Diablo Drop Off (Anza Borrego) in a Transit Quigley 4x4?

[JT87]

Anyone done this descent in a SMB and care to share thoughts?

I'm guessing the hard part for an SMB is the wheelbase, but would love to hear others' experiences.

Not sure if my 148" WB Quigley Transit is up to the challenge. I do have slightly larger than stock tires, but still they're only 30.5" tall.

Thanks!

[Jeffrey]

Not sure exactly where that is by name, but I've done what's called Heart Attack Hill (I had to rename it sh*t-your-drawers hill). You'll never get there in a SMB because you first must pass through the Squeeze. I did all that in my Land Rover and still sustained body damage.

[rallypanam]

Diablo drop off is easy going down! Gravity helps. There is one narrow spot at the bottom, but full size vans fit.

Going up is a but harder, it can be pretty soft. Here's REF stuck halfway up:

[rallypanam]

Here's the whole thread on the meetup for New Year's a few years back: http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...ave-13750.html

[DesertSMB]

Diablo Drop off itself isn't too bad going down. However, the canyon at the bottom can be depending on what the recent weather has been like. The narrow section can get rather choked up with rocks if there has been high water flow though the canyon. If you can't make it through going back up can be tricky.

[JT87]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Here's the whole thread on the meetup for New Year's a few years back: http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...ave-13750.html

Wow. I just read that entire thread. Thanks for alerting me to it! Sounds like a great trip and a great group of SMBers. If there ever is a repeat of the trip, I will try to attend for sure!

[JT87]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

Not sure exactly where that is by name, but I've done what's called Heart Attack Hill (I had to rename it sh*t-your-drawers hill). You'll never get there in a SMB because you first must pass through the Squeeze. I did all that in my Land Rover and still sustained body damage.

Diablo Drop-Off is not far from Heart Attack Hill. I think Heart Attack Hill is technically called Pinyon Drop-off, though your name for it is certainly reflects the reality! Anyway, according to a crude map I'm looking at, Heart Attack Hills looks to be about 8 or 10 miles NW of Diablo Drop-Off.

Heart Attack is well beyond me and well beyond my SMB. Here's a youtube video of someone rolling their Jeep on the descent (fortunately, I believe the driver made a full recovery):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyIDNn73H4U

[JT87]

Originally Posted by DesertSMB

Diablo Drop off itself isn't too bad going down. However, the canyon at the bottom can be depending on what the recent weather has been like. The narrow section can get rather choked up with rocks if there has been high water flow though the canyon. If you can't make it through going back up can be tricky.

Thanks, DesertSMB. Yes, as I understand there are actually two descents within the Diablo Drop Off. The first one with some deep sand, and the second one that gets kinda narrow and rocky. Since I'll be going downhill, I'm not super worried about the first descent. If I'm not mistaken, the second one seems like the tougher of the two, at least for a full-size van.

Problem is, I won't be able to scout hill #2 to see if it's unusually tight/rocky until I've already come down hill #1. And, if hill #2 is not passable, turning around and heading back up hill #1 is not easily done in an SMB, according to posts above.

Maybe I'll call the Borrego Visitor center before I head out, to see if I can get any info on the trail conditions.

[Grampswrx]

IT would definitely help if you posted pics of the van you are thinking of taking. All threads are better with pics.

[JT87]

Originally Posted by Grampswrx

IT would definitely help if you posted pics of the van you are thinking of taking. All threads are better with pics.

Good idea! My van is off-site right now, due to some home renovations that are underway, but I'll get some pics posted as soon as I can.