Road trip to Moab and Canyonlands National Park, including some light offroading

[Scorpio3d]

This area of the country is probably my favorite. I do like green, but being able to see the geology is just my kind of mental health reset.

I like to see all aspects of Mother Nature.
The world is an amazing (if not sometimes insane) place!!!

Sponsored

 

[21st Century Truck]

Not a rock crawler, but at least it can do some offroading.

A trick known amongst some off-road drivers to significantly increase traction of OEM or basic street tires for temporary off-road use across rocky (i.e. slippery) or muddy terrain is the judicious use of modern thin snow chains with diamond-shaped segments that limit surface slippage in many directions.

Snow chains add considerable traction on snow and on hard ice... they can do the same to increase traction in warm weather off-road conditions.

This traction increase will of course not compensate for our Lightnings' shallow front and rear departure angles. However, I will have my Rud GRIP 4x4 chains handy the next time we will be in the Moab area, just in case .

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

A trick known amongst some off-road drivers to significantly increase traction of OEM or basic street tires for temporary off-road use across rocky (i.e. slippery) or muddy terrain is the judicious use of modern thin snow chains with diamond-shaped segments that limit surface slippage in many directions.

Snow chains add considerable traction on snow and on hard ice... they can do the same to increase traction in warm weather off-road conditions.

This traction increase will of course not compensate for our Lightnings' shallow front and rear departure angles. However, I will have my Rud GRIP 4x4 chains handy the next time we will be in the Moab area, just in case .

I would be careful with the Ruds. I think they're slightly over-sized for Ford's recommendations (no larger than 15 mm, class S). And they only recommend using chains with the 275/65R18 tire size.

 

[21st Century Truck]

I would be careful with the Ruds. I think they're slightly over-sized for Ford's recommendations (no larger than 15 mm, class S). And they only recommend using chains with the 275/65R18 tire size.

Gotcha. I've had them on already this Winter.

The issue, if any, lies with the front wheels and a narrow chain clearance on the outer limits of their turning radius. The rear wheels are fine with the chain clearance.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Gotcha. I've had them on already this Winter.

The issue, if any, lies with the front wheels and a narrow chain clearance on the outer limits of their turning radius. The rear wheels are fine with the chain clearance.

Ford doesn't recommend putting chains on the front, which is unusual in my experience.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Ford doesn't recommend putting chains on the front, which is unusual in my experience.

Yeah. When I tested my chains, there was the potential for interference at complete full turns. From memory, the potential interference was with the ends of the upper control arms. The wheel had to be at full lock for this to even potentially happen.

I tested the range and, personally, being very familiar with snow chain driving on many vehicles, I understood how to drive with these chains and this vehicle, and what to avoid doing Slow and careful usually carries the day when using chains, on any suboptimal surface.

 

[Brons2]

Nice report, I'd like to try some of this stuff with my truck. Moab is on the way to my native Oregon using the most direct route, so it would be a good place to stop in the summertime anyway.

 

[nodoubleg]

Last year I used my Lightning to tow my Jeep JKU out to Easter Jeep Safari, and the Jeep was the main “toy” I used off roading. But I did take my Lightning out on a portion of Fins ‘N Things, just for the haters.

I had the stock (and garbage) Hankook AT tires aired down to ~20 psi. I had the lightning on two or three tires at some points. The 50/50 weight distribution had this thing balancing similarly to my Jeep, actually.

the long tail of a pickup does not match well with Moab. There were several gladiators out there with an exaggerated rake, with 6+” lifts in the rear to attempt address the bad departure angle of a pickup. Buddy of mine got on the radio and asked my why my Ford was “making gladiator noises” going down a particular obstacle.

The drivetrain makes for relatively easy precision placement of the truck. I love that you can drive these “two-footed” like an automatic if necessary. Easier control than my 6-speed Jeep with gearing that’s still a bit too high.

 

[bthanos]

I will be interested to read the rest of your story. Exploring the Bryce, Zion, and Capitol Reef NPs is on my EV desert challenge list. While there is a nice concentration of DCFC chargers in Moab, the area to the SW basically has none. I wish Rivian would put one of their cool charging stops between Zion and Bryce; I would cheerfully pay their high price for electrons for the convenience and amenities they offer at their new location near Joshua Tree NP.

We just did Zion and Bryce. We stayed at Zion Canyon Campgrounds and RV park. Got the 50A site and used a 40A AC charger to fill up overnight. We drove to Bryce the next morning and returned with 30% charge (170 miles RT). The site cost is $110 per night and it’s right in Springdale near the entrance to Zion.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Last year I used my Lightning to tow my Jeep JKU out to Easter Jeep Safari, and the Jeep was the main “toy” I used off roading. But I did take my Lightning out on a portion of Fins ‘N Things, just for the haters.

I had the stock (and garbage) Hankook AT tires aired down to ~20 psi. I had the lightning on two or three tires at some points. The 50/50 weight distribution had this thing balancing similarly to my Jeep, actually.

the long tail of a pickup does not match well with Moab. There were several gladiators out there with an exaggerated rake, with 6+” lifts in the rear to attempt address the bad departure angle of a pickup. Buddy of mine got on the radio and asked my why my Ford was “making gladiator noises” going down a particular obstacle.

The drivetrain makes for relatively easy precision placement of the truck. I love that you can drive these “two-footed” like an automatic if necessary. Easier control than my 6-speed Jeep with gearing that’s still a bit too high.

Beautiful!

We used to take our Tacoma to Moab at least once a year (usually on our own, not during events) and have done many of the trails. But the Lightning is so much bigger than the Tacoma and this was our first Lightning trip to Moab, so we played it safe. When we go back, we may add to the list of trails we'll do.

I agree with the assessment that the Hankooks are garbage. I don't even like them for simple road tripping. But I always run the OEM tires down to the wear bars before replacing them, so I have at least another year before I can create the excuse to get better tires. When I do, I will likely get a second set of wheels as well. I wish we could put 17s on this truck without a weird offset--I prefer my tires sit under the vehicle entirely, especially on such a wide truck as the Lightning.

I agree with you about the precision of the Lightning's throttle response. It's the best I've ever experienced, and I think it's just down to being an EV with consistent throttle placement: put the pedal in this position and this is what the motors will do. Every time.