2WD Overland Thread

[pappawheely]

I have a pre-runner that has gone all over Mexico and the Western United States. It has a detroit locker in the rear and 19 inches of travel front and rear. Because I am out taking photos of race cars, I am out in remote areas and on trails instead of roads, there is a difference. It works great at speed but whenever you stop, you are taking a chance of getting stuck. I have both covered incredible terrain in two wheel drive and gotten stuck in stuff that looked harmless. The bad part is that you never know what will give you trouble. One time we drove up a lava flow in Nevada that was classified as a jeep trail. I kept my momentum, had good traction and used up every inch of travel; hitting 3 foot tall stair steps going up hill. It was off camber and on the edge of a ravine; backing down would have been scary! We went all the way to the top in dead silence. As soon as we crested the top of the hill, my friend let out a "That was awwwwsome!" Another time at KOH, I stopped to talk with some friends in a sandy area. When we all went to leave, they all drove away and I went straight down. Since they did not see me, I had to dig out on my own and could not make it out until someone came along and gave me a tug. Needless to say, I like the peace of mind of having 4wd.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I stopped to talk with some friends in a sandy area. When we all went to leave, they all drove away and I went straight down.

HAHAHA... I have has that happen more than once. The knobbier your tires, the worse it is. Now that I run a street tire, I don't' have that problem. ;-)

BTW: I love your truck!!

 

[Deleted member 9101]

And it's totally a slippery slope if you start carrying parts and tools and whatnot.

I have noticed, over the years, that the more time a person spends on a forum, the more junk they carry in their truck. I always have basic tools, radiator and heater hoses, fan belt, and transmission cooler lines. I toss in a few relays, fuses, wire, hose clamps, duct tape and zip ties. That's about all I have carried for two and a half decades. I have buddies that have recently started carrying every tool imaginable and tons of spare parts. The irony is, where ever I have to go to get a spare part... will also sell the tools to install it...lol. The best part is, none of my group of friends really does anything more than fire roads and state park camp grounds...haha.

 

[ZMagic97]

I have noticed, over the years, that the more time a person spends on a forum, the more junk they carry in their truck. I always have basic tools, radar and heater hoses, fan belt, and transmission cooler lines. I toss in a few relays, fuses, wire, hose clamps, duct tape and zip ties. That's about all I have carried for two and a half decades. I have buddies that have recently started carrying every tool imaginable and tons of spare parts. The irony is, where ever I have to go to get a spare part... will also sell the tools to install it...lol. The best part is, none of my group of friends really does anything more than fire roads and state park camp grounds...haha.

I'm in the same boat. I carry basic tools and tie downs, zip ties, duct tape, fuses...etc. Anything else I can go get and could use some help anyway.

 

[Bushcoat]

Beauty of a Colorado, papa!

 

[underdrive]

With the van I plan to add larger, more aggressive tires, a limited slip, and some traction mats. I figure this will get me where I need to go. The rest of the time I will get my lazy *** out of the van and use my feet or mountain bike to explore further.

Sounds like a solid plan to me! Like I said SRW vehicles tend to fare much better that us fools who never outgrew our training wheels and thus run extra-wide all the time so we don't roll over Your van also gets the benefit of more weight on the rear axle, that alone can make all the difference sometimes.

 

[Sleam]

Good thread. I usually head out into the mountains in my old 4Runner, camp in the back, hang out by lakes, hike with pups, that kind of thing. Explore out of curiosity. I have 4x4s because I live in the mountains and need it in winter to get home in snow and in summer getting home in the monsoons. This is the first year I'm seriously thinking of a 2wd van for the upcoming three month road trip. Simply for comfort. I'll be in the Northwest, and camping in a truck with two big dogs in the rain has lost its appeal! So I was offered a great deal on a conversion van. It'll change how and where we go but since I rarely used the 4wd on our trips before, I figure I'll get out and walk more, check out the roads more, stick on FS roads, that kind of thing.
I like the idea of the basic tools which are usually with me, plus a shovel, axe, and saw. Something for sand, for traction, even just two strips of carpet helps.
But can I get more clearance? Its a Dodge conversion van, 2003, that is coming home with me. I'm curious to see how it is to travel in comfort like that! First years in the States I hitched, then crossed on trains, then motorbikes, then the truck, and now a van…it's the novelty factor I think. Not done that yet so why not? I use the Ultimate US public campground app and that's a good resource for conditions and access. Any other suggestions?
I'll be in Missoula and thought about staying a few nights and getting someone to install stronger suspension to give a bit of a lift. Any thoughts? Thanks, s

 

[underdrive]

