First time in Moab with my stock(ish) TRD Pro

I took a quick getaway trip to Moab last weekend. Here in SLC we're spoiled with a 3.5 hr drive to one of the most beautiful places on earth. I've been there for hiking and biking but this was my first time with the truck.

It was all positive from the start with a personal-best 19mpg on the way down - I'll take it! The trans never downshifted once on those 80mph uphill pulls. Thanks, supercharger.

We left Friday afternoon and didn't get there till dark but wanted to go explore. My brother-in-law came with me and has a lot of experience crawling around Moab and suggested the first part of Baby Lion's Back ... which isn't too hairy until you do it in the dark. Here we are coming back down, almost to flat ground, dropoffs on either side and nothing but headlights and fogs to show the way:


Apparently it looks like this during the day. It's definitely at least 50% steeper at night.


Grabbed some good pizza at Zax & a movie at the dingy little theater in town then headed back to the Aarchway Inn, a comfy little spot for a great night's sleep and good hot breakfast.

Saturday morning we went to take on Hell's Revenge. He's squeezed it in before dinner in 35 minutes with his built rig but we spent about 2.5 hours enjoying the trail with my stocko-Taco. It was beautiful out there, 60 degrees, not too crowded, and a gorgeous day.






^ glamor shots

During the run we traded spots with some side-by-sides and Jeeps. Saw a group of FJs and Jeeps a ways back while checking out Mickey's Hot Tub (from a safe distance) but they never caught up.


The theme of the trail for me was twofold:
1. Dust off EVERY SINGLE ROCK with my mudflaps. I never realized how low those hang! The trail was kind enough to trim them all up for me though.
2. Slide down most obstacles on my trailer hitch / d-ring shackle. Great pseudo-armor?


The obstacles weren't too bad for the most part but my bro-in-law was a great spotter and helped me get through while keeping my Pavement Princess pretty unscathed.





Got up on 3 wheels in a few spots:

^ nbd

Surprisingly, the gnarliest part of the trail turned out to be the exit once you get off the slick rocks and back on the dirt/rock combo. If I had better front clearance or even 1" taller tires it would've helped a lot. It was the only time I sat on my sliders (once on each side).


When I had to back out of one approach, a rear tire decided it was finally sick of the mud flap and ripped it off. Who needs both amiright?


And all that tail sliding must've loosened my shackle pin so now it's somewhere between Moab and Salt Lake. Let me know if you find it


The truck did great overall, and I was really enjoying how easy it was with all this newfangled tech: twist a lever for 4LO, push a button to lock the rear, flip a switch for the seat coolers ... it's the only way to crawl.

I did forget to hit the RSCA OFF switch which apparently I should've done for crawling. Still, the dash was pretty lit up.


After Hell's Revenge we stopped at Moab Diner for an extra-mediocre burger fries & shake. It was meh-tastic!

I was all crawled out for the day so we headed to Gemini Bridges for more of a prerunner style trail. I opened it up, floated down the bumpy trail and buzzed past a few other travelers in lesser Chevys and Cherokees. This stock suspension is NICE. Didn't get any great pictures of the bridges so here's one from my friend Google:


We continued on the trail and exited the other side, which was closer to the road home. Aired back up there before hitting the highway. Down to 20psi for the trails, then back up to 40 before heading home. My little Viair worked great, about 4 min/tire and we were golden.



And just like that, less than 30 hours after we left, we were back home from our refreshing little trip to a beautiful oasis. See you next time, Moab.

 

Awesome thanks for taking the time to post! Your pics almost make me miss living down there.

 

Thanks, it's sure nice down there especially this time of year. How long did you live there?

 

Ha! I was there last week too (on the WRT) in my Taco. Trip report to follow. Looks like you had fun. The WRT is awesome for a longer run and has just enough hairy stuff to keep you interested.

 

Very cool, I wanted to run that trail but didn't have enough time. Look forward to seeing your photos.

 

Great post!
Seat coolers? Tell me more.. I thought we only had heaters?

 

The future is now & I'm sitting on the pinnacle of luxury! Ok maybe not quite, but it's pretty posh for me anyway.

The previous owner had the dealer install Katzkin Degreez along with the perforated leather & heaters. It's pricey but it's one of the best things about the truck and I probably can't live without it now.

 

Awesome post OP!

 

Thanks

 

Love the Black truck. Nice work.

 

You have great taste in trucks I see. How many miles are on yours so far?

 

Bought it used with 6k five years ago. Just turned 38k. And it's finally paid for next month.

I love having a black truck. I'm not OCD so the dust, swirls, and smears don't really bother me. I just think black vehicles look nice.