Any feel there LC is too big, bulky or tippy?? Buying one and need some encouragement (2 Viewers)

[MDarius]

What does this have to do with anything?????

Nothing. I'll skip the hijack, but yeah, he loves it.

In regards to the 80, it is the only vehicle that we have ever owned that my kids hug. I showed my 10 year-old a pic of a built up FJ60 and asked her what she thought about us buying it. Having just done some wheeling in the 80 the day before, and this rig had more toys, I was sure she would love it. No second thought, just, 'Nope'. When pressed for an explanation it was only that we wouldn't drive the 80 on vacations as much. It is the only vehicle I have ever wanted 2 of, and only the second one to ever earn a name. If I had realized what I was missing I would have had one long ago.

Still shopping for my second. You'll love it.
Previously owned:
Among others - 86 Cherokee, 89 Wrangler - built, 81 Toyota pickup, 80's Dodge truck, multiple vans and cars.

 

[pulse98]

I wouldn't consider the 80 to bulky at all. In fact, it's about the same size as the new FJ Cruiser. The 80 is even smaller than my 2005 Sienna minivan!

 

[Nay]

I moved from a much smaller rig (XJ) to the 80. I expected it to feel huge on the trail, and as far as tight spaces, it really feels much smaller than it is with my setup. You do tend to feel the wheelbase, but more often than not in CO/UT the longer wheelbase is an advantage.

What you need to take into consideration when comparing the 80 to an Xterra or Jeep or any alternative is how big the wheel wells are. In rock crawling, there is nothing that does more to make any vehicle feel "big" as having small tires, and nothing that makes any vehicle feel smaller than big tires. On an 80, you can run the meats without much lift - just not true on these other rigs (try finding out what it takes to effectively run 35" tires on an Xterra and then stop watching Nissan commercials).

I strongly encourage you to skip OME 2.5". It is only designed for 33" tires and a lot of up travel, and that is going to keep your 80 a lot closer to the rocks. The F.O.R. 3" lift that I run is designed for 35" tires, and the difference between the two in offroad performance is huge - it is like two completely different vehicles, but the kit price between the two is not that great.

Your concerns about stability are interesting...a long wheelbase rig is not going to flip/tip easily. You can run 35" tires with only 3" of lift, so you aren't compromising center of gravity very much. My rig feels so stable and so balanced. But trust me on the 35's. They are a better match to stock gears than 33's for clicking off overdrive in CO for highway speeds and make a world of difference in performance.

The pic below is on Spring Creek - we had a group of TJ's/YJ's on 35" - 38" tires that couldn't make this line and had to winch out. I walked it without a slip on the first line. OME 2.5 is not a rock crawling suspension - get something else if this is the kind of stuff you want to do.

Nay

 

[MDarius]

Nay, maybe this is covered elsewhere, but I'm curious about your comments on the lift. For my non-lift savvy information, could you explain more about the difference between the OME lift and the FOR lift? Maybe in a new/different thread? Advantages and disadvantages. Thanks.

 

[firetruck41]

I think Nay and Frankie will be the only source of info as that lift is not available yet.

 

[Nay]

Nay, maybe this is covered elsewhere, but I'm curious about your comments on the lift. For my non-lift savvy information, could you explain more about the difference between the OME lift and the FOR lift? Maybe in a new/different thread? Advantages and disadvantages. Thanks.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=101942

You could start with my ROTW for some background (link above)...I think it helps for context. There is some discussion in the thread about suspension design.

If you want to start a thread on this, I'll be happy to discuss the differences both from a suspension design perspective and component perspective to support why I don't think OME is an optimized rock crawling supsension.

You could start thinking about this from the simple fact that the OME stock height supsension, OME medium, and OME heavy all use the same shocks despite 3" of lift difference. On a 10" travel shock, that is the difference of say 4" of up travel and 6" down on the stock height to 7" up and 3" down on the OME heavy (adding lift with the same shocks simply extends the shock). The stock height shock travel is actually better for rock crawling than the OME heavy, which is totally biased for heavy and expensive OME bumpers.

Shocks define the motion of the suspension, and with the same shocks you can run the same tire size with all three OME lifts - hardly taking advantage of a wheel well that is the size and shape of a 35" tire by limiting you to a 33" tire.

That's why you have to look at more than lift amount - you have to assess what you want and need your suspension to do and then you choose your kit or components. But as of now, the F.O.R. 3" kit is the only kit on the market for the 80 that does not have a single OME component.

Nay

 

[MDarius]

Thanks. I'll do some searching and read your ROTW. If I have more q's I'll post up a thread to discuss.

-Now, back to your regularly scheduled 'does this trail make my thighs look fat?' thread -

 

[Hayes]

For what it's worth