hombre66 - 6-9-2015 at 06:50 PM
Any Nomads out there that have experienced driving a Gen1 Honda CR V on Baja dirt roads, IE: Catavinia to Canoas, Sta Rosallilita to 7 hermanas
etc..?? Thinking about scaling down from my 2wd T100 (with posi) and camping light.
woody with a view - 6-9-2015 at 07:03 PM
don't do it!
basautter - 6-9-2015 at 07:05 PM
Can't help with that 
BooJumMan - 6-9-2015 at 07:47 PM
Considering I almost got stuck in a dual locked Land Cruiser on 35" MT's last year, I would say no. But, you should try it and see what happens! hehe
hombre66 - 6-9-2015 at 08:19 PM
the negative input here has merit. Prolly get serious and save up for a Tacoma.
Ateo - 6-9-2015 at 08:26 PM
I just carved and sliced the entire underside of my new 4X4 Toyota Tundra last week down in that area. I wouldn't recommend going in there in a CRV.
Either way, have fun!
AKgringo - 6-9-2015 at 08:35 PM
I don't think you will have any problems on dirt roads that you could drive a 2wd truck on. My current Baja rig is a two door, soft top, Kia
Sportage, and I have had a ball with it down there!
I have the advantage over your CRV, in that it has a Mazda truck based drive train with low range, that allows me to run larger tires and allows
better crawling and off road performance.
Find out just how large a tire you can stuff under your fenders and figure out what pressure you can drop them to if the trail gets soft or rough.
Every thing is a trade off! Economy, toughness, comfort, load capacity, and fun factor. My little rig is a good balance for me.
My last trip I covered over 500 miles of back road, and about 100 miles of off road! I was also pulling a 4x6 foot utility trailer with the same
wheels and tires as the tow vehicle which gave me a little more room in the cab for my dog and me.
[Edited on 6-10-2015 by AKgringo]
hombre66 - 6-9-2015 at 08:58 PM
AKGringo, thanks for the good word. I actually did some research on Sportage earlier today, since it has 4L. Said CRV is avail at a good deal locally
and I am remote in the PNW. So much depends on driver skill as well. From what I gathered technically, the CRV's 4wd engages only when traction is
needed at the particular rear wheel wheel.
AKgringo - 6-9-2015 at 09:14 PM
Hombre66, I thought you already owned a CRV. It would not be my choice if I was looking to buy something. A Kia would not be my first choice
either, because there is limited support for parts or service in Mexico.
A Chevy Tracker or Suzuki Vitara would give you basically the same or similar drive train and performance, with dealer support if you need it.
If you get one, I recommend dumping the automatic hubs in favor of a set of Warn manual ones. Also make sure the shocks are in near new condition and
go a couple of sizes over on the tires.
[Edited on 6-10-2015 by AKgringo]
hombre66 - 6-9-2015 at 10:12 PM
AK, Did say I was thinking of scaling down, and will most likely end up saving for a Tacoma. However, I am attracted to 24plus mpg and the nimble
ways of a mini suv. May look at the specs on Tracker and the Suz (Tracker is a Suz, made in Canada) Manual hubs def more reliable, but sizing up on
tires is trick, as I have read alot of CRV forums. Hardly anybody makes aftermarket susp.pts for the lil guys other than Samurais.
AKgringo - 6-10-2015 at 08:35 AM
My Kia suspension is stock. It would not be hard to lift it slightly and go with even larger tires to improve the crawling ability, but that little
2.0 liter engine would be a slug on the highways. The compromise I have chosen is running 225/75/15 tires (stock is 205). I have used 30x9.50 15s,
and 29x8.50 15 Super Swampers, but the 225s seem to give the best balance of handling, economy, and back road performance. I run 26 psi on the
highway, half that off road.
2002maniac - 6-24-2015 at 12:56 PM
I think you would be fine in a CRV 99% of the time. I returned a few weeks ago from a trip and we had a 4-runner and a stock Subaru Impreza wagon.
We did a lot of bad roads including south of Bahia Torotugas, "The Wall" to Santa Rosalillita, 3 Alejandros, and more. The subaru did great on soft
deep sand, but there were times when it was lacking ground clearance. It did manage to bump and scrape it's way through every obstacle, but we were
less cautious since we had the 4-runner and a tow strap in case the subie did get stuck.
Several years ago I took a modified Subaru Impreza (1" lift, 28" tires, skid plates front to back) and did not have a single worry.