But can I get more clearance? Its a Dodge conversion van, 2003, that is coming home with me.
I'll be in Missoula and thought about staying a few nights and getting someone to install stronger suspension to give a bit of a lift. Any thoughts? Thanks, s

Generally speaking, lifting a leaf-sprung vehicle is easy enough with a pair of new leaves, for the rear even just a pair of blocks shoved between the leaf springs and the axle will accomplish it (and that is exactly what many OEMs do as well). Your van has a leaf-sprung rear axle, so that should be easy enough, just don't forget to get longer shocks to match your new ride height if the old ones come up a bit short. It's the front that will be interesting, IIRC you have double A-arms independent suspension there with coil springs - simply replacing the coils with something longer and/or stiffer will lift the nose up but it will also limit your suspension's down-travel as there is just only so much space between the upper control arms and the frame, and it may also put your ball joints into a less than ideal geometry. What you want instead is what's called "lift spindles/knuckles", basically it's a redesigned outer piece that bolts to the factory upper and lower arms and simply moves the wheel's spindle further down (away from the upper arm) thus providing increased ground clearance because the whole suspension ends up higher with respect to the wheel axis. I somewhat doubt those are available for Dodge vans, but maybe they are for 2wd Dodge trucks? Assuming the vans and trucks share the knuckle assembly, idk if they do or not, but it may be something worth looking into.

Also, since it is a van, you may wanna take a look into this section of the forum:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/58-4wd-(and-2WD)-Camper-Vans

 

[Sleam]

Thanks, good information. It gives me hope for the longer term ability of what and where we can go in the van. I'll check in with the other thread/ forum section too. Appreciate the help.

 

[Xterraxplorer]

I currently have a 2wd Xterra, and I kinda wondered if I was alone in the 2wd exploration world. All I've had for the last 14 years has been 2wd. I don't build anything too crazy, but I do run street tires or A/T's on the front and always run a mud tire on the rear. Chains are a bonus to have as well. I avoid mud like the plague, but I have hit up some gnarly trails around central NC. The biggest tip I ever learned is to set the E-brake about half way down to transfer power more evenly to the two axle shafts. Now this trick does not work in SC mud, but does work in sand.

I've been seriously considering a 4x4 conversion, but I talk myself out of it every time. 2wd's definitely get better gas mileage. As stated earlier, one of the biggest things is ground clearance. Flex is good, but not as important as some people think. I drive in a lot of sand and find that floating the front at 15 psi and digging with the back only when necessary yields good results. I might just install a locker and do the bumpers/roof rack and call it a day. And the looks you get pulling a fullsize 4x4 out of the mud with a mid sized 2wd are priceless.

On a side note, has anyone tried the Maxtrax with a 2wd? I've wondered if they would have a similar result.

 

[UltraHDGames]

I personally am wondering about maxtrax also, just don't want to spend $400 and something that won't really help my 2wd

 

[Xterraxplorer]

That is my chief concern. I can tell you that the milk crate tracks, old carpet, and auto mats do not work in swamp mud. Jacking the vehicle up and placing on boards does as well as the old shovel and come along trick.

 

[UltraHDGames]

That is my chief concern. I can tell you that the milk crate tracks, old carpet, and auto mats do not work in swamp mud. Jacking the vehicle up and placing on boards does as well as the old shovel and come along trick.

I'll be getting a hi lift shortly and I was thinking using that to jack up the rear then place maxtrax under the rear wheels must do something, or just the use the hi lift as a winch

 

[thethePete]

I've used other traction boards that were cheap and broke (they were like $10 at Canadian Tire), but they definitely got me un-stuck. I was digging holes in frozen grass/snow/spring nastiness and threw them under the back tires and they got me unstuck quite nicely. This wasn't a big mudpit or anything, but I was most definitely stuck. A LSD or locker *might* have got me out, and 4wd definitely would have, I can't see why they wouldn't be an advantage to have along. I plan to get a set of decent ones (TRED or Maxtrax or whatever) to keep on my truck over the course of this summer.

 

[UltraHDGames]

I've used other traction boards that were cheap and broke (they were like $10 at Canadian Tire), but they definitely got me un-stuck. I was digging holes in frozen grass/snow/spring nastiness and threw them under the back tires and they got me unstuck quite nicely. This wasn't a big mudpit or anything, but I was most definitely stuck. A LSD or locker *might* have got me out, and 4wd definitely would have, I can't see why they wouldn't be an advantage to have along. I plan to get a set of decent ones (TRED or Maxtrax or whatever) to keep on my truck over the course of this summer.

I'm thinking of going for tredd, they seem decent quality and a lot cheaper then Maxtrax. Just as long as they don't break