I was at the deer lease this weekend and one of the guys asked another (who has one of those four-door Jeep things out there) if he would follow him down to the canyon to see if he could get up in a 2wd truck.

I tell him I drive up that canyon all the time in my 2wd, no worries. He's surprised, "Really, I had a diesel 4wd and it couldn't get up that hill. Cool."

When I was out a couple of weeks ago a cold front blew through and the dirt roads on the property started to ice up. I packed up and beat it to try and stay in front of the worst of it. There were a couple of spots where it was pretty squirrelly and one of the cattle guards was dicey but made it out. Another guy left about an hour after I did in his diesel truck and couldn't get up one of the hills.

There's a reason folks put straight sixes with a manual transmission into pickups all those years.

 

Keep on keepin' on Baron.

 

Keep in mind though that a diesel truck is probably in the 8,500lb range.

A guy I used to work with back at the machine shop had a 70 Series Toyota Land Cruiser. He swapped out the six for a SBC. It was one of those swaps that required a lot of custom fabrication to make the engine fit, AKA beyond the point of no return. That truck was more or less only used for extreme off-road adventures. The SBC never had the torque that his old six had, and for that reason he severely regretted doing the swap.

 

At least 3 or 4 times every summer I'll be out back at the fire pit and I'll hear the sound of stuck pickups. There are trails across the road that people run pretty frequently. I usually give it about a half an hour or so for the kids to figure it out on their own but most times I end up having to go tug someone out. Without fail its always some jacked up new piece of machinery and my 30 year old truck always gets sneers and jeers. Again, without fail, she pulls them out every time. The whole time I ignore their requests for what kind of engine I have till the very end. Before I leave I say, its just a six cylinder. The look on their faces is always priceless as they stand there trying to figure it out.

 

A little OT but a similar tale of an engine mismatch:

A friend with a 454 Suburban contractors vehicle was unhappy with the 11 mpg he was getting. He took out the 454 and put in a 283 V8. End result: 11 mpg

 

Too big and too little?

 

In my case, those diesel trucks are just so front heavy they couldn't get the rear wheels to bite.

Someone in the Bronco forum or on youtube swapped a four cylinder turbo diesel into a Bronco. It was kind of cool but with low range 4wd and a granny gear my Bronco plugs along really well off-road. Plus it's simple and ultra reliable. Knowing you can limp home even if you do something stupid is worth a lot.

 

Hail Gallaxhar!

I pull people out with my Heep Cherokee with the inline in it. I have yet to fail pulling someone out with it yet. The looks on peoples faces is priceless!

So far, only pulled one person out with my 'Beauty' F150 300...

Hail 4.9L! ... huh doesn't have the same ring

 

So my buddy is out at the lease this past weekend and he was surprised my 2wd truck could make it up the canyon too. I guess 4wd is so common now nobody ever learns to take a 2wd truck off road. When I was a pup my uncles had large ranches down in the Hill Country and they drove everywhere on those properties in 2wd three-on-a-tree pickups rain or shine. I'm sure they had to walk and get the tractor every now and again but they crossed some pretty rugged ground when I rode with them.

I'll be singing a different tune the first time I'm out when it rains. I'm hoping to get the Bronco and its low range 4wd/granny gear on the property over Christmas break so I can really get around.

 

As a young guy myself, the train of thought is, "Offroad? 4x4 only." And it was embedded in my brain that way. Until one day I was out in the patch and thought to myself, "Hang on, 4x4 trucks were rare back in the day and their roads were worse!" 4x4 is not necessary. It helps, but it is not necessary.

 

My father owned a seismograph drilling company many years ago. Another name is doodlebugger. In any event, they worked all over West Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Not a four-wheeled drive vehicle in the company.
Dad said occasionally, they would have to use a big ole rig to pull a pickup out of trouble, but that was rare.
Flats were more of a concern then anything else.
For me, a four-wheeled drive truck would probably just get me in more trouble than I can get out of - kind of like having a winch on the front - kind of pulls you deeper into stuff you don't want.

 

That reminds me of the old maxim,

"Four wheel drive just means getting stuck in more inaccessible places."

 

But, where's the fun without getting stuck in far away and inaccessible places?

what would the bigfootsies and bear eat? what about them? HUH!?

jk. I just can't go back to 2wd without at least a traction aiding differential.

 

How silly of me - I guess Sasquatches need lovin' too.