4x4 reviews

[scottzg]

So, because of the last few jobs i've had, i've gotten the opportunity to sample the off road capabilities of various off road vehicles. I'm bored, so i figured i'd throw out some opinions. All vehicles were stock with knobby tires, and i have at least 50 hours driving each on dirt roads. I don't have much tech knowlege, so im not gonna put anything like that.

MT

2000 dodge ram quad cab 5.3 - pretty sweet truck. Turning radius of a small battleship is its main weakness, good power, appearantly good 4wd system, and an excellent solid feel. This truck has the best feedback in the brake and steering wheel of anything ive driven, and the benefits offroad are considerable. I could tell what the chunk of dirt under the wheels was by just wiggling the steering wheel, and could go faster on quality dirt roads because the brakes were predictable and consistent. Nice interior too, even if the radio was a piece of crap.

2001 chevrolet s10 - nice getting to the dirt road, horrible once you were there. The pushbutton low range is a nice gimmick, but more than once was i stuck because a front and rear wheel lost traction and were spinning merrily. Embarrassing and annoying. Ground clearance wasn't that great, although the big tires helped a bit.

1990 subaru legacy - I'll just throw this in so it's somewhat scoob related. Simple fact is, it doesn't go wheelin' like anything else im listing. It could go just about anywhere else the s10 could, but the s10 sucked too. Main problem is a lack of ground clearance; it gets hung up on broadbaseddips/whoopdedoos where any of the others could cruise on by. Falling off a considerably smaller rock means a shot to the chassis, and the chassis gets deformed a lot more easily than a body-on-frame vehicle. In marginal traction at speed, it shines though, edging out the s10 for the best vehicle on rilled or slick surfaces.

1997 dodge dakota - wierd thing to say, but the gear ratios suck. The gap between 2nd and 3rd must be huge, or something. It wheeled much better than the s10, aside from seeming to hang up the rear bumper a lot (if they make a longbed model, this was one). It was pretty softly suspended, which seems to work on these 4x4s. The brakes felt darn good, but the steering left something to be desired. Only about 20 hours in it.

AT
2004 silverado quad cab - great clearance, horrible pedal/steering wheel feel (good god that brake pedal sucks) barge-like turning circle. This thing seems to reward the experienced, you have to know where your wheels are, and then it will go anywhere. The hood and shape don't allow for much visability, and the controls dont tell you shit. I suspect that the suspension is relatively much firmer than the chassis- it chatters and bumps and squeeks like crazy. Annoying and kind of wierd.

1996 ford bronco - my favorite 4x4. Sure, the POS has a shitty radio and the ac is busted and the taillights work sometimes and the idiot girl who is your coworker has beaten the shit out of the bodywork, but man can it climb. Feel for the controls is decent, the turning radius is possibly better than the scoob, and it tackles rilled fast roads pretty darn well, maybe better if the interior wasn't falling apart. Ours had a 351, and it was never lacking for power. Keep in mind the vehicle im talking about only had 45k on it. Oh, and it had the most acceptable AT in it too.

[555BCTurbo]

Wheelin' in Big Trucks is kinda like trying to fit a fat guy in a Triumph...a pain in the ass...


If you want something that will outwheel ALL of those vehicles on the list, the 1985 Toyota Pickup/4Runners are great...

They are the last year of the Straight Front Axle, and was the first year of the 22RE (fuel injection). They are an AWESOME rig to go muddin', crawlin', just about anything really...

My friend has an 85 4Runner and we pulled a K5 Blazer out of the mud a few times, the Toyota never missed a beat...

They are considerably smaller too, so fitting through trees is much easier!

[scottzg]

Wheelin' in Big Trucks is kinda like trying to fit a fat guy in a Triumph...a pain in the ass...

so true!

Those old yotas are kind of expensive though. I had an '84 2wd for a while, sold it for way more than it was worth.

[206er]

yeah straight axle toyotas are pretty much the best value around off road performance wise. super durable, great aftermarket, cool looking, perform well. I plan to own one in the near future, probably keep it to 33's dual cases and some tube with a flatbed. I really want a round headlight one but will probably go with the best deal that comes along.
scott, agreed on the dodges having great feel. had a 4x4 double cab 1500 as a rental a few years ago, did ok on some trails that were probably a 2. nothing like wheeling a full coverage rental. Im not a big fan of push button 4x4, much better feeling to shift the tcase manually.

[scottzg]

What's a trail that's a 2? Yeah, i agree about shifting the Tcase manually, it doesn't seem to make a difference once you're in gear, but being a 5mt fan there's something satisfying about being responsible for what range it's in.

It struck me as funny that i didnt have a clue what had lockers and what was open diff, but it was very important how good the feel in the steering wheel and brakes were.

[206er]

well the bad thing about push button transfer cases is that they can build up tension on the gears(like any other case) but the shift solenoid wont have enough power to force it out of gear. also the solenoids can go bad and no shifty. when a shifter breaks you can jerry rig it but a solenoid...
a 2 is on the mild side, challenging but doable(read momentum ) on street tires and no lockers. these were really washed out roads at a DH race down in NM outside of albequrque(sp?) and had lots of stair step rocky type terrain.
a lot of people selling toyotas dont know what they are worth, when I have no money there are efi 85 4runners for 1200. when I do they are more than double that.

[import_freak]

TOYOTAS RULE OFFROAD!!!!.......................that is all

[93forestpearl]

^
werd

[entirelyturbo]

2004 silverado quad cab - horrible pedal/steering wheel feel (good god that brake pedal sucks)

Isn't this the truth? I drove that new Silverado SS at the GM Test-Drive at Disney last year, and I started to get on it as I went around the course. Then I approached a turn and got on the brakes, and WHOA!!! I had to stomp on them just to get the thing to slow down. I cruised around the rest of the course...

Even if the Toyotas are more expensive for off-roading, it is seriously all worth it for all the money you won't spend fixing any 22R. Those motors are so ridiculously tough that I want either an 80's truck or 80's Celica with one so I can beat the shit out of it everyday just to see how much abuse it can take.

[555BCTurbo]

My friend's daily driver is a 1983 Toyota 2WD Pickup, with 255k on it, doesn't burn oil, has lots of power, starts everyday, gets 20mpg around town!!

Awesome machines!!