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TMW
Select Nomad
     
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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I use to take my 77 Pinto into a lot of places because that's all I had. I think the Mexicans take whatever they have into places for the same reason.
It's what they have and they make the best use of it. There are some places where high clearence and 4x4 are necessary if you want to get there in a
reasonable time frame. If time was all you had a model T will do.
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Don Alley
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
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I have a 4 wheel drive. And I don't do hardcore offroad driving.
I also don't skid and slip on the boat ramp. And I am from Montana.
Think snow.
Lots of big, new 4X4s around here with BCS plates and local drivers. And you can buy a raffle ticket to support the local schools and maybe win a new
Hummer.
So it's not just a gringo thing.
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Paula
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 2219
Registered: 1-5-2006
Location: Loreto
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It's a guy thing.
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Don Alley
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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Quote: | Originally posted by capn.sharky
Yes, there are places where you need a four wheel drive. But, I seem to notice the Mexicans going to the same places in their trucks without 4 wheel
and cars. Ever notice some of those so-called four wheel drive vehicles are driving on roads made by the mexicans in their cars? Remember the old
trader trucks that serviced Baja and were not four wheelers. Jeeps are great for going places where no one else has been---but for the most part, you
can get there in your family sedan.     |
Hi cap. sharkey,
It's been my experience down here that most new 4x4's are now owned not by gringos, but by affluent Mexicans, who like them for macho machines they
are.. whether or not actual 4WD is needed.
4WD or not? Sure, it's only needed for those really rare ocassions, but you appreciate it when that time comes. I would always rather have it..than
want it. Even though I live in Baja and Up North in demanding and rough countrysides, I very seldom have to engage 4WD in Baja or up home, but would
not buy a pickup without it.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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David K
Honored Nomad
       
Posts: 65297
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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It's like insurance... you may hope you never need it... but thank God that you have it.
This is provided you enjoy being out in nature, far from other people where having 4WD makes all the difference in the world for peace of mind and
security and privacy.
Ken... nice photos!
[Edited on 3-26-2009 by David K]
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postholedigger
Nomad

Posts: 189
Registered: 1-6-2008
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Reminds me of a Bud Light TV Commercial: Real Men of Genius - Enormous SUV Driver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcOCP_5Hr2I
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baitcast
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
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Mood: good
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There are dirt roads and there is highway 1 and 5 ........I can assure you there
was a need for 4/wheels 40 or more years ago on the super highways of today in Baja.
Only fools and Mexicans went with-out,the wrecks at the bottom of canyons on 5 and else where attest to that.
It never ceased to amaze me year and year out watching the the Fernandez clan take a little trip to San Felipe with 3 or 4 turtles and a
bunch of kids in the back of their old truck over the trail north and be back the next day,NO PROBLEM.
For some reason that was one of the things I liked most
Rob
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bent-rim
Nomad

Posts: 294
Registered: 7-31-2007
Location: Marin County
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Mood: Living la vida mota
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There's two kinds of vehicles that can go anywhere. 4WD drives and Rental cars
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Gypsy Jan
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 4275
Registered: 1-27-2004
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Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
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Years Ago at the Meling Ranch
When the road to Meling was all dirt through the valley and then, two hours of a backbreaking and bum blistering rough ride with large rocks and deep
water creek crossing after the turnoff, we shared our table at breakfast with a young German couple who made the journey from San Diego in a cheap,
rented and very beat-up Subaru compact car.
They told us that they were going to drive on to Cabo.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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Rainer
Junior Nomad
Posts: 65
Registered: 1-16-2007
Location: Las Cruces, NM
Member Is Offline
Mood: Missing Baja
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Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Sheesh! We used to rent VW Beatles and do everything from dirt roads, to beaches. |
Yes, but that was a beetle and that's what they did - the old ones, anyway
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baitcast
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
Member Is Offline
Mood: good
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The older Subaru,s had a transfer case,low and high range,having owned two up north I can vouch they were very tough long lasting rigs plus 4/wheel
dr.
Ask DK about Subaru,s.
Rob
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David K
Honored Nomad
       
Posts: 65297
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Quote: | Originally posted by baitcast
The older Subaru,s had a transfer case,low and high range,having owned two up north I can vouch they were very tough long lasting rigs plus 4/wheel
dr.
Ask DK about Subaru,s.
Rob |
Yup... here I am in my 1977.5 Subaru 4WD (in 1979) in Calamajue Canyon, pre-running part of the Baja 1000 (I was driving in a couple weeks)... having
driving south from San Felipe and Gonzaga... on the original 4WD trail south of Puertecitos! Oh, and there was no low range in Subarus yet, that came
later. I lost my exhaust on the grades below Puertecitos the day before. Ground Clearance is as important as 4WD sometimes!
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Mango
Senior Nomad
 
