Rock Crawling Ranger

[AzScorpion]

Wow beautiful country and no shortage of side x sides out there.

There's so many Jeep and side x side rentals in Sedona. One nice thing is they're legal to drive on the streets so when you rent one you can go all over town with them. Some trails are several miles apart so you have to take the roads to get there. Worst part about them is it's super dusty out there and unless you catch it after it rains you're inhaling red dust all day long.

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[IdahoRanger]

There's so many Jeep and side x side rentals in Sedona. One nice thing is they're legal to drive on the streets so when you rent one you can go all over town with them. Some trails are several miles apart so you have to take the roads to get there. Worst part about them is it's super dusty out there and unless you catch it after it rains you're inhaling red dust all day long.

Wear a mask!

 

[AzScorpion]

Wear a mask!

Lol....It's hard enough wearing one just going into a store never mind off roading when it's in the 80's out. ? ?

 

[fusseli]

@azscorpinice pictures and thanks for the Sedona report! I'm not a fan of rock garden trail sections either, sounds like Schnebly is all rock gardens.

 

[AzScorpion]

@azscorpinice pictures and thanks for the Sedona report! I'm not a fan of rock garden trail sections either, sounds like Schnebly is all rock gardens.

Yes it's pretty much a rock garden. There are some spots that are semi smooth but not many. I had seen some YouTube videos on this trail but most are older ones and the trail has become worse over the years. Now the pink Jeeps were going good over the trail but they do have better suspension and it's not their own personal Jeep.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Yes it's pretty much a rock garden. There are some spots that are semi smooth but not many. I had seen some YouTube videos on this trail but most are older ones and the trail has become worse over the years. Now the pink Jeeps were going good over the trail but they do have better suspension and it's not their own personal Jeep.

Hi Dave,

It was many years ago but we visited Michigan friends that were visiting their father in his retirement home in Sedona. We did Schnebly Hill Rd. in friends Taurus rental car with no problem with me drving .....easy to stay with Pink Jeeps....must have really deteriorated...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[AzScorpion]

Hi Dave,

It was many years ago but we visited Michigan friends that were visiting their father in his retirement home in Sedona. We did Schnebly Hill Rd. in friends Taurus rental car with no problem with me drving .....easy to stay with Pink Jeeps....must have really deteriorated...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Hi Phil,

Wow,if you tried that now in a Taurus you'd rip the whole underside off lol We came off the Schnebly Hill Rd exit off the 17 and the first 6 miles or so was just a fire road with some campsites here and there. Then the fun starts around mile marker 7, it goes downhill quickly. The whole 7 miles aren't terrible but there are a lot of very rocky areas that throw you side to side. I did get a thumbs up from one of the pink jeep drivers who yelled out "nice driving". That'll tell you how tough it is now.

 

[catfishfingers]

Wow Shnebly must have deteriorated a lot, I remember doing that drive in an '83 Tercel back in the day. Also used to love driving my stock S-10 Blazer around Broken Arrow with all the pink jeeps on 37's lol

 

[AzScorpion]

Wow Shnebly must have deteriorated a lot, I remember doing that drive in an '83 Tercel back in the day. Also used to love driving my stock S-10 Blazer around Broken Arrow with all the pink jeeps on 37's lol

I've done Outlaw and Diamondback and we were going to do Broken Arrow but I had had enough after this. lol The Ranger did great and has plenty of clearance but it's defiantly geared more for Jeeps with better off road suspension now.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hi Phil,

Wow,if you tried that now in a Taurus you'd rip the whole underside off lol We came off the Schnebly Hill Rd exit off the 17 and the first 6 miles or so was just a fire road with some campsites here and there. Then the fun starts around mile marker 7, it goes downhill quickly. The whole 7 miles aren't terrible but there are a lot of very rocky areas that throw you side to side. I did get a thumbs up from one of the pink jeep drivers who yelled out "nice driving". That'll tell you how tough it is now.

Hi Dave,

Wonder if Pink Jeeps got tired of seeing passenger cars on Schnebly and convinced local gov't to let it deteriorate.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[AzScorpion]

How was the "drop" mentioned in the video comment you posted ?

"...the first drop was high enough that I turned back"

I came in from the top but there's a large rock that you can ether go over the top or off to the side. I chose the side because it was less of a drop off and I didn't want to come down hard on the rear and crush the tailpipe or the bottom of the rear quarter. I had plenty of clearance but with the longer wheelbase on the Ranger I didn't want to take a chance. I think it would've been ok but no sense in taking any chances.

 

[AzScorpion]

Hi Dave,

Wonder if Pink Jeeps got tired of seeing passenger cars on Schnebly and convinced local gov't to let it deteriorate.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Hi Phil,

You may be right as the pink Jeeps rule that area and I'm sure they got sick of having to deal with passenger cars in their way al the time. From reading past comments and now some of the newer ones it's definitely been let go for a while now.

 

[Tracy Bowman]

Yes I was down to 22 lbs and had the terrain management set to normal. I tried gravel but didn't notice and really difference so I just set it back to normal. The trial control worked great when going over the larger rocks.

All the pictures above are from the second trail. The first one (Schnebly Hill Rd) was so bad I just wanted to get out of there and only took a couple when we were at the top which was the easiest part. It was one of those where every corner you were praying it was the last and then there was another stretch.

You can come in from either the highway or the center of Sedona. Most people come in from the center of Sedona then you go up about 7 miles and stop and come back down. We came in from the highway which is 13 miles long but the first 5-6 miles is mostly a smooth fire road. There are some great views and I've heard that the sunsets are great from there but I wasn't going back up to find out. lol

Snoopy Rock.

Cathedral Rock

Beautiful pictures!

 

[AzScorpion]

Beautiful pictures!

Thanks! We've been there many times and every time the scenery still amazes me. There's a church built into the side of the mountain (Chapel of the Holy Cross) which was build in 1956. It's one of the first sights you see when coming into Sedona and we stop there every time.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

At the beginning of Schnebly, Broken Arrow, and Dry Creek, there are now high rock berms that filter out low clearance vehicles.

Hi RR,

Pretty much confirms keeping cars off these trails. We did Schnebly from center of town up to I 17 and then freeway back to town and dinner...just a nice drive. Oh Well...glad we did it when we could.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

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