Off Road Performance

[Joe85712]

Looking at the Cybertruck from an engineering point of view, it should be pretty good. The thousands of off-road miles I have driven in Arizona have been pretty slow with constant stop and go cycles. My 2018 Volt does not do well off-road because of ground clearance. But the electric drive does very well going slow and creeping over rocks. I made a huge error following Google instructions when an accident closed highway 260 in Arizona on a Sunday afternoon. I could not find any damage to the car after the off-road drive.
I think the design of the Cybertruck is a great compromise between aerodynamics, structure, efficiency, utility, comfort, toughness and drivability. I order the all wheel drive version for off-road work. I think it looks fine and I think most folks will begin to like the looks in years to come. I thought my 2013 Subaru Outback looked kind of stupid from the front but it was a very good design for a gas powered SUV and did pretty well in mild type off-road driving.
My cost model indicates that it will be much cheaper to own than a gas powered pickup and not a disaster for the environment. The reliability should be much better than a conventional pickup overall. And if gas prices go crazy, it will be worth more, not less.

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[Saskateam]

What do you define as off road? I ask because I have never heard of a Chevy volt going off roading. Is off roading when you drive off pavement onto a gravel road or is it driving over large boulders like a Jeep? Where I live we have some of the most gravel roads in North America and I drive them daily so I do not consider it off roading. When I leave a constructed driving surface onto nature I think this is off road. I don’t even consider driving in a road ditch as off road as it is constructed.

 

[parapyropig]

This is my idea of going off road:

And I believe that the cybertruck will be superlative at it.

 

[Saskateam]

I can’t wait to go play in the sand with it. Hope it will work as a recovery rig if I get into trouble with the Jeep.

 

[Joe85712]

What do you define as off road? I ask because I have never heard of a Chevy volt going off roading. Is off roading when you drive off pavement onto a gravel road or is it driving over large boulders like a Jeep? Where I live we have some of the most gravel roads in North America and I drive them daily so I do not consider it off roading. When I leave a constructed driving surface onto nature I think this is off road. I don’t even consider driving in a road ditch as off road as it is constructed.

 

[Joe85712]

A long time ago my family kept bee hives in Arizona and we drove to service them at various ranches. So the dirt roads were pretty rough at times. My dad had many different kinds of trucks. Some were three ton ex-military with all wheel drive and plenty of ground clearance. We always carried shovels and picks to work on some of the roads as needed to get through to the beehives.
I would say if a vehicle has seven to ten inches of ground clearance it will be fine on most of the forest roads across Arizona and would work fine for me.

 

[Camper Van Someren]

Long post since I have lots to say

First I love the story of a Volt rock crawling in NAZ. I’ve noticed that the state troopers here close the roads any time there is a fatal accident, far more than other states where the goal is to open a lane ASAP. This can be very inconvenient since there are few paved back roads and the interstates sometimes go 40 miles without an exit. I’ve spent hours car camping on the freeway waiting for them to open it again.

I drive a stretch of hwy 260 during my monthly commute because I’m doing shifts at Whiteriver Indian Hospital on the Apache reservation. Most of the reason I want a CT is to do the long commute emissions-free (and maybe even with me sleeping in the back) and then be able to explore the amazing wilderness during my down time.

Saskateam, in AZ we have lots of dirt/gravel forest roads or Indian routes that are very well kept up. I use them to play rally driver in my Focus RS that has very little ground clearance. Then there are other roads to campsites or trailheads that have 2-3’ deep ruts or large rocks in the way. Finally we have Jeep trails that are technically “roads” but are made up of large rocks and steep drops. We don’t don’t have much prairie like Saskatoon so we don’t often drive truly “off road.” There are too many bushes and sharp volcanic rocks, or Forest Service rules against leaving trails.

CT will obviously do fine for most dirt roads, and hopefully well on even Jeep trails with its excellent clearance, although the dimensions could be a liability on tight trails or sharp brake-over angles. I’m personally very curious what type of diff it will use. So far Teslas have had open diffs which won’t be good off road. Electric drive can have great traction control but that is useless if half your axle has no traction. CT needs a way to either lock the diff for 50-50 torque to each wheel, or even better to intelligently direct the torque side to side. My Focus has a cool AWD system from GKN that uses two clutches to vector torque. GKN has also developed an e-twinster electric version and it would be great to have one on each axle of the dual motor.

