[450grl]

Jason and I took our stock YXZs on a rock-crawling trip with some friends of ours who enjoy trying to get up the biggest obstacles they can find in their crawler Jeeps! We headed out to the Florence area East of Phoenix and did a trail called "Highway to Hell" with these guys! I know the YXZ is made for going fast in the desert and the dunes, but we also enjoy exploring the limitations of a new machine's capabilities! Also, because so many said it couldn't be done - lol!

This stuff is definately out of my comfort zone......but I was really surprised by the ground clearance and ability to get up and over things. I stalled it a few times in the beginning, but by the end I was getting the hang of just how much throttle I needed and just how much clutch. I also made use of the parking brake a number of times! We did all of this with stock tires, but Jason found a rock ledge early in the day, hit it too hard, and pinched his sidewall. The guys we were with took that sidewall cut as a challenge to see how many tire plugs it would take to seal the hole - haha!! (yes we had a spare but saved it in case we REALLY needed it!)

We did most of the big stuff, but there were two that I chose a bypass on. Jason only bypassed one, I think.....and it was a lot of fun to see him work to get that machine up and over some of the crazy stuff we were going through!

Here are some pics of the trip, along with a pic of the cholla that we always have to watch out for! It found our friends leg - we still aren't sure how! He swears it came out of nowhere - haha!

 

[driveby]

Nice! Those rocks do look like side wall eaters. That is one heck of a patch job!

How did the stock skid plates fare? I have 2 concerns with the underbelly. 1, clearance overall and 2, when that clearance does end, how bad will it get?

 

[450grl]

I really only drug the bottom hard once or twice .....Jason drug along one side a bit as well, but the stock plates handled it fine (I checked after the day was over and only saw one place where I scuffed the skidplate). If I was going to do that a lot I would probably opt for some full aluminum (thick) skids, but the stock stuff covers the entire machine underneath, and wraps up around the sides as well and does a good job for us normal people - lol!

 

[AZRickD]

I know that area a little from a few years ago back in my Ranger XP days. That's a pretty dang good test of the YXZ's slo-mo ability.

 

[6gearz]

It's cool that you got it through those kind of trails but "doing it" and "enjoying doing it" are two different things for me. I love crawling my Cat but the few times I've crawled the Y, while it did do it, it wasn't fun. Too much work.

 

[450grl]

It's cool that you got it through those kind of trails but "doing it" and "enjoying doing it" are two different things for me. I love crawling my Cat but the few times I've crawled the Y, while it did do it, it wasn't fun. Too much work.

Oh see, I like the challenge.....and doing something different than I normally do is a good time!

 

[CRAWLR]

Where's the video?

With sound so we can hear the clutch

 

[Hollywood]

Great pics, loved the cactus, LOL!

 

[HammerDownProductions]

I know of one guy that has tried to crawl with his but that bottom end just didnt' have the grunt. However he raced a short course with it saturday night and it killed that. That thing is just wicked in the corners.

 

[6gearz]

I know of one guy that has tried to crawl with his but that bottom end just didnt' have the grunt. However he raced a short course with it saturday night and it killed that. That thing is just wicked in the corners.

Same guy that put it on its lid last weekend?

 

[Desertdog]

Nice pictures Corry. Crawling is a whole different animal and can be super technical. I had a similar issue with a quad tire side wall. It took 13 plugs before it would hold any air but still slow leaked. It got me back to camp tho.

 

[rsessions]

Just returned from two full days in Moab, Utah -- some call it the 8th wonder of the world. 3000 miles of trails total. We hit Hells Revenge, Fins N Things, and Gold Bar Rim all rated "difficult" technical trails. The YXZ handled these without stalling or having to even feathering the clutch -- only hit bottom once. I was very pleased with its performance. We also hit several river bottoms at high speeds -- very fun. You would have thought we were rich and famous, we got the "Look" everywhere we went. One guy got off his machine and touched it, just so he could tell everyone he knows he saw it and touched it.

I have over 400 miles on it now, everything works better with it broken in -- except the doors (latch hardware keeps coming loose). Working the clutch to me is simple (never slipped on me yet) with the recluse it will even be easier. I have not been to any dunes or desert yet, and I could not be happier with the YXZ on mountain trails and rock crawling. I continue to tune the suspension for optimum performance, it is stiff at slow speeds. This thing just clings to the trails, I have a lot more confidence hitting the steep stuff knowing the YXZ will remain stable and not sway back and forth like many other machines do. With these Tensor Regulator tires, they gripped the rock like a spider would. I would rarely spin the tires if at all on the rocks, handled most obstacles in 2wd. This is the most fun I have had in Moab ever, the YXZ is the difference maker for me. I would have hit Poison Spider and other technical trails, but my wife was ready for some easier stuff -- so we hit Onion Creek, Gemini Bridges, Chicken Corners, and Bull Canyon. The scenary in Moab is unbelievable! We ran into HBO there making a movie on top of everything else.

 

[Rider414]

Lots of good stuff in this thread - I know for a fact people are going to fall in love with this machine.

 

[AZRickD]

Imagine the YXZ's trail capabilities with just a few rugged-trail-friendly design tweaks.

 

[tacundra]

Sounds like people that know how to use a clutch are not having any probs with some light crawling.

I good set of ring and pinions for lower gearing are going to make this thing even more capable.