Building an offroad machine
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 11,945
Likes: 3
From: Spokane, WA
Originally Posted by davethecow
Behold the magic powers of the sawzall.
Big tires no lift!
Big tires no lift!
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 8,238
Likes: 3
From: Oregon
Thank you! All these knuckleheads are always talking about "zero lift all sazwall" but lets face it, to run real tires you've GOT to jack it up otherwise your getting into your body mounts not to talk off dragging your undercarriage over everything.
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,976
Likes: 0
From: Rep. of Texas
Hell, I was just joking about the sawzall... I wouldnt sawzall my truck until it had 12-14 inches of lift and I still needed more clearance. That would be to avoid the dreaded body body lift.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 9,236
Likes: 12
From: Senoia, GA
Originally Posted by proeliator
Thank you! All these knuckleheads are always talking about "zero lift all sazwall" but lets face it, to run real tires you've GOT to jack it up otherwise your getting into your body mounts not to talk off dragging your undercarriage over everything.
). so yes sawzall is the best way to go and THEN lift as little as possible. that is unless you are going for a guiness book of world records or just to impress the local high skool girls
-cutts-
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 8,238
Likes: 3
From: Oregon
I knew that would bring you out of the woodwork 
Yes, low cog is your friend. You have to be a much more skilled driver to negotiate the same obstacles when you rig has a high cog
The point is, although the sawzall IS our friend some lift will always be neccesary. I think people get a little too excited and forget about those pesky little details like articulation and body mounts, etc. At one time the craze was how high could you go, and now it seems to be how low you can go. Pretty soon you'll see slammed wheelers with ground effects.
Yes, low cog is your friend. You have to be a much more skilled driver to negotiate the same obstacles when you rig has a high cog
The point is, although the sawzall IS our friend some lift will always be neccesary. I think people get a little too excited and forget about those pesky little details like articulation and body mounts, etc. At one time the craze was how high could you go, and now it seems to be how low you can go. Pretty soon you'll see slammed wheelers with ground effects.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,436
Likes: 0
From: South Dakota
Originally Posted by proeliator
At one time the craze was how high could you go, and now it seems to be how low you can go. Pretty soon you'll see slammed wheelers with ground effects.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 851
Likes: 0
From: Longvalley, SD
Originally Posted by RawPower
You know, most normal people would probably back off a little or get an exo after they rolled their bogger... 
Of course you wouldnt though....
Of course you wouldnt though....
Its Comin Right for us!
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 12,144
Likes: 2,631
From: GA
i resent that cutts....after 2 years of tweaking, i have a suspension i love, about 6.5 inche in the front with 44's.....NO rubbing on ANYTHING...fullstuff on either side i can turn the wheels lock to lock.
I still say to each and his own..i have never had problems with being too low, but my junk has been rolled before from being too high. for what i do....i like my "lowrider"
I still say to each and his own..i have never had problems with being too low, but my junk has been rolled before from being too high. for what i do....i like my "lowrider"
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!
Joe Kucinski
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 11,945
Likes: 3
From: Spokane, WA
Originally Posted by KubotaOrange76
but my junk has been rolled before from being too high.
I do agree that the small/no lift trucks typically have poor articulation too. I guess a lot of it is in the design though, but you can only go so far before you put a leaf spring into the frame.
Oh, and small trucks are for wussies.
Its Comin Right for us!
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 12,144
Likes: 2,631
From: GA
yes it is due to operator error, but if it was at the height it is now, i dont think it would have happened. lol i dont care anyway...i wasnt driving.
mine has all the articulation i could ask for, i dont recall ever wishing i had more. if i ever get off my sorry but and build some shackle/slip joint ladder bars, the back will move much more freely, as of now most of my flex is up front, and i can lift a tire a little over 5 feet off the ground how she is now
haha i honestly dont know how much lift i have, i know its under seven....rear skyjacker 4 inch lift leaves with a long aal in the installed up front. i know i dont want anymore....unless they ever come out with a bogger in the 46-47 range thats under 20 inches wide!
mine has all the articulation i could ask for, i dont recall ever wishing i had more. if i ever get off my sorry but and build some shackle/slip joint ladder bars, the back will move much more freely, as of now most of my flex is up front, and i can lift a tire a little over 5 feet off the ground how she is now
haha i honestly dont know how much lift i have, i know its under seven....rear skyjacker 4 inch lift leaves with a long aal in the installed up front. i know i dont want anymore....unless they ever come out with a bogger in the 46-47 range thats under 20 inches wide!
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 640
Likes: 0
From: fallon nv
I dont build my rigs for looks,i build them for the conditions that im running in.
I live about two hours from the Rubicon trail and i wheel it quite offten.Iv also ran the hammers as well as johnson valley calif.
I would like to see sombdy with 12" of lift 44s go the places i go,it just wont happen.I watched a guy with a short bed truck with 42s do an endo on the dump bump in Moab ut,had he had a longer wheelbase maybe he would of made it,but i dont think so,his truck was not set up for the terain.
Yes i sawzalled the heck out of my fenders and no i dont get high centerd on every boulder. I may have gained about 3" of lift from the re enginering of my suspinsion and i run 36s.
I built my trucks for the conditions i choose to play in and it works for me
I live about two hours from the Rubicon trail and i wheel it quite offten.Iv also ran the hammers as well as johnson valley calif.
I would like to see sombdy with 12" of lift 44s go the places i go,it just wont happen.I watched a guy with a short bed truck with 42s do an endo on the dump bump in Moab ut,had he had a longer wheelbase maybe he would of made it,but i dont think so,his truck was not set up for the terain.
Yes i sawzalled the heck out of my fenders and no i dont get high centerd on every boulder. I may have gained about 3" of lift from the re enginering of my suspinsion and i run 36s.
I built my trucks for the conditions i choose to play in and it works for me
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 8,238
Likes: 3
From: Oregon
Thats nice 
Its just ignorant to say "nobody with x size lift or x size tires can co where I go". That ignores driver skill or who the vehicle is set up to articulate. I hear this same old tired line up at TSF from the guys with the little trucks all the time......then I run the line with my monstrosity and make them look like idiots. Which, really isn't that hard.
Its just ignorant to say "nobody with x size lift or x size tires can co where I go". That ignores driver skill or who the vehicle is set up to articulate. I hear this same old tired line up at TSF from the guys with the little trucks all the time......then I run the line with my monstrosity and make them look like idiots. Which, really isn't that hard.
Last edited by proeliator; Aug 2, 2005 at 11:47 PM.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 444
Likes: 0
From: Duncan,OK
Originally Posted by davethecow
I built my trucks for the conditions i choose to play in and it works for me
That pretty much says it all.
Ya'll would most likley laugh at my latest rig. It was once a 77 CJ 7 now with no body it's a unpainted caged 4X4 buggy with a home brewed 4" lift 32" Baja Claws 302 FI with 400TH tranny. Built to play on the river,where it's mostly sand and water. Total investment 1200.00
We get laughed at alot but I just grin and say bring it on with your big bad mega bucks rig and just try to keep up and don't get stuck.
Anyway there's no right or wrong way to build as long as it fits your purpose. So whether you use a sawsall , gas axe or an english wheel to fit the sheet iron,or you use no lift at all or you need oxygen when you climb in it. Does it make you
Pat