Size is relative to the trails you're exploring. A four door Wrangler is not a small vehicle. Today's two door Wranglers are 7 or 8 inches wider than models from the 1980s and 90s. They'd have difficulty squeezing down the abandoned farm roads I explored as a kid in Connecticut.
Building on a full size, any regrets?
- Thread starter Stoney126
- Start date
ttravis5446
Adventurer
I have been more than happy with my full size rigs. I am taller than average and the extra room makes the long distance travel go by easily, I can't say I enjoyed traveling nearly as much with my TJ or my '80s Toyota pickups. I have put about 50k miles on my truck in a year and a half and I don't mind it too much. If anything I wish I could have gone bigger on my current truck. Long bed and crew cab would be a lot nicer than the short box and extended cab.
E.Roy
Aspiring Explorer
The biggest drawback to a full size on trails and obstacles can be the weight, especially with a Diesel engine in my opinion, but you learn to drive accordingly. I think there isn't much negative to going big, but several positives. You already have tougher running gear. And the rig can do more work to, it can recover other vehicles with its weight.
plainjaneFJC
Deplorable
No offense but your comparison to the jeep is not even close. I am all for the fullsize, but a stock jeep will make that bronco look silly, let alone a lifted jeep.
The only problem you may encounter is with your approach angles on your front and rear bumpers. You don't want to get either hung up on rocks, especially with a loaded bed.
I take my bronco wheeling, and while its as small as a full size can get and still be a full sized rig, I can take it anywhere a lifted jeep can go, even with the factory stock suspension.
With your setup, the only mods I'd offer up would be either a locker or LS differential in the rear axle and anything else should be limited to cab comfort and gadgets. Things like a power inverter for a tablet or computer and GPS. Stuff along those lines. Anything else would be a waste at this point, until you've tried your rig out a bit to see what it really needs now
seeNik48
Adventurer
We have a 4x4 Super Duty extended cab long bed with a Pop up and rarely encounter anywhere we have to turn back. Two come to mind: the off camber very rocky shelf road to Delamar ghost town and Jumbled Rock a gulch, a rock crawling route. I think maybe a pass or two in Colorado would stop us but we have been down some gnarly roads and only had superficial pin striping. We have been told we would be fine for Burr Trail, Shafer and Moki Dugway switchbacks. We love the mountain ranges and valleys of Nevada so try just about any canyon that looks intriguing. Usually we are the only ones there other than hunters or ranchers. Fine with us, actually.
We have considered renting a SXS UTV when a place really shouts come and check me out. Otherwise, we hike. Others bring off road bikes or whatever to get out there.
We have considered renting a SXS UTV when a place really shouts come and check me out. Otherwise, we hike. Others bring off road bikes or whatever to get out there.
chaos616
Adventurer
I think in the end, buy what truck makes you happy and one you can be most proud of, more then likely, unless that vehicle happens to be a dodge ram srt 10 or ford lightning (and even those could probably do some light duty trails), you should be fine and most stock 4x4 will do quite a bit of offroad quite well, enough for most peoples offroad habits.
Cheers,
Cheers,
I don't think it's realistic to ask other people what you should buy. There are too many questions that only you can answer for anyone to give you advice. I'm in the process of getting into doing this as a hobby and I looked at a lot of posts in the trip and build sections before figuring out exactly what "Expedition" meant to me. Before discovering this site, I thought that I would want to get a small 5th wheel camper and start traveling around the country. Then I started reading the threads on different trips and decided that a 5th wheel was going to keep me from being able to get to the places I really wanted to go. I'm not getting into this because I want to challenge my (and my vehicle's) ability to travel over random obstacles, I want to get out and spend some time in places of peace and beauty. I also don't want to be unpacking, setting up, taking down and repacking a tent every day and don't want to be in a tent on the ground when it rains. That being said, I also want to have enough "inside" room to stand up and I want to be able to be "inside" and dry when it's wet and nasty out if I choose. Hey, this will be my vacation time and cold, wet, and cramped doesn't sound relaxing to me. On the other hand, I also want my set-up to be "bullet-proof" in that the camping set-up can't be anywhere near the load-carrying capabilities of the truck - overloading a truck on oversize tires just sounds like a bad idea to me. Lastly, the vehicle and camper can't be so big and bulky that they limit my ability to go places. The truck and camping equipment I chose to start working toward reflect those goals. I originally planned to use an old Chevy CUCV that I'm having fixed up with a Flippac outfitted something like the one "Tacodoc" set up. However, I've since pretty much decided that I'd probably be better off buying a Power Wagon than being half way across the country in the middle of nowhere in a 30 year old vehicle and having absolutely no skill as a mechanic.
But that's my choices based on MY wants and would be completely the wrong solution for a guy that wants to sleep out under the stars at night when it's 10 below and dreams of being able to say that he did the Rubicon.
But that's my choices based on MY wants and would be completely the wrong solution for a guy that wants to sleep out under the stars at night when it's 10 below and dreams of being able to say that he did the Rubicon.