What's a good vehicle for off-road?

[Dariusz Salomon]

Did you think Hummer H3? I saw some good videos with them crawling up rocks and stuff. 3.7 is economical, short overhangs-just not much space in the boot but nothing roof rack can't rectify.

 

[letitsnow]

If I have learned anything about Stutaeng, he is a build not buy kind of guy. I like that.

On the UTV vs truck/jeep idea - most of the off roading that I do in my s10 is when its either cold or hot out - having a/c and heat is nice. Crawling along at 1-2 mph when it is 90 degrees out with black flies.... Something to consider, depending on how serious of a rig you plan to build.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

Stutaeng, I ended up having to cancel my Palo Duro trip because my wife and kids staged a mutiny. The idea of spending a weekend in a Jeep bouncing over rough terrain is no longer fun to them.

So probably leaving the JT stock and possibly pick up a SXS for my own offroad fun.

 

[618 Syndicate]

I've had a few off road capable rigs, RZR, CJ, square Burb, my daughter had an XJ, and I've had more K5's than I can remember.
What kind of wheeling you'll be doing determines what kind of rig you want. Fire roads, mud, forest, swamps etc all require different setups. See what works for others going where you want to go, and find your own variation on that theme.
Also as stated before, buying something done is usually quicker and cheaper than building your own, but it's less rewarding. What's important to you?

 

[618 Syndicate]

Did you think Hummer H3? I saw some good videos with them crawling up rocks and stuff. 3.7 is economical, short overhangs-just not much space in the boot but nothing roof rack can't rectify.

An H3 is built on the Colorado platform. An H2 is a Tahoe with a body kit. Unless you're buying an H1, you're paying extra for the Hummer name without any reason.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

An H3 is built on the Colorado platform. An H2 is a Tahoe with a body kit. Unless you're buying an H1, you're paying extra for the Hummer name without any reason.

I seem to recall the H2 had a bigger ring gear up front or something like that, but mostly ... yeah.

 

[Dariusz Salomon]

I seem to recall the H2 had a bigger ring gear up front or something like that, but mostly ... yeah.

An H3 is built on the Colorado platform. An H2 is a Tahoe with a body kit. Unless you're buying an H1, you're paying extra for the Hummer name without any reason.

True-it is. But since the question was about off road vehicle and Colorado is a pick up with massive rear overhang I deliberately said h3 since it seems proportioned better for the purpose of offroading.

 

[F4U-1A]

If I have learned anything about Stutaeng, he is a build not buy kind of guy. I like that.

On the UTV vs truck/jeep idea - most of the off roading that I do in my s10 is when its either cold or hot out - having a/c and heat is nice. Crawling along at 1-2 mph when it is 90 degrees out with black flies.... Something to consider, depending on how serious of a rig you plan to build.

I am still weathering cold an snow, BLACK FLIES! thanks, three more months and they will be here in force.

 

[stutaeng]

Thank you everyone for your input. That's really good advice you guys have provided. What I'm thinking using to 8 lug trucks for trailering the rig.

I was going to add additional criteria: a solid front axle from the factory and a possibility to do V8 swap. Well, it didn't take me long to find a viable option:

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

I had forgotten about that video series from LT...

I would probably gradually build a dedicated rig, non-road legal, less sensors/emissions stuff to deal with? Obviously, not going to jump and do something like on that video all at one.

@0xDEADBEEF how old are your kids? Teens? My wife is not at all the outdoors type of person, but I think she'll be okay with idea if kids come along...

 

[F4U-1A]

My 2010 JK Sport 2 door has (all OEM ) serving me fine here for the last 11yrs. Off Road and (enough winter), But come May, do not take the top off. BLACK FLIES!