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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,114
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,114 |
As long as the vehicle is physically capable of the challenge, the driver's skill makes a huge difference.
Bruce Yep. My father grew up on a homestead in central Montana, learning to drive on Ford Model As. In the early 1960s his hunting rig was a Volkswagen van, with the 40-hp, 4-cylinder rear-end engine--which provided quite a bit of traction. Never got it stuck, either in Montana or Minnesota.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 821
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 821 |
I had a 1980 Honda Accord that I bought in 1987. Manual transmission and that thing was a beast in snow and mud. As an example there was an icefishing tournament and we had 10 inches of snow the night before. I drove about a mile across Puckaway Lake. There was 8 to 10 guys fishing together and I got to my spot, got out the auger and started drilling holes. A couple guys come over a short time later that were awed at what that car just did. They told me they were all discussing how far I would get before they would have to come and tow me out with their trucks. That being said I will take my former Tacomas or current Tundra over that car but at that time getting ready to be married and a young Daughter it was an amazing car!!
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,386
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,386 |
Been off road cutting wood in the northern MO river bottoms several times in a half ton open diff 2wd Ford pickup. Grandpa was the driver, we never had to walk out.
Myself, have had a late 70’s 3/4 ton 4x4 Suburban in mud to the rocker panels on a jobsite, pulling a trailer with trusses on it. You could see the flat spot where the bottom of the trailer deck floated across the mud, after the truck pulled itself and that trailer out. Miss that beast.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,384
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,384 |
Horse - the ultimate 4WD!
Besides - one of us gots to have some sense!
I've always been a curmudgeon - now I'm an old curmudgeon.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 5,013
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 5,013 |
I went hunting with a coworker on a big island in the Mississippi river. All the members had jacked up vehicles with winches , big mud tires. Trucks, Blazers, Broncos, Jeeps. They spun ,got stuck, tore stuff up. There was an old man that worked on the island and ferried their vehicles over.he had a 60s model Chevrolet Dually with a home made wood flatbed on it. Rear wheel drive. Normal size tires. He had chains on the 4 back tires. He just drove around wherever he wanted with those chains grabbing the mud. The guy I was hunting with said it was the best mud truck on the island. Said he just drove around slow and had pulled a bunch of people out.
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,130
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,130 |
John; Good evening, I hope the last Friday of May was decent for you folks and that you and Eileen are well. It's interesting where one finds VW vans sometimes in rural BC as well, though admittedly less now than say in the '80's. A hunting mentor of mine, a Mennonite market garden farmer from Ft. St. John showed me photos of a VW van he'd modified with an extended fiberglass roof. That was so his saddle horse could go into the side door you see...... Jake had a photo of the horse saddled up, with good new caulked shoes, pulling the VW up a particularly slick bit of Peace River backroad. I don't know the mechanics of it all John, but Jake was a scrupulously honest chap in all ways as far as I knew. He'd shot a whole bunch of stuff with a 95 in .30-40 too and had photos and some racks to show for it, as well as his name in the BC records for moose. Anyways, folks seem to like this photo when I throw it up. As I understand it, both chaps involved had 4x4 pickups that were in various states of repair and well, it was moose season and the mountains were calling John.  I'll note one of the participants was a buddy and neighbor who is still quite a hoot to hunt with and they took the moose to the chap who cut our game at the time, so I can vouch for the authenticity of the photo, it absolutely happened - BC Redneckery at it's finest.  ![[Linked Image]](https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/162300.jpg) All the best to you and Eileen as we settle into summer. Dwayne
The most important stuff in life isn't "stuff"
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,859
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,859 |
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 29,786
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 29,786 |
John; Good evening, I hope the last Friday of May was decent for you folks and that you and Eileen are well. It's interesting where one finds VW vans sometimes in rural BC as well, though admittedly less now than say in the '80's. A hunting mentor of mine, a Mennonite market garden farmer from Ft. St. John showed me photos of a VW van he'd modified with an extended fiberglass roof. That was so his saddle horse could go into the side door you see...... Jake had a photo of the horse saddled up, with good new caulked shoes, pulling the VW up a particularly slick bit of Peace River backroad. I don't know the mechanics of it all John, but Jake was a scrupulously honest chap in all ways as far as I knew. He'd shot a whole bunch of stuff with a 95 in .30-40 too and had photos and some racks to show for it, as well as his name in the BC records for moose. Anyways, folks seem to like this photo when I throw it up. As I understand it, both chaps involved had 4x4 pickups that were in various states of repair and well, it was moose season and the mountains were calling John. I'll note one of the participants was a buddy and neighbor who is still quite a hoot to hunt with and they took the moose to the chap who cut our game at the time, so I can vouch for the authenticity of the photo, it absolutely happened - BC Redneckery at it's finest. All the best to you and Eileen as we settle into summer. Dwayne Hello Dwayne, that wouldn't be an old Lada would it?
