Ground clearance not a problem...

[Keithmaj]

I've had my AT now for eight months and have put nearly 12K miles of daily driving and road trips around TX and the southeast. During that time, I've always been very conscious of the car's ground clearance whether near a parking barrier or road debris. This past week I had a new concern arise while driving eastbound on I-30 in TX. Came zipping over a hill only to see solid wall of red tail lights in front of me. It didn't take long for everyone to come to a standstill. I had about a 50% SoC so I felt okay about finishing my road trip even with a minor traffic delay. After about 30 minutes of no progress the natives started getting restless and got out of their cars. Every now and then some joker decided to pass our parking lot by driving on the right shoulder even though the 18 wheeler in front of me had moved over to the right in an attempt to block access. It was then I noticed a firetruck and HazMat truck go by on the access road. Another 30 minutes passed as I watched my SoC continue to decline. That's when I noticed a fireman walking along talking to the drivers one by one. He confirmed a HazMat incident and estimated the road would be closed for another 4 hours. He was recommending that we cut across the grass (slight ravine of maybe 12 inches) to get to the access road to bypass the delay.

Back to my dilemma... as I watched car after car get across with no problems I contemplated how long my SoC would last versus tempting fate and trying a crossing that could easily get me stuck on the only "passable" crossing spot nearby. The upside of being in a draught and month of 100+ degree heat was I didn't have to contend with any wet or muddy conditions. I said a quick prayer and gave it a go cutting across on an angle in hopes of not bottoming out. Well kudos to Lucid engineering and their AWD traction control! Took it slow and steady and made it across without bottoming out! Who says you can't take an Air cross country? I may not pursue my Gravity now...

 

[blueice89]

I've had my AT now for eight months and have put nearly 12K miles of daily driving and road trips around TX and the southeast. During that time, I've always been very conscious of the car's ground clearance whether near a parking barrier or road debris. This past week I had a new concern arise while driving eastbound on I-30 in TX. Came zipping over a hill only to see solid wall of red tail lights in front of me. It didn't take long for everyone to come to a standstill. I had about a 50% SoC so I felt okay about finishing my road trip even with a minor traffic delay. After about 30 minutes of no progress the natives started getting restless and got out of their cars. Every now and then some joker decided to pass our parking lot by driving on the right shoulder even though the 18 wheeler in front of me had moved over to the right in an attempt to block access. It was then I noticed a firetruck and HazMat truck go by on the access road. Another 30 minutes passed as I watched my SoC continue to decline. That's when I noticed a fireman walking along talking to the drivers one by one. He confirmed a HazMat incident and estimated the road would be closed for another 4 hours. He was recommending that we cut across the grass (slight ravine of maybe 12 inches) to get to the access road to bypass the delay.

Back to my dilemma... as I watched car after car get across with no problems I contemplated how long my SoC would last versus tempting fate and trying a crossing that could easily get me stuck on the only "passable" crossing spot nearby. The upside of being in a draught and month of 100+ degree heat was I didn't have to contend with any wet or muddy conditions. I said a quick prayer and gave it a go cutting across on an angle in hopes of not bottoming out. Well kudos to Lucid engineering and their AWD traction control! Took it slow and steady and made it across without bottoming out! Who says you can't take an Air cross country? I may not pursue my Gravity now...

You can also off-road it but don’t ask me how I know

 

[MorganB]

I'm glad you made it without any damage to your Air! You are a true road warrior! I just hit 8k on my car.

 

[DeaneG]

We've taken our Air on a number of rough dirt roads, carefully. Safe 'n' sane 19" wheels.

 

[MHDave]

View attachment 14569View attachment 14571We've taken our Air on a number of rough dirt roads, carefully. Safe 'n' sane 19" wheels.

Gotta be photoshopped. I see no dust on that clean white car. No, wait, there's a bit of dirt on the tires ... nice editting! Just joking ... so where is this? Beautiful.

 

[DeaneG]

Gotta be photoshopped. I see no dust on that clean white car. No, wait, there's a bit of dirt on the tires ... nice editting! Just joking ... so where is this? Beautiful.

The first photo was on the north side of Carrizo Plain national monument, here: 35.275811, -119.841756
The second photo was at the Hi-View trailhead, west of Joshua Tree national park: https://goo.gl/maps/jVsfBw6JUEmeZkhH8

 

[Volund]

View attachment 14569View attachment 14571We've taken our Air on a number of rough dirt roads, carefully. Safe 'n' sane 19" wheels.

How "safe"? I wonder how slow I should really go without damaging the car and throw rocks and crap everywhere. But sometimes in the mountains I'll come across a mile or 2 of dirt or unpaved roads

 

[DeaneG]

How "safe"? I wonder how slow I should really go without damaging the car and throw rocks and crap everywhere. But sometimes in the mountains I'll come across a mile or 2 of dirt or unpaved roads

We were traveling quite slowly when on dirt to avoid washed-out areas, ruts and large potholes. We didn't have any trouble with rocks hitting the car's rocker areas. The car's body sides do tuck in at the bottom, but the wheel wells are still wide enough there to stop rocks from hitting the car. I did scrape the bottom pan slightly once or twice. A high clearance SUV on the same roads would've been worry-free.

 

[gregshap]

next time put it in Sprint Mode, it will stiffen it up a little for a hair more ground clearance.
See my profile picture too.