I'v been giving this subject some thought lately. I'm thinking about changing to a Long Travel Buggy for running Baja.
I currently have a 1996 Bronco and it is a very good Baja vehicle. I can air the tires down and put it in 4x and pretty much go anywhere. It's
enclosed which keeps me clean, it has a heater and A/C and a decent stereo. I can pack almost anything I might need in it.
On the other hand I have friends that have the Long Travel Buggies, these are really nice buggies setup for offroad travel but can run on the highway
also. I'm talking heated seats, XM Radio piped thru headsets, HID Lights, Racks for gear and cooler, windshields.
A typical trip will take them 1,500 miles or so round trip. They take off like a bat outta hell and all you can see is dust until we get to the first
beer stop. My Bronco does better in the rough trails then some of the shorter wheelbase Jeeps but after 5-6 days of being beat up and they are still
refreshed the Long Travel Buggy is starting to sound better and better.bajalou - 8-8-2006 at 06:18 PM
For any kind of off road travel, the long-travel beats any other suspension system. You can take washboard and whoops in fair degree of comfort vs
getting beat to death in a Bronco/Jeep/Toyota and having to crawl at 4 mph.David K - 8-8-2006 at 06:27 PM
By 'Toyota', I presume you mean the old FJ-40 Land Cruiser, not the newer long wheelbase Toyotas?
DonBaja, I am very happy with my Tacoma... very happy!
[Edited on 8-9-2006 by David K]bajalou - 8-8-2006 at 06:31 PM
David, None can compare with a long travel buggy - closest thing is a Trophy Truck or Pro Truck. I'm talking of moving down the backroads/trails/race
roads at a reasonable speed, not 4-6 mph. Say from Carrizo (in Valle Chico) south to drop into the Matomi.David K - 8-8-2006 at 06:34 PM
Yah-hoo!!!Bob H - 8-8-2006 at 06:36 PM
Ford F250 Superduty 4x4 with a Lance Cabover camper. You can drop the camper and explore to your wildest dreams.
Here we are in Mulege...
Bob H Axel - 8-8-2006 at 06:47 PM
go with the long travel buggie if you dont plan on carrying much. Check out www.monstermanx.com they sell a street legal model. Its built simular to the one they race the 1000 in.
[Edited on 8-9-2006 by Axel]DonBaja - 8-8-2006 at 07:31 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Axel
go with the long travel buggie if you dont plan on carrying much. Check out www.monstermanx.com they sell a street legal model. Its built simular to the one they race the 1000 in.
[Edited on 8-9-2006 by Axel]
Vince makes a killer offroad car. Just a bit out of my range though surfer jim - 8-8-2006 at 07:44 PM
depends on your budget....those loaded up buggies can run $50-100...thousand....
on a MUCH smaller budget a JEEPSPEED type vehicle may work well....(jeep cherokee)....can be 4x4.....a/c....good room inside....with the right
suspension they are quite fast....and street legal to boot.....$15-25 thousand......Neal Johns - 8-8-2006 at 07:52 PM
Bajalou is right.
I have had two FJ-40s and several Toyota PUs (currently two Tacomas, His and Hers) but after riding in Baja Blackie's 20" suspension, four passenger
buggy, I went home and cried!
That said, you had better restrict your long buggy trips to good weather.4baja - 8-8-2006 at 08:02 PM
4x4 toyota hands down, no 4-6 mph here. we run 30 to 60 mph with the right suspension and they crawl any were. Skeet/Loreto - 8-8-2006 at 08:07 PM
Bob H. i just put a o4 Lance Lite on my 2002 Ford 250 Diesel Long Bed Super duty- No 4 wheel.
Do you use a remote Inverter for Power when you camp Out ?. if you do, would like you imput.
I have a 97 Ford 250 4Wheel Drive Turbo ext. cab that I would use if I ever get the Longing to go back to Baja before I turn 85.
Skeet/LoretoAxel - 8-8-2006 at 08:19 PM
Donbaja,
You can build one heck of an offroad car out of a bronco. There are alot of good offroad fab shops such as Autofab and H&M that have some great
travel kits for Broncos. I had one that was pretty well equipt and it flew on any road.BajaDanD - 8-8-2006 at 08:41 PM
Tacoma 4x4 is what I like/drive
but I 've been known to drive off road in a toyota echo or a DaawooAmoPescar - 8-9-2006 at 12:28 AM
BajaDon,
I also had a chance to ride with Baja Blackie (PJC) in
his 4 seater off-road car. It rides like a Cadillac on
the freeway. I rode with him for a couple of hours as
he went full throttle on the San Felipe 250 SCORE race
course. As we pulled out of camp and approached our
first big 'whoopdiedo' (spelling?) I was holding on for
dear life and expecting to feel it all the way to my bad
back. But as he flew over it, I was amazed at how
soft it was, and I continued to be amazed all through
the course. As you said, at the end of the day, I felt
great, but had to shake off lots of Baja dust.
a 1987 beat up nissan pathfinder, 250K miles, 2nd eng, 2nd tranny......after i get there 1st in my baja "off road" vehicle!Bob H - 8-9-2006 at 06:13 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Skeet/Loreto
Do you use a remote Inverter for Power when you camp Out ?. if you do, would like you imput.
