jeepsuck

so i took my 92 W250 off road for the first time and i thought maybe i would share my experience.

i took her out to the mojave desert in california. i met my freind in his 05 Ram 1500 4x4 at the trail head. the first thing i tell him is:" Remember, i dont have independent suspension like you so i cant go out pre-running the desert like a mad man without rattling something apart!" he looks at my like "yeah, whatever" and proceeds to lead the way like a complete maniac forcing me to follow him at speeds higher than i would really like to go. the roads were very rocky, for the most part. the truck handled them quite well in 4hi. after the maniacal 5 mile race through rocky trails going up and down hills, we decended onto the wash area where southern california Edison has their super high voltage lines and service roads. the trails flatten out here, and are mostly loose sand. this is where i noticed the 3/4 ton truck/cummins combo arent the best for soft sand situations. granted, i do have older A/T's in neet of replacement. she did pretty well in the soft sand actually, provided we were not trying to conquer any uphill grade. right now mojave has decent ground cover plant life, but if you stir up the sand with your tires you will sink down. i was unable to climb certain hills in my truck that my freind in his 1500 could climb like no other. independent suspension seems to really make the difference in soft sand. it enables you to go fast enough to stay on top of the sand without sinking or breaking something. my biggest problem may have been fear of breaking something on my sole bread winning vehicle. i was not willing to charge up the hill at high speeds trying to stay on top of the sand.

anyway, i've rambled long enough.

what experiences have you guys had with your 1st gen diesel trucks off road?

crunchybuttr

I've ony driven on the rocky, wet, fire roads in mountains around here, and she does fine, BUT sometimes it seems like the suspensions too stiff to really hug the trail.... you have to go pretty slow or just bounce right off the side . Just curious, Jeep, did you lower the pressure in your tires before going out on the sand??? I know that makes a big difference in sinking or floating.
Crunch

jeepsuck

No, i did not lower the pressure before going out on the sand. my reasons were two fold. first, i was totally ill-prepared. i did not have a tire gauge. second, i had no intention of driving off-trail. the only reason i was off trail on a hill was because my not so sharp freind got his Ranger stuck and guilt tripped me into trying to get the dodge up and pull him out. when they saw me struggling to make it up the hill in the sand someone asked if i wanted to deflate my tires a little bit, but i declined. i had no desire to make it up to his truck. he kept insisting that this nylon rope he had would pull him out and he would not hear otherwise. i knew better but hes bull headed and wont listen.
in all fairness, i could probably have done a little better had i aired-down. im running e-load range @ 50psi. next time i will be sure to bring a tire gauge. i would also like to bring a mini 12v compressor so i can fill back up, as it is a good 15-20 miles to the next gas station.

Mr. Plaine

my dodge sucks off road, especially with the stock tires, i just got some 33x12.5's and it does a lot better, i took it out to the dunes in pismo. Your friends 1500 did a lot better for more reasons than ifs, your motor weighs roughly 1100lbs, his weighs probably 450lbs. and everything that follow weighs more. over all he has better wieght distribution and is lighter, that makes a HUGE difference off road. Your truck is made to pull a load down the highway not take the hits off road like a trophy truck, not that you cant go have fun with it but 1500$ VW bug or buggy with a few cheap tweaks would go twice as fast as your friends 1500 out there. Playing out there is fun, we always take the rock crawlers to a place just south of Barstow.

Ian-

fearthedeere

Well i found they have the power to off road, but bald tires and one wheel wonder makes it a challenge

mhuppertz

I pulled off the pavement into sand in Las Lunas NM the other day and got stuck immediately! It was embarrassing locking the hubs in front of every one at Sonic......

kc8ksg

My CTD doesn't do as well off road nearly as well as my gen II 1/2 ton gasser does, you can feel how heavy the engine is and almost need 4x4 immediatly, once in 4x4 it does pretty wel though but bigger wider tires do help. As for IFS, he'll be okay till he beats on it to hard and breaks a torsion bar, I'd rather have an SFA any day!!!


Chris

mhuppertz

Yea, REAL Power Wagons have solid axles and leaf springs!

jeepsuck

the new power wagon does have solid axles, no leaf springs though. i like the selectable lockers and and automatic sway bar disconnect. hidden winch is nice too. now that i've had my CTD off road i can see why they did not offer it in the PW. its weight is definatly noticed off road.

IFS is great if you plan on tooling around on loose sand at high speeds, it cant be beat. just ask a Hummer (a real hummer )

mhuppertz

DC could easily stick in a 4BTA and treak it to the power levels of a stock 5.9, with 33% better mileage to boot. I don't think a 4BT weighs too much more than a big gasser....

I'm not sure why DC didn't go with the 4BT in the Dodges to begin with, at least as an option. Don't get me wrong, I love the locomotive engine I have under my hood, but the 4BT would be a sweet motor in a "Macho" style Power Wagon, or any short bed Dodge truck. I know a guy who has put one in a CJ7 and a 55 Chubby 4x4 with great sucsses (the Chubby will need anti-rejection drugs for the rest of it's life!). Thet have great power and get in the high 30's MPG.

I'd be fun burning Ferds and Chuubies with a 4 rattle!

jeepsuck

it was my understanding that the 4BT is quite doggish in a full size pickup, but i cannot speak from any real experience. i dont see why it couldnt be made to make power, but again, i am completely ignorant in this matter. i still consider myself diesel-retarded. i understand basics but i know nothing of the power game.

mhuppertz

No way. They are strong when pumped up. You could get them stock with I think up to 130HP, and that isn't far from 160. My friends truck gets up and goes, and the jeep was down right scarry with power. He used an NV4500 and NP205 in both.