Various considerations with trail driving
 

I was up in Colorado last week. The Ouray area specifically. I have never done any trails before and really had no idea what the various ratings were. I also was not sure what my rover was capable off with no modifcations but terra grapplers. We rented a 4 door rubican (sorry) to just get an idea. The place sent us ona trail that was mostly 2 but got up to a 4 toward the top. It was Yankee boy basin. I had alot fo fun. Interested in what modifications can be made or have to be made for that type of trail.

Lift?
Larger tire?
Skid plates?
If you do a lift do you need to upgrade the axel?
When you do a lift should you convert to shock and spring at that time?

Has any on here done the Yankee boy basin? I have a yakima roof rack system on the top now for the kayak. So mostly just interested in the upgrades for hitting the trails. Like I said it was a good time.

Thnaks for any pointers

Oh and I had posted some time back with all sorts of problems. I am happy to say that I found a great mechanic and between him and some work myself the truck is currently sound. No service engine soon or amigos etc... No major leaks just running well. Drove it from OKC to Ouray and she ran like a champ.

all i've added to my rig so far is Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs, and she'll keep up with all but the most extreme jeeps. i obviously can't do big rock crawling due to ground clearance and suspension travel, but i'm sure you could have done anything that jeep did.
my future add ons are a Center Locking Diff, front and rear air lockers, 2" OME lift, winch bumpers, and skid plates. after all that...she'll be ready for anything.
you'd be surprised what a stock rig can do.
enjoy the trails.
jon
if you want to see trails i go on, check out videos of Tahuya South Loop. i haven't made any videos yet, but i'm gonna eventually.

I suspected I could have but since I had to get all the way back to Oklahoma I wanted to do some research first.

I am thinking 2inch lift, next size up for tires, and skid plates to start. Do most people go to shocks and springs when they do the lift?

Looks like some real mud on that trail.

If you're in OKC you should come down to Gilmer / Barnwell Mountain in TX. There's good wheeling where you are but there's at least two trails at BM you can do with a stock LR of just about any variety.

2" lift and proper 32" off-road tires will go a long way. More lift is possible but at least from what I'm reading, more than 2" and you start talking about many more mods to make the lift happen. However, lift isn't the end - all. Traction is huge, too as are approach and departure angles.

The bad thing about the Disco and really just about all 'modern' SUV body styles is they're pretty bad for ground clearance especially with steps, skirts etc. The GOOD thing about the LR is they do really well shedding those items. When you shed the front bumper and steps for an off-road bumper and proper rock sliders you gain quite a bit of clearance. It's like taking your Rover from wedding dress to Daisy Dukes.

Locking center and axle diffs are a must for the more-serious offroad situations and will make driving over just about any trail easier. The LR's traction control helps but it's hard to beat a real locker like a Detroit or ARB. If you do lockers and tires, might as well do gears.

The thing to be careful of is it's a slippery slope. $2000 worth of basic lift and tires can turn into $7000+ pretty easy if you go whole-hog for axle rebuilds, lockers, gears, bumpers, sliders, lift etc. You can do pretty much all of it yourself though I'd recommend a shop install the lockers and gears if you've never set up gears before (or seen it done at least).

FWIW good luck and hope to see you on the trail sometime.

I did a real quick search. Is this the place you mention?

Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area

Yeah I see that price can go as high as you want. I am still curious about the conversiontion to spring and shock. When it should be done and why you woudl choose heavy duty etc...

My first budget is around 1700. I would then have another 1500 in 6-8 months.

Curious what people think would be the best bang for buck? 2inch lift? Shock conversion?

Thats the place. Texas Rovers does a lot of work out there.
Texas Rovers: Gallery: SCARR

If you are interested, we go out there quite a bit for weekend events, etc. You should also look at attending SCARR next year. We close the whole park for 4 days, it is nothing but Rovers! Tons of fun.

Here are some pics from me at SCARR 2012 (@ Barnwell) when I had my RRS (i've gone backwards and now driving/repairing a 04 Disco)
https://picasaweb.google.com/1135292...3313/SCARR2012

I have never been that part of Texas. That part looks like it is pretty well doen up.

I've seen good, bad and ugly there. I have driven my 00 d2 there stock with running boards and street tires on 19"s. I'll grant you I had to select my trails carefully but you can still have a fun day of it.

BIG thing is you can ride in other LRs with people who already (edit-operators permitting of course!) spent their $ on mods and see what you like. If that's not an appealing concept I don't know what is. Kinda like being a grandparent. You can spoil the kids...

Then give them right back :)

You could of easily done yankee boy basin. Did you open your owners manual and look at your approach, departure, and break over angles? Have you looked at where your differentials are on the axle? Thats always the first place to start before renting a jeep and wanting to throw a bunch of accessories at it without even knowing what you got first.