My parents own a hilltop house with a 180-degree view of the Pacific near Pistol River, Oregon. Another higher hill sits behind their place, with an old logging track servicing the top. The steepest portion is something dad proudly calls the Wall of Death, a narrow, 30-percent steep stretch made slippery by a coating of pine needles, gravel and twigs.
Low-range and a steady application of throttle are necessary here. The steepest portion is deeply shaded, making it a poor photo op. But the payoff at the top is an even more sweeping 360-degree view, with the unspoiled, rocky Pacific coastline at our feet, and the Trinity Alps behind. I don't understand why he wants to sell this place...
We've made three runs to the top in the Commander so far, either to catch the sunsets or to climb out of the coastal fog into 80-degree sunshine. It's clear that the Jeep's gearing and Hemi torque make short work of the climb up the Wall of Death, making it seem more like the Slope of Mild Discomfort. Downhill is another matter, however, as the low-range first-gear crawl speed is a bit too fast for my taste, especially when the air conditioning compressor cycles on, increasing revs and speed a noticeable bit more.
A comparsion run in Pop's 2006 Toyota Tacoma with the TRD off-road package revealed a much more favorable low-range "walking speed," as the Japanese like to call it, and requires no downhill braking at all -- a much more secure way of getting through the steepest bit. Uphill, the Tacoma needs more throttle pedal pressure. It doesn't seem to be due to a lack of power or gearing, but rather because of a quite unaggressive throttle pedal calibration, making the 4.0-liter V6 engine feel weaker than it is.
This is a bit strange, as most electronic throttle executions go too far the OTHER way, producing a too-sensitive lurch off the line, as in our Commander. Perhaps a happy medium between the two would be ideal.
Day 6&7 tally: 80 miles, no fuel added
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 24,886 miles
dotsara says:
10:11 AM, 08/29/06
Hee; Slope of Mild Discomfort. Great shot of it in the grass, too.
crockette says:
10:13 PM, 11/ 9/06
5,000 lbs of vehicle tend to have a little more gravity pull than a teeny Tacohma :-)