Jeep Grand Cherokee (WK2) Off Roading | Climb on Devil's Staircase | Broken Arrow Trail, Sedona AZ

Join us as we take our Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk on Broken Arrow Trail in Sedona, Arizona to tackle the Devil's Staircase. We head back out with our friend's modified JK Jeep Wrangler to try and run the staircase from the bottom up.
We ran this trail last year and were able to complete the entire off road trail in our Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. This year we come back to try and see if it can climb one of Sedona's hardest trails.
We also try out 4 low auto mode and hill decent mode.
Our Merch: prodigaloverland.com/shop
Our Events: prodigaloverland.com/meetups-...
Gear we use:
Protection: www.chiefproducts.com.au/
Tires: amzn.to/3cdaYgf
Winch: amzn.to/3c7juNX
Air Compressor: amzn.to/3kki4T8
Radios: amzn.to/32CO5Qm

[@lcox779]

I did this trail this morning in a rented ATV. I did Devils staircase top down. That sound was your soul preparing to leave your body.😮

[@adrianklajban676]

I did this trail twice yesterday in my 2022 Jeep GC Trailhawk. The disconnectable sway bar did help a lot. So much fun!

[@GarySmythe]

Great video! Pretty amazing what that Grand Cherokee Trailhawk can do.

[@jeepgreatstories]

Had sooo much fun yesterday! Always love hanging out with you guys, wheeling or not. Can’t wait to hit some more trails in California with you. And of course, another awesome vid.

[@ProdigalOverland]

LiveGreatStories is as well! And thank you!

[@rowdyringsak9448]

Man i love your videos. You have given me the confidence to take out my 2014 grand cherokee limited. I'm going on my first run with a few other jeeps tomorrow here on some trails in New Mexico. I'm sure it's going to be a fun journey. Thx for the videos. Keep em coming.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thank you. We had fun in New Mexico running some trails. Good luck!

[@ryanmoen6239]

Great driving and great Jeeping. Kick ass Brad and Steve.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thanks Ryan!

[@camaroboi13]

Nice, just did broken arrow this weekend. My wife drove her JLU up and down that thing. Cute trail

[@solano760]

Bruh!.!.... the way you got up that hill u BEAST💯👍 Showed that wrangler whats up

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thanks!! It was a great day. I though well if something broke. At least it was fun!

[@pscruising5486]

Nice video. The sump makes popping noises when on that type of terrain sometimes too. I usually loosen and then retighten them every once in a while. Yep the chief plates talk a bit but worth it. Nice drive. See ya soon.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Good to know. See ya soon!

[@lausl]

Great video as always. That ascend was really impressive (both Car and Driver)!!! Hopefully there is no damage to the Jeep.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thanks! Hopefully no real damage beyond bumps and scrapes

[@jerredtuska144]

Congratulations on that hill. That sound. I had two rocks get up between the skid plate on my trailhawk and it sounded like my driveshaft had blown out. Hopefully thats all you had. Great vid.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thank you. I had it out today cruising around. All seems well. We are running another trail tomorrow so I guess I'll know for sure then!

[@joewolfe642]

This is one of my favorites - I love how the WK2 got up there with less drama than the wrangler (totally surprised me).

[@yrrah89]

did anything break? i love this vehicle my god! watching videos like this one is what I live for haha

[@ProdigalOverland]

Nope nothing broke! Thanks for watching!

[@cletusmcroofus704]

I was at devils staircase today with my trail rated WK2 today. I have not got my chief front bumper replacement and rockrails yet so i chose not to go down it. pink jeep driver asked if i was going to go for it. i think he wanted to watch the destruction lol. that low front fascia is a problem with approach angles in a few spots on the trail. only thing i hate about the jeep is the hemi and QD2 are so capable that they make it more than easy to rip apart every panel on it until you get the needed mods done!

[@ProdigalOverland]

Very true. It's good to have the rock rails on for devils staircase!

[@frankcurulli1244]

Great achievement for a Grand Cherokee! Worked it really hard and the Wrangler was struggling too. Problem for both vehicle was too high tyre pressures. You could see this clearly. You need 10lbs for that sort of challenge so the tyre wall is really flexing without popping off the rim seal. Great footage!

