Off-Road Colorado San Juan's - Alpine Loop Shakedown

[CallsignVega]

Last few days been doing some fun trails to test my 2026 AWD to test its capabilities before I continue the over-land build out. I'm an experienced off-roader, prior vehicles: Gladiator Rubicon, 392 Wrangler Rubicon, RAM Power Wagon, 3rd Gen F150 Raptor etc.

The Cybertruck impressed me more than I thought it would. The underbody armor held up well. 36" Toyo's at 13 PSI are money. I even did Corkscrew Gulch without a single reverse. The rear wheel steer and lockers are stellar. Pictures of some routes taken: Engineer Pass, Cinnamon Pass, Corkscrew Gulch, Hurricane Pass, Wagner Gulch/Carson Road, American Basin, Mineral Creek, California Pass. If you can afford Dual ARB compressors and Epic Kraken system it's well worth the money. Can fill all four tires in less than 10 minutes with equalized pressure.

I guess not many people take their CT's on these trails as all the locals we spoke to said they never seen one up there before. Didn't see another CT or Rivian on the entire trip which I thought odd! And to be able to comfortably off-road with roughly a thousand pounds of gear and dogs and then hit FSD for an easy drive home is literally no-other vehicle.

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[HaulingAss]

I'm surprised they keep those steep mountain roads in such good condition, the mountain roads around here get gnarly ruts, mostly from heavy water runoff but also from vehicles that slide and spin tires. Funding for repairs is nearly non-existent so the washouts and ruts just get bigger on low priority sections. Some of the most spectacular areas are protected from over-use by not maintaining the road or only maintaining it to control runoff in key spots and allow high clearance vehicles to traverse them. Still, generally nothing a Cybertruck with the Wrangler Duratrac can't handle with ease, like a Sunday drive. Even the Wrangler Territory would handle them fine if a little common sense was used to avoid flats and appropriate speeds were used for slippery clay/mud.

I visited two of my favorite high mountain lakes Sunday as I thought the sun might come out and allow for some spectacular sunset colors, views, and photos but cold clouds parked over the mountain and misted fine, cold rain (43F) all afternoon, with visibility limited to around fifty yards most of the time. This left the descent two-three times as slippery as the way up. There are three or four very steep hairpins cut into the side of a steep slope that often require three point turns for full-sized trucks (and potentially fatal results if you drop a tire over the edge). The Duratracs (combined with the Cybertruck) handled the somewhat slippery conditions like a pro, with nary a slip to speak of and navigated every hairpin without needing three-point turns. I used 40 psi cold, the lowest offroad overland suspension height (for a smoother ride) and didn't need the locking differentials. Even on the lowest height (I think ~12" ground clearance) there is more clearance than most jacked trucks since there is no solid axle center differential to hang up on rocks.

Late in the day, when it was apparent the clouds wouldn't burn off, I pulled out to leave the alpine lakes and almost stopped when I checked my side mirror and saw a newer full-sized Ford 4x4 pickup leaving too. But I pulled out about 50 feet in front of them anyway, not wanting to get stuck behind for the single-lane descent. It's bad enough if you encounter someone ascending because it can lead to a lengthy cluster-fuck, especially if there are clueless people involved that don't want to get too close to the edge or scratch their paint on roadside brush. Even though he was only going 12 mph, pulling out 50 feet in front seemed to trigger him as I heard his engine rev as he stabbed the accelerator and then backed off. I imagine he was telling his passenger he didn't want to get stuck behind a pretend, wanna-be off road Cybertruck!

I went faster than I normally would so I could keep some distance between us. We descended out of the clouds and I was surprised to look in my mirror on one long, straight rugged grade to see him bouncing like a bronco, wheels coming off the ground, trying to keep up, about 100 yards behind. I think the three point turns on the hairpins had slowed him way down and he had to do stupid things to catch up, beating up his truck (and passengers) in the process. The Cybertruck naturally runs so smooth compared to a solid axle, especially using a little care to pick good lines that are still safe. I was having fun and decided to focus on the terrain like a pro, picking optimum lines and speeds, letting it run over the smoother sections and optimizing lines and slowing down on the rugged sections to prevent harshness/possible loss of control. Soon the rugged mountain road turned into a smooth packed forest road through the treed descent, with flowing turns with high crowns creating banked turns of a sort. The lightly loaded Cybertruck with the Duratracs at 40 PSI were in their element! Pure fun! I drove the flowing curves and rises as quickly as I could without disrespecting or tearing up the road surface, using the natural banking to my advantage and taking care on the blind corners to account for potential ascending vehicles. But we saw no one after I saw him bouncing around in my mirror.

