confidence and 4wd ability

[familyvan]

Hi all! first all thanks for all the great info hopefully someday soon I ll be able to have a build thread. Something about money seems to be holding me back.
Anyway's how confident are you 4x4 van owners and your off road performance vs a full size truck? I am well aware most of it is in the drivers ability to pick good lines, but lets say you have the same drive in a van a full size truck. What do you guys think?
Thank and keep up the good work.

 

[dsw4x4]

I will take my van off road and put it up against a truck any day. About the only difference is the off camber the truck will be a little more stable and the van will get more scratches.
Derek

 

[deserteagle56]

I have owned both for the majority of my life - and that's a long time. My first 4wd van I drove for 32 years and now I'm 3 years into my second one. In that time I've also owned an assortment of full-size 4x4 pickups (for firewood hauling, etc.). If similarly equipped (especially with similar wheelbases) I believe performance is essentially the same. My last two pickups have been crewcabs (one a Ford and the current one a Dodge) and thusly they are not nearly as capable off the beaten path because they are just too darn big and have too low a breakover angle. Crossing a deep washout or a sharp rise in the trail caused the pickups to drag the bumpers/receiver hitches - or land hard onto the bash plate protecting the transfer case. Crossing those same obstacles in either of my vans, nothing would come close to touching. A big advantage the vans have over the pickups - when cresting a steep hill in one of the pickups all I could see out the windshield was the hood so I had to drive with my head out the window. No such problem in the van.

 

[T.Low]

I agree with Derek. The major difference being that the COG tends to be higher in a van, so it will rock side to side easier. Be mindful of inertia, let the van gather a bit before hitting the next cross whoop/rock/whatever.

 

[1leglance]

having taken a 10ft tall 11,000lb 4x4 van through Fins & Things in Moab and other trails I never doubted my Sportsmobile
great rig!

 

[ihatemybike]

Grumpy has taken me through washes, empty desert to bypass washed out abandoned roads, up to level 3.5 trails around Moab (could have done higher, but I was solo and in a hurry to get to Santa Monica) and generally been put through heck. It always gets me through.

In this video Grumpy is still stock w/ over 300k miles on the clock, although the torsion bars are cranked and the tires are aired down to 20 psi.
Like I really needed a reason to post this video again.

 

[ujoint]

I've never had any fear in mine, even as tall as it is. Sure, there are obstacles I've driven around, but that can be said for almost any rig. The biggest factors in any of these situations? Driver skill & common sense.

 

[familyvan]

Thanks everyone!