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thanks Frank! The Wrangler was at 12 PSI. I was Higher at 25 PSI. I have been having issues with cutting my sidewalls up when I air down to around 19 PSI and have been experimenting with higher pressures. 10 PSI would have me riding on my rims or popping a bead on this trail. Thanks for the comments!

[@gdwinco]

@@ProdigalOverland Great share. Same issue, sidewall pinch on rim, punctured at 19PSI, Falken Wildpeaks (265/60R18). Switched to KO2s (265/65R18), LT vs PMetric. Two tires, small but deep cuts at 19--20 PSI. I'm thinking lower 15 or so PSI. Discount Tire warranty is a winner, ~$40 per tire to replace.

[@ProdigalOverland]

gdwinco yes. I have been a part of the $40 club 😉

[@jratch100]

Another awesome video. I’m quite curious, do you ever check the off road pages to see what your oil/coolant/ trans temp are during your uphill climbs? Just curious how hot the Jeep is getting.

[@ProdigalOverland]

No I don’t. It most often doesn’t seem like much stress on the engine. However when we were out at the sand dunes. I could tell it was struggling. We used to tow with our Jeep ( probably heavier than it should) up steep grades and I would watch the temp climb some but then the HD cooling would kick in and drop the temp. We don’t come near that level of stress anymore. It really does well! But like I said we have the HD cooling.

[@jakeswanson8579]

Great videos! These have definitely got to be the best WK2 off road videos out there. Great shots, great explanations, and great comparisons to how the Kings (Wranglers) make it up the same obstacles.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thank you! We appreciate the support!

[@REAVER781]

I'm afraid to take mine out and run stuff like that, I think I'll break it lol.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Understandable for sure

[@v12mercedes-benz72]

Tyre pressure down may be better

[@GreghouseVanBouten]

Can splines on an axel shaft skip grooves? I thought that was the cause of the sound when I first heard it but I’ve never even taken one apart, I dunno :)

[@ProdigalOverland]

Not sure. It seems ok. I had it out today. Time will tell!

[@michaelpresler3030]

Hi Brad. You heard a popping sound and a ping sound before that. I watched closely and noticed the ping sound at 8:46, was the back end of your driver side rockrail hitting on the rock just ahead of your rear tire. You bounced up and backwards and when it came down, you see it hitting that rock which made the ping sound. As far as the popping sound at 9:03, of course I couldn't see what was happening on passenger side, but the driver side front wheel looks like maybe the spokes might have been scrubbing against the rock next to it creating a popping sound. Maybe???? Just an idea, especially if all ran well after that and no more sounds. Hope this might answer to what you heard.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thanks for the feedback and the investigations

[@robertk85]

Thanks for your videos. I really appreciate them. You know that you can use your paddles the control the speed when you go i this downhill mode? I go as low as 1 km/h. Works great but I have never tried that in such rocky path as you :). /Regards from a WK2 owner in Sweden

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thanks for watching! And yes I know about the paddles. I’m sure there is certain situations where it is a nice set up. But. I would not say this was one of them. Have a great day!

[@pscruising5486]

What is odd for me when using crawl mode downhill, is, it just doesn’t feel right to need the accelerator when on a steep decline. I like it uphill.

[@jaradderosa3252]

Check out Brad going all Top Gear with the “slippy”. 🙂

[@ProdigalOverland]

We like to give it a solid try!

[@wattylanglois6101]

Cool stuff Man. In terms of class rating the staircase would be a class 4 of 5 I suppose?

[@ProdigalOverland]

perhaps. Iw was made more difficult by the reduced traction and visibility when we did it. Thanks for watching!

[@infinityronin]

This is awesome, I'm up in Sedona a lot, but for some reason never make it to Broken Arrow. Definitely need to try this in my Trailhawk (maybe going down first though :-). Quick Question, what kind of walkie-talkie are you using to communicate between spotter and driver? Sounds just like the ones they use on TFL.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Broken Arrow is a great time! you should definitely check it out. And we use Midland hand held radios. amzn.to/2J7mz6n

[@matthewfammgolp9718]

I seen this live before

[@ProdigalOverland]

Me too 😉

[@ashleypayne4671]

