Too Sketchy For A Van On This Trail!

That’s my van….2023 AWD. Thanks Matt and all for the amazing assist! Calling for a pro was the smartest thing we could have done! For clarity, the ESP (anti slip), lane assist and Parktronic sensors were all disabled by me during my attempts to climb and when Master Matt took the wheel, but he was still having trouble with power. Matt did jump out a couple of times to check his climbing lines and if he turned off the engine (which it sounds like may have been the case) the sensors would have reset to the on position. We consulted the OnX trail app when planning the trip and the Honeymoon Trail is rated as ‘easy ‘…… very humbling experience but I gotta say I’m pretty pumped to be the first sprinter to make it to the top. Just needed Matt’s expertise and peanut’s guiding to make it happen. I’ll stick to the forest roads for the immediate future! Thanks again Matt and Happy trails everyone!

Matt's "Lower 48" confession at the beginning cracked me up. L48 is an Alaskan term to refer to the "contiguous US" since there are 48 states in that grouping, all of which are south of Alaska.

Jake is an awesome addition to the team and the show, he’s such a happy positive guy with a can-do attitude and he never complains

We love Rhett! He has been a natural in front of the camera since his first time! Such personality. And the "new guys" are a great addition, too.

Rhett is AMAZING, certainly has acquired his Dads' mechanical talent!!😁

Well that was super sketchy! Another great job Matt! By the way, "lower 48" refers to the contiguous 48 states of the US, minus Alaska and Hawaii, because they are not touching the rest. Last week I did my first recovery, thanks to what I learned on this channel. I pulled someone's Jeep Cherokee out of a snowbank that they misjudged. It was sunk to the frame. Gave it a slow steady tug with recovery strap hitched to my Ram Promaster 1500 camper van and popped them out of there. It was very gratifying for me and the couple in the Jeep!

Lower 48 (for New Zealanders) Has reference to the statehood of Alaska. Prior to this, the USA had 48 states. When Alaska became the 49th, the contiguous (ie touching each other) states were called the "lower" (ie further south) 48 in distinction from Alaska. Not long after, Hawaii became a state, giving us the fifty nifty United States Love the channel. We are huge fans!!.Hope to stop by the shop for a hat one day!

Interesting video to watch. And even MORE interesting comments to read. I have thousands of miles of off-road travel experience using both my nimble and compact 2WD VW Vanagon camper van as well as my giant oversized Sprinter 4x4 camper van. I have taken my 4x4 Sprinter van that is bigger and heavier than the van in this video thru much more rugged terrain. My entire Living The Van Life YouTube channel is built on documenting my off road adventures with my vans and getting them into places where camper vans SHOULD NOT be. I enjoy pushing the limits of myself and my vans. I have learned a lot from them. Is the 4x4 Sprinter a capable machine off road? Sure... within its limits. Is it THEE most capable off road machine? Absolutely NOT EVEN CLOSE. It's laughable to think it's even comparable. But for a vehicle that is very well suited for full-time living, with the right kind of driving and the right kind up upgrades, its amazing the 4x4 trails that I have successfully taken my full-time home on wheels up and through –where can your house take you? That being said... you can't expect the world from them. These are delivery vans turned camper vans. The issues illustrated in this video are definitely issues that hold most of these vans back from being MORE capable than they are. The power delivery issue is my biggest challenge as well. But I have learned how to work around these known issues and still get my Sprinter through MUCH more difficult and technical terrain than what is in this video. My sprinter is highly modified with suspension and drive train upgrades that helps these exact issues. Matter of fact... once I installed the rear ARB locker in my Sprinter van, I was able to do much more technical climbs in 2WD locked than what we see in this video and the power delivery was tremendously better in 2WD than in 4x4. Really it all comes down to knowing your vehicles capabilities and picking and choosing the right lines for the vehicle. Now I am interested to come visit the Honeymoon trail and try this trail in my Sprinter. I'm always looking for a good challenge –be on standby Matt! Keep on truckin!

The Sprinter certainly was in an area that it had no business to be in. It is a shame traction control could not be disabled, or if it could, the button should be in an obvious location. The owner said he had about 4 hours of off-road driving experience, he also had no business being on that track in any vehicle to be honest.

Trail Mater rescued an Earthroamer. It was extremely tall and heavy. The road was collapsed under it from all the weight. It really was dangerous to take it to Moab on these trails.

That problem on Sprinter with computer cutting power is unique to 2023+ part-time AWD models. Sprinter 4x4 2008-2022 have 4hi, 4Lo, and doesn’t behave like this off road. You can add an ARB air locker to the AWD models, which helps tremendously because computer thinks it has traction in rear at all times. Great job Matt as always! 🎉

It’s cool watching Rhett grow in the recovery biz and Jake’s a great addition! Also, that Sprinter situation was Super Sketch! You ought to have a special tshirt just for those occasions 😉

Typically the term Lower 48 is used for folks the live south of Alaska and East of Hawaii being that Alaska and Hawaii are the 49th and 50th states. That term is comely used in Alaska when referring to the lower states. You see this term a lot when dealing with shipping items, some times you will see "we ship Items to all lower 48 states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii".

Matt drives a lot of people's vehicles out without hooking up a recovery vehicle. It's like he becomes one with the vehicle. Even the sketchy vehicles.😅

Lol that van's ECU was more scared than Matt was 😂

I’ve said it before, it just amazes me what kind of trail repairs you guys do. Amazing😊😊😊

The more offroad capable the rig... the further the recovery crew has to go to rescue you... great driving!

This is a a great example of two things being true at once. Just because you have an offroad capable vehicle doesn't mean it is designed to go everywhere, yet if you are an uber capable driver like Matt you can drive vehicles clearly out of their element "safely" through some crazy situations.

Hey Rhett, it may have already been mentioned in another comment, but any easy way to start those old HMMWV.s when the glow plugs aren`t working is to take a rag and cover the exhaust tailpipe while someone cranks it. The extra backpressure is usually enough to get it started. Worked overseas most of the time.

That lower 48 conversation had me cracking up! I love the lack of answers 😃