At the bottom, I pulled out my TL-BC compressor and MorrFlate hoses bringing all tires back to 53 PSI (50 PSI cold) in under 4 minutes. I imagine the Ford driver had given up trying to demonstrate to his passengers how superior his newer 4x4 was, and that the Cybertruck was a "fake" off-road city truck, because we never saw them again. In reality, there is no comparison. The Cybertruck is miles more capable, smoother, and easier to drive than any 4x4 I know of. Sure, a short-wheelbase Jeep can go places I wouldn't dare take the Cybertruck, but I don't know where those places are! To me, it's about how it gets me where I'm going, not that it can't go to torturous places I don't want to go to begin with. And there is no vehicle that is more satisfying to drive in varied off-road conditions.

Having spent much of my life driving or riding these mountain roads in all kinds of vehicles, in all kinds of weather, I can only say that most people have no idea just how good the Cybertruck really is on mountain roads and trails. It's not the city truck they say it is. But yeah, it's great in the city too.

 

[CallsignVega]

I'm surprised they keep those steep mountain roads in such good condition, the mountain roads around here get gnarly ruts, mostly from heavy water runoff but also from vehicles that slide and spin tires. Funding for repairs is nearly non-existent so the washouts and ruts just get bigger on low priority sections. Some of the most spectacular areas are protected from over-use by not maintaining the road or only maintaining it to control runoff in key spots and allow high clearance vehicles to traverse them. Still, generally nothing a Cybertruck with the Wrangler Duratrac can't handle with ease, like a Sunday drive. Even the Wrangler Territory would handle them fine if a little common sense was used to avoid flats and appropriate speeds were used for slippery clay/mud.

I visited two of my favorite high mountain lakes Sunday as I thought the sun might come out and allow for some spectacular sunset colors, views, and photos but cold clouds parked over the mountain and misted fine, cold rain (43F) all afternoon, with visibility limited to around fifty yards most of the time. This left the descent two-three times as slippery as the way up. There are three or four very steep hairpins cut into the side of a steep slope that often require three point turns for full-sized trucks (and potentially fatal results if you drop a tire over the edge). The Duratracs (combined with the Cybertruck) handled the somewhat slippery conditions like a pro, with nary a slip to speak of and navigated every hairpin without needing three-point turns. I used 40 psi cold, the lowest offroad overland suspension height (for a smoother ride) and didn't need the locking differentials. Even on the lowest height (I think ~12" ground clearance) there is more clearance than most jacked trucks since there is no solid axle center differential to hang up on rocks.

Late in the day, when it was apparent the clouds wouldn't burn off, I pulled out to leave the alpine lakes and almost stopped when I checked my side mirror and saw a newer full-sized Ford 4x4 pickup leaving too. But I pulled out about 50 feet in front of them anyway, not wanting to get stuck behind for the single-lane descent. It's bad enough if you encounter someone ascending because it can lead to a lengthy cluster-fuck, especially if there are clueless people involved that don't want to get too close to the edge or scratch their paint on roadside brush. Even though he was only going 12 mph, pulling out 50 feet in front seemed to trigger him as I heard his engine rev as he stabbed the accelerator and then backed off. I imagine he was telling his passenger he didn't want to get stuck behind a pretend, wanna-be off road Cybertruck!

I went faster than I normally would so I could keep some distance between us. We descended out of the clouds and I was surprised to look in my mirror on one long, straight rugged grade to see him bouncing like a bronco, wheels coming off the ground, trying to keep up, about 100 yards behind. I think the three point turns on the hairpins had slowed him way down and he had to do stupid things to catch up, beating up his truck (and passengers) in the process. The Cybertruck naturally runs so smooth compared to a solid axle, especially using a little care to pick good lines that are still safe. I was having fun and decided to focus on the terrain like a pro, picking optimum lines and speeds, letting it run over the smoother sections and optimizing lines and slowing down on the rugged sections to prevent harshness/possible loss of control. Soon the rugged mountain road turned into a smooth packed forest road through the treed descent, with flowing turns with high crowns creating banked turns of a sort. The lightly loaded Cybertruck with the Duratracs at 40 PSI were in their element! Pure fun! I drove the flowing curves and rises as quickly as I could without disrespecting or tearing up the road surface, using the natural banking to my advantage and taking care on the blind corners to account for potential ascending vehicles. But we saw no one after I saw him bouncing around in my mirror.

At the bottom, I pulled out my TL-BC compressor and MorrFlate hoses bringing all tires back to 53 PSI (50 PSI cold) in under 4 minutes. I imagine the Ford driver had given up trying to demonstrate to his passengers how superior his newer 4x4 was, and that the Cybertruck was a "fake" off-road city truck, because we never saw them again. In reality, there is no comparison. The Cybertruck is miles more capable, smoother, and easier to drive than any 4x4 I know of. Sure, a short-wheelbase Jeep can go places I wouldn't dare take the Cybertruck, but I don't know where those places are! To me, it's about how it gets me where I'm going, not that it can't go to torturous places I don't want to go to begin with. And there is no vehicle that is more satisfying to drive in varied off-road conditions.