These are my opinions, feel free to disagree.
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,130
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,130 |
JSTUART;
Good day to you sir, I hope that it's a good one thus far.
It's actually a Honda Civic - maybe a '75 or so I'm guessing?
They found some aggressive snow tires that fit the rims somewhere and installed them before the moose hunt, otherwise it was stock.
Buddy did say that the doors really didn't work totally fine afterwards, but otherwise it was okay.
All the best to you my cyber friend.
Dwayne
The most important stuff in life isn't "stuff"
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 115,424
Campfire Sage
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Campfire Sage
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 115,424 |
I've had several 4x4s, the last 40+ years. '78 CJ-5 with the 304, '54 CJ-3B, '86 Dodge D100, '91 Dodge diesel, and a '06 Dodge diesel. All of which had their advantages and disadvantages. A couple of years ago, I was looking for something to keep the miles off the '06 Dodge, to run around town and as a local hunting rig.
I ended up buying a cherry '96 Geo Tracker 4 door, 4x4......1.6l 4 cylinder with a manual 5 speed. Same thing as a Suzuki sidekick (ladder truck frame underneath), but with chevy badging. With mud n snows on it, I can't believe how easy it takes the back country. Mud, snow, rocks, steep 2 tracks....doesn't matter. Just plays with everything I've thrown at it. January chukar hunting can be pretty dicey out here. Days that I would normally stay home (with the Dodge diesel) are no problem with the Geo. In comparison, it floats on top, instead of trying to find the bottom. I can also run wash board roads at 35 mph, with the coil springs at all 4 corners. I honestly can say, it will do anything my CJs did, and most things better.
It has an old man emu 2.5" lift, aftermarket off road bumpers, with a tow bar. Off road light bar, and roof rack with extra fuel cans/shovel/ax/high lift jack and a dead arm for game/varmint gambrels for skinning. Sliders on both sides and full skid plates underneath.....and yes, they all have been used for what they were made for. I even put rod holders on the front brush guard, for sturgeon/catfishing.
As a bonus, it gets 22-24 mpg with mud n snows in the winter....in the summer, with street tires, it gets 25-27 mpg. Runs the interstate at 75-80 mph, as long as there's no head wind or hills!
I can "sneak" into coyote country, when I'm calling, and close dogs have no idea I'm in the area. Coyotes showing up at the 1 to 3 minute mark is a lot more common than when I ran the diesel.
I may end up buying another truck someday......but I'll keep the Geo till my last day. It's like an UTV, that is street legal....plus, it has a windshield and heater! License plate reads "BURRO", and it has earned it!
Andy3 The Sidekicks and Trackers are absolutely one of the most underrated 4x4's ever built. I would include Samurai's too but I think most know about them at this point. They were all decades ahead of the SxS craze and 100Xs more useful.
