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Comfortable Off Roading

darjo

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I recently purchased a Gladiator Sport S and have been trying my hand at going down off road trails. Generally having a great time, but am struggling with the comfort level while off road.

For background, I have a long history of taking rental SUVs down trails that they had no business being on and, with a prior car, would even take my aging BMW Z4 convertible down forest service roads for hikes and scenery. So, I am not a stranger to rocks, potholes, washboards, and the like.

Still, I am finding myself jostled a lot more than I am used to from other cars on similar trails, and have, a couple of times, found myself bailing out of exploring a bit earlier than I may have otherwise because of just reached my fill of bouncing around for the day. Looking at drivers on the trail, they seem to be a lot more steady in the cockpit, so am wondering if I need to invest in some upgrades to improve the experience.

(For reference, I have been doing some trails in Arizona around Sedona and Black Canyon)

I have tried the cheap and easy deflate the tires to 35PSI which helped but am ready to start looking at other options. What other improvements should I look into making?

As a note, I am in the category of daily driver / longer off road touring and exploring (overlander lite, to make up a category) than maximizing trail difficulty, so am more interested in improving comfort than, say, clearance.

Thank you in advance
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Rubi_Rhod

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Get yourself a set of Fox takeoff shocks from a rubicon and some Terraflex progressive bump stops. Then for good measure, a swaybar quick disconnect. All up should be under $500 and a world of difference.
 

Phljeeper

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Get yourself a set of Fox takeoff shocks from a rubicon and some Terraflex progressive bump stops. Then for good measure, a swaybar quick disconnect. All up should be under $500 and a world of difference.
Better yet throw a set of falcon adjustable shocks or kings on it and you will really see an improvement.
 

CookieSoup

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sway bar disconnects for sure and get an air compressor i usually run 20 standard on the trail 35 on the street
 

ShadowsPapa

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I have tried the cheap and easy deflate the tires to 35PSI which helped but am ready to start looking at other options. What other improvements should I look into making?
35 psi isn't all that low considering that my tires run 37-38 normally, and the door sticker says 38 psi. You are only 3 psi below normal for my tires. You can safely drop below that for trail, but like others mentioned, make sure you have a way to get them back up to normal road psi. (compressor)
 

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Rubi_Rhod

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Better yet throw a set of falcon adjustable shocks or kings on it and you will really see an improvement.
Shhh. Gotta reel em in gently to the mod bug!

Really though its gonna be
Shocks - Keep the wheels planted
Bump stops - If you don’t go long travel, bump stops will keep things from banging.
Tire pressure - make it easy to air up and down as tire flex improves ride and traction
Swaybar disconnect - allows the tires to move more freely keeping the body from having to jerk along with the axle movements.

You can find a variety of options to meet those needs, from the entry point I mentioned, to the glorious aftermarket vendor of all kinds. Your wallet is about the only bottle neck to getting your Jeep dialed in for what you want.
 

jurfie

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35 psi isn't all that low considering that my tires run 37-38 normally, and the door sticker says 38 psi. You are only 3 psi below normal for my tires. You can safely drop below that for trail, but like others mentioned, make sure you have a way to get them back up to normal road psi. (compressor)
Exactly what I was going to say.

"35 psi on a trail? No wonder he's being jostled around."
 

LostWoods

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I can all but guarantee that what you drove before had an independent front suspension at the least and likely an independent rear as well. This truck has a live axle front and rear which means the wheels move together on a given axle no matter what you do. The result of sway bars on this kind of setup is that they tend to jostle a lot more than they would on an IFS.

If you want a smoother ride, lower tire pressures (~22 psi is a good starting point for dirt road cruising but I like going lower) and sway bar disconnects will do a world of difference. Shocks are an improvement as well but you're talking serious investment there. Get a Viair portable compressor (300P or larger) and some JKS quicker disconnects and you'll be much happier.
 
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darjo

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Thanks all for the feedback. I'll start hunting this down and let y'all know how it goes.

Watching videos for this stuff it seems pretty straightforward to do myself? (I am comfortable with minor car repairs -- stuff like swapping a starter or alternator or brakes). Any major gotchas that make this harder than it seems?
 

LostWoods

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If you can do those you can do basic suspension work on a Jeep. All it requires is enough jacks and stands to hold the Jeep up but swapping parts is generally very simple as long as you make sure you don't yank any wires or hoses out.
 

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jeremydepp50

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35 psi isn't all that low considering that my tires run 37-38 normally, and the door sticker says 38 psi. You are only 3 psi below normal for my tires. You can safely drop below that for trail, but like others mentioned, make sure you have a way to get them back up to normal road psi. (compressor) Read more here: https://www.jeepzine.com/best-sway-bar-disconnects-for-jeep/
Simply just needed to state Now i am happy that i stumbled onto your post.
 
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jeremydepp50

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I recently purchased a Gladiator Sport S and have been trying my hand at going down off road trails. Generally having a great time, but am struggling with the comfort level while off road.

For background, I have a long history of taking rental SUVs down trails that they had no business being on and, with a prior car, would even take my aging BMW Z4 convertible down forest service roads for hikes and scenery. So, I am not a stranger to rocks, potholes, washboards, and the like.

Still, I am finding myself jostled a lot more than I am used to from other cars on similar trails, and have, a couple of times, found myself bailing out of exploring a bit earlier than I may have otherwise because of just reached my fill of bouncing around for the day. Looking at drivers on the trail, they seem to be a lot more steady in the cockpit, so am wondering if I need to invest in some upgrades to improve the experience.

(For reference, I have been doing some trails in Arizona around Sedona and Black Canyon)

I have tried the cheap and easy deflate the tires to 35PSI which helped but am ready to start looking at other options. What other improvements should I look into making?

As a note, I am in the category of daily driver / longer off road touring and exploring (overlander lite, to make up a category) than maximizing trail difficulty, so am more interested in improving comfort than, say, clearance.

Thank you in advance
I'm a jeep newbie. Getting a lift this week. 2.5" with 35"'s. Your post really helped me a lot. I'll be telling the installer to add the disconnects to the install. I appreciate you post. Thank you.
 
 



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