Posts: 685
Registered: 4-11-2006
Location: Alta California &/or Mexicali
Member Is Offline
Mood: Bajatastic
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Even the newer AWD Subarus do great off road. They won't climb rocks all day; but, I've driven up some very steep and rocky rutted roads that I had
to get out and scout beforehand without even a wheel slip.
Of course I used to drive my FWD Mitsubishi Mirage all over rutted and muddy logging roads in Oregon for years.. I even had one guy in a 4x4 ask me,
"How did you get here?!"
IMO the biggest advantage of a 4x4 is that it will let you get somewhere without going too fast because you are trying to keep your "momentum" going..
Which will let you drive slower and make better driving decisions/take better lines (less likely to damage your vehicle or the road) than a 2WD.
4x4's deffinately have there advantage. Two things make me shake my head about them.
1. A Range Rover, etc with low profile tires.
2. A ranchero driving a 71' 2WD GMC... just driving along places that the owner of that Range Rover would never get even if it had decent tires.
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805gregg
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1344
Registered: 5-21-2006
Location: Ojai, Ca
Member Is Offline
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Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Sheesh! We used to rent VW Beatles and do everything from dirt roads, to beaches. |
I got my rental VW stuck in the sand at nine palms.
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cantinflas
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 2-4-2009
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I've pulled alot of vw bugs outa sand between shipwrecks and 9 palms.
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 8964
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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Baja + 4WD = Peanut Butter & Jelly
Tecate/El Hongo - There's a real special place north of Hwy 2 that everybody loves so much.
4WD recommended 



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wakemall
Nomad

Posts: 183
Registered: 7-17-2006
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Hey Hatch,
Those trucks and SUV's you see that are jacked way up in the air are usually pavement pounders. Especially if everything is chrome. Nobody in there
right mind is going to go seriously off road with thousands of dollars of chrome to wipe off. Especially salt water. Not to mention the damage
rocks, trees, and brush are going to do to the usually custom paint.
There is nothing wrong with a lifted Jeep, Toyota, Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Etc if they are using the lifted vehicle as planned. Every serious off road
guy that lifts there vehicles ground clearance usually has an additional thousands of dollars in things you do not see. They usually change the gear
ratio, add posi traction, change the trans, and even change the transfer case. Not to meantion the new rims and tires. All to make traveling rough
terrain easier for the vehicle and the trail. Most serious off road trails are torn up because people try and travel them without positive front and
rear traction.
I agree that 90% of the roads in Baja can be traveled by most intelligent drivers. You can usually make any trail with enough speed and momentum.
The resulting damage to the vehicle is another story. It is the lifted off road serious guys that want to tackle the 10% of the tough stuff and get
to the destination.
Example is the back side beach at Punta Chivato. It is an isolated beach that not many people have been to. A lifted and customized truck can make
it. No 2 wheel drive or stock truck can make it.
Am I going to lift my 4x4 Suburban in Loreto.. NO... Am I going to lift my 4x4 long bed crew cab Ford Diesel.. NO... Both vehicles serve the
purpose I need them for. I am going to lift my 69 Toy Cruiser with the 350 Chevy just because of rock clearance on the mountain trails.
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline
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Ken , what a crock! Lifted trucks have made the pole line road no prob.
Bring that vehicle up here to Oregon and I'll show you where you can get stuck....easy even with big floaties and a hi lift. Ever hear of mud?
Sorry Cap'n I won't lower it to go to Baja.
Btw, we have a rediculous amount of nice lifted trucks that are spotless around here
What a grand waste of equipment, a bunch of wimps.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline
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Quote: | Originally posted by wakemall
Hey Hatch,
Those trucks and SUV's you see that are jacked way up in the air are usually pavement pounders. Especially if everything is chrome. Nobody in there
right mind is going to go seriously off road with thousands of dollars of chrome to wipe off. Especially salt water. Not to mention the damage
rocks, trees, and brush are going to do to the usually custom paint.
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 You don't
know me. obviously. What, you can't own a beautiful truck and trash it too? Now that's just plain wrong.
If you lift that Toyota take care not to screw up the vehicles c of g. I've seen too many lifted Toys and Jeeps and SUV rollovers.
[Edited on 3-26-2009 by Sharksbaja]
[Edited on 3-26-2009 by Sharksbaja]
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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