u/joepagac

Passed a dealership with two of these out front. I thought I would get some pics for you guys!

I’ve seen commercials and reviews with this thing raging over off-road trails and flying through the snow, so yesterday we decided to try driving it up to Slate Peak, the highest drivable point in Washington. The ranger warned us that a vehicle had just been recovered from the snow up there, but we had all day, and shovels.

We predug down what I thought would be enough to give us undercarriage clearance before heading through. Turns out, it wasn’t. The Passport stoped moving forward and all 4 tires dug in to the full extent of their suspension, leaving it just sitting on the body. This was a perfect opportunity to learn about vehicle recovery and an opportunity to see that my wife remains supportive and surprisingly pleasant and helpful after I do something that was clearly avoidable. (I will be paying for her next facial now).

Two hours of digging, using the jack on both sides, a lot of tree dragging, and a badly ripped pair of jeans and we got it free! Made it to the top! And then made it back down to part two of testing. The dirt road had a spot that was a bit of a “jump”. So we paused… discussed how they do it in the commercials.

I asked if she wanted to do it. She said no, you do it. Now I’m aware those are professionals on a closed course… but I guess you’ve gotta learn somehow. So we sent it. In real life it went nose down FAST. Something something takeoff angle/velocity/landing. We slid forward on the skid plate and recovery ring. I’m going to need to invest in some new plastic for the undercarriage but it otherwise survived. I was also put in charge of cleaning all the Quaker Oats that were blasted through the trunk area after the container hit the ceiling.

Overall a super fun day and we made it up to the top. The snow is all shoveled for others so they can do the same. We escaped with some cosmetic damage but as far as I can tell after looking over everything I didn’t bend or break anything important. I’m definitely going to put on the 1.5” lift kit when we get back for a bit more clearance.

Guess I’ll be sweeping later…

If we can track down who made the shower drain I bet it’s a clue!!