4X4 Rock Crawling Trail - Full Size Frenzy

Toward the end of the main trail, a low lying wash leads drivers back to the network of dirt roads in the area. Continuing on down the main canyon gives drivers another few hundred yards of boulder playing and some interesting optional obstacles. The trail's end leads to a large rock face the trucks climb in order to exit the canyon. Getting up the initial section of the rock face takes a bit of maneuvering because there is a stretch of basketball-sized rocks. Once midway up the face, a deep V-notch forces the driver to pick the left or right line. Going left allows a truck to straddle the V between the left and right tires, but requires climbing a 3-foot-high face on the left side. The right line puts a 4x4's right tires high on a ledge, forcing the left tires hard down in the V, wedging them up against the rocks.

Most of the trucks in the group managed to work their way across the boulder and up the face to get out over the top of the canyon. However, one of the trucks in the group got caught in the V and wedged the front tires. A dose of throttle shattered the front axle and a hub, and a tie rod got pretzeled. It took a fair bit of winch work to pull the wounded fullsize up and out of the slot, but the job was finished with enough time for the rest of the group to complete the last piece of trail.

This fullsize trail ride was a good day's run and proof positive that the fullsize crowd can get out and play on rock trails just as well as Jeeps, Land Cruisers, and Samurais. Sure, there's a whole lot of sheetmetal bashing on a tight, rocky trail, but that's a small price to pay when driving big rigs in tight quarters.