Off Roading

[Paul99RT]

Does anyone have experience off roading a stock TB?
Just curious how it will do on some fire roads and possibly Dunes.

thanks

[njyahoo]

Originally Posted by Paul99RT

Does anyone have experience off roading a stock TB?
Just curious how it will do on some fire roads and possibly Dunes.

thanks

Not a good Idea...I have the 2002 Olds Bravada Smarttrak 4x4 and I have gone down some trails with it. Problem is unless you have 75 series tires and at least a 3" lift your going to rub the frame rails over dirt and rocks the wheels pass over. I found some tame 4x4 trails up above Colorado Springs and the smarttrak pulled like a goat up a hill. At the moment I don't know anyone who has come up with a lift kit for the air suspension in the rear. It should be easy enough...3" ABS block under the air bags and a longer Coil/shock for the front and you could achieve enough ground clearance with out a major overhaul of the drive train, that and a taller tire. Hope this helps.

[kerogers1]

I spent last weekend up in the Big Bear area of the San Bernardino National forest in my 2003 Trailblazer EXT. My sons and I put nearly 100 miles on the TB in 4 wheel drive, 20 of them in 4 Lo. We took on everything from graded forestry roads to "More Difficult" trails. Loved the way she handles the road and the rocks. Couldn't take on the "Most Difficult" trails as the TB needs at least a 2-3" lift and the EXT wheel base is a tad too long. I have the stock 4X4 clearance with the Bilstein shocks and 245/70 R17 tires. Scraped the bottom a few times on some tall rocks, but otherwise, we all had a real blast with it. And this isn't the first time I have had it out. I say, givie it a try! Best, though, to take it slow and try to go with someone else first. Best of luck and happy 4wheeling!

[iimac13]

I have a 2003 LTZ 4x4 no mods with 35k mi on it; have taken it to the beach sand and dunes any number of times(getting stuck once), and to some easy and medium trails without any issues. Indeed the truck is low and could use a 3" lift kit and wider tires. I would suggest, put it to the test, go slow and calculate your every move when going off roading. If this is something you want to do, you need to be able to handle a couple knick and bumps, and yeah, bottom scraping is a must sometimes.

[Nor Cal LTZ]

My TB LTZ is stock height with the 17" wheels. I've had it on trails that were pretty gnarly looking but made it without any damage or bottom out. I have crossed a couple of creek beds and scraped on the bottom of the running boards, but I will probably remove them if I decide to go again. Other than that just don't go out and expect to conquer the Rubicon. There is a company in Japan selling new coil springs that replace the current ones all the way around. They provide 2" lift in front and 1" rear. In order to get more clearance you must get bigger tires. To do this you must add 1.5" spacers on all four wheels to bring the tires out away from the steering knuckles. Here is a link for more info.

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/229136/4

Nor Cal LTZ

[udvr]

Originally Posted by Paul99RT

Does anyone have experience off roading a stock TB?
Just curious how it will do on some fire roads and possibly Dunes.

thanks

We rent a house on Carova beach, off Coralla N.C. We have to drive on the beach to get to the house. The TB does fairly well,of course at high tide when the sand is the deepest & the dryest a few more inches of ground clereance would be nice