4x4 ?

[mitch h]

1. Hey guys, have a question. I usually have a 4x4,but at the moment I have a 2 wheel drive. If we find a hawk and head west before a 4 wheeler comes my way, I wonder if the weather was good ,if the white rim trail or torro weep would be too much. We use to do a lot of rock crawling with built jeeps so I know what my 1/2 ton might do. Really don't want to push it to hard. Thanks for any comments. Mitch

 

[MarkBC]

My experience, as someone who isn't a gnarly-experienced 4x4 guy, but has driven both of those places in my F250 4x4, FWC rig:

If it's not wet and muddy there's no need for 4x4 to get to Toroweap. The last tiny bit to get to the campground is over a few spots of bedrock, but all kinds of people/rigs go in there.

When I drove the White Rim trail this past April I was in 4-low in a few steep spots -- both steep up and steep down. Even with those steep spots and a lot of places driving on bedrock, it's not technical. It's possible that people have done it in any kind of rig (either as a stunt or as stupid) -- but I'm glad I had 4x4 for a few spots.

 

[longhorn1]

1. Hey guys, have a question. I usually have a 4x4,but at the moment I have a 2 wheel drive. If we find a hawk and head west before a 4 wheeler comes my way, I wonder if the weather was good ,if the white rim trail or torro weep would be too much. We use to do a lot of rock crawling with built jeeps so I know what my 1/2 ton might do. Really don't want to push it to hard. Thanks for any comments. Mitch

Mitch, couple of Hawks listed in gear exchange. Good luck. Let me know when you find something so we can meet up. jd

 

[SunMan]

My experience, as someone who isn't a gnarly-experienced 4x4 guy, but has driven both of those places in my F250 4x4, FWC rig:

If it's not wet and muddy there's no need for 4x4 to get to Toroweap. The last tiny bit to get to the campground is over a few spots of bedrock, but all kinds of people/rigs go in there.

When I drove the White Rim trail this past April I was in 4-low in a few steep spots -- both steep up and steep down. Even with those steep spots and a lot of places driving on bedrock, it's not technical. It's possible that people have done it in any kind of rig -- even sedans (either as a stunt or as stupid) -- but I'm glad I had 4x4 for a few spots.

I'm with Mark WRT to the White Rim Trail. If memory serves me correctly there were at least two spots I could not have made without 4WD, I know this because I tried everything in 2WD first and only used 4WD as a last resort. And this was in dry conditions, I could imagine it worsening exponentially in wet weather. I would not recommend the WRT without 4WD. Sadly, I haven't done Toroweap yet.

 

[mitch h]

Thanks for the fast replys. That is what I was thinking about the white rim trail. Not much fun getting in a bad spot and not being to lock in to four wheel. A little hairry going down hill backwards. . I'll hopefully have one by then. JD,have not found what I'm really looking for yet. Nice campers on gear exchange though. If we do we will call ya. Mitch

 

[John D]

mitch, I have been over the WRT in a stock military Jeep and it was straight forward. I thought about taking my 2WD F-150 V6 5 speed manual with an ATC camper over the trail. I talked to a Canyonlands ranger about this. He said it would be practical IF you had a creeper gear and high traction tires. He told me the park service had a Dodge with low range, loaded with weight in the bed that could make it everywhere in 2WD. However, this was special truck.

The standard 2WD will not have a "creeper gear". There is another problem; if you have a traction lock rear axle, once the rear wheels start slipping, the rear end of the truck tends to migrate/shift down hill. This can be a disaster on the WRT. An experienced driver with "courage" (round things that bounce) can go through this, but why scare the excitement out of your passenger? (thousand foot drop offs, etc.) John D

 

[mitch h]

Yes John, don't think my wife would be smiling much. . I,ll get a 4x4 agin first. You guys have a good weekend. Mitch

 

[Missing Link]

Mitch - We've done the White Rim twice; once right to left and once left to right, both times in a Jeep. As some folks noted above, making it without 4x4 is possible under the right conditions but for peace of mind and to maximize your enjoyment of the trip, I strongly recommend four wheel drive. When are you making the trip?

 

[mitch h]

Hope we can make it sometime in september. We should be in Florida now, but we have'nt made it yet.