Is off roading too easy nowadays?

[ScottBeach]

To your point. I was in Ocala Saturday. An easy trail. It was a muddy day. I pulled a group of 3 trucks that were stuck in the sugar.

1 ford ranger big tires 2 wd. Should not have been on that section without 4 wd

2 rams. 1 had 22 inch rims and street tires so no hope in the sugar. The other ram should have been OK. AT tires not MT but good tread. 4wd. But when I arrived it was frame deep in the sugar trying to pull the ford with a strap ( no kinetic rope)

Took a while to get em all to a forest service road but the Trails could be harder depending what you wheel.

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[Janster]

1 ford ranger big tires 2 wd. Should not have been on that section without 4 wd

Some kids learn things the hard way. 2WD? Just give it more goose…..

A good friend of ours wheeled the snot out of his little reg cab Tacoma. Even after loosing 4WD on the trail….he’d run it in 2WD and hammer down.
Sometimes, his truck would still be without 4WD (as he waited for parts)…and he’d still be out on the trails with us every time in 2WD. This was back in 2000+

He was fun to watch on the trails…. no fear…. and that little truck took a beating. The drivetrain was impressive for what he put it thru - and sure - he probably broke things more often than the rest of us. We were honored to help him.
He was one of those guys who’d give you the shirt off his back….and would jump to help even if you didn’t need it. He’s happily married with 2 kids…. He’s one of those guys you could call him (after not seeing or talking in 15 years) and it’d be like it was yesterday.

 

[Reddog]

I spent a week at jeep beach helping people on obstacle courses
The older stuff had to work fairly hard to run the same course as a newer rig.

But is it just too easy today?

We don't need to manage a clutch
We don't need to manage wheel spin (throttle control really isn't what it had to be 30 years ago)
We complain about power but we have soo much tq on tap now

All our new trucks do it so much easier. But is that better?

I have never thought of a beach as offroading, which is of course the problem with your question. Everyone sees it differently. My offroading is everything from a few miles on dirt to three hundred miles offroad in Wyoming and about the same length trip in Idaho. So its subjective to each of us.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

I have never thought of a beach as offroading, which is of course the problem with your question. Everyone sees it differently. My offroading is everything from a few miles on dirt to three hundred miles offroad in Wyoming and about the same length trip in Idaho. So its subjective to each of us.

I guess you can make it subjective.

I figured most people call it off-roading if they are not driving on a road.

 

[Zachanadandy]

I guess you can make it subjective.

I figured most people call it off-roading if they are not driving on a road.

But most trails are just dirt roads and if you're out cutting your own trail/ driving off trail you're an asshole. The rubicon trail is a county road.

 

[Stuntman Mike]

I have to say, offroading with the old stuff is sometimes easier.

Here in Germany we don't have so much places for going offroad.
So we have to go to dedicated Offroad Parks.
And there the tracks are often quite narrow.

So for me, it is more fun to use the old car ...

 

[JTGuy]

Back in the 70s a group of us did Dusy Ershim Trail with V8 CJ5s, 29 inch tires, no lift, top off and windshield down . But we all had winches and used them. Broke nothing. 3 speed sticks, no lockers. A Wrangler 392 with all the lockers, 8 speed trans and 40s would have been no more fun.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Back in the 70s a group of us did Dusy Ershim Trail with V8 CJ5s, 29 inch tires, no lift, top off and windshield down . But we all had winches and used them. Broke nothing. 3 speed sticks, no lockers. A Wrangler 392 with all the lockers, 8 speed trans and 40s would have been no more fun.

Winching, jacking, wrenching etc were part of the fun when I was young. Now I find it much more enjoyable to just wheel. The wife and I ran the rubicon the last time in her JLUR on 38s without so much as getting out to spot. Part of that is the capability of the rig, part of that is 2 and a half decades and at least a dozen Rubicon trips worth of experience picking lines, etc. I still wouldn't call it easy but it's definitely less work.

 

[Snowcavemike]

I spent a week at jeep beach helping people on obstacle courses
The older stuff had to work fairly hard to run the same course as a newer rig.

But is it just too easy today?

We don't need to manage a clutch
We don't need to manage wheel spin (throttle control really isn't what it had to be 30 years ago)
We complain about power but we have soo much tq on tap now

All our new trucks do it so much easier. But is that better?

I've thought about this often. My 72 landcruser was not easy on the body, I miss my 21 years fixing my 68 Jeepster Commando. Every time I improve something, something else breaks. Every time I get behind the wheel of my 2021 Gladiator, I am giddy. It is much easier to drive. I find driving the hard trails is more enjoyable. For me, it's the experience of being out there is what I love. Not being a spring chicken might have something to do with my change in attitude.

 

[JTGuy]

I used to throw down my sleeping bag on the ground. Now I prefer to throw down my Visa card on the check in desk at the hotel. Moab has some nice ones.

 

[Supazuk]

But most trails are just dirt roads and if you're out cutting your own trail/ driving off trail you're an asshole. The rubicon trail is a county road.

For the average wheeler you are right most wheeling is just fire roads and un maintained roads , However, I done many a trail cut on private land with permission. This is how clubs in the North east get access to trails that become more on the extreme side. There is very little public land up here. Most often it is large tree farm type lots that are going to be logged in time and clubs get access via a donation and a promise to help keep the yahoo's out.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

For the average wheeler you are right most wheeling is just fire roads and un maintained roads , However, I done many a trail cut on private land with permission. This is how clubs in the North east get access to trails that become more on the extreme side. There is very little public land up here. Most often it is large tree farm type lots that are going to be logged in time and clubs get access via a donation and a promise to help keep the yahoo's out.

Around me, there are some old gravel pits that were converted to private off road parks. The Badlands and Bundy Hill to name a few.

 

[Zachanadandy]

For the average wheeler you are right most wheeling is just fire roads and un maintained roads , However, I done many a trail cut on private land with permission. This is how clubs in the North east get access to trails that become more on the extreme side. There is very little public land up here. Most often it is large tree farm type lots that are going to be logged in time and clubs get access via a donation and a promise to help keep the yahoo's out.

Trail cutting on private land is one thing, but even there it needs to be planned and approved which was my point. Nobody should just be driving off trail. All off roading should be in a trail, no matter how hardcore that trail is. Johnson valley, fordyce, etc you still drive on the trail. Yes out here we are spoiled because even those hardcore trails are mostly designed forest routes which keeps them open and free to the public. Even our offroad parks rival the best ones I've been to all over the country and instead of being $50-100/day they are $5.

 

[Supazuk]

Trail cutting on private land is one thing, but even there it needs to be planned and approved which was my point. Nobody should just be driving off trail. All off roading should be in a trail, no matter how hardcore that trail is. Johnson valley, fordyce, etc you still drive on the trail. Yes out here we are spoiled because even those hardcore trails are mostly designed forest routes which keeps them open and free to the public. Even our offroad parks rival the best ones I've been to all over the country and instead of being $50-100/day they are $5.

I understood what your over all message was, and I agree However I wanted to make sure to the casual wheeler that there is a clear difference between "blazing a trail" and "trail cutting" Hence why I said clubs are often granted access to these areas to keep the "Yahoo's" out (referring to the unorganized folks that run on what ever piece of land that looks open and runs OHRV's with little to no concern)
The clubs here in the north east are extremely organized under the blanket of the the Northeast Association of 4WD Clubs. https://nea4wd.org/
Trail cuts are planed with ecological concerns addressed
responsible land use and tread lightly are highlighted

 

[Janster]

Back in the day ….2000’s…
https://treadlightly.org/

I see they’re still around……

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