 

[Saskateam]

I was floored to hear about a Volt off roading too. I have my 1995 Jeep YJ and a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. I have ripped the plastic rocker panels a couple of times on my 2019 and my previous 2014 Cherokee Trailhawk out in the forest.
We have a lot of “Turkey Trails” or “Goat Paths” here and a lot of gravel roads. Our Northern Highways can be as bad as any off road trail based on our freeze/thaw cycle. I could not imagine taking a Volt over these roads and trails so I can see why Joe would be interested in a CT.

 

[Joe85712]

I was floored to hear about a Volt off roading too. I have my 1995 Jeep YJ and a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. I have ripped the plastic rocker panels a couple of times on my 2019 and my previous 2014 Cherokee Trailhawk out in the forest.
We have a lot of “Turkey Trails” or “Goat Paths” here and a lot of gravel roads. Our Northern Highways can be as bad as any off road trail based on our freeze/thaw cycle. I could not imagine taking a Volt over these roads and trails so I can see why Joe would be interested in a CT.

 

[Joe85712]

About 20 years ago I had a VW dune buggy and a custom VW powered sand rail that was used in circle track racing. I set them both up for off road driving in Arizona. These vehicles could move very fast off road but I had to spend too much time and money repairing them. It was also a good idea to take both buggies when venturing out in case one broke down and I did not have a satellite phone (and did not want to pay for one). In the old days no manufacturer made a fast good off road machine that you could fit the family in. The only actual choice was a Jeep and you could not really go very fast without tearing it up.
I did end up dragging my Volt over many rocks but I did not see any significant damage when I inspected the underside.
The only concern that I would have with CT would be operating in extreme cold weather (like minus 20 type weather). As long as it could get plugged in somewhere each day it would be fine.

 

[Saskateam]

The cold is my concern too. It is a warm February day at -19c now and warming up. I am in a hotel for 3 days with no charging infrastructure at it. There are a couple destination chargers here in Saskatoon but are next to useless for charging the CT in the couple of hours I can be plugged in. It is doable with the tri motor at this temperature but -40c would be more difficult to get back home without a super charger.

 

[azjohn]

Looking at the Cybertruck from an engineering point of view, it should be pretty good. The thousands of off-road miles I have driven in Arizona have been pretty slow with constant stop and go cycles. My 2018 Volt does not do well off-road because of ground clearance. But the electric drive does very well going slow and creeping over rocks. I made a huge error following Google instructions when an accident closed highway 260 in Arizona on a Sunday afternoon. I could not find any damage to the car after the off-road drive.
I think the design of the Cybertruck is a great compromise between aerodynamics, structure, efficiency, utility, comfort, toughness and drivability. I order the all wheel drive version for off-road work. I think it looks fine and I think most folks will begin to like the looks in years to come. I thought my 2013 Subaru Outback looked kind of stupid from the front but it was a very good design for a gas powered SUV and did pretty well in mild type off-road driving.
My cost model indicates that it will be much cheaper to own than a gas powered pickup and not a disaster for the environment. The reliability should be much better than a conventional pickup overall. And if gas prices go crazy, it will be worth more, not less.

If you had a Tesla in that situation you would have been good. There is a Super Charger at the intersecton of 260 and 87 at the Basha's supermarket

 

[Lives2TruckAround]

The cold is my concern too. It is a warm February day at -19c now and warming up. I am in a hotel for 3 days with no charging infrastructure at it. There are a couple destination chargers here in Saskatoon but are next to useless for charging the CT in the couple of hours I can be plugged in. It is doable with the tri motor at this temperature but -40c would be more difficult to get back home without a super charger.

Just gotta see if and when they come out with that solar cover

 

[CompMaster]

My off reading will be on the sand dunes, our camp site is right next to the ocean. Only one way to get there is driving through the sand maze. Sand is much more difficult to drive on.. Can't wait

 

[cary1219]

For many, this would qualify as off road. I've only been in slightly worse. Maybe more of an incline, and add more water.

I need to look up the picture... My Dodge 3500 4x4, lifted with mud tires, managed to get stuck on a soaked colache road. Once the tires got caked with mud there was no steering. We had two ATVs on the front to jerk the truck in the direction we needed it to go.