gravel mixed in,mostly in areas where we go shooting out in the desert. I was really excited to see how it did on some tougher terrain. We did a lot of these trails in Sedona a few years back in a side by side so I now wanted to hit them with the Ranger. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to go back.

I looked closely at the FX4 package and decided against it for a couple of reasons. First of all, I do a lot of off-roading but it is almost all on dirt roads and forest roads which have usually been graded in the last 5-10 years. We have a lot of steep climbs here in the mountains, but plain old 4wd with the rear traction-lock is more than enough for my requirements. And the downside of the FX4 package is the highway ride that everyone complains about.

Lastly, I think most guys are just paying for the FX4 fender-sticker for vanity purposes, because we all know that about 90% of these little trucks will never ever leave the pavement.

 

[RedlandRanger]

I l



I looked closely at the FX4 package and decided against it for a couple of reasons. First of all, I do a lot of off-roading but it is almost all on dirt roads and forest roads which have usually been graded in the last 5-10 years. We have a lot of steep climbs here in the mountains, but plain old 4wd with the rear traction-lock is more than enough for my requirements. And the downside of the FX4 package is the highway ride that everyone complains about.

Lastly, I think most guys are just paying for the FX4 fender-sticker for vanity purposes, because we all know that about 90% of these little trucks will never ever leave the pavement.

Wow - consider yourself lucky - the forest service roads around here almost never get graded.

And I guess I'm one of the weird ones - I have the FX4, but I have no complaints about the highway ride.

I bought the FX4 more for the skid plates, but the terrain management stuff is kind of cool as well. I've already used my skid plates too.

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