blazer's off-road ability - Page 2

I heard that lockers in the front really isn't a good iea anyway because especially in the front you need the one wheel to spin slower than the other for turning purposes. I would also love to do a 4.10 gear swap.

Unless you have a 5-speed, or a lucky ZR2 you can't use a locker, your front diff case will explode.
 
 
FYI, there's no way in heck a stock Blazer + better (factory sized!) tires + winch could do this.
 
I like my Blazer, but it just ain't gonna happen. I'd still try... But it ain't gonna happen
 

quote:

The two Wrangler Unlimited vehicles that completed this challenge were standard equipment Rubicon models. In addition to the standard equipment, both vehicles were fitted with Goodyear MT/R tires, electronic altitude measuring technology and winches.

ive taken my stock blazer through some pretty rough stuff. ive had it in mud deeper than 7/8 of the tires. it was ridicilous, i did get stuck in the end when i lost momentum, but i made it almost through the entire mud trench. it was about 100 feet long.

There's no doubt the Blazer does good in the mud
 
Stock height and stock sized tires... The Blazer just needs a real locker, then it'd be pretty damned close to the Jeeps performance...
 
However, you just can't get that kind of lift out of an IFS rig

yoy know they have had problems with those 4 dr wrangles? the fame starts to bend casue it wasnt designed apperently for the weight

Not surprising... Considering FJ Cruisers are ripping apart on the fenders

I think the reason a lot of us blazer people don't like jeepers..it's not the vehicles them selves...jeeps are better suited out of the box for off roading...it's the type of person the tends to choose a jeep over other vehicles..it's the attitude that goes with them....me in my blazer....I think really hard about what paths I'm going to take..as I know my trucks weaknesses...where as the typical weekend jeep wrangler driver blows through every thing and wonders why his vehicle gets stuck....I know I know..the attitude isn't completely singled out with the jeepers....it just seems like a lot more of them have attitudes than other off roaders...just my two cents!

if I could find a v6 jeep wrangler 5sp, same year model as my blazer, comparable mileage, id trade... straight up.... and start customizing the jeep...

yea, my mom has an 03 wrangler, with a 4 inch sky-jacker lift, and some big tires.  i look at it like the jeep was designed for going off-road.  and i look at the blazer as an suv, suitable for both on and off road.  a civilized vehicle to drive on the road and also has some good off-road capabilities.  i love both the wrangler and the blazer, i feel they are two different vehicles, but i love how my blazer can carry 5 people with room in the back.  the jeep although very sporty and having its "classic jeep" look, lacks rooms, i guess cause of its short wheel base, which makes it probably the most nimble and capable 4X4.  

quote:

ORIGINAL: Paddle_grl

I think the reason a lot of us blazer people don't like jeepers..it's not the vehicles them selves...jeeps are better suited out of the box for off roading...it's the type of person the tends to choose a jeep over other vehicles..it's the attitude that goes with them....me in my blazer....I think really hard about what paths I'm going to take..as I know my trucks weaknesses...where as the typical weekend jeep wrangler driver blows through every thing and wonders why his vehicle gets stuck....I know I know..the attitude isn't completely singled out with the jeepers....it just seems like a lot more of them have attitudes than other off roaders...just my two cents!

 
True... A lot of Jeep owners I've talked to (a friend of mine, in particular) seem to think that if it's not Jeep, you shouldn't be off pavement with it.
 
The look on his face was priceless when I flew threw that mud hole with my Lumina Z34 and didn't get stuck

id say they do pretty good...


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thats not stock though

pretty close. but yea not stock. im sure i could have made it through most of that with stock size tires if they were mud terrains. i was pretty impressed at some of the stuff my truck did do stock. but now with 31's its amazing what it will do!

My friend had one of those little Samuri. He treated it like a dunebuggy/jet ski. Didn't last long but was fun while he had it.

i have a stock '96 4x4 4dr and me and two of my buddies ('98 Silverado, '02 F150) went muddin' yesterday. There was a lot of mud and the two guys doubted i could keep up. i ended up leading and at the end the two guys were so impressed that i made it without getting stuck. We're going back today and bringing the camera, so you can see how well a stock handles in the mud.

I think a stock blazer fairs pretty well off-road.  It's not the worst I've ever been in, nor the best.  I've had mine in some pretty tough spots and not had too much trouble.

I did however have an old 78 model CJ5 Jeep, and in the same places the blazer starts to have trouble, the jeep would just go through like there wasn't anything there. 

The problem with the Jeep when I had it was that I absolutely HATED having to get on pavement with it.  It was almost like torcher driving on pavement.  I do miss the power of the 304, the sound of the exhaust exiting just in front of the back tires, and being able to drive around with the top and doors off in the middle of summer.

honestly the big thing with mudding is if u no how to drive then u can get through some ****. proof is when i took my old cutlass out in the mud and got through some stuff that this guy with a lifted bronco got stuck in. yes trucks have there limits but it helps if u have the ability to oush ur truck to them.

this is all cool, i appreciate the info!

We have a Blazer 4x4 & I'm impressed with it so far. As for Jeeps if you think Blazers have problems just go buy a Jeep then you will know problems. I worked for a Jeep dealership in the 70s when AMC owned them, With the buy out by Chrysler it doidn't help them much. I would take an old Toyota Land Cruiser any day over a Jeep.

I think the HUMMER H1 is the best off road stock truck it can go thru things that most lifted truck can't, my unclein nevada has one and we went thru so much mud sand over rocks and up mauntians and it never gave up or got stuck, we even drove thru a river
 
 
here is a cool video
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf9FPs40VUM

Yea I agree, but having said that for $70,000 it aught too. For that kind of money it should get your rocks off.

One thing I thought of this moning was TIRES play a major role in how well a vehicle does off road.

i like the blazer better for off roading due to the fact that not everybody off roads a blazer there is just to many jeeps out there i want to be different! and i couldnt be happier how my blazer does off roading i went wheeling yesterday with a lifted liberty and a bronco with 32's  and i am the only one that didnt get stuck

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ORIGINAL: 4x4blazerguy

Yea I agree, but having said that for $70,000 it aught too. For that kind of money it should get your rocks off.

One thing I thought of this moning was TIRES play a major role in how well a vehicle does off road.

I'd say the majority comes from the tires. My blazer is absolutely worthless off road even though its 4x4. The previous owner bought new "sport" tires for it about 5,000 miles before selling it......
I'm hopefully upgrading to some BFG A/T 30.5/9.5/15s on rockcrawler wheels as soon as i start getting my paychecks from my new job.

I love my blazer on the street.  Their is a reason that you dont see blazers offroad.  Their frontends are to weak to take offroad.  The ball joints, pitman arm, idler arm, and the wheel bearing hub assembles are to weak and way to expense to replace.  Like I said I love my blazer.  Jeeps are all cool and all, but they will hurt the old pocket book.  Now in my expereance offroading 79 to 85 toyota trucks it the way to go.  I own a 79 Toyota pickup and its is a problem free truck.  I take it up in the hills and beat the living crap out of it and drive it home everytime.  You can do so many things to a toyota for cheap if not free and dominate the hills, rocks and whatever you point the wheels at.  Oh and did I mention you can actually work work on them with out spending alot of money and everything on them is serviceable.  I would love to take the blazer up wheelin but I cant afford to fix it every time I go up.  I know that is is a blazer forum and all but I will try and post some pics. 

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