I have NEVER been on any of the offroad trails in the mid west BLM land but the alure is strong. I have a 5th wheel camper/truck but have been considering trading them for a motorhome/JEEP combination.

Expense of the swap would be significant so my cheaper solution would be to just swap the truck for a more trail worthy 4X4 cummins. My question is a "trail worthy" 4x4 Dodge/Cummins an oxymoron? Could I safely handle maybe most but not all of the "jeep trails"? Is a truck just too big/heavy for them? Since I haven't been down one, I haven't got a clue what can really handle them.

Renting a jeep when I get there is always an option too..

 

The wheelbase on these trucks is too long and the front end is WAY too heavy (over 4,000 lbs). Any kind of soft ground and you're done. I've seen pics of where a jeep has gone by no problem, but that heavy front end just sank to the axles. Just buy a jeep and tow it behind the fifth wheel.

 

To me, I guess it would depend on what you mean by "Jeep Trails." Obviously width is a problem with a full size vehicle and turning radius is a second. People say "Jeep Trails" and to me that could mean a whole bunch of different things. From major rockcrawling to sightseeing on an old mining roads that a car could make it down.

My quad cab long bed actually does really well throughout many places here in the Black Hills on roads that aren't very well traveled. It actually flexes enough for most things, but I certainly am not going to follow a pack of Jeeps down a trail that I just shouldn't be going down. It gets me where I want to go and my two feet can do the rest (or one of my other vehicles).

If you're wanting rockcrawling stuff, here in the Hills buggy's are standard and don't bother with anything that has sheet metal attached! Full size rigs have little chance at making those kind of trails without damage and shouldn't due to trail damage they can cause.

Well, for very mild trail riding many full size vehicles can do ok. They are heavy and the length can lead to some very technical driving a small Jeep would have no problem with (think 180 point turns). Overall, its feasible, but it really can be a pain when some idiot took there quad cab long box down a long narrow road and they have to back up 5 miles to turn around.

Good luck on your decision. It really just depends on what your intentions are and what your definition of "Jeep Trails" are.

Have a good one.

 

If youre not talking about the extreme trails, then most of those areas have jeep rental places. Would prob be the cheapest way to go if thats all you would need the jeep for.

 

How about a truck camper and tow a wrangler? That's what we do and it works good for us. -Vic

 

Check out member 'Mad Max'. It may be more that you want.... but you don't have to go to this level.

MM

His buld up.

http://ramchargercentral.com/index.php?topic=49434.0

 

The CTDs will handle off road pretty good where they will fit

 

Right on Bob! Our trucks will go thru anything!

 

Speaking as someone who drives both a long bed quad cab Ram and a Jeep Wrangler - there is just no comparison off road! The truck is way too big - too heavy, too long, and too wide to handle most trails comfortably. As someone in the above post mentioned, it takes 40 acres to turn the truck around whereas the Jeep can do it on a dime. If a trail takes a sharp turn, that may be as far as you will go. There are places I'd like to go cut wood out here but the road up the side of the mountain does several zig-zags and the Ram is just too long to make the bend even with backing, back and forth. And the weight - I learned very quickly that soft, sandy terrain and stock tires do not mix. Trust me, it will NOT float over the surface the way the Jeep does. But to me, the biggest drawback has been the wheelbase. With stock tires there isn't enought ground clearance to do any serious trail riding. I have dropped my Ram onto the transfer case bash plate HARD a couple times to where it brought the truck to a sudden halt, going over rises ((humps, if you will) in the trail that I could have sworn I could clear with no problem. For sure they would not have been a problem in the Jeep (not lifted) nor even in my Quigley. Now, a lift and big tires would help a little, but they would just make the turning radius that much worse. I refuse to go that way because of the death wobble issues with the front ends on these things. And one last thing - the heavy duty suspension is great for hauling weight but it is too stiff to allow good articulation. It's too easy to get one front wheel and one rear wheel in the air and that's as far as you'll go - unless you spring for a locker that I hope ARB will release soon! And don't talk to me about the limited slip in the rear axle - that thing is a joke!

 

I agree, depending on the trail. now I had a Full size Bronco and I went on jeep trails, they were tight, had to fold mirrors half the time. We did everything from mud, woods, rocks, this and that. My father also did the trails in a 99 quad, short bed, and it was tough (he also bent his rear quarter) turning on a rock.

It really depends on your trails, if there ok enough for your truck you'd be good, but if your going over goey soft wet stuff, a lighter vehicle for sure. ATV's are always a great way too, very open

 

Appreciate the comments, lots of food for thought. I was more thinking of "tourist/logging trails" not serious rock crawling trails. I'm leaning towards trading into a 4x4 and just use it when it makes sense and rent a jeep when it doesn't. Be the cheapest and easiest in the long run. Common sense will be a good tool. I'll just follow the UPS drivers at first. They seem to go about everywhere... (-:}

 

I have had my dually a great many places people thought "their is no way a dually is on this trail" Yeah it has its down falls, but with low gears and a light foot it will idle dang near any way I point the front end.
Really it is 6 of 1 and half dozen of the other.
A full size with a mild lift and good tires will go just about any where. How ever a Jeep will never have the leg room a full size truck has... Something to consider if you and the people you take with you are tall.

 

As a guy who also owns both a Jeep Wrangler (heavily modified for off-roading) and a Cummins Ram, this guy nailed it. The Jeep floats over stuff that the Ram sinks in, and the Ram's sidesteps are permanently, uhh, massaged upward thanks to coming down hard on a rock. The Ram is OK for forest service roads, dirt driveways, etc--anything that looks like a "road" and is wide enough to be considered one. But you get onto something that looks more like a "trail" and trust me...you will be an unhappy camper with your Ram there.

Now, can you spend a ton of dough on your Ram to make it more off-road worthy (as in the above pics)? Sure. Will it help? Yep. Will it ever be as capable off road as a similarly-equipped Wrangler? Not even close. The Ram is the tow rig, plain and simple. Use the right tool for the job, ya know?

Now, all that said...I'd love to have the NV4500 in the Jeep for rock crawling. As an experienced off roader, I get tingly whenever I have to put the Ram in 4-lo and 1st gear, with all that low end torque and all of a half-mile an hour!