Brad, love what you’re doing and the places you’re going with your family. My Jeep Grand Cherokee emitted that very same sound in similar terrain last year, trying to find traction. It’s quite similar to the sound of a drive shaft CV Joint letting go and I instantly thought the worse when I heard it, but to date it’s never been heard again and nothing has let go yet 🤞.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thanks for the sound feedback! It certainly didn’t make me feel good. But my Jeep also seems to be fine. I have driven it some since. And haven’t heard it again 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@fahdabdulaziz5067]

@@ProdigalOverland i think that sound is brake lock differential. You can read about it here. blog.fcanorthamerica.com/2008/02/11/jeep-brake-traction-control-explained/ I hope it helps you guys

[@ProdigalOverland]

Fahd Abdulaziz awesome thanks for the info

[@sean9267]

Dang, how to tear up a WK2 101. Remember, you have to drive it home!

[@ProdigalOverland]

We did!

[@MrKozanitis]

Great video...once again! Kudos...once again! Hey, as long as the arrow is broken but not the Trailhawk, you're ok! Right! 😂 BTW, when you say crawl mode, do you mean hill descent in first gear?

[@ProdigalOverland]

Yes. Hill decent mode. Thanks!

[@MrKozanitis]

Prodigal Overland thank you, Brad!

[@ks12ride]

For everyone's information it's mostly a one way trail and the staircase is absolutely only one way...down. This is a good way to get the trail closed to public use.

[@sking2173]

👎

[@johnf.gravel7187]

Agreed... not to mention the trail abuse.

[@shiftintohigh5564]

👍👍😎🇺🇸

[@Toycoma]

I bought a2017 overland how much more ground clearance does the trailhawk have over it?

[@ProdigalOverland]

if you have the air suspension, none. If you don't, I think about 2 inches

[@Toycoma]

@@ProdigalOverland yeah, it has the air

[@waltermusial]

Noticed rear corner guard missing on driver side...

[@ProdigalOverland]

You sure did. The Kit from Chief products shipped with two of the same mounting brackets (passenger side) instead of one driver and one passenger. Waiting on the correct part to finish the install

[@sking2173]

WK gettin’ it done !! I never realized they were so capable until watching this channel. Keep the vids coming, Brad.

[@ProdigalOverland]

Thanks!

[@jaradderosa3252]

When you put it in rock mode, do you leave the suspension on level 2 or bring it back down to level 1 so it doesn’t ride so stiff?

[@ProdigalOverland]

Most often I leave it OR2. For the ground clearance

[@UncleT0ny]

@@ProdigalOverland doesnt it force you to stay in OR2 in rock mode? nice n bumpy ride

[@ProdigalOverland]

@@UncleT0ny I know it automatically raises to OR2 in Rock mode. I'm not sure that you can't lower it. Usually if I'm in rock mode I need all the ground clearance I can get.

[@ValFinale]

how do you think the wk2 is overall as an overlanding type of rig? Can it hang with the tacomas,4runners,wranglers?

[@ProdigalOverland]

We think it can hang. Check out @venturethe395 on Instagram. They live out of there rig.

[@ValFinale]

@@ProdigalOverland yep! i came across their IG for inspo. I got a 2017 Altitude wk2. got a lift ordered and planning on 33s

[@ProdigalOverland]

Vallen Goldshmidt I think they could be a good resource form you as well

[@ebrahimalbakr3302]

I convert my air suspension to dobinson ims 2 inches lift with offroad tyres and cheif products skids and custom front bumper

[@ProdigalOverland]

How do you like the conversion?

[@ebrahimalbakr3302]

@@ProdigalOverland 100 % much better.. You will get offroad 2 hight with a good articulation

[@theflagstaffkid]

Surprised you guys found a slow enough day that you could spend that much time going the wrong way on broken arrow. Lucky for us, people that drive like this destroy they're rig quickly, then get out of the sport.

[@ProdigalOverland]

It was a slow day mid week. Would have never attempted this on a weekend.

[@danr3545]

There is no damn way a stock TRD ANYTHING can do that!

[@ProdigalOverland]

Ha! I'm not sure I can speak to that one. I like the sound of it though!!

[@inigomontoya7593]

Slippy.

[@alexandrzakharov1729]

Ахуенно !

[@johnf.gravel7187]

Seriously? Steve needs to learn about airing down his tires. This video should be taken down or edited to demonstrate trail abuse. I always drive Devil's Staircase (in the proper direction, which is down) and often wonder who is screwing it up. Now we know.