Having spent much of my life driving or riding these mountain roads in all kinds of vehicles, in all kinds of weather, I can only say that most people have no idea just how good the Cybertruck really is on mountain roads and trails. It's not the city truck they say it is. But yeah, it's great in the city too.

I'm not sure what maintenance is done on these roads; but it is one of the more popular areas. We also don't get very much rain, almost all of our water comes in the form of snow which luckily usually melts slowly and runs down the gulches so maybe why our roads last longer than the PNW?

One thing funny I found when asking people about trails I've never been on.. they would mention tight area's with brush/branches. Then I would knock on my stainless door and be like "no concern for me"!

I've had similar stories with other off-road vehicles with me trying to get around them. The Cybertruck with its air suspension and aired down tires is a surprisingly comfortable off-road ride. I'd say it's right up there with my F150 Raptor or even slightly better at slower speed. (The Raptor would be better going fast of course). Off-roading I would definitely catch up to Gladiators/Land Cruisers etc that were taking the road much slower due to how bumpy it was.

I also hear you with people having no clue how capable the Cybertruck is and the looks of "what the hell are you doing up here with that". Granted the CT isn't a boulder climber but it's pretty good on moderate stuff. I think I'd be comfortable up to level 6 out of 10 trails. 7's and above maybe be too gnarly for my comfort.

 

[HaulingAss]

I see quite a few clean shiny Raptors in inhabited areas, and I think they are the best-looking traditional pickups of them all (by far). Once in a while they even have a bunch of mud on the sides, maybe to give them that "well-used" look.

But here's the thing: In all the time I spend on mountain roads and trails, I've encountered ONE Raptor in the last 8 years (and it was on a road that is mostly a paved single lane road with short gravel sections and no encroaching roadside brush). And when I see them around town and take a closer look, I've never seen one with the tell-tail scratches in the clearcoat that they are actually used off-road. I'm sure they exist, I just haven't seen one.

Today, if I could only own an ICE truck (that's a sad thought), I still couldn't buy a Raptor-R, not because of the insane price often pushing $150K (last time I checked), but because the highest payload capacity available is only 1400 lbs. and I need a truck that is multi-purpose. My 2010 F-150 XLT had only 1750 lbs. of official payload capacity but it had rear leaf springs that took more kindly to over-load situations than the coil springs on a Raptor. And I often over-loaded it to save the time of multiple trips.

I had the option of ordering the XLT with a heavy-duty payload package with upgraded springs/shocks, bigger rear axle and lower gearing in the final drive which would have brought the payload capacity up to a more than excellent 3,000 lbs, but this absolutely ruined the truck for other uses (which is the vast majority of my needs). Lightly loaded the rear end skipped and hopped over even small pavement irregularities and off-road performance was non-existent. The real-world fuel economy was nerfed to 12-14 mpg and I didn't find any of this remotely acceptable. So I over-loaded the normal duty XLT a few times/year. It didn't drive that well over-loaded, but nothing broke or bent and it handled it fine as long as I kept the speeds down.

All of this highlights the beauty lurking under the skin of the Cybertruck (or should I say "under the tough hide of the Cybertruck"?). It's just incredibly versatile and does it all so well. The fuel savings are just a side benefit (even though they are very substantial, especially when off-road). Another way to say the same thing: The Cybertruck has very few compromises and a lot of very different capabilities.

 

[Fugue]

I'm surprised to see your front fairings still on there.

 

[CallsignVega]

I'm surprised to see your front fairings still on there.

Ya I left them and the hub-caps on purpose, to see where their limits are. Had no issues so far, even on a "5" rated trail.

 

[HaulingAss]

I'm surprised to see your front fairings still on there.

I only have the front left one remaining. The other 3 have been gone since last year if I recall correctly. And I've already replaced all of them at least once! I have a full new set to install when I get around to it!

 

[HaulingAss]

Ya I left them and the hub-caps on purpose, to see where their limits are. Had no issues so far, even on a "5" rated trail.

Looking more closely at your photos, it looks like you've already lost both the rear wheel fairings!

 

[CybertruckDV]

We’re going there on the last week of July. If you can choose 3 trails to recommend to a Cybertruck without the armor, which ones are you recommending?

 

[CallsignVega]

Looking more closely at your photos, it looks like you've already lost both the rear wheel fairings!

I have the factory belly armor/rock rails, it eliminates the fairings. The rock rails are scratched up, definitely used them!

We’re going there on the last week of July. If you can choose 3 trails to recommend to a Cybertruck without the armor, which ones are you recommending?

Which direction are you coming from and want to end up? I wouldn't flinch at doing Cinnamon, Engineer and Hurricane/Corkscrew/California with no under armor. I'd hesitate maybe doing Mineral Creek.

 

[MCraft99]

Nice views. Are you going to put a triple fresnel lens setup in the back powered by a quad SLI subzero cooled rig too?

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