by Matt Konkle
Torque Editor-in-Chief
MOAB, Utah — No longer recommended for stock Jeeps, says one trail description. Trail finds itself on the prohibited list of many Jeep rental companies, says another.
When you look at heading on the Top of the World trail with anything else but a built-up trail machine, that’s what you mainly see in most guides.
But in reality, is that true?
Well, we decided to put that idea to the test Sunday. We put Torque Staff Writer Terry Pritchard into a 2022 Wrangler Sport Unlimited to see how it would fare on one of the most traveled trails in the Moab area.
Not a Rubicon with lockers, or even a dressed up Sport with better gears and all that other internal stuff. Just a bone stock Wrangler with street tires. If we could get one with window cranks, that was what we were shooting for with this project.
For science.
See, we’ve been on Top of the World plenty of times, and while there are a few testing obstacles, we hypothesized that we could get that stock vehicle all the way from Dewey Bridge to the canyon overlook.
For those who don’t know, Top of the World is a heavily-traveled trail about 25 miles or so northeast of Moab. It begins with a simple, unpaved road that has some rocks strewn here or there.
As the trail gets higher, and deeper into the landscape, that dirt mostly falls away and is replaced by sandstone and all sizes of rocks. In fact, one part of the trail has so many of those rocks that it is nicknamed ‘Rock Garden.’
Anyway, there are also a few ledges and those iconic ‘Moab Bump’ spots as well — especially as you draw ever close to the top overlook.
Because for everyone running that trail, that is the objective. Get your Jeep out on the overlook and take some amazing pictures. No doubt many of you who have run the trail, have that overlook ‘money shot’ somewhere in your social media picture feed.
The overlook sits about 7,000 feet above Onion Creek and Fisher Valley, with clear views of both from the Waring Mesa edge. Additionally, the La Sal mountain range stares back at you from the distance, with its snow-capped peaks most of the year making an impressive photo-op all by themselves.
Trail riders usually pull up, one at a time, to the overlook and slowly creep out until the vehicle’s front tires are scant feet away from the edge.
Then, from the left of the overlook, you can snap a photo of your Jeep where it looks like it is hanging off the edge of the mesa.
So if that is all the trail involves, and the payoff is so immense, then why say stock Jeeps are a bad idea? That is best left for interpretation, but most likely it is to discourage those stock Jeep owners from smacking their bumper, stock control arms, differential cover, cross member, or rear bumper and exhaust pipe when making an approach or departure with the vehicle.
We approached the trail, just off Utah Hwy 128 just after 1 p.m. Sunday, hoping the later start time would mean less traffic in front of us.
To a point that was true, but we did run into a bunch of returning Jeeps, so we always slid aside and let the on comers go on their way.
Additionally, Pritchard is not a novice off-roader, so we were confident he could take the vehicle where we needed it to go. We just were not as confident how the vehicle would look when it got there.
Needless to say, the initial dirt and rocky road proved insignificant, but that would be true with just about any other vehicle as well.
The first test would come in a series of progressively larger sandstone ledges shortly after Top of the World veers right at the Kokopelli trail intersection.
And the first test was expertly passed as Pritchard softly placed his front wheels on each ledge and carefully pulled himself up until the rear wheels caught and bumped him forward each time. No metal clangs. No steel scrapes.
"When surrounded by all of these lifted and built Jeeps at the trailhead, my confidence wasn't incredibly high at the start," Pritchard said. "But, I just told myself to approach the obstacle as a driver and slowly let the vehicle do what it was designed to do. When it popped up on the ledge without hesitation, a huge smile came across my face and I knew this Jeep and I could do more than anyone expected."
Other rocky obstacles sat ahead, but each time Pritchard scanned for a good line and carefully attacked. Sometimes that involved some spotting by Video Manager Rob Jarrell or Director of Content Eric Ammerman, but each time Pritchard guided the stock Jeep past danger so everyone could continue down the trail.
As we moved on through the Rock Garden portion of the trail, it was inevitable to hear a few clanks and scrapes as some of those rocks could only be overtaken and not avoided. But even stock Jeeps have durable control arms and skid plates that can absorb the damage. They may not look the same afterward, but they still perform the same.
One of the final obstacles before reaching the top of Top of the World, is a sharp incline that has several cascading rock ledges that really require careful tire placement and approach speed so you do not slam your stock bumper into the rock wall.
This obstacle also has three different entrance points, and we took Terry all the way to the right so his approach would be much more manageable.
With Jarrell spotting, Pritchard eased into the first part and got the vehicle up into the air. Then came a driver’s turn that placed his Jeep into a good spot to take on the second part. That wall proved a little too high at the start and the bottom portion of his front bumper scraped a bit, but the tires quickly took over and pushed the Jeep up and past any other issues.
The one remaining portion required Pritchard to hug the obstacle’s right wall, slightly off-camber while his driver-side tires caught a ledge and helped propel the Jeep across the top.
It may not have been the most testing of paths, but it certainly worked and Pritchard earned a series of hi-fives after reaching the top.
"I was facing the most challenging part of the entire trail and initially it appeared to be impossible," Pritchard said. "The real limit here was the clearance of the front and rear bumpers and the height under the jeep. This required choosing a line that would be accessible for the type of vehicle I was driving. With the help of Rob, I was able to weave across the obstacle on a line that was much more friendly to the build of this Jeep."
Finally, just a few more rocky bumps on the trail, and one medium-sized sandstone ledge to overcome, and our stock JL Wrangler was sitting right on the trail’s overlook.
Now, do we recommend taking a stock Jeep up Top of the World? Perhaps. It really depends on driver ability as there is no cushion with that model. A Rubicon edition can help with lockers, and a better crawl ratio, but clearance can still be an issue if you are not careful and just like to plow through stuff.
However, a stock Wrangler JL can definitely complete the trail — especially one outfitted with stronger bumpers and side protection to eliminate potential body damage. Of course, swapping out the Wrangler’s street tires for all-terrain or mud-terrain versions is sensible as well.
If this trail is always something you’ve wanted to accomplish during a trip to Moab, don’t fear the trail guides. Just use common sense, and maybe a few smart upgrades, and you’ll soon find yourself on that overlook with some amazing scenery stretching far out in front of you.
