Learn and enable me: unimproved roads and 2wd

Go for it. If its a slope you wont get "stuck" youll just have to roll back down. First try slow and just enough throttle to keep moving with no wheelspin. If that fails use speed and momentum.

We live in a world where people feel that land rover freelanders are de-rigeur to get to the mall.

I suspect that the road in question is being overstated.

When I was working road service for a John Deere dealer, I had a 2wd Chevy van with nothing more than Goodyear Wranglers on all four.

You be surprised where I had to go sometimes.

The need for 4wd is often over rated.

NOHOME wrote: We live in a world where people feel that land rover freelanders are de-rigeur to get to the mall. I suspect that the road in question is being overstated.

Rover freelanders can barely get to the junkyard...

But yes, a limited slip of any sort will make the job much easier

I've seen my dad drive a stock, worn out, 2wd open diff, '72 Chevy longbed farm truck right past guys stuck with lifted 4wd trucks. It did have MTs on the back, though. He's also taken an Aerostar van on cheap street tires places you wouldn't believe. It's mostly in the technique until gravity becomes a factor. That's what growing up a farm does for you, I guess.

I have nothing to add besides please post back and let us know how it worked out.

Know where the tires are and don't stop moving.

Well, there is no street view, but I did manage to look up the elevation. Unfortunately, this would be the last couple of minutes of a two-day drive, so I can't really check it out in advance, but the comments here are encouraging.

Looks like a typical 2 track that anybody with half a brain and tread on their tires should be able to handle just fine.

Momentum, a locking diff and good tires will all be your friend here.

You may want to be sure to stick the trans in 1 or 2 going up. My 99 4runner doesn't always downshift to first when I want it to on uphills. That's not helped by the big tires and stock gears though...

Be careful if you have P-rated tires if you decide to air them down. Their sidewalls are weak and don't do well with low pressures. LT tires are fine to run down to 15-20 psi. Air down all four tires too, not just the rear. It'll keep traction and ride quality balanced between the front and rear. The e-brake can also be used as a weak form of LSD but it sounds like your rig has that covered with the E-LSD button thingy.

Do you expect snow? That's a big killer for 2wd. Also, are you the only one who will be up there? Do you need to worry about coming around a corner and hitting someone coming down? Momentum and smooth throttle is your friend if you don't have 4wd so its nice to know if you can commit to a higher speed than is safe when there's the risk of two-way traffic.

i see a nice switchback 180 and a uphill that opens upon exit, definitely the miata to AT tires

I would say chains if you are worried. I do not need to engage the front axle until the snow is bumper deep. What size tires do you have? I have 2 sets of chains that are too small for anything I own. I could loan them to you if you paid shipping or sell them if you want them. They are too short to go around my 31x10.50s.

Also, a lot of extra weight is your friend when climbing slick slopes.

Mike wrote: Well, there is no street view, but I did manage to look up the elevation. Unfortunately, this would be the last couple of minutes of a two-day drive, so I can't really check it out in advance, but the comments here are encouraging.

I looked at the street view at the turnoff from the highway, and the first part at least doesn't look bad at all.

I also looked at the site on Bing Maps in Bird's Eye View - you can rotate the screen around to view it from different angles to get a better idea. The road looks pretty good on there.

32 Old Salem Rd, Alexander, NC 28701, right?

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.7017457,-82.6136696,128m/data=!3m1!1e3

You're not dealing with much snow down there. The roadbed looks smooth and sandy. I'd say you'll likely have no problems with a 2wd truck or suv or even standard car.

Worse might, and only might, be on a heavy rainy day.

mazdeuce wrote: Velocity and bravery make up for a lot.

This should be a T-shirt.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.7006984,-82.6153891,3a,75y,107.28h,84.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1si615fzVJ9wEN59CcetzwOg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I think this is the entry road. Looks sports car able in fact.

Just saying...

When I had my XJ, one of the few times I actually took it wheeling on real ORV trails, one of the guys in our group was in a 2WD, right-hand-drive ex-USPS XJ. In a group that included several 4x4 Jeeps, a few toyota 4x4s, and a couple other random 4x4s......the 2WD XJ was almost always the first guy in line to "defeat" most of the obstacles. Apparently he had been wheeling it since brand-new (mid-1980s) and he could pretty much go anywhere with it - albeit with a different driving style than the 4x4 guys.