If you could pack up your rig and head out anywhere for a week of wheeling and sightseeing, where would you go? If Moab is at the top of your list, you’re not alone. Located in the northeast corner of Utah’s canyon lands, Moab is loaded with some of the best off-road trails in the world within regions of some of the most amazing sandstone formations you could imagine. From trails that cliffhang over the edge of canyon walls that line the Colorado River to some of the most amazing arches that you can get up close to, Moab might be the ultimate getaway for an outdoor enthusiast. That’s why a big group of fullsize trucks and SUVs makes sure to invade the town of Moab at least once per year to run trails and hang out in some of the most incredible outdoor settings you can witness on this continent. Enter the Fullsize Invasion. Attracting participants from all across the country, the Fullsize Invasion crew hits Moab hard with five great trails in five days off-roading their trucks in terrain with lots of traction but also lots of off-camber climbs. The group sticks together so they can learn from each other and rely on each other if anything should go awry. The five-day trip is started with an easier trail that works any kinks out and knocks the dust off some rigs that may not get used very often. It’s a perfect introduction to the area before the trails increase in difficulty—generally progressively harder as the week goes on.
While there have been some rollovers witnessed, countless axle shafts snapped, transmissions wiped out, steering boxes grenaded, engines annihilated, and tires busted over the course of the FSI events, this year saw almost no damage until the final day when a 6.0L Super Duty went for a ride off of the High Dive obstacle. Does this lack of breakage mean that Fullsize Invasion is hitting weaker trails? Definitely not. But the rigs that come on these trips have evolved to work infinitely better every year. Some of these guys will spend a season ripping down their trucks and making improvements based on trail experience and watching what works on other rigs.
While FSI does serve up some of the hardest fullsize wheeling offered as a group—with no guarantee your truck will come back without scrapes and bruises—they make sure to choose trails and obstacles that offer a clean, navigable line for even the largest of fullsize rigs that want to give it a try. This year, the crew toured Sevenmile Rim, Flat Iron Mesa, Metal Masher, Hell’s Revenge, and Behind the Rocks. We didn’t make it out to wheel with them this round, but we’ve wheeled many trails in the past with this crew, using trucks built with parts that we pull off our own shelves at Diesel Power Products.
Sevenmile and Gemini Bridges
FSI always starts out with an easier trail—call it a break-in trail, if you will. This is a great way to run the group through the terrain and give a bit of a shakedown to some rigs that might still have some crust from the last trip out. But an easier run doesn’t have to be boring! And Sevenmile Rim was a perfect place to stretch the legs and get the trucks into 4WD. Sevenmile is about 9 or 10 miles outside of Moab, best accessed running through the Gemini Bridges campground area. It has some fun routes that lean the rigs over quite a bit, and offers some obstacles like Wipeout Hill. Expect to do 15-20 miles off-road if you’re going to attempt it—especially if you detour over to Gemini Bridges— to see some impressive arches made from the same entrada sandstone that surrounds Moab. The group did that very same route this year since SevenMile is within the Gemini Bridges area. Many of the Gemini Bridges routes are beginner-level wheeling, but the sightseeing is outstanding!
Flat Iron Mesa
Flat Iron Mesa is a ways out of town and requires about 6 or 7 miles of dirt road travel before you hit some obstacles. In total it’s about 18 miles of dirt time before you turn back onto the highway. Those reasons alone make it a path less traveled than some of the other popular routes, so it’s a great one to hit if you’re looking for some spectacular views of Hatch Wash without a lot of traffic. Most of the trail isn’t too tough, though there are some absolutely harrowing sections that will make you sweat—especially in a fullsize truck.
Metal Masher
Don’t let the name of Metal Masher scare you. While there are a few tight spots like Mirror Gulch and some excellent obstacles available to hit, some calm driving will bring a moderately capable diesel truck through the main trail of Metal Masher. At over 27 miles to make the round trip in the Gemini Bridges area, the trail does require a bit of time to get out to and back from on the long dirt road exit but you’ll find it to rarely be crowded and it offers a fantastic view over the slickrock features laid throughout the topography of the area. It’s legal for all street-registered 4x4s and UTVs that are either registered or towed in.
Hell’s Revenge
Hell’s Revenge is, without a doubt, the most well-known trail in Moab. The 6.5-mile-long slickrock trail has amazing scenery, challenging obstacles, and the potential for traversing the trail in even a stock 4×4 (if desired) makes it a hotspot for tourists from around the country and world looking to off-road, mountain bike, dirt bike, and hike. While being directed to the biggest tourist destination in the area may not sound like your favorite thing, you should definitely hit up Hell’s Revenge if you’ve never been and are planning a trip to Moab, Utah.
Behind the Rocks
Behind the Rocks is maybe the next most popular trail after Hell’s Revenge—and for good reason. Located just outside the edge of town, Behind the Rocks immediately puts you into rocky 4WD terrain until you get to The Gatekeeper. The epic obstacle varies in difficulty depending on weather and erosion, but you can generally consider it one of the roughest obstacles on the trail. The scariest, by far, are High Dive and White Knuckle—the prior of which this Fullsize group hit to end the trip. But this classic bit back this year, and one of their trucks ended up taking a hard roll right at the end of the trip. But that’s why rollcages are required for the Fullsize Invasion.
Super Duty Rollover
Tom Bingenheimer’s Super Duty learned a hard lesson about tire life. Running on some old tires that had gotten way too hard, this super Duty was sliding as soon as it got on the decline. Once it hit the High Dive obstacle, it was already off-camber. To make matters worse, the steering was converted to full-hydraulic, and it stopped working for whatever reason, prohibiting Tom from turning the wheels with the full weight of the vehicle on them. It can be seen in the video of the incident.
Once the truck was righted, it was time to remove the windshield and see if the 6.0L Power Stroke would start after a rollover. But with a little bit of smoke that burned off after a few seconds, everything under the hood and in the cab was fine, thanks to some extensive caging on this Affordable Bender Super Duty.