Dakboy
07-12-2001, 02:55 PM
I did some trail runs this past weekend with my '99 Dakota, a couple other Dakotas, a Ram, and some Jeeps (one or 2 CJs, mostly YJs and TJs, 4-bangers and inline-6es). We had a dedicated mud pit to play in and there were a couple muddy spots in the trail.
A lot of the Jeeps seemed to have trouble in the mud pit. The Ram and one of the Daks managed a few runs in 2WD.
I can't think of any Jeep that didn't have get their distributor wet. We had quite a bit of water on top of this mud pit. Maybe they just didn't have things sealed well for wet conditions? Or is this a common problem?
The Jeeps seemed to get stuck on the trail fairly easily, except for one TJ wearing 33" BFG M/Ts. The Ram had a 3" lift and 33" mudders, so of course he had no trouble. One particularly muddy spot, the CJ led, and with 31" M/Ts and a pair of lockers, he got stuck pretty quick on his first run. A YJ had similar difficulties. Of the 3 that attempted (we have a bypass around the mud), only the lifted TJ wearing 33s didn't need a tug. Both Dakotas on this run, V8, 3.55 open diffs, stock height (31x10.5 rubber, all-terrain), made it through pretty easy. I had seen this piece of trail previously, whereas none of the Jeep drivers had. I backed up, dropped into 4LO, and just kept the hammer down. The previous day, a '95 Dak with 31x9.5 SuperSwampers literally walked through this stuff.
This is clay-heavy mud that gets very slippery when wet.
We also had a tight uphill turn that a stock TJ had a lot of trouble getting up and around in front of me (looked like traction was his big problem), while I had no problems at all. This portion of the trail was dry.
I was previously high on finding a CJ to build up, but now I'm re-thinking it. I'm just curious as to whether you all think this was a case of driver error or maybe this is one type of terrain that a light, short wheelbase vehicle just doesn't like.
NOTE: This is not intended as a flame or attack. Simply observations I made and I'm looking for some insights from Jeep folks. I know Jeeps are a lot more capable than what I saw on this trip. I also know you guys can lay the smack down on my Dakota when things get really rough.
A lot of the Jeeps seemed to have trouble in the mud pit. The Ram and one of the Daks managed a few runs in 2WD.
I can't think of any Jeep that didn't have get their distributor wet. We had quite a bit of water on top of this mud pit. Maybe they just didn't have things sealed well for wet conditions? Or is this a common problem?
The Jeeps seemed to get stuck on the trail fairly easily, except for one TJ wearing 33" BFG M/Ts. The Ram had a 3" lift and 33" mudders, so of course he had no trouble. One particularly muddy spot, the CJ led, and with 31" M/Ts and a pair of lockers, he got stuck pretty quick on his first run. A YJ had similar difficulties. Of the 3 that attempted (we have a bypass around the mud), only the lifted TJ wearing 33s didn't need a tug. Both Dakotas on this run, V8, 3.55 open diffs, stock height (31x10.5 rubber, all-terrain), made it through pretty easy. I had seen this piece of trail previously, whereas none of the Jeep drivers had. I backed up, dropped into 4LO, and just kept the hammer down. The previous day, a '95 Dak with 31x9.5 SuperSwampers literally walked through this stuff.
This is clay-heavy mud that gets very slippery when wet.
We also had a tight uphill turn that a stock TJ had a lot of trouble getting up and around in front of me (looked like traction was his big problem), while I had no problems at all. This portion of the trail was dry.
I was previously high on finding a CJ to build up, but now I'm re-thinking it. I'm just curious as to whether you all think this was a case of driver error or maybe this is one type of terrain that a light, short wheelbase vehicle just doesn't like.
NOTE: This is not intended as a flame or attack. Simply observations I made and I'm looking for some insights from Jeep folks. I know Jeeps are a lot more capable than what I saw on this trip. I also know you guys can lay the smack down on my Dakota when things get really rough.