Off Road Experience With 5th Gen Explorer !

[Justanothername]

Interesting. What kind of desert driving did you do? Would you be able, say, to handle the rough roads in the Mojave desert?

I am over in the Sonoran Desert. I am pretty sure the rough roads are similar. When I got into the soft stuff it was off the trail. I had to drive through back to trail. I can say I have confidence when off road in this area, with the explorer now. It also has been great in Monsoon weather also.

Why yes, yes I did say that maybe towing a jeep, or similar, to the 'off road jungle' may be an alternative answer. And, yes, the 5th generation Explorer is one step above a minivan. I also have one plus, a Ranger 4x4. Totally different configurations. By the way, taking what I said out of context tells me you have not read the full conversation on the OP's subject.

Have you looked underneath your Explorer lately? If it's like mine , it also has all kinds of things that could get smashed going over even moderate rough terrain. It also only has 8 inches of clearance although you could get a lift kit and add another 2 and 1/2 inches. Light duty off roading is about the new Explorer's speed and not much more. About what you described in your thread. Plus, there are no recommended off road tires available for the Ex. Doesn't mean you couldn't get them. If you have the 18 inch rims, you could by pass the recommendations and get a set of Silent Guards or other. But, the bottom line is, using the Ex for anymore than sand or uneven, light, off road surfaces may be asking for trouble. I just hope you don't squash the exposed A/C pipes running underneath your rig. Good luck!

I am not knocking what your saying and not taking anything out of context, I just found it funny. Because logically you would just drive the Jeep..lol.

I am not saying the explorer is a rock crawler or extreme off road machine. What I am saying is from my experience for trails around me in the desert, it does great. And that the Terrain Management system works. If the OP is looking for an all around above average suv that is good on and off the road the explorer one of the best for whats available today.

 

[scarpi]

I found a few interesting videos of the 2011-2015 Explorers that have some off road shots. I think these videos show actually how capable the 5th gen is. Is it as capable off road as the previous gens -no, is it as capable off road as a Jeep Wrangler or other SUV with higher ground clearance, skid plates and a part time true four wheel drive system -no, but I think we can all agree it does do pretty well in typical off road situations that most owners will take it into. Here you go....enjoy all..........

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=3454569

https://www.youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5IucgiI1Jk.com/watch?v=bCNvSuGYA90

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRZAr2viWtU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdN5UDM1CQA

 

[scarpi]

Sorry for some reason only the last two videos are working for me. Oh well I'm not a computer expert.

 

[patsy1099]

that japanese vid is great!

 

[scarpi]

I'm reposting the first two videos in my previous post to see if they will work this time. Here goes.

 

[peterk9]

I'm reposting the first two videos in my previous post to see if they will work this time. Here goes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5GI6rw-ClA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCNvSuGYA90

They work. Had not seen the 2nd one before.

Peter

 

[Halwg]

I found a few interesting videos of the 2011-2015 Explorers that have some off road shots. I think these videos show actually how capable the 5th gen is. Is it as capable off road as the previous gens -no, is it as capable off road as a Jeep Wrangler or other SUV with higher ground clearance, skid plates and a part time true four wheel drive system -no, but I think we can all agree it does do pretty well in typical off road situations that most owners will take it into. Here you go....enjoy all..........

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=3454569

https://www.youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5IucgiI1Jk.com/watch?v=bCNvSuGYA90

Whoopie do! You could do that with any front wheel drive car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRZAr2viWtU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdN5UDM1CQA

 

[tmg19103]

I'm reposting the first two videos in my previous post to see if they will work this time. Here goes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5GI6rw-ClA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCNvSuGYA90

Note in the second video the lower front air dam is removed. I have seen this in several Ford offroad demos

Also note the Ex does not have very good approach and departure angles - not only needs higher up front and rear ends, but ones that slope up. This is a problem for uneven terrain. The AWD system is not as much of a concern as clearance. Also, no skid plates and I would not be driving overly rocky roads.

The Ex did just fine in that dessert video and I have posted its AWD system works well on sand. That sand was not overly challenging, but it got the job done.

Still, we all know the 5th gen. Ex was made for roads driving, and in that aspect its design is well done.

 

[scarpi]

I was wondering if anyone had taken there new explorer on an off road experience ( mud, snow,forest trails,sand etc)
I looked everywhere for videos but beside the ones from Fords site I could't find anything else. It looks like we love our EX to much to see what is capable of doing beside driving on paved roads.
Please post links if you have some
Tx

That is the first post in this thread. The videos I recently posted were only meant to respond to that post and show that the 5th gen Explorer with the select terrain system can do some things off road and is not just limited to the highway. I also said it is not as capable as a Jeep Wrangler or other hard core off roader. If some of you think that you can do the same trails in a front drive car, as another forum member just posted that's fine, but I'd rather be in my Explorer.

