Taking the Yukon Off Road for Real

[Rafs]

Bone stock 1997 Yukon 2 door 4wd with the G80 locker...ish. 270,000 miles on the clock, nothing special 265 all terrain tires.

Drove ~400 miles to Hot Springs Off Road Park, wow what a place. Hundreds off acres of amazing trails and great staff. After checking out my truck and talking with me about my experience they gave us a map.

200 feet from the start I'm facing a climb I would have bet there was no way on earth my 5,000 lb truck would go up or back down. Gently roll in the throttle, feel the G80 click in, and it climbs like a billy goat. This scene repeated over and over for 3.5 hours. Mixed emotions of terror and excitement all from the comfort of the air conditioned interior with it's just right ride stiffness.

I came away with new respect for how competent these trucks and the, often vilified, G80 are. I currently own a Suzuki Samurai and have owned a 50s Willys Jeep. I thought the Yukon would be used to tow the Zuki, not so the Yukon is now my go to off roader. And my wife had a blast!

Get out there and use them!

 

[B-train]

I had a 1996 GMC 1500 reg cab, short box 4x4 back in the day. That truck was awesome off road. Same wheelbase as your yukon basically, I understand the Billy goat concept.

Cool pic, thanks for sharing. Happy wheeling!

 

[OR VietVet]

With the right wheelbase and tread design, you can surprise yourself on what you can climb. Sometimes letting a little air out of the tires helps with tread to trail contact. If you are ever unsure on a trail/climb/descent, have someone get out and spot you. Helps save tire damage at times. If you get to the point of doing this on a regular basis, I would invest in some skid plates.

 

[BlackBearPerf]

That's awesome! Thank you for sharing and that area looks beautiful. Have fun out there!

 

[Joseph Garcia]

GREAT to see you and your family enjoying the great outdoors with your Yukon. Rock on!

 

[Rafs]

With the right wheelbase and tread design, you can surprise yourself on what you can climb. Sometimes letting a little air out of the tires helps with tread to trail contact. If you are ever unsure on a trail/climb/descent, have someone get out and spot you. Helps save tire damage at times. If you get to the point of doing this on a regular basis, I would invest in some skid plates.

Yes, I forgot to mention I aired down to 15 PSI. Also the park has a air fill up station.

 

[OR VietVet]

Yes, I forgot to mention I aired down to 15 PSI. Also the park has a air fill up station.

Yea, you want to be sure you have a way to air back up. When I had a purpose built off road truck, I had an on board air system.

 

[Sparksalot]

Every time I take mine offroad, the bystanders are stunned to see what it can do.

 

[OR VietVet]

My truck was a full roll cage 73 Blazer with 6" of spring lift and 38" Swampers. Had hydraulic ram steering assist and had all the goodies for fun. It had a few marks on it. It's nickname was "BRUTUS". Had 1 ton axles at each end with 4.88 gears and Detroit lockers in each diff. Climbed all over Tillamook Forest with it and any rock crawls and went to MOAB with it and also did the obstacle "Potato Salad Hill".