Donkey
New member
Trail report and random thoughts from my first trip to the woods in my 2013 Trail.
With 2500 miles on the clock I packed up my toddler for a day trip to Land Between the Lakes recreation area. Needed to get a feel for the new truck off road as well as get some time away from the city. Left the two month old and the wife at home. Between trying not to drive off the trail, keep a toddler happy and stay out of the mud (or tried to) I managed to take some pictures.
The OHV area is full of 100+ miles of trails, from dirt roads to dirt bike single track. I've been here multiple times in Jeeps or on my quad, nothing too crazy but it still has several challenging areas even on the yellow loop. It had rained the day before, weather was about 60 degrees with a mist or light rain all day. Was a little nervous to be out there in the wet, but I never should have been. I don't think I ever spun a tire.
Posing at the entrance, so clean:
4wheeling with a toddler was different than normal. Stopped at a campsite for a snack, no cell phone coverage. Awesome:
Typical trail:
Right near the beginning of the trail is a pretty decent climb, about 15 car lengths at a 45 degree or so incline. Hard pack surface with some rock covered in leaves. I tossed it in to low and turned on the crawl control to see how it functioned. It marched right up the hill without spinning a tire. The hammering from underneath the dash was odd, but the whole crawl control feature is pretty slick. Almost like an amusement ride. My son wanted to do it again, and I did it the old fashioned way and noticed I carried much more speed.
Looking down the hill, pics don't do it justice:
Stopped for a while to watch the quads/dirtbikes/side by sides:
If you want to freak out a guy on a quad in the middle of the Kentucky woods, show up with a 4runner. They looked at me like I was driving the wiener mobile.
Another short climb, went right up those wet leaves, no wheelspin:
One day I will get the front wheels to articulate, guess KDSS had other plans for this spot:
Overall very impressed with the stock suspension and articulation. I don't think I picked up a tire the entire time, even with dirt bike berms and decent moguls. Granted I was being extra careful with my son in the truck but it went everywhere my Jeep did without braking a sweat.
Near the end of the trail there was one really slick spot. I straddled the ruts but slid in just near the end, felt the front bump stops and heard a crunch:
Who put this busch league mesh crap in the front skid plate?
Random things found when cleaning after:
The empty tabs on the rear of the "skid plate?" c'mon man!
Body mount bolt behind the front wheel hangs below the frame rail, seems oddly exposed for a vehicle designed for off-road use:
Other random pictures from the day around LBL:
Overall I could not have been more impressed with the truck off road. It went everywhere with little fuss even on the stock dunlops. I had to fight to get it to rev, ton of power down low but just not what I am used to. High idle speed, will maintain 10-15 MPH. Going in to low was much quicker than my previous vehicles, on the Jeeps you could feel the chain "roll" in to low, 4runner went right in. Stayed in low range for at least 10 miles, 18.4 MPG overall for that tank of fuel. Played with the locker, mental note - it took about half a vehicle length to engage. Ran in to a bunch of Jeeps out of Memphis from "lock and load offroad" nice guys with some built rigs. Did not have much chance to play with the multi terrain select modes, I either put it in mud or just turned trac off.
Couple of scratches, happy toddler, dirty truck, a ton of smiles and a slightly altered skid plate = success!
OHV area website: LBL | OHV Riding & Camping
With 2500 miles on the clock I packed up my toddler for a day trip to Land Between the Lakes recreation area. Needed to get a feel for the new truck off road as well as get some time away from the city. Left the two month old and the wife at home. Between trying not to drive off the trail, keep a toddler happy and stay out of the mud (or tried to) I managed to take some pictures.
The OHV area is full of 100+ miles of trails, from dirt roads to dirt bike single track. I've been here multiple times in Jeeps or on my quad, nothing too crazy but it still has several challenging areas even on the yellow loop. It had rained the day before, weather was about 60 degrees with a mist or light rain all day. Was a little nervous to be out there in the wet, but I never should have been. I don't think I ever spun a tire.
Posing at the entrance, so clean:
4wheeling with a toddler was different than normal. Stopped at a campsite for a snack, no cell phone coverage. Awesome:
Typical trail:
Right near the beginning of the trail is a pretty decent climb, about 15 car lengths at a 45 degree or so incline. Hard pack surface with some rock covered in leaves. I tossed it in to low and turned on the crawl control to see how it functioned. It marched right up the hill without spinning a tire. The hammering from underneath the dash was odd, but the whole crawl control feature is pretty slick. Almost like an amusement ride. My son wanted to do it again, and I did it the old fashioned way and noticed I carried much more speed.
Looking down the hill, pics don't do it justice:
Stopped for a while to watch the quads/dirtbikes/side by sides:
If you want to freak out a guy on a quad in the middle of the Kentucky woods, show up with a 4runner. They looked at me like I was driving the wiener mobile.
Another short climb, went right up those wet leaves, no wheelspin:
One day I will get the front wheels to articulate, guess KDSS had other plans for this spot:
Overall very impressed with the stock suspension and articulation. I don't think I picked up a tire the entire time, even with dirt bike berms and decent moguls. Granted I was being extra careful with my son in the truck but it went everywhere my Jeep did without braking a sweat.
Near the end of the trail there was one really slick spot. I straddled the ruts but slid in just near the end, felt the front bump stops and heard a crunch:
Who put this busch league mesh crap in the front skid plate?
Random things found when cleaning after:
The empty tabs on the rear of the "skid plate?" c'mon man!
Body mount bolt behind the front wheel hangs below the frame rail, seems oddly exposed for a vehicle designed for off-road use:
Other random pictures from the day around LBL:
Overall I could not have been more impressed with the truck off road. It went everywhere with little fuss even on the stock dunlops. I had to fight to get it to rev, ton of power down low but just not what I am used to. High idle speed, will maintain 10-15 MPH. Going in to low was much quicker than my previous vehicles, on the Jeeps you could feel the chain "roll" in to low, 4runner went right in. Stayed in low range for at least 10 miles, 18.4 MPG overall for that tank of fuel. Played with the locker, mental note - it took about half a vehicle length to engage. Ran in to a bunch of Jeeps out of Memphis from "lock and load offroad" nice guys with some built rigs. Did not have much chance to play with the multi terrain select modes, I either put it in mud or just turned trac off.
Couple of scratches, happy toddler, dirty truck, a ton of smiles and a slightly altered skid plate = success!
OHV area website: LBL | OHV Riding & Camping
