Went on a 2200 mi trek from Miami to Engineer Pass

Ranger305

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In Florida, you either like wet, muddy trails or you're pretty much out of off-road luck. Well, this was a wholly unsatisfactory predicament for me, so I packed up the Ranger and drove three days, stopping at KOAs in Benton, Ill and Goodland, KS ( after stopping for the first night at my son's house in South Carolina) and made it to Ouray, CO. Yup, another KOA just outside of Ouray, set up the tent, made dinner then a fire, then went to bed and woke to a 43* morning. Welcome to Colorado, Florida guy! Drove to the Engineer Pass trail access point off of 550 where I met a man and his wife airing down (like I was) their Wrangler Rubicon. A little socially distant conversation revealed that they were headed to Engineer Pass also. This was an amazing stroke of luck as they had hundreds of off-road hours on mountain trails and I had, well, 35 minutes worth. Their guidance and assistance was greatly appreciated - as was the fantastic blueberry muffin they shared with me over lunch. Here are some pics:

The trail up to engineer Pass:

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I was pleasantly surprised at how my Ranger handled the rocky shelf roads and rocky obstacles on the trail leading up to Engineer Pass from 550. There were a few steering wheel gripping off camber moments here and there, but the Ranger handled everything with aplomb. I was very impressed, after watching how the Rubicon I was following handled very tight switchbacks, at how well my truck negotiated the same. Glad I had those rock sliders a few times as I used them to 'pivot' around some big rocks at the apex of a few switchbacks. On the final climb to the Pass, there is an extremely steep (at least steep to a Florida guy) climb up a rocky slope. 4L and a locked rear end handled it as well as the Rubicon. It was awesome!
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Ranger305

Ranger305

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Some pics from the Alpine Loop, Cinnamon Pass summit and Animas Forks: Never saw Quaking Aspens with anything but green leaves. They yellows and oranges were an amazing sight.

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VoodooRanger

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<- This South Florida is extremely jealous! Hope I can make a similar trip next year.

How did the truck handle the open road with the tent out back?
 

P. A. Schilke

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In Florida, you either like wet, muddy trails or you're pretty much out of off-road luck. Well, this was a wholly unsatisfactory predicament for me, so I packed up the Ranger and drove three days, stopping at KOAs in Benton, Ill and Goodland, KS ( after stopping for the first night at my son's house in South Carolina) and made it to Ouray, CO. Yup, another KOA just outside of Ouray, set up the tent, made dinner then a fire, then went to bed and woke to a 43* morning. Welcome to Colorado, Florida guy! Drove to the Engineer Pass trail access point off of 550 where I met a man and his wife airing down (like I was) their Wrangler Rubicon. A little socially distant conversation revealed that they were headed to Engineer Pass also. This was an amazing stroke of luck as they had hundreds of off-road hours on mountain trails and I had, well, 35 minutes worth. Their guidance and assistance was greatly appreciated - as was the fantastic blueberry muffin they shared with me over lunch. Here are some pics:

The trail up to engineer Pass:

Colo5.jpg


Colo6.jpg


Colo7.jpg
Hi Don,

Been over Engineer Pass several times with various Ford Prototypes. A very enjoyable "test" of the vehicle, and yes we did find things that we addressed on these trips. We usually had 5 to 6 prototypes on the trip. I loved the real world testing...it showed either capability or deficiency, and if a deficiency, then we knew how to fix it instead of the customer or the magazines pointing out the deficiency. And the cool thing is I got paid to do this!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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Ranger305

Ranger305

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<- This South Florida is extremely jealous! Hope I can make a similar trip next year.

How did the truck handle the open road with the tent out back?
You won't regret it, VoodooRanger. Maybe we can get a few more guys and convoy out there. I still want to run Imogene Pass and Yankee Boy Basin. Let me know.
 


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Ranger305

Ranger305

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Hi Don,

Been over Engineer Pass several times with various Ford Prototypes. A very enjoyable "test" of the vehicle, and yes we did find things that we addressed on these trips. We usually had 5 to 6 prototypes on the trip. I loved the real world testing...it showed either capability or deficiency, and if a deficiency, then we knew how to fix it instead of the customer or the magazines pointing out the deficiency. And the cool thing is I got paid to do this!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
Haha, you lucky dog. The Ranger handled off-camber rock obstacles, tight switchbacks, and steep rocky slopes with ease. I was amazed at how nimble she was. Good job on the 'real-world' testing. It paid off in spades.
 
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Ranger305

Ranger305

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<- This South Florida is extremely jealous! Hope I can make a similar trip next year.

How did the truck handle the open road with the tent out back?
It was fine on the open road. I fabbed up that black air-dam you see on my roof rack it it quieted down the wind noise by more than half - closer to 2/3s. Didn't really notice the higher center of gravity around the mountain trails. My Ranger was a champ on those roads.
 

Andy

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Glad to see you made it to Colorado!! Engineer pass is an awesome area to explore.
 
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Ranger305

Ranger305

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Glad to see you made it to Colorado!! Engineer pass is an awesome area to explore.
Thanks, Andy. Family situation permitted me to take off - so I did; quickly. Had an amazing time. The truck performed flawlesly and I got lots of first-hand mountain trail experience. Still would like to get together - possibly next summer?
 

Quick

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Truck looks great too. What’s the mod list?

the wife and I would like to do a trip like that soon.
 
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Ranger305

Ranger305

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