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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8948
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Bondy
But it can crush cars!!!  |
...without breaking a sweat! 
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64864
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Oh what a feeling!
Climbing the 'widowmaker' pure stock Tacoma TRD, stock size tires... right off the dealer's lot with no mods needed to conquer Baja's 'baddest' roads!
I have 78,000 miles on my '05 (it is not yet 3 years old)... no mechanical breakdowns. The only non normal wear expense (brake pads and oil changes)
was a warning light for the air bags came on and required the wire harness to be replaced recently. It is on its third set of tires, Toyo Open Country
now. Strated with the BFG Rugged Trails (lasted 25 K), tried the aggressive, but too noisey Cooper Discoverer STT (lasted 35 K)... and am very happy
so far with these Toyos.
I modified the rear suspention (which was soft and gave a car like ride) with the next size bigger Bilstein shocks (5100s) than what the truck comes
with, and Ride Rite/ Firestone air bag shocks to stop bottoming out and can raise the back end. That was a great investement (Off Road Warehouse
installed).
My next addition is a light bar and a pair of HID lights... perhaps in the next couple of weeks.
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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, is that tire against the fender?
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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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8948
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sharksbaja
Ken, is that tire against the fender? |
Yes, the tires rub due to too much uptravel in the suspension. I corrected this with the rear suspension, but the front goes in all sorts of
directions. It is a 4" Pro-Comp stage 1 suspension w/MX-6 shock absorbers - its lifted 4" over stock and has taken me all over northern Baja w/o any
problems.
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bancoduo
Banned
Posts: 1003
Registered: 10-3-2005
Location: el carcel publico mazatlan sin.
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Bigtime "Short list" contenders:
 The JK Rubicon Unlimited!!!
Locking Front & Rear Differentials
4:1 Transfer case
32" Mud-Terrain Tires (stock)
Front & Rear disc brakes
Push-button front swaybar disconnection system!
Smooth ride on the trail as well as off road
 Dodge
Power Wagon
 Same as the Rubicon, except with stock 33" tires and 12,000 pound Warn
Winch - STANDARD
[img]http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0S020qPa2lIInoBrjWjzbkF/SIG=12kir14pu/EXP=1214954767/**http%3A//www.rockcrawler.com/features/newsshorts/04june/dodge5.
jpg[/img]
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I have to turn in my TJ Rubicon in next month. I want to get a Jk, but I,ve heard
its gutless compared to the TJ. Could you enlighten me?
thanks
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bobw
Junior Nomad
Posts: 50
Registered: 1-16-2007
Location: Calgary
Member Is Offline
Mood: Tired of the city
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I was wondering where the Jeep stood in all of this. I sort of figured that by now, hardcore 4x4ers have figured out every little nook and cranny of
them and that most every mechanic in Baja has worked on them...
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fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
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I think you need atleast 2 different vehicles. I need a tough beach truck to launch the biggest boat practical and a 4 cylinder jeep for the remote
exploring. Maybe 6 cylinder.
Probably something for the pavement too. A 2 wheel drive truck for hauling materials and stuff.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8948
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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The 4.0l engine has much more low-end torque, but the new 3.7l is more economical on the highway. Mikes JK Unlimited Rubicon with the standard-sized
32" BFG MTs gets 22 m.p.g. on the highway and 19 m.p.g. "around town." His Unlimited rides like an SUV, and isn't squirrely like my lifted short
wheelbase Jeep. He has to choose between his Rubicon and his Dodge Ram truck w/toybox & quads due to his divorce, and he's selling everything,
and staying with the Rubicon - if that says something.
Mike in Baja:
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bancoduo
Banned
Posts: 1003
Registered: 10-3-2005
Location: el carcel publico mazatlan sin.
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
The 4.0l engine has much more low-end torque, but the new 3.7l is more economical on the highway. Mikes JK Unlimited Rubicon with the standard-sized
32" BFG MTs gets 22 m.p.g. on the highway and 19 m.p.g. "around town." His Unlimited rides like an SUV, and isn't squirrely like my lifted short
wheelbase Jeep. He has to choose between his Rubicon and his Dodge Ram truck w/toybox & quads due to his divorce, and he's selling everything,
and staying with the Rubicon - if that says something.
