What I've been driving this week...

[AZhitman]

If anything, it made me want a REAL Jeep.

All-metal, no top, harnesses, big narrow tires, plenty of torque, no electronics, pre-installed dents, a winch, questionable paint, and a lot of suspension travel.

[alms24sebring]

This was worse. No. Way. In. Hell.

07-jeep-rubicon-t500928.html?hilit=rubicon

As long as it's not one of those "Jeep" Liberty's. It's barely a freaking jeep

[Bubba1]

If anything, it made me want a REAL Jeep.

All-metal, no top, harnesses, big narrow tires, plenty of torque, no electronics, pre-installed dents, a winch, questionable paint, and a lot of suspension travel.

OOOOh Yeaah. Nothin better than driving an old open CJ thru thru streams/muddy river beds like "Rat Patrol" (baby boomer TV reference), with a case of beer in the back, then inadvertanly spraying unsuspecting impatient honking tailgating BMW owners with chunks of flying mud on the way home.

Of course, you'll also remember those old jeeps rode so hard, you ended up having to stop frequently to drain the main vein. Of course the beer might have contributed a little to that.

[hannibal]

I'm from GA, but you'd be amazed at how many bulldog fans are around the KY area too.

That's because, KY's a b-ball state and the SEC is all about football and UGA's the only real SEC football team

Fixed

[Mr1der]

50k?

F that all damn day.

better way to spend 50k.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-F-1 ... sQ5fTrucks

They actually have good road manners.

[PEZi]

hard to drive

Worst vehicle I have ever driven.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Raptors are nice, but they're not rock crawlers. The Jeep would definitely shine in that aspect.

But if I REALLY wanted to spend 50K on an off-road vehicle, THIS would be mine!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NICEST-H ... 483wt_1184

[alms24sebring]

I was ganna say a Hummer is a true rock crawler, but that just isnt my thing.

If I were to have any truck it would be a Turbo Diesel F-350 atleast, duelly if I could get it

[Eikon]

The only way I ever would consider buying a Jeep is if I lived in Colorado. Then I'd buy one for 4x4 adventuring in the mountains.. In that case, small, narrow, light, high clearance, are the ingredients I would want.

[AZhitman]

Neither a Raptor nor a Hummer is worth the money.

Best off-roader I ever drove was a Willys Jeep with a ton of suspension travel and a Buick V6.

Second-best? An old Suzuki Samurai. Light weight, great gearing, bulletproof drivetrain, cheap to own and fun to drive.

[alms24sebring]

I would have a Hummer (H1) for ONLY off roading, lightly modified. Not one of these jackholes that drives to work and back at 10 mpg.

[Jesda]

I'd go across the street to the grocery store and spend half the time idling in the parking lot blasting my tunes.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqmXAAvNHMo[/youtube]

With the gas fire, it would be .003mpg

[Kompresshun]

Second-best? An old Suzuki Samurai. Light weight, great gearing, bulletproof drivetrain, cheap to own and fun to drive.

Samurais are hands down the best offroader ever for the money. I used to do trail rides with a Samurai group and those little things would run circles around my Jeep on the trails. They are so easy to modify and build up that it's amazing.

[AZhitman]

Samurais are hands down the best offroader ever for the money. I used to do trail rides with a Samurai group and those little things would run circles around my Jeep on the trails. They are so easy to modify and build up that it's amazing.

Yep.

I'll own one someday. Hard to find an unmolested one.

[Oatmealman]

Neither a Raptor nor a Hummer is worth the money.

Best off-roader I ever drove was a Willys Jeep with a ton of suspension travel and a Buick V6.

Second-best? An old Suzuki Samurai. Light weight, great gearing, bulletproof drivetrain, cheap to own and fun to drive.

yota mini trucks should be on that list too.85 and before so they where still solid axled but even the ifs trucks did pretty good offroad.

as far as jeeps go.anything without leaf springs from the factory are not jeeps.

[AZhitman]

yota mini trucks should be on that list too.85 and before so they where still solid axled but even the ifs trucks did pretty good offroad.

Oh HELL yes. How could I forget. I loved the mid/late-80's SR5 4x4's.

[Oatmealman]

im a sucker for those trucks now that i own one.always wanted one and i see the hype behind them.They will go anywhere,they may not be the fastest thing up the mountain but the 22r/e will run til the end of time and keep on tickin.

[Jesda]

Raptors are dune jumpers not rock crawlers. Great trucks for plowing through the desert.

[alms24sebring]

^ True. Sounds like more fun anyways.

[Oatmealman]

meh,something about being close to rolling over at .5 mph is hilarious when it actually happens(as long as it's a mild flop and no ones hurt)

[Bubba1]

Second-best? An old Suzuki Samurai. Light weight, great gearing, bulletproof drivetrain, cheap to own and fun to drive.

Samurais are hands down the best offroader ever for the money. I used to do trail rides with a Samurai group and those little things would run circles around my Jeep on the trails. They are so easy to modify and build up that it's amazing.

