A midweek escape to the Rubicon Trail with a new Polaris RZR XP 1000, two RZR XP 900s and a Kawasaki Teryx4.
By Jon Crowley
Photos by Dale Bunch and Kevin McKenzie
I had just received a new Polaris RZR XP 1000 demo unit and was itching to see how it would perform in the rocks. The Rubicon Trail is only a little more than an hour from my home in Northern California, so a day trip was easy to arrange. I called a few local friends and convinced them to play hooky with me. Surprisingly, I did not have to twist their arms very hard.
In addition to the XP 1000, Jeff and John brought their RZR XP 900s, while Miguel brought his Kawasaki Teryx4. Every machine was equipped with 30-inch tires, and everyone in the group had rock-crawling experience. John and Jeff had tackled Rally on the Rocks, and John had even competed at King of the Hammers.
With an experienced group along for the ride, I could concentrate on learning what the new XP 1000 could do on one of the best-known rock-crawling trails in the country.
Starting at Loon Lake
We met for breakfast and then headed to the Rubicon Trail entrance at Loon Lake, where Kevin joined us. I first met Kevin in 2007 at the original UTV Rally, but we had not managed to get back into the rocks together since then.
This was Kevin’s first trip on the Rubicon, and he was also eager to experience the new XP 1000 firsthand. I told him he had to take pictures if he wanted a ride, which worked out well for both of us.
Rock Crawling at Little Sluice
We took our time along the trail and stopped at several locations to photograph the machines. Little Sluice became our lunch stop, and everyone was willing to make a run through the rocks.
El Dorado County had completed substantial work in this section during the previous year, making Little Sluice easier than it had once been. Even with those changes, it remained a fun place to challenge the machines, experiment with different lines and watch the rest of the group make their attempts.
I made two runs through Little Sluice, while everyone else was satisfied with one trip. We also played on a hill just beyond the obstacle—or, more accurately, I tried an unnecessarily difficult line without much success. After that, we continued toward Buck Island Reservoir.
Buck Island Reservoir
We stopped at Buck Island for a while before turning around and heading back toward Loon Lake. I made a fairly quick run back to Little Sluice and then waited for some of the group to catch up.
Along the way, we discovered that bungee cords were not a suitable way to secure an ice chest in John’s RZR. Remnants of the soft-sided cooler ended up on his Muzzys dual exhaust. Oops.
Testing Tire Blocks With Zero Air Pressure
Back at Little Sluice, I decided to test a run-flat product called Tire Blocks. I let all the air out of one tire and then started the return trip to Loon Lake.
Jeff was ahead of me, and we were traveling at a good pace. The blocks continued to support the tire, and I could not feel enough of a difference to make me slow down. As the dust began to build, I found an opportunity to sneak past Jeff and stayed on the throttle until reaching the Loon Lake turnoff.
I stopped there to make sure John did not accidentally continue toward Wentworth Springs. Once everyone made it back to Loon Lake, we inspected the tire. It still looked as though it had air in it, and I had noticed very little difference from the driver’s seat.
Driving approximately four miles through Rubicon rocks at a brisk pace with no air pressure in the tire was an impressive result for the Tire Blocks system.
Four UTVs on 30-Inch Tires
Every vehicle on this Rubicon trip was equipped with a different brand of 30x10R14 tire. That gave us another opportunity to observe how several tire designs worked over the same granite terrain.
Read the complete 30-inch UTV tire shootout for the individual tire results.
A Successful Day on the Rubicon
The trip gave me an early look at how the new RZR XP 1000 handled technical rock crawling. It also gave us a chance to compare four machines on 30-inch tires and conduct a demanding real-world test of the Tire Blocks system.
Most importantly, all four UTVs completed the trip without mechanical trouble. Good friends, capable machines and a day away from work made playing hooky worthwhile.
Rubicon Trail Photo Gallery