Skeet/Loreto
We usually look for full hookups, but if we can't find that we just power off of our Marine battery. When it gets low we hook back up to the F250 and
idle the engine to recharge. Haven't had to do that much because we always look for hookups for stays longer than 2 or 3 days.jimgrms - 8-9-2006 at 01:09 PM
Enought cerveza and tokillya any any thing is a long travel buggy
This will Work...
LaTijereta - 8-9-2006 at 06:55 PM
bajarich - 8-10-2006 at 02:33 PM
I drive a 1998 Dodge Dakota with a 6-1/2 ft 4-Wheel Camper. I also tow a 14 ft. Gregor boat with a 15 hp Honda for beach launching. If I had it to
do over again I would be driving a full-sized Cummins with an 8-foot 4-Wheel Camper. That 3/4 ton would haul the camper and boat without feeling
overloaded and get better milage than my Dakota. The Dakota is nice because it is so easy to drive down Hwy 1 and it fits through tighter spaces than
a full size. My camper doesn't stick out any farther than the fender flares, and it is very tough for offroading, besides being light weight.surfer jim - 8-10-2006 at 03:47 PM
I wonder how the HERBST truck is for towing?....capt. mike - 8-10-2006 at 05:09 PM
yeah!! Herbst has it dicked!!Axel - 8-10-2006 at 05:35 PM
Still love the old sub.
[Edited on 8-11-2006 by Axel]
An Oldie...1989 Ford Bronco...
Mexray - 8-18-2006 at 09:39 PM
...has made many 'successful' trips to Baja's interior, and back. However, last week, just after 200,000 'clicks' on the odometer, the old 'gal' had
a coronary infraction, or some such malady! It was like 'she' was just hanging on till the 200K milestone was reached...
Ordered up an 'High Durability' long-block (5.0 liter, 302) from an outfit in Texas to transplant into the Bronco. Why so much of an 'investment' in
such an old rig, one might ask...well, kind of attached to the old gal - plus I've just about overhauled everything else to date; face lift/body mods;
hip transplants/new differentials & axles; foot surgery/mag wheels & BFG's; new wardrobe/upholstery updates; boob job/bumper guard; hair
transplant/roof rack; and much more, but you get the idea!
Got to add a nice TJ paint job on a trip south some day soon to make her really shine.
Alas, we'll probably now have great outback machine, but we've been looking at some new wheels while the old gal is in the shop - a say in a whisper.
Taking a real close look at the Xterra 'Off Road' machine. It's got lots of good features, much more power than before (265 HP), locking rear Diff,
and other goodies. A good off-road report by an actual buyer that took his new Xterra into Death Valley can be seen at:
His only Mods, were a set of BFG AT's replacing the STD BFG Rugged Trails that came with the new vehicle.
Does any other Nomad have 2nd generation experience with an Xterra? The new 2007's starting rolling out in mid-Sept, so we're waiting to take a
gander at what's going to be offered - can't find the options we want with the existing 06's around Northern Calif, this late in the year.
50 yr old military springs
ItsBetterInBaja - 8-18-2006 at 11:27 PM
For a real adventure, I prefer Olive Oil. My 1953 M38A1 military Jeep (Willys).
And what better way to test out those 50 yr old military springs than the infamous road from San Felipe to Gonzaga Bay. I lost a couple fillings and
bruised a kidney (just kidding). The ride home from LA Bay from fun too. Olive only has a bikini top and it started raining gatos y perros somewhere
before Catavina. It rained hard all the way to San Diego. When we stopped at Mama Espinoza's they said it hadn't rained like that in 10 years. Lucky
me huh?
Well here are some pics of my favorite baja vehicle. Someday I will grow up....but why?
[Edited on 8-19-2006 by ItsBetterInBaja]
Mexray-----
Barry A. - 8-19-2006 at 09:05 AM
Great article on the Nissan X-terra------------thank you.Geronimo - 8-20-2006 at 01:03 PM
One thing to remember about a long travel suspension is Maintnence. The more movement the more wear on parts. buggies with long travel have CV
joints, CV boots that love to get torn, heim joints and uniballs that all wear faster than a ball joint or rubber joint front end. Bolts that are
used as suspencion pivots have to be replased every so oftern. I do prep work on a friends class one car and am horrified by the amount of money that
he puts into prep. CV maintainence, wheel bearings, shocks, all things that any long travel prerun or play car has.
I use huge uniballs and heims in my long arm set up on the XJ. I blew it apart after about 2500 miles for a rebild and was suprised at how well the
joints held up(teflon impregnated at about $200 per arm x 4), but I put a wrench to them after 200 or so miles off road. I can always give them a
quarter turn or so even with clench nuts and red locktite. Long travel is the only way to go, but is more work and more money in worn parts. Just
another consideration.
My plan with the Jeep (curently in a million peices spred between Salome Az and San Felipe) is to over build and not beat on it very often.
Prerunning will be slow, save the beat down for racing with idiots at the Pete's camp Poker run!
If you dont like tools, arent willing to check things out while every one else is drinking a cold one, stay with a good bolt on kit, they have come
along way lately.
