98 Explorer XLT V-8 AWD - Use for off-road driving

[Steve]

[jason]

Ok, here is my dumb question of the month...



What type of performance should I expect out of the AWD on my V-8 Explorer? I know it runs fine on dirt and mud (but then a 2WD probably would as well), but what about further off road than just dirt? Will it just spin the wheels if one leaves the ground (i.e. does it not have a locking differential?)



I’m not planning to climb Mr. Everest (I’m in Texas), but I would like to know what the trucks limits are. I know it doesn’t have low range gears for truly tough off road driving, but what can it do?



I guess that my real question is this, “what are the limits of this trucks off road driving abilities and what can I get away with without getting stuck or rolling it?”.



Any thought or advice in this area would be appreciated.



Jason



BTW, one last question… Does this truck have skid plates on it and if so, what items are protected?

[ExplorerEB96]

Of course you can go off road...any car or truck has this ability.....but... you are asking about performance...well....hhmm you should have just went ahead and gotten a 4x4 like the rest of us...but nooooo Jason has to be different.... well you can't do things like rock climbing...big bog holes so basically you probably can go anywhere where the land is relatively dry.. maybe you can climb some small hills but i wouldn't do anything steep (either up or down) basically anywhere the the Subaru Forester can go you can too...

[ExplorerEB96]

forgot one more thing.... have a friend with a 4x4, CB and winch ready just in case....you might want to bring at least 4 days worth of food and drink too.... (j/k)