So a 4runner was not enough and binge watching Narcos on Netflix couldn’t get you into a Land Cruiser. You need a full-size, an Exon-Valdez class rig. Roof Top Tent? That’s cute…You brought your actual living room and kitchen from home. Welcome to the sickness.
If you have spent anytime on Instagram you have quickly learned that unless it’s a Tacoma or a 4runner you are not allowed to have fun and if it’s not a Land Rover then your big ole pig is designated to fire roads only (or read most CA freeways). This is where I hope this post helps you. I don’t want to get caught up in the “he said, she said” but I do want to expand your horizons on the capability of full size rigs. If you have a family, or you simply like the idea of a nice slide in Four Wheel Camper, Hallmark, etc. Don’t believe the rumors. Your truck is not too big, your not going to get stuck pulling onto the shoulder of a dirt road.
The Length and Width Debate (SFW)
Yes, most full size rigs are wider than a Jeep or 4runner, but with each model year it seems these “trail ready rigs” sneak up to the full size width category. Then these pint-sized pipsqueaks add on tires with less backspacing, increase track width through long travel. This all actually lends itself as ammo to the full size debate. If being narrow was the end all goal then most of us are doing this wrong.
Okay, well then the damn thing is too long. It’s like a party barge and a homemade teeter-totter waiting to happen. To that one, it’s a yes and a no. Yes the rigs have some length to them. Overall Wheel Base lengths can be between 130-176 inches. While the potential of going over razor back trail obstacles or a steep point could lead to high centering there is also this other really nice quality to being super long…. Climbing and Decent. I will tell you between my Jeep YJ and my Dodge Ram 2500 the Dodge feels 3x’s as stable climbing or dropping than the Jeep. With Length means the rig does not want go bumper over tea kettle when going down a steep decline and when you are nosing up a steep incline the rig will benefit from length helping keep the front axle planted and fight the desire to lift a front wheel or transfer weight to the rear of the vehicle.
All challenges aside I will tell you, a well-built ¾-1 ton rig is a hard, hard, rig to beat in capability and build out.
FIRST LEARN TO PICK A LINE.
This is unfortunately something you cannot purchase out of catalog or finance with the rig. No amount of money makes up for learning to pick a good line. I beg you to go out with friends and start moderately trying hard and harder obstacles, feeling your rigs suspension work under you, learning what your rig CAN and CANNOT do. I was up in Big Bear this weekend with several full size rigs and was riding in one that I just finished a build out on. We came up to a connector trail called 3N08, the trial is not a tough one but definitely a fun trail for people first learning the capabilities of their rig. As we tooled down the trail we were stopped by 3 JK Jeeps, all telling the full-size we were riding in; the trail is too narrow; you will never make it; there’s a rock garden,” “you don’t have enough clearance.” I loved as these individuals who did not even know of our existence in the cosmos 2 seconds ago and were now informing us of the capability of our rigs. In these situations focus on YOU and your rig, know YOUR OWN capability. Do not trust “random spotters,” a gentleman who owns a an SUV will see a different line than what you may need. Remember, “Trust but Verify.” I love a second set of eyes, but if I am seeing a problem, I don’t let the second set convince me beyond my gut. At the end of the day the “helpful trail people” aren’t going to drop me off at work in the morning. This may sound counter-intuitive but wheel a stock full size rig a few times, again, find it’s weaknesses: Does the truck not do well if the front right tire is in a hole and the left rear wheel is one too? Does the truck struggle with spinning only one front wheel trying to pull the rig through things? Are you sure your rear diff is not an open diff (aka, no traction aid, lsd, peg leg, one wheel spins only etc.) Knowing your rig better than anyone else is what will make you great in your own rig. Do not show up to a trail with owner’s manual in hand trying to learn how to put it in decent mode (just don’t.)
MAINTANENCE ABOVE ALL
These rigs weigh 7200 pounds plus out of the box without add-ons.
-Do not skimp on things like tie rods, drag links, track bars, u-joints, transmission and t-case services and BRAKES. Yes everything is built like a brick house, but they are only as good as their maintenance.
-Rigs that I know spend a lot of time in low speed, 4x4, sluggin around 10-12K in weight on back roads I recommend transmission services at 30,000 miles (drain and fill fluid, replace filters at 60k.) Another way to check this is just look at the fluid color, Red is good, burgundy not so good, orange no bueno. Fresh fluid is a key component to off setting pricey transmission rebuilds.
-Check gear oil- I put this in its own category because this should be checked based on 2 things, I like to take a peak every 10k, it’s easy to do and it helps make sure the diffs are not doing anything weird; however, after ANY TRIP in which you encountered nasty mud or water crossings do your self a favor and check. We had a customer a few years ago that had to reseal both his ARB’s and complete whole differential rebuilds after failing to check his fluid after a water crossing. We only checked after the tech noticed a whine during a test drive when he finished an oil change. The diff fluid had the consistency of Yoo-hoo. The customer admitted that he had not been off road in over a year and the rig mostly sat. Take 10 minutes, save $3 grand+.
-I would like to also note here that if you drive an automatic, which is 99% of the world, these rigs do benefit from transmission coolers and “deep transmission pans.” Remember every quart extra to a transmission has the benefit of removing 5-7 degrees in temperature. AFE, ATS, Mag-Hytec, all have good solid transmission pans that add a few extra quarts and while you are going 5 mph up a rocky trail with 10,000 pounds of dispersed-ness, you might as well protect your investment.
