Where will a bone stock FX4 Ranger go?

charwest

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My wife and I spend a fair bit of time hunting for isolated camping offroad, and when we have the crazy idea to go on classic offroad trails we end up googling 'stock tacoma XXX road' to try to get an idea of whether we could survive.

Given I'm tickled pink with how well our stock ranger does, I thought maybe a thread that could serve as a compilation of the places a stock FX4 will go would be helpful to other drivers/potential buyers. It might make someone feel better about trying a "jeep" trail, or it might make someone feel more comfortable buying the ranger instead of a Zr2 or whatever.

By bone stock, I mean no lift/level, stock tires.
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charwest

charwest

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By bone stock, I mean no lift/level, stock tires.

Death Valley NP, CA:
Lippincott Road (easy, with a short technical rock crawling section. no skid hits)

Sedona, AZ:
broken arrow trail (handful of skid plate hits)
van deren cabin trail (no problem)

Colorado passes:
Imogene pass (maybe brushed the skid once or twice, straightforward)
Black Bear Pass (dicey. took a few heavy skid hits)
Ophir pass (cakewalk)

on none of these did we come even close to getting stuck (never used diff, didnt use traction control, wasn't spinning wheels, etc). wheelbase was not a problem. a little more clearance would have made broken arrow and black bear pass far more comfortable.
 

Msfitoy

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This should answer your question...
 

Msfitoy

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youtube mystery trail? i think i watched that but dont remember any identifying trail info so we could follow in his footsteps (or not!)
Not sure but he may have described where he was in the first part...he's a member here...
 


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I don't have anything specific, just a more general statement of how continuously impressed I am with the off-road ability of my stock FX4. We've taken it places I fully expected to high-center, scrape the hitch, get the wheels off the ground, start spinning wheels, etc. But none of that has happened. We've never had to use the diff lock, 4L, or any of the terrain modes. I have used them, but only to make sure they work and/or because I have them, so might as well use them. But in the end never felt like I needed to, even when pulling our off-road teardrop on these rough trails. Definitely going to keep going further and further off the beaten path with this rig! And don't feel uncomfortable doing so.
 

NOVA_Ranger

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I have my truck set up about the same as my previous truck, a 2014 Tacoma off-road, and the Ranger performs waaay better on the trails around my stomping grounds. Just a leveling kit up front and more aggressive AT tires, one size up from stock.
 

BCRanger

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We just took our brand new truck up into the mountains for the first time. Took a “wrong” turn — actually just wanted to see if I could find something to check out capabilities of truck. We came to a series of bigass dips in the ”road” a good two feet deep and all the way across, there was no way to miss it. I haven’t drive a truck off-road, I’ve always had a Subaru and I looked at it and thought no way, but what the hell give it a try. My wife hopped out to spot, I inched forward, nose was facing the ground, she gave me thumbs up and kept going. We had like three inches of approach to spare. Honestly, I knew The truck would be better, but I’m going to be adjusting my expectations of what’s possible!
 

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My wife and I spend a fair bit of time hunting for isolated camping offroad, and when we have the crazy idea to go on classic offroad trails we end up googling 'stock tacoma XXX road' to try to get an idea of whether we could survive.

Given I'm tickled pink with how well our stock ranger does, I thought maybe a thread that could serve as a compilation of the places a stock FX4 will go would be helpful to other drivers/potential buyers. It might make someone feel better about trying a "jeep" trail, or it might make someone feel more comfortable buying the ranger instead of a Zr2 or whatever.

By bone stock, I mean no lift/level, stock tires.
Outstanding topic for those of us that don't plan to modify suspension and tires.
 

Ranger8729

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Coming from a Jeep TJ and XJ (several iterations of each) I am not afraid to take this truck where I want to go. There are some spots that a winch would be required or the trucks size is an issue but I already know those areas.

I've had this truck through the Gluches here in SC (nothing too crazy, only rails for protection currently) and all across the Uwharrie mountains in NC. Some fire roads and private land here and there too. This truck is just as capable as my XJ with 4" lift and 32s truetracs front and rear - It will pull its' way up anything I threw at it. The TJ is untouchable due to small size and massive flex and true OX lockers. The Ranger is the perfect compromise.
 

Sketch

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I have a 2019 XLT 4x4 without the FX4 package. Currently all stock. My girlfriend and I are dispersed camping overlanders and I have put over 5,000 miles on the Ranger this summer. All of the offroading we've done so far has been in the Eastern Sierra Nevada range. I have been amazed at how capable my truck is. From peanut butter mud to back country UTV trails and crazy rocky roads, it has performed like a champion. We took a side road off of Leviathan Mine Road in Nevada (off Hwy 395 near Markleeville) and although the road is steep and very rocky, it proved no match for the Ranger. We got some curious looks from the Rhino drivers and maxed out Jeeps when they passed our campsite at Doud Springs, as if they couldn't believe we actually drove down there in a bone stock truck. I'm extremely pleased with the offroad capabilities and can't wait to wear the stock tires down so I can add a Fox 2.0 and better tires/wheels.

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Nspencer01

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I don't have anything specific, just a more general statement of how continuously impressed I am with the off-road ability of my stock FX4. We've taken it places I fully expected to high-center, scrape the hitch, get the wheels off the ground, start spinning wheels, etc. But none of that has happened. We've never had to use the diff lock, 4L, or any of the terrain modes. I have used them, but only to make sure they work and/or because I have them, so might as well use them. But in the end never felt like I needed to, even when pulling our off-road teardrop on these rough trails. Definitely going to keep going further and further off the beaten path with this rig! And don't feel uncomfortable doing so.
I agree man, I’ve taken my stock fx4 down atv trails where I expected to get stuck. I scratched the paint pretty good but followed my buddys trd pro with agressive mods all day!
 

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