Trump being classless,tasteless and clueless as usual. Sorry, trump is a no tax payin pile of shiit. My young wife decided to play the field and had moved several dudes into my house
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 9,533
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 9,533 |
Too low. Dad had a '95 that didn't make it through the 1st pheasant opener. Prairie trail + rock + low oil-pan = we're done hunting for the day. Other than that fiasco, I'd agree as we took the Astro and several Dodge AWD mini-vans to places most wouldn't have tried.
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,384
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,384 |
I had a '93 Jeep Cherokee (XJ). 4.0 - 6 cylinder. Tough, reliable and un-stuckable. We had a lot of fun with that little machine. Eventually, the years of accumulated mud rotted away the floor pan. In the end, I traded it to my mechanic/buddy for some work on our family car. He salvaged parts from it for his son's Cherokee, and sold the remainder of it for scrap. Broke my heart to see it's carcass being carried away. It gets my vote.
My '13 Nissan Xterra is earning her stripes as a capable hunting rig, although The Mrs. compelled me to buy a rear cargo carrier for it - no bloody deer in the back of "her" Xterra!
Last edited by JeffyD; 05/29/21.
"No good deed shall go unpunished!"
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,130
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,130 |
I've had several 4x4s, the last 40+ years. '78 CJ-5 with the 304, '54 CJ-3B, '86 Dodge D100, '91 Dodge diesel, and a '06 Dodge diesel. All of which had their advantages and disadvantages. A couple of years ago, I was looking for something to keep the miles off the '06 Dodge, to run around town and as a local hunting rig.
I ended up buying a cherry '96 Geo Tracker 4 door, 4x4......
I may end up buying another truck someday......but I'll keep the Geo till my last day. It's like an UTV, that is street legal....plus, it has a windshield and heater! License plate reads "BURRO", and it has earned it!
Andy3 The Sidekicks and Trackers are absolutely one of the most underrated 4x4's ever built. I would include Samurai's too but I think most know about them at this point. They were all decades ahead of the SxS craze and 100Xs more useful. deflave; Top of the morning to you sir, I hope that the last Saturday in May is looking to be a fine one for you all. My long time hunting and fishing partner is on his 4th??? Tracker now, having had both 2 and 4 door ones has now settled into a pair of 4 doors which are better hunting rigs if not pure 4x4 rigs. An illustrative tale about their ability in the BC mountains is one I've likely told before, but will repeat nonetheless. Buddy, our youngest daughter and I were up in the early spring season looking for non-existent turkeys and just seeing what we could see in general after our usual dreary valley bottom winter weather. At that point he had a 2 door Tracker with a locking hub kit but otherwise stock as far as I'm aware. We got into some soft, sketchy and unquestionably deep spring snow and he just kept crawling over it heading increasingly higher up this particular piece of mountain. As I was sitting in the back seat, I looked around and saw no come along, rope or even a shovel and that gave me somewhat of a pause, as I carry enough recovery gear in my diesel pickup to fill his entire Tracker. When then I asked him gently how much farther up we were going to go - based on the snow and all - he replied that we'd turn around when he had to get out and lock the hubs in!!!  We call them "Quads with Heaters" up here across the medicine line and there's an entire cottage industry with folks rebuilding them, keeping the old usable parts on ones too rusted to work otherwise and then modify them too. For the most part, the Tracker with it's independent front suspension is better thought of than the Samurai up here, as the solid axle 4x4's are tricky to keep on the negative camber washboard gravel logging roads which are all over the back country. The Suzuki motors in particular seem to run forever and are rebuildable too for the most part. Anyways sir, that's the view from north of the medicine line this morning and not much more. All the best to you all as we transition into June. Dwayne
The most important stuff in life isn't "stuff"
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 24,371
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 24,371 |
Buddy had a VW Baja Bug that did pretty good,
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Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 4,371
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 4,371 |
A Rokon is the best kept secret in the off road vehicle market. Specialized, oh yeah, but no need for a trail.
My other auto is a .45
The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory
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