CallsignVega
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2026
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- Location
- Colorado
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- Cybertruck, Brightdrop 600
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- #1
Yesterday we ventured to one of the highest off-road trails in North America; to the false summit of the 14'er Mount Antero. This trail is rated a 5/10, but the pucker factor in a HEAVY full-size truck is pretty wild.
The very last part of Mount Antero Pass at just under 14K feet (last four switch-backs) is where we started to run into trouble. Below in the horizon shot you can see how steep (around 25 degrees which is much steeper than most people realize), combined with like this crushed round gravel caused the 15PSI air downed off-road tires to start to slip even with both axles locked. The loose surface combined with the loaded Cybertrucks almost 8K lb weight on a very narrow trail was to say; quite scary. And of course a 2-door old JT Jeep caught up to us.. let's just say reversing on this trail and every time you brake the tires slip a little is not so fun with thousand foot drops...
But the biggest concern was on the way down the shelf road and switch-backs. The Cybertrucks weight made it difficult to not slide on the loose granite/gravel, even going very slowly. The 4-wheel steer was key in these area's but even the rear end was sliding out from under us during some of the switch-backs that were 20 degrees nose down, 15 degrees lean.
I've off-roaded a lot in various vehicles, Rubicon Wranglers/Gladiator, Power Wagon etc. The largest difference besides the weight is what I call the transition from brakes to throttle or throttle "tip in". In an ICE off-roader with a low range transfer case and torque converter, when you are doing something technical you can smoothly transition from being stopped say on an obstacle or loose surface without any "jerkiness". This is a problem in the Cybertruck. When the truck is stopped on steep surfaces and then you want to slowly inch forward, it will quickly release the brakes and "jerk" forward before the torque of the electric motors kicks in to regen/slow the vehicle down. This happens with manual throttle/brake control or using the Trail Assist function. This is VERY disconcerting when you are on the edge of cliffs and rocks are sliding underneath you. Let's just say our pucker factor was so high we didn't even get any video or photos on the way down.
I will be MUCH more weary of steep shelf roads with loose surfaces in the Cybertruck!
The very last part of Mount Antero Pass at just under 14K feet (last four switch-backs) is where we started to run into trouble. Below in the horizon shot you can see how steep (around 25 degrees which is much steeper than most people realize), combined with like this crushed round gravel caused the 15PSI air downed off-road tires to start to slip even with both axles locked. The loose surface combined with the loaded Cybertrucks almost 8K lb weight on a very narrow trail was to say; quite scary. And of course a 2-door old JT Jeep caught up to us.. let's just say reversing on this trail and every time you brake the tires slip a little is not so fun with thousand foot drops...
But the biggest concern was on the way down the shelf road and switch-backs. The Cybertrucks weight made it difficult to not slide on the loose granite/gravel, even going very slowly. The 4-wheel steer was key in these area's but even the rear end was sliding out from under us during some of the switch-backs that were 20 degrees nose down, 15 degrees lean.
I've off-roaded a lot in various vehicles, Rubicon Wranglers/Gladiator, Power Wagon etc. The largest difference besides the weight is what I call the transition from brakes to throttle or throttle "tip in". In an ICE off-roader with a low range transfer case and torque converter, when you are doing something technical you can smoothly transition from being stopped say on an obstacle or loose surface without any "jerkiness". This is a problem in the Cybertruck. When the truck is stopped on steep surfaces and then you want to slowly inch forward, it will quickly release the brakes and "jerk" forward before the torque of the electric motors kicks in to regen/slow the vehicle down. This happens with manual throttle/brake control or using the Trail Assist function. This is VERY disconcerting when you are on the edge of cliffs and rocks are sliding underneath you. Let's just say our pucker factor was so high we didn't even get any video or photos on the way down.
I will be MUCH more weary of steep shelf roads with loose surfaces in the Cybertruck!
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