[Roy]

if leaving transmission/differential parts behind you, you are NOT HIGH CLEARANCE. 

Maybe not, but you're gainin' on it.
(Yep, slow day at work)

[SHANEA]

if leaving transmission/differential parts behind you, you are NOT HIGH CLEARANCE. 

Maybe not, but you're gainin' on it.
(Yep, slow day at work)

I understand Chevrolet is running a huge 72 hour sale on high clearance vehicles... 

[EssBee777]

Well I took the little CRV out to Big Bend and tested it.

The stock tires were getting a little worn, so I got a set of Yokohama Geolandar all terrain tires plus a full sized spare before I headed out.

I talked to the ranger when we checked about the road conditions. Very important, they know whats going on with the roads and what your vehicle can take.

We decided to camp at Paint Gap #4. The road leading there gets really bad the last 1/2 mile before the site. I was very happy to have the good tires for this - highly recommended. Great secluded campsite.

The next day we tackled Old Ore Road going north to south, as the ranger had recommended. I almost turned back at one point because of a big drop off but my friend got out and helped steer me through it. The CRV did fine, although I had to slow way down at some points to get through the rough spots.

The one thing I dreaded was meeting vehicles head on in the narrow parts because I didn't relish the thought of backing up a long way. We only met one vehicle however, and he was able to back up just a little ways and he politely pulled off for us.

The CRV was fine afterwards, except for a few scratches from agaves and lechiguilla that had to be buffed out.

Looking forward to the next trip.

[Picacho]

Despite the CRV classification as an SUV, its ground clearance is not very good (same with the RAV4 and others).  I think they did this to improve the gas mileage as most do not take their's off road much.  The Escape, despite its negatives in comparison to its Japanese competition, still has a better ground clearance than its competition with the exception of the Subaru Forrester which has about the same ground clearance.  I have an Escape and it's done pretty well off road with one exception.  The Continental tires it came with.  They're terrible.  I had two blow outs on my last off-road trip.  I just replaced them with Uniroyal Laredo Cross Countries.  My 4x4 Toyota has them and I have never had a problem on or off-road.  They are also much quieter.