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bird with big dick posted:I'm sure I already posted this in here but I was looking for a different pic and saw it so I'm posting it again. The fact that you can rent poo poo like this in Moab is awesome and if I were rich I would start a foundation that paid for underprivileged automotive enthusiasts to fly to Moab and rent poo poo like this. This is oddly timely. I just found this thread today because I got back from Utah where we rented a jeep for a day to explore/hike Grand Staircase. I know very little about off roading beyond watching a handful of YouTube videos. As someone who has explored many forest service and BLM roads, but only cautiously in a basic 2wd, it was a ton of fun. The alternate route suggested to return by the rental people ended up being miles of thick mud from melting snow (not something I had intended to do). I'm amazed we didn't get stuck, given my complete lack of experience, but we managed. In hindsight it was a blast, if a bit intense at the time. It's completely empty out there in the winter. We saw a total of two other vehicles the entire day, and that included the most popular hiking trail in the area. And yeah, we saw lots of modded and souped up jeeps to rent in Moab. I don't know much about that stuff, but now I wished I had rented there, too. We were there primarily to hike, though. The whole experience has accelerated my unfortunate desire to buy a vehicle more capable of back road exploration. It's always been a thing I've enjoyed tagging onto our camping/hiking adventures.
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Feb 12, 2019 23:01
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Tremek posted:I wrote this back in February but I think it mostly holds up and is applicable: This is really helpful, thank you! I'm curious how your thoughts changes if it is a daily driver. After looking at used options like in your post, we're seriously considering a new 2020 4Runner. It'd be our only vehicle (and daily driver), so we'd like something with some modern amenities like adaptive cruise control, android auto, etc. Plus used 4Runner prices here in the PNW are silly high... Is that objectively stupid for any reason? We live in the city, so a second older vehicle would mean inconvenient street parking. And no garage or driveway to work on something older. It's awfully tempting to get something reliable and new, but having never bought not-used I'm wrestling with whether that's the right decision (or at least not a wrong one).
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Jul 28, 2019 18:24
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Evil SpongeBob posted:Great, thank you! I'm no experienced off roader, but we drive pretty deep down forest service and fire roads every weekend camping and hiking (and just to explore). A shovel is a basic and useful tool if you end up getting stuck. A first aid kit (not a bad idea in every vehicle, off road or not). Some water and food. More important if there's snow and/or you're heading way out, but it's always possible you could get stuck outside cell service over night. Tire repair kit doesn't hurt, but probably isn't really necessary. There are other things you can start bringing if you start doing it more regularly (basic recovery straps and shackles, traction boards, a small tool kit, etc.). But if you're just bombing around fire roads with a partner, you'll probably be fine. Solar Coaster posted:If you really enjoy it, look into all terrain tires for your ride. From there, based on your own adventures, you can determine what else you may need. Definitely agreed. Decent all terrain tires are probably the single biggest upgrade you can make to your vehicle.
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Jul 14, 2020 15:22
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ShaneB posted:- skeeter mesh window screens We got these a while ago and they've worked fine: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HYXZYMN/
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Mar 19, 2021 23:26
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I've loved our KO2s, especially off road and in the snow. And at 30,000+ miles they're still looking great. But they are definitely not inspiring on wet pavement. I can't really comment on how that compares to other tires, though, since they're my first all terrains.
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Nov 17, 2021 18:44
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I know absolutely nothing about winching, but I know that Colorado 4x4 Recovery and Rescue group uses a mixture of soft shackles and flatlink things, and they seem to know what they're doing when it comes to winches. The group seems pretty by the book and safety oriented, anyway. They don't appear to favor one over the other as far as I have noticed. The channel, in case anyone hasn't seen it and finds entertainment in offroad recovery stuff: https://youtube.com/c/Colorado4x4RescueandRecovery Justin King, one of the guys on that crew, posts longer less edited versions of the rescues as well: https://youtube.com/c/JustinKingOffroad
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May 18, 2022 21:09
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If you're asking specifically about off road capability, there are actually a lot of YouTube videos and channels with people using/comparing Outbacks and Foresters in mild to medium difficulty off road situations. My takeaway when we were cross shopping then years ago was it'd probably be completely adequate for our Forest Service and BLM road usage 90% of the time, sketchy some of the time, and very rarely incapable. But then we will also intentionally seek out more difficult roads sometimes just to explore. We ended up with a 4Runner instead, which we absolutely love. Other than all terrain tires (one size up), I've done no mods at all. But you pay for those 4Runner and Toyota badges, and the mpg isn't real fun with gas prices these days. Also it's just clearly a dated vehicle inside, in terms of layout and space usage especially. Sitting in our friend's new Highlander really emphasized that. It's a 12+ year old model and it feels like it. I will admit that I'd prefer Subaru AWD on winding mountain roads that have occasional patches of ice among otherwise dry pavement. It'd give me more confidence than part time 4wd and wondering each turn if I should put it on or not.
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Aug 17, 2022 16:30
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Atticus_1354 posted:I have zero desire for a 4runner and have hated everyone I've driven. I'm mainly looking for something to daily drive and travel in on the road. I have a diesel truck for hauling/towing and a jeep project for offroad. I just live on dirt roads and drive on I-10 (80mph cruising) a lot so something AWD with decent fuel mileage and room for the dog and me is what I'm after. I'd add AT tires because they are necessary on my roads and the lift would be later and just for fun and not because I'm trying to build an offroad monster. For mostly highways and sometimes mild dirt roads, I agree that a 4Runner is overkill and not worth the downsides (old platform, bad mpg, etc).