G[/img] |
Thanks KEN thats good enough for me. You sold me on the fuel economy. I wonder why
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805gregg
Super Nomad
Posts: 1344
Registered: 5-21-2006
Location: Ojai, Ca
Member Is Offline
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Look around for a Jeep Liberty 2.8L turbo diesel, I get 22mpg around town and 28 hwy. It has the torque of a chevy 350 V-8 and is a Jeep. I saw
hundreds in So. Baja used by rental cos. and local Mexicans and it has 4 wheel disk brakes unlike Toyota Tundra. I just bought my first Toyota and my
last, don't see the quality there.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64864
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I thought he needed a pickup truck? Jeep hasn't made one since the AMC days with the Comanche... and poor Chrysler didn't want the little Ram to have
competion!
Bring on the new Jeep Gladiator concept truck! Ken, you still have a photo of it?
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jodiego
Nomad
Posts: 319
Registered: 2-16-2007
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: ever hopeful
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It's a bit long in the tooth, as am I, but my 67 bus is filled with many wonderful baja memories over the past 30 years. Tranny needs work, brakes
are a bit sketchy, and some electrical glitches keep us from going much farther than the beach and back (it's a great dressing room).
[img] [/img]
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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I really like that '67 bus. But this is what I drive now and am pleased with my choice:
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
Member Is Offline
Mood: undecided
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The paved roads in Baja are decent, no need for 4-wheel drive.Most of
the unpaved roads are good to go with 2-wheel drive. Now if you want to
climb a mountain, drive through a bog, or drive through sand you'd need something besides a street rig.
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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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| Quote: | Originally posted by jodiego
It's a bit long in the tooth, as am I, but my 67 bus is filled with many wonderful baja memories over the past 30 years. Tranny needs work, brakes
are a bit sketchy, and some electrical glitches keep us from going much farther than the beach and back (it's a great dressing room).
/vwbus.jpg[/IMG][/img] |
Sounds like it's already tuned up for Mexico!
Reminds me of the time in we drove my friends VW without a master brake cylinder for a short ways. We just put a "brakeman" on the E-brake lever for
the turns and did some serious downshifting.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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Hey, it's not the vehicle. It's the one behind the wheel. If you've got the spirit ... any clunker will do.
There's a great short story by Walter Peterson about the guy they meet in Ensenada with the perfect vehicle at $50,000. It never leaves the RV park.
The man and his wife never open the door to come out. But someday ....
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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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Yes! Consider installing a 100 gal worth of gas tanks. That way you can reenter the U.S. and save $$.
Then you will get spoiled and start taking more trips to Baja and leaving with more $$ savings in gas.
100 gals= $450 US
100 gals= $250 MX
Crap I wish I could do that!
Sorry can't stop thinking about it!!!
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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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8948
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bobw
Biggest considerations are going to be ease of getting service, ability to handle the rougher roads as well as the usual things (comfort, mileage,
etc).
We tend to be truck types (current vehicles: Sport Trak and F250 diesel), so we're probably more inclined to stay that way. |
Why buy a 2WD when you can get stuck in sand so easily with one?
Here are some byways you can completely forget about in Baja if you don't buy a 4WD.
I guess you could stay home, and read about these destinations at Baja Nomad, though.
Puertecitos to Gonzaga sand Hwy:
La Turquesa Mine to Hwy 1:
La Tasajera Meadow stream road (Sierra San Pedro Martir):
Mission Santa Maria (Mission Impossible):
[Edited on 7-2-2008 by Ken Cooke]
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Freebird
Junior Nomad
Posts: 29
Registered: 6-7-2008
Member Is Offline
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I´d suggest any 4WD vehicle with diesel power. Fuel is cheap in Mexico right now, but who knows for how much more time...
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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You can get very attached to your rig:
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