 

[tmg19103]

That is the first post in this thread. The videos I recently posted were only meant to respond to that post and show that the 5th gen Explorer with the select terrain system can do some things off road and is not just limited to the highway. I also said it is not as capable as a Jeep Wrangler or other hard core off roader. If some of you think that you can do the same trails in a front drive car, as another forum member just posted that's fine, but I'd rather be in my Explorer.

No way FWD handles the sand in that video while the 5th gen. Ex did fine.

 

[Professorfingers]

First, thanks for posting the videos of the Ex off road prowess.

Second, this makes me feel good about my order. I never expected an Ex to be a good off road vehicle, but I do want a little more traction than my 09 FWD Edge for snow/ice.

 

[Halwg]

First, thanks for posting the videos of the Ex off road prowess.

Second, this makes me feel good about my order. I never expected an Ex to be a good off road vehicle, but I do want a little more traction than my 09 FWD Edge for snow/ice.

Oh, you will get it. My boss had a 2010 FWD Edge and then he bought a farm outside of town. 2 winters ago he couldn't get the Edge up the long access road driveway to the house. He bought a 2014 XLT with the terrain management system and last winter he had no problems even with the stock tires.

 

[scarpi]

Off Roading in a new 15

I'm posting this in the 2011 - 2016 discussion section because I figured that the guys in the off road section of the forum with their earlier generation Explorers wouldn't take it as serious off roading and I would just get blasted (lol). Well I finally did it. Took my new 15 Explorer into the high country of Az. I really was amazed at how well the vehicle did. I was driving around the Flagstaff Az area. For any of you that aren't familiar with that area, it is a city at an elevation of 7000 feet in the shadow of mountains that are about 12,600 feet high (highest point in AZ). The dirt/gravel forest roads around the peaks go through groves of Aspens and Pine. All the Aspens were bright yellow and amazing. But back to the Explorer. I put it in the "gravel mode" and it easily got through some pretty bumpy gravel/dirt roads. At some points the road had large rocks that had to be at least 5 to 6 inches sticking out from the dirt. I was very cautious and there were a couple of times that my wife had to get out and spot for me because I knew we don't have the ground clearance of the previous generation Explorers. At one point there were two high rocks and no way to get around them. I drove up to them and both front wheels were against them then I slowly drove on them and had the front of the Explorer standing on them and I slowly drove over them without hitting anything. It seems that in the gravel mode it easily drove from a stop right on top of the two high rocks that had to be at least five inches high. It would have made a great picture with the vehicle front tires standing on the rocks but we didn't think to take one. We probably were more concerned that we got ourselves into a bad spot. But the Explorer did it like nothing. We continued along the way through potholes, gravel, mud, and large rocks sticking above the "road" surface being constantly aware that we did not have much ground clearance but the Explorer got through it all with the select terrain in the gravel mode. I am impressed and I do have some pictures of the Explorer out there and of parts of the road but I am not permitted to make a gallery for some reason. Anyway the bottom line is that the 11-16 Explorer with the Select Terrain system is quite a capable SUV and can handle some fun off roading. And so that you guys with the older generation Explorers don't rag on me, you are right it is not as capable as a true 4x4 with high ground clearance like some of the older Explorers and perhaps Jeep Wranglers. But it sure was fun.

 

[AFKNinja]

Great to here, we don't really here much about offroading in the 5th gen sub reddit

 

[Azgunslinger]

Just be careful you don't get your car dirty...any damage you may cause could void your warranty. At least according to my dealer. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=435973

 

[Rick]

Well I finally did it. Took my new 15 Explorer into the high country of Az. I really was amazed at how well the vehicle did. I was driving around the Flagstaff Az area.

You need to give the Cinders OHV area a try. I think the new Explorer would do very well there. There are some hill climbs that were very difficult with the old 160hp V6. I think the new motors would take on many of the hills with easy.

http://www.explorer4x4.com/flag.htm

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Would stock tires work or need A/T's?

 

[Rick2016]

Would stock tires work or need A/T's?

The highway tires on my 20's along with the TMS did a lot better than I expected on soft ground. Also the front air dam is very flexible on the 2016's and up so don't worry about ripping it off. The only thing as mentioned before is the cooling duct in the valance, make sure to clean it afterwards.

 

[Halwg]

None of that really qualifies as "off roading." I know, I've tried to take the 5th generation where I used to take the previous truck based Explorers and it just won't go in those places. It bottoms out and with no low range it won't climb or descent steep grades.

 

[Rick2016]

None of that really qualifies as "off roading." I know, I've tried to take the 5th generation where I used to take the previous truck based Explorers and it just won't go in those places. It bottoms out and with no low range it won't climb or descent steep grades.

I'll try to get some hill climb/descent photos today