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Aug 17, 2022 18:54
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Does anyone have suggestions for true winter tires that have an aggressive enough tread to also handle moderately muddy/crappy forest service roads they are not snowy? Even though the BFG KO2s we have are 3 Peak Mt Snowflake or whatever, I've been pretty unimpressed by them on icy or packed snow roads (eg mountain roads to snowshoeing). On our previous (non-4x4) car we put unstudded Nokian Hakkapelittas on for winter and they were amazing in the mountains. It made our little 2wd Pontiac Vibe feel like it was just driving on wet pavement, while trucks and Jeeps slid around beside us. Obviously I wouldn't trust that car in snow deeper than a couple inches, though. But honestly most of our time is not spent in actual below freezing winter weather, and I don't want to get stuck on a muddy dirt road because we put on "street" winter tires. I see Blizzak DM-v2 are intended for trucks and SUVs, but I'm not sure if there's something better out there. I also wish they came in something closer to the ~32" we currently have (275/70r17, but really just for how they look).
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Nov 1, 2022 04:07
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Thanks for the replies. I figured there was nothing that would bridge that gap perfectly. Just to be clear, my two concerns are: 1. Driving on ice/packed snow, such as on occasionally plowed mountain roads with little traffic. 2. Driving on unpaved forest service roads below the snow line, which can get muddy in the winter (but have no snow). I don't plan on driving in any deeper snow, so I don't think the tread needs to accommodate that sort of thing. My understanding is that the real value in true winter tires comes from the rubber compound used, which stays pliable in sub-freezing temperatures. But I'm far from an expert. highme posted:I look at the K02s that came on my truck and really want nothing to do with that tread on PNW mountain roads in the winter. The water content of the snow is so high that it packs into sheets of ice way too easily. In Colorado or Utah I'd probably test it out, but here I'm gonna find some dedicated snows in a 32/33" tire to put on my factory 17s. I'm also in the PNW (northern Oregon, southern Washington), so I'm in the same situation. I've used the KO2s for a couple winters now, and they're just not great at all on slick stuff. I need to figure out what dedicated winter tires come in 32-33".
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Nov 1, 2022 18:31
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incogneato posted:Does anyone have suggestions for true winter tires that have an aggressive enough tread to also handle moderately muddy/crappy forest service roads they are not snowy? Just figured I'd follow up on this in case anyone cared. After some half-assed research and some back-and-forth debating whether just running the KO2s all winter would be enough, I'm likely just going to be throwing some Blizzak DMV2 on the 4Runner. They're allegedly for light trucks and SUVs, although nothing in the tread implies (non-snow) off road capability to me. But realistically I'll be spending very little time off-roading below the snow line during winter anyway. Most of our time off pavement is getting to hikes and camping, which in the winter means snowshoeing (so driving icy/snowy roads). I debated getting the Blizzak LT, meant for trucks. But as far as I can tell they're really just a higher load rating. They probably have better durability (so maybe also puncture resistance?), but it's unclear if they actually have better non-snow off-road performance. The Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT3 were tempting, but 50% more than the Blizzaks and difficult to find unstudded (I prefer no studs). I wouldn't be surprised if these are better than the Blizzaks off road, but I'm not convinced it'd be a huge difference. Others that caught my attention were the General Grabber Arctic LT and the Cooper Discoverer Snow Claw. Both at least look like the tread would be more aggressive off road. But I could find few reviews, and the ones I did weren't especially convincing. And frankly by this point I was tired of endless researching. So in the end I decided to just go with the Blizzaks for their reputation in ice and snow performance. We'll see if I regret it and end up getting stuck in some mud. I'll just try to be proactive switching back to the KO2s in spring.
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Dec 5, 2022 02:04
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FogHelmut posted:BFG KO2s have been fantastic in the dry and the desert, but this is the first time I've had them in these conditions. That has been my experience as well (in a 4Runner, for whatever that's worth). In winter I'm rarely on anything other than pavement or ice/snow, so I bit the bullet and put Blizzaks on this year. They are absurdly good on icy mountain passes and snow-covered parking lots. I can't say how they'd be in deeper off road snow, although I've seen some videos where they seem fine. I do worry about the shoulder season when there's still some snow and ice up high but lower elevation roads are getting muddy. I'll probably err on the side of switching back early. But man, after a few years of being nervous about every winding turn driving up to go snowshoeing, it's a breath of fresh air. 4wd + true winter tires makes ice feel like wet pavement.
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Feb 5, 2023 02:41
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Ehud posted:Thanks for all the tips. I might just head out with nothing but google maps and some pre-trip research and see how that goes, then see if I feel the need to get Gaia. I'm sure this is stating the obvious, but just in case some people aren't aware: you can download huge swaths of Google Maps for offline use. I have two whole states in mine because the space used is relatively small and then I never have to think about it before heading out. I do the same for Gaia, but that takes quite a bit more space on my phone. Worth it to me personally, but probably not really necessary. Note that at least around me (Oregon/Washington), Google Maps is decent but definitely lacks a lot of the smaller forest service and BLM roads. It reliably has the major ones and a seemingly random selection of small ones, but take what you see there with a grain of salt. You can also use Gaia for free (at least I think that's still true). You can't download for offline use and you can only use the main layer, but it's still a lot more detailed than Google Maps. If nothing else you could use it to scout out areas ahead of time and compare to what you'll be seeing on Google. Gaia has a website as well as the app (but maybe that's not visible in the free tier? No idea).
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Jun 7, 2023 19:33
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I need to replace my KO2s now that the winters are coming off for the season. I liked how 275/70 R17 looked (just one bump up from 265 stock for the 4Runner). But all the 275s in Wildpeaks and Toyos and stuff are +10lb E rated monsters, which I really can't justify for my light duty usage. And I can't fit 285s without a lift. Woe is me, I may just have to downsize back down to stock size.  Tempted by the Wildpeak AT4W.
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Mar 26, 2024 03:50
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