Offroading a Cayenne in the Arizona Desert
Discussion
I noticed an immaculate GL63 in Scottsdale last night, and it seemed sad to me that so many incredibly capable vehicles are never used to anything like their capability. My 2008 Cayenne is is used as a hack, tow vehicle, winter beater and general transport device, as well as delivering excellent road performance.
On and off over the years I have gone offloading in the Arizona desert in a wide variety of 4x4s. My rookie trip in 1993 ended up in a slight reversal of fortune, as I attempted to ford a wide and seemingly shallow wash, which ended in a Jeep Cherokee being washed down the river and written off. Since then I have learned to respect it.
The desert is a stunningly beautiful,raw,unforgiving place, with lots of trails of varying degrees of difficulty and remoteness.. Yesterday we took the Cayenne out through some abandoned mining trails, with nothing out there excepted fancied in shafts and the occasional rusting water tank. This did not seem unduly difficult - we had a detailed set of route instructions, ( the trails are unmarked and tend to look alike).
As it turned out the trails were significantly steeper and narrower than we expected this time, and a single missed turn meant that we had a 55 degree hill to climb which was strewn with sharp rocks and loose shale. Low range was absolutely essential to climb it. The wheels individually spun slightly, sought grip, spun again, sought more grip...it was as if we were inside a mechanical mountain climber, reaching up, hand by hand for the next firm hold. there were several points on the trail where we were sure that we would not make it, but it was very,very impressive how capable this thing is when deployed in rough terrain. It took us almost four hours to travel 20 miles. There is always the knowledge that a mistake here means that you could have a ten mile walk , hopefully in the right direction. IN the entire trip we only encountered a single ATV, and saw few tire tracks, most of which were ATVs also.
The paintwork tool a beating, and the sound of the sharp thorns screaming as they scraped both sides of the truck was painful to hear. There is too much dirt on it to see how much damage we experienced, but I would not be surprised if a respray is required. Just about everything out there scrapes, pierces , or bites.
Here are some pics which do not do justice to how difficult this was in reality::
Cactus like this (Choia) is horrible stuff...touching it slightly will result i razor sharp barbs sticking in you...difficult to remove:
We had a glorious Arizona sunset on the way back
and stopped for a snack in Wickenburg Az:
Not perhaps as shiny as the GL63, but in its own way, a, touch more satisfying
On and off over the years I have gone offloading in the Arizona desert in a wide variety of 4x4s. My rookie trip in 1993 ended up in a slight reversal of fortune, as I attempted to ford a wide and seemingly shallow wash, which ended in a Jeep Cherokee being washed down the river and written off. Since then I have learned to respect it.
The desert is a stunningly beautiful,raw,unforgiving place, with lots of trails of varying degrees of difficulty and remoteness.. Yesterday we took the Cayenne out through some abandoned mining trails, with nothing out there excepted fancied in shafts and the occasional rusting water tank. This did not seem unduly difficult - we had a detailed set of route instructions, ( the trails are unmarked and tend to look alike).
As it turned out the trails were significantly steeper and narrower than we expected this time, and a single missed turn meant that we had a 55 degree hill to climb which was strewn with sharp rocks and loose shale. Low range was absolutely essential to climb it. The wheels individually spun slightly, sought grip, spun again, sought more grip...it was as if we were inside a mechanical mountain climber, reaching up, hand by hand for the next firm hold. there were several points on the trail where we were sure that we would not make it, but it was very,very impressive how capable this thing is when deployed in rough terrain. It took us almost four hours to travel 20 miles. There is always the knowledge that a mistake here means that you could have a ten mile walk , hopefully in the right direction. IN the entire trip we only encountered a single ATV, and saw few tire tracks, most of which were ATVs also.
The paintwork tool a beating, and the sound of the sharp thorns screaming as they scraped both sides of the truck was painful to hear. There is too much dirt on it to see how much damage we experienced, but I would not be surprised if a respray is required. Just about everything out there scrapes, pierces , or bites.
Here are some pics which do not do justice to how difficult this was in reality::
Cactus like this (Choia) is horrible stuff...touching it slightly will result i razor sharp barbs sticking in you...difficult to remove:
We had a glorious Arizona sunset on the way back
and stopped for a snack in Wickenburg Az:
Not perhaps as shiny as the GL63, but in its own way, a, touch more satisfying
Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 8th November 11:45
Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 8th November 11:56
THis morning it was time to see how much paint damage we had sustained in the desert...fours hours of scratching pushing though cactus was not good. There is am amazingly hight tech car wash and detailer nearby. Off we went to see what could be done......
In the driveway of the house it just looked dirty:
but close up was ugly and after the wash it was a maze of scratches and a major chip in the windshield
The carwash has a brilliant conveyor belt
and after four hours of work and some serious buffing by a big crew, the thing was amazingly unscathed
The trailer was also cleaned for storage, and we discovered a broken light on that, so fixed it before storage:
We are now preparing for the next stretch and will head for Las Vegas at dawn on Saturday, and then the long trek across the Rockies to Canada which will be a separate thread, and completely different states. We will have covered nearly 6000 mies in two weeks. Who knows what lies ahead of us?
In the driveway of the house it just looked dirty:
but close up was ugly and after the wash it was a maze of scratches and a major chip in the windshield
The carwash has a brilliant conveyor belt
and after four hours of work and some serious buffing by a big crew, the thing was amazingly unscathed
The trailer was also cleaned for storage, and we discovered a broken light on that, so fixed it before storage:
We are now preparing for the next stretch and will head for Las Vegas at dawn on Saturday, and then the long trek across the Rockies to Canada which will be a separate thread, and completely different states. We will have covered nearly 6000 mies in two weeks. Who knows what lies ahead of us?
CK_N4S said:
Did you do the factory delivery and mandatory 'Ring trip when new, to endorn the car with the Nürburgring logo?
If so, epic respect. Have met a good few americans with all manner of Pork metal down there over the years, just wanting to make that trip for the hell of it. Some nice people mostly
CK
This one has the "Neverbeen" log on the Ring flag as it has never been near the place. I have taken three other cars there...50.5 laps in a new M6,stuffed it in the wall at Wehrseifen, fixable, a 997 GT3RS.1 (44?laps) and a 997 RS.2 (31 laps)...plus rental stuff. Its a tad different to climbing 55 degree hills at 1mph.........If so, epic respect. Have met a good few americans with all manner of Pork metal down there over the years, just wanting to make that trip for the hell of it. Some nice people mostly
CK
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