Bajameister - 6-18-2004 at 06:31 PM
I have been to Baja many times on dirt bikes and love the area. We are now looking at buying property somewhere between San Felipe and Punta Final.
On our last trip down to Punta Final people were saying, in a joking manner, I think?, that the cost to repair vehicles was greater than the cost to
buy property. They said the washboard roads down the Coast beat up vehicles A LOT.
We have a 2001 Suburban K2500 8.1L completely stock - good HP lousy Gas mileage. On our last trip, I aired down the tires to about 22psi cold (ended
up being about 26 hot), and drove about 45 to 50 mph when able and the washboard didn't seem that bad. Actually, the last 25 miles of potholes, I mean
paved?? road south of San Felipe before Puertecitos seemed worse.
What's the verdict? Do the washboard roads really beat up vehicles badly? Do you make any changes to help like Bilsteins, etc? Thanks, Walt
tim40 - 6-18-2004 at 06:37 PM
You will be fine. Lower the air pressure and remember to resist the temptation that you are in a race.....I have never broke anything on my stock
vehicles and I have well over 100K miles in baja. Tim
elgatoloco - 6-18-2004 at 09:53 PM
Bilsteins are a good investment.
4 or 40
bajalou - 6-19-2004 at 09:09 AM
Many Baja roads are sometimes known as 4 or 40 roads. On them do one or the other as the inbetween 20-30 is what really destroys vehicles. Lower the
tire pressure what you are able considering the load you have wil l be a big help. And good shocks are always a good investment down here.
surfer jim - 6-19-2004 at 09:29 AM
That road will take its toll....I have melted a shock on it....destroys motor/tranny mounts over time...and the newest noise on my truck is the welds
ripping apart on the pickup bed....
gonetobaja - 6-19-2004 at 10:31 AM
I make the trip from San Felipe to Puertecitos in 50 min. The best investment that I have made on my truck is FOX racing resivoir(sp?) shocks. When
they heat up from the bad road the extra pressure goes into the resivior and you dont blow the seals. This keeps the ride quality the same no matter
how long the road. Also upsizing your tires to 34" fills in the potholes so the impact is less. Those two things will add comfort and lower your
travel time.
Our truck is on http://www.gonetobaja.com on the "Your ride " Page.
We have abused these trucks and they come back for more...
If you keep your speed up to between 40-50 than you will float over the bumps with this setup.
GTB
Bajameister - 6-22-2004 at 07:35 AM
Gonetobaja:
Looks like a nice rig except that it's a ford 
Just kidding man, I have
always owned Chevy's. What air pressure do you use on the washboard dirt roads?
I have 265-75-16's on the Suburban now with all stock suspension. Everybody seems to say the same thing: Get better shocks ASAP, then look into
progressive springs and larger tires. I will look into buying these things. Coming from a racing background (motorcycles, karts and cars) I always
like to have a good performance vehicle for the conditions.
Mike Humfreville
Mike Humfreville - 6-22-2004 at 08:16 PM
Bought a very used (1995 with 200K+ miles) Suburban in San Ignacio last year when my Trooper died and we were at the beginning of our vacation. It
now has who knows how many dirt miles on it, but the last 1000 are mine and I don't baby a vehicle. Only thing I think might relate to your question
is that, after driving my miles of washboard, both my side steps (those tubes that run along both sides of the vehicle and help you step into it) came
loose. This happened on the same trip and on both sides and only the rear fixture on both. This was not a problem but I think it meant the rear of
our vehicle was not properly fastened to the axle as it seems to be the same point of failure that holds the front end of the rear springs in place.
Perhaps the Suburban (mine's a 2500 with a 454 - you can't get too choosy in San Ignacio in the middle of the night when you need to have family and
friends in Bahia de Los Angeles by the next morning) is too heavy for my kind of abuse. Good luck.