Whatever you do start early! I was there in April on my moto and it was crowded. Traffic was terrible through town. Besides. It’ll be cooler.

Agreed, but only during busy times of the year. I camp at Arches pretty much every Thanksgiving because reservations are no longer necessary, the crowds are tiny and the temperature is usually perfect. I don't go to Moab for the driving trails, however.

Chicken Corners is a good half day ride. It’s not too technical and scenic. Gemini Bridges is also a short ride so they both could be done on same day.

I’ve heard that some of the Jeep rentals have GPS on their Jeeps and they don’t want you taking them on difficult trails. Don’t know, just what I heard.

im going to go against the popular vote and say rent a SxS. They are legal to drive around town, and they haul ass on pretty much all the obstacles.

Jeeps on 37s, will walk on mostly everything. If you kinda wanna challenge yourself, drive your 4runner. It's not that you can't do anything the jeeps can do..its that you just have to pick your line carefully so you don't destroy your front or rear bumpers if that is a concern to you.

Honestly though, there are tons of trails outside of the park that are just as fun for you and your 4runner that I didn't miss the park at all. Then again, im not a obstacle kind of guy.

Would do but not driving from here, too much time. Flying out to SLC and working my way up to Denver. Trip isn't a wheeling trip, it's a hiking / driving trip. Since we are going to MOAB, I decided to rent a lifted jeep and have a wheeling day. There are 4 of us and a cooler so jeep makes sense.

If I was there by myself and wanted to go nuts, i'd rent the sxs and wear that thing out though!

MOAB was insane! Had a great time! Thank you for all the tips!

Rented the jeep from twisted jeeps, had a 3.5" lift and 37's aired down to 15psi. Picked up at 8AM and had it till 6, burnt about $40 in gas and rental was 350 or something. Cant beat that deal!

Did potash to shafer canyon road, tower arch off road trail, long canyon through pucker pass, and several others that I cant remember the names of. One went by pickles and mashed potatoes. We were the only vehicle on all trails except potash and shafer. One spot on potash was a great cliffhanger and shafer was pretty tight, don't reccomend if you are afraid of heights. Skipped fins n things and hells revenge after having fun on these others and running out of time!

I think 4Runners may be close to outnumbering jeeps on the roads around MOAB, I saw some really tough rigs. Maybe on a return trip I can drive out there instead of flying!

All the advice on the crowded parks was true as well. We basically got to arches at sunrise to beat the crowds and barely got in. Good hikes, very hot.

The tightest experiences I have had there were both in the Outback.

On one of my Long Canyon runs, middle of monsoon season, I was coming down and the trail was washed away to barely wider than the Subaru. There was construction equipment repairing the trail further down: they looked at me in disbelief.

The other one was on Hey Joe where I got the OB by mistake instead of stopping at the end of Spring Canyon Bottom. Within half a mile I was able to turn around. But there was one corner around which the only proper line was over a rock I could not do. So I ended up with my front pax tire halfway in the air. Good times!

shit. you could have done those roads in a minivan.

I lived in Moab for a few months this spring. A lot of trails can be done in a 4runner but I don't suggest wheeling out there in your daily driver. at least not on the serious trails. or if you do, take a couple extra CV axles. I did Fins n Things in a 100% stock 5th gen, including stock tires.

I was in Moab at the end of June, I towed my 98 TJ there. It’s a 5 speed with a 4” lift and 32” tires.
I had a lot of fun, the slick rock has plenty of grip and I had no problems with any obstacles. I rarely saw anyone else out on some of the trails outside of Moab but Hells Revenge and Finns had its fair share of traffic.
There were three 4Runners I ran into and had some great conversations with the owners.
I would love to bring my 4Runner out there some day especially now that I have the lift on it. Too bad you can’t flat tow them.

Hate to burst your bubble but I think your friends were being kind to you. A modded up 4runner will never reach the full capabilities of a twin locked, solid axle vehicle that was designed for maximum off road clearance. 4runners are better at other things but pure offroad capability vs. a Jeep Rubicon isn't one of them. Different tools for different jobs.

Plenty of lifted vans out there in moab. Tower arch road would eat a minivan alive, lol. Regular van, maybe potash with no sand, definitely not the first cliffhanger before shafer with the inclined blind corner with large rocks , maybe the flat runs on the switchbacks up shafer, probably would not be able to make the 90's with the ruts though. definitely not pucker pass with the large rock drop right after.

I would love to live out there for a while, at least until i got tired of those trails.

not true. I've seen minivans do shafer and Potash. I drove Potash in my ex's Transit Connect. My buddy did all of the trails mentioned in an 82 subaru with street tires. you rented a jeep capable of doing the most difficult trails in moab and took it on the ***** roads.

Surely better than rolling it on Pritchett Canyon? Those are all beautiful trails that he did. Why go on crazy stuff on your first trip?

You will drive Potast in a Transit or you won't depending on the conditions. It is one of the most scenic trails anywhere anyway. So what does it matter?

Yup. I guess I never responded to that post, LOL.

That said, I am one of those who refuse to equate offroading with rock crawling.

I divide offroad as follows and then grade out of 10 points.

1. Expedition, OZ style, or overlanding. 4R OR gets 10, Rubicon 6.
2. Desert Running (for normal people). 4R OR gets 8 with aftermarket suspension and Rubicon 6,if on top of the line suspension.
3. Rock Crawling (excluding extreme). 4R OR gets 8 and Rubicon gets 10.

So for me, a 4R offroad edition gets a total of 26 vs 22 for the Rubicon.

I just don't see the appeal of hardcore rockcrawling. Fins and Things, Elephant Hill and the like are fun but dancing on boulders, nah. I would much rather go (reasonably) fast in the desert.

Neither my Outback, nor my 4R has ever been passed by a Jeep in 4H territory. That's over 400 runs and Wranglers have been like 90% of all vehicles encountered.

EDIT: within those parameters, I like to have a balance which is why I have made limited mods to mine. Obviously everyone has their preferences and no type of offroading is more "real" or "better" than another.

General observation:

some people enjoy scenic trails vs. obstacles...

Who cares what they drive or what they rented.

It ain't your money, or your time, or your friends, or your vehicle. So why does one random dood on the internet give a crap how another random dood spends his time and money? Seriously, nobody gives a crap.

To the OP: I'm glad you enjoyed MOAB.... Its one of the few places where you definitely wont get bored.