Are we 4-wheelers?

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Tom

Tom

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I'm not sure we qualify as 4x4'ers, 4-wheelers, or off-roaders. We tow a 4x4 Suburban behind the coach, but rarely take offroad trails. Exceptions have included when we've followed forum staffer Betty and her hubby Terry, now serious off-roaders since they bought their Jeep.

 

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Yup!  Running trails will qualify you as a 4-wheeler!  I think of it as about four categories:

Mall crawlers - 4x4s that never leave the pavement
Trail runners - almost any 4x4 that can/will go off-road on easy to moderate trails
Rock crawlers - you are way past category two and look for harder obstacles to overcome
Crazy-serious rock crawlers - you have 40+" tires, Dana 60 axles, maybe a Hemi engine conversion
 
Thanks John. Trail running is about our limit with the Burb. I'm more inclined to take the Burb to off-the-beaten-path fishing holes.

A few years ago, while at the Thousand Trails stop of an RV Forum rally in Utah, I headed out to the small town of Loa and hired the services of a fishing guide to fish the Fremont River. The tires on his Suburban had seriously lowered air pressure, and he took me to places I couldn't imagine reaching in our Burb.

BTW the fishing was outstanding.
 
Yep, if you even know what "airing down" is, you probably qualify as an off roader! We fall into the top 3 of John's categories, depending on where we are in the country and what day it is.  We have an amazingly capable off roader that is nearly stock.  But it also doubles as a daily driver so I can't get too crazy with it just yet.  Maybe down the road......
 
We would be trail runners as our Canyon 4x4 has done trails around Moab, Quartzsite, and even Canyon de Chelly.
 
We're wannabes and will graduate to trail runners and possibly small rock crawlers when we make our fall trip to Moab. 

There is something about a 4x4 anything that is comforting.  All of our vehicles are either 4X4 or AWD and while it's true that we seldom NEED it, there have been times when we've been glad to have the option...usually in the winter when our little road that goes up hill in both directions doesn't get plowed by the county.
 
John,
Don't forget the mud crawlers, which is a popular 4x4 challenge in the low lying areas of the southeast and northeast, or the sand crawlers who frequent Florida's sandy forests or western dunes. Both I think rank with the rock-crawlers, though there are crazy-serious mud crawlers too. Those guys even have snorkels on their Jeeps!
 
Put me in the trail runner category.  Back roads and two ruts is about our extent just to get from here to there.  We sure enjoyed seeking out the back roads around Custer State Park and The Badlands.  But, with artificial heart parts and other ridiculous old fart problems and DW's artificial knees, it's probably not too smart to get somewhere and have to walk out.
 
I used to enjoy trail running with my stock 4x4's, saw some beautiful back country and great fishing holes. I had to be prudent though, if I broke on Sunday I walked on Monday. ;D DW  panics if I go off the pavement.
 
What about Sunshine VW who isn't 4WD but has been on more runs than a lot of stuff with 4WD?
 
Wendy said:
What about Sunshine VW who isn't 4WD but has been on more runs than a lot of stuff with 4WD?
Click to expand...

It does have 4 wheels :)  We used to do some trails with our Honda Accord.
 
I'm getting ready to put some new springs on my 75 International Harvestor Scout II and I need to order some from a custom spring mfg because the original ones are no longer made.  They asked me to describe my use.  I replied 98% highway, 2% moderate off road. Had to be honest.  ;)
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
Don't forget the mud crawlers, which is a popular 4x4 challenge in the low lying areas of the southeast and northeast, or the sand crawlers who frequent Florida's sandy forests or western dunes. Both I think rank with the rock-crawlers, though there are crazy-serious mud crawlers too. Those guys even have snorkels on their Jeeps!
Click to expand...

Oh yes, I forgot about the mudders.  I remember seeing some of them after a mud event when we lived in Florida - holy cow, what a mess!  Mud is very difficult to remove - I'm still dealing with dried mud the previous owner of our Rubicon graced the vehicle with.  If I wind up in mud, it's an unplanned event  :D.

While I love the technical challenge of rock-crawling, running Forest Service roads (for one example) is a whole bunch of fun.

Hey - we're off to a great start here in the 4-Wheeling board!  Thanks to everybody for checking in with comments.
 
Hey guys,

It's good to see there seems to be lots of motorhomers that like to go off road.  I've had dirt and dual sport bikes all my life. 4 years ago I bought my wife an ATV so she could see the back country that probably 90% of people never get to see.  She was never comfortable and was always just trying to concentrate on not falling on a motorcycle but could really have a great time on her new ATV.  So much so that I bought myself one too.  We still have the bikes and ATVs but we recently added a '97 Sahara to the fleet.  I love them all but I guess as I get older, having a roof to put on, heater or AC sure is  nice. Here in the Rockies, we may need AC when we start the trail and may need heat above 13,000 ft even when it's *100 in Denver.
  We have nothing but 4X4s as our daily drivers here in CO but the ole Wrangler just seems like 'off road' is what it's made for and as a bonus, it's easily towed and street legal to drive to town from the campsite. "Life is Good!"
  Now all the trails we have rode before, we will ride them for the first time in "Clyde". It reminds us of "Bonnie and Clyde" or a Model T but we love it. We're especially looking forward to Taylor Park, the San Juan Mtns and Moab and the San Rafael Swell is our fall , early spring and even winter destination.
  Thanks for adding this forum and maybe we'll see you on the trail sometime.  We  usually camp in the boonies often where a CL A should'nt go but it just gets in the bloodline I suppose.
 
Awesome, you should join us at the All 4 Fun run put on by the Mile High Jeep Club. Happy and safe wheelin!

And yes, you are we 4-wheelers!
 
Tom,

We certainly are trail runners and have had a lot of others follow us on many trips in QZ and Moab. Only had a Tracker and Grand Vitara but they would go anywhere I wanted and were surprisingly nibble on many trails. Not sure our Terrain will see much off roading but one never knows! ;D
 
  I forgot to say something.  Whether we are going ATV riding, dirt biking, boating , wheelin in the Jeep or many other activities, one thing that makes all of these more fun is the Camper.

Thanks for that tip and possible invite Hesforall.  I'm going to try to do some research to find out more about "All for Fun" and the "Mile High Jeep Club".  Is it the MHJC that maintains Red Cone trail? 

 
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