If you have spent anytime on Instagram you have quickly learned that unless it’s a Tacoma or a 4runner you are not allowed to have fun and if it’s not a Land Rover then your big ole pig is designated to fire roads only (or read most CA freeways). This is where I hope this post helps you. I don’t want to get caught up in the “he said, she said” but I do want to expand your horizons on the capability of full size rigs. If you have a family, or you simply like the idea of a nice slide in Four Wheel Camper, Hallmark, etc. Don’t believe the rumors. Your truck is not too big, your not going to get stuck pulling onto the shoulder of a dirt road.
The Length and Width Debate (SFW)
Yes, most full size rigs are wider than a Jeep or 4runner, but with each model year it seems these “trail ready rigs” sneak up to the full size width category. Then these pint-sized pipsqueaks add on tires with less backspacing, increase track width through long travel. This all actually lends itself as ammo to the full size debate. If being narrow was the end all goal then most of us are doing this wrong.
Okay, well then the damn thing is too long. It’s like a party barge and a homemade teeter-totter waiting to happen. To that one, it’s a yes and a no. Yes the rigs have some length to them. Overall Wheel Base lengths can be between 130-176 inches. While the potential of going over razor back trail obstacles or a steep point could lead to high centering there is also this other really nice quality to being super long…. Climbing and Decent. I will tell you between my Jeep YJ and my Dodge Ram 2500 the Dodge feels 3x’s as stable climbing or dropping than the Jeep. With Length means the rig does not want go bumper over tea kettle when going down a steep decline and when you are nosing up a steep incline the rig will benefit from length helping keep the front axle planted and fight the desire to lift a front wheel or transfer weight to the rear of the vehicle.
All challenges aside I will tell you, a well-built ¾-1 ton rig is a hard, hard, rig to beat in capability and build out.
FIRST LEARN TO PICK A LINE.
This is unfortunately something you cannot purchase out of catalog or finance with the rig. No amount of money makes up for learning to pick a good line. I beg you to go out with friends and start moderately trying hard and harder obstacles, feeling your rigs suspension work under you, learning what your rig CAN and CANNOT do. I was up in Big Bear this weekend with several full size rigs and was riding in one that I just finished a build out on. We came up to a connector trail called 3N08, the trial is not a tough one but definitely a fun trail for people first learning the capabilities of their rig. As we tooled down the trail we were stopped by 3 JK Jeeps, all telling the full-size we were riding in; the trail is too narrow; you will never make it; there’s a rock garden,” “you don’t have enough clearance.” I loved as these individuals who did not even know of our existence in the cosmos 2 seconds ago and were now informing us of the capability of our rigs. In these situations focus on YOU and your rig, know YOUR OWN capability. Do not trust “random spotters,” a gentleman who owns a an SUV will see a different line than what you may need. Remember, “Trust but Verify.” I love a second set of eyes, but if I am seeing a problem, I don’t let the second set convince me beyond my gut. At the end of the day the “helpful trail people” aren’t going to drop me off at work in the morning. This may sound counter-intuitive but wheel a stock full size rig a few times, again, find it’s weaknesses: Does the truck not do well if the front right tire is in a hole and the left rear wheel is one too? Does the truck struggle with spinning only one front wheel trying to pull the rig through things? Are you sure your rear diff is not an open diff (aka, no traction aid, lsd, peg leg, one wheel spins only etc.) Knowing your rig better than anyone else is what will make you great in your own rig. Do not show up to a trail with owner’s manual in hand trying to learn how to put it in decent mode (just don’t.)
MAINTANENCE ABOVE ALL
These rigs weigh 7200 pounds plus out of the box without add-ons.
-Do not skimp on things like tie rods, drag links, track bars, u-joints, transmission and t-case services and BRAKES. Yes everything is built like a brick house, but they are only as good as their maintenance.
-Rigs that I know spend a lot of time in low speed, 4x4, sluggin around 10-12K in weight on back roads I recommend transmission services at 30,000 miles (drain and fill fluid, replace filters at 60k.) Another way to check this is just look at the fluid color, Red is good, burgundy not so good, orange no bueno. Fresh fluid is a key component to off setting pricey transmission rebuilds.
-Check gear oil- I put this in its own category because this should be checked based on 2 things, I like to take a peak every 10k, it’s easy to do and it helps make sure the diffs are not doing anything weird; however, after ANY TRIP in which you encountered nasty mud or water crossings do your self a favor and check. We had a customer a few years ago that had to reseal both his ARB’s and complete whole differential rebuilds after failing to check his fluid after a water crossing. We only checked after the tech noticed a whine during a test drive when he finished an oil change. The diff fluid had the consistency of Yoo-hoo. The customer admitted that he had not been off road in over a year and the rig mostly sat. Take 10 minutes, save $3 grand+.
-I would like to also note here that if you drive an automatic, which is 99% of the world, these rigs do benefit from transmission coolers and “deep transmission pans.” Remember every quart extra to a transmission has the benefit of removing 5-7 degrees in temperature. AFE, ATS, Mag-Hytec, all have good solid transmission pans that add a few extra quarts and while you are going 5 mph up a rocky trail with 10,000 pounds of dispersed-ness, you might as well protect your investment.