Really? LAst time I drove stock Samarai, I found it tinny and cheap feeling, with no torque and awful brakes. It was nimble under 30 mph but did not feel good at highway speeds. Of course I drove it on the street, not off road. If I were looking for something cheaper/smaller than a Jeep to go off road with, I think I'd go with a non rusty Subie Brat long before a Samarai.

One of my son's buddies' Dad is an off-road instructor for Land Rover. They hold off road schools for LR owners to show them what their trucks can really do. My son videotaped one of the schools for a school project. I'll have to find it. Looked extremely fun.

[Kompresshun]

Oh don't get me wrong, they suck on the street in stock form, but hardly nobody buys them for street use. Off road they're brilliant, there's nothing like them IMHO.

FIrst up, they're spring under axle from the factory, so for a measly $25(with the proper tools) it can be switched to spring over axle, which provides 3" or so of lift and clearance for 31" tires. If you want even mor lift you can use a set of stock 87-95 Jeep Wrangler springs that provide about 4.5-5" of lift and usually people are throwing them away too. That's just a few suspension options out of the vast array of combinations available.

The stock 1.3 isn't that powerful, but you can help it with proper gearing or a simple engine swap. A 1.6l from a Geo Tracker/Suzuki Sidekick is a fairly painless and common swap.

Stock axles are fine up to a certain point, but most people swap in Toyota pickup axles or Dana 44 axles from a Jeep.

That's just scratching the surface or the endless amount of support and mods available for them. Most of the above can be done on a pretty thin budget too and most people I know have stuck to pretty cheap builds with plenty of success. I know some people that have went nuts with them and spent many thousands of dollars too though.

[JoeCool6972]

HOLD ON... That cheaply made POS costs 50 grand? I hope you told them to go f*** themselves...

[DJButton]

I always wanted a Jeep, until I drove this one. It killed the craving pretty quick.

Becky, that's a fay Jeep, and not worth driving. Do some offroading in an old Jeep, that craving will come back!

[JoeCool6972]

I can't believe this being a NISSAN site and nobody mentioned the Xterra? Those things look bad a** lifted up on mud tires and are very capable.

[DJButton]

I can't believe this being a NISSAN site and nobody mentioned the Xterra? Those things look bad a** lifted up on mud tires and are very capable.

There are actually a few guys around the board with some very well built Xterra's, they just haven't chimed in. It's more fun to hate on Chrysler products.

[AZhitman]

Oh don't get me wrong, they suck on the street in stock form, but hardly nobody buys them for street use. Off road they're brilliant, there's nothing like them IMHO.

FIrst up, they're spring under axle from the factory, so for a measly $25(with the proper tools) it can be switched to spring over axle, which provides 3" or so of lift and clearance for 31" tires. If you want even mor lift you can use a set of stock 87-95 Jeep Wrangler springs that provide about 4.5-5" of lift and usually people are throwing them away too. That's just a few suspension options out of the vast array of combinations available.

The stock 1.3 isn't that powerful, but you can help it with proper gearing or a simple engine swap. A 1.6l from a Geo Tracker/Suzuki Sidekick is a fairly painless and common swap.

Stock axles are fine up to a certain point, but most people swap in Toyota pickup axles or Dana 44 axles from a Jeep.

That's just scratching the surface or the endless amount of support and mods available for them. Most of the above can be done on a pretty thin budget too and most people I know have stuck to pretty cheap builds with plenty of success. I know some people that have went nuts with them and spent many thousands of dollars too though.

^ Yep.

Also, there's a sweet gear reduction case available that really makes 1st gear awesome. I went to the dunes with some people that had Samurais... very cool standing on the driver's seat, in first gear, letting it idle up a dune (when other 4x4's with paddle tires and 200 more horsepower were flinging sand and getting nowhere).

BTW, I've flipped a Samurai before (on a bet in high school)... let's just say it was a desert party, there was lots of adult beverages involved, and it wasn't a terribly bright move... but I won a new set of tires for my efforts.

[AZhitman]

HOLD ON... That cheaply made POS costs 50 grand? I hope you told them to go f*** themselves...

Actually, I was very appreciative... it belongs to the owner of the shop that was working on my C5. He graciously loaned it to me to drive while the work was being done.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Neither a Raptor nor a Hummer is worth the money.

Agreed. Raptors are really nice trucks but WAY too pricey. H1s are ridiculously huge, to the point that it hinders offroad capability in the kind of recreational situations we're talking about here. The H3 Alpha is actually a very nice truck, but once again you're up in $40k+ territory.

I'd rather just buy a 1st gen Xterra S/C. Maybe cram an LS3 in it. LS3 makes everything better.

[alms24sebring]

BTW, I've flipped a Samurai before (on a bet in high school)... let's just say it was a desert party, there was lots of adult beverages involved, and it wasn't a terribly bright move... but I won a new set of tires for my efforts.

That makes it all worth it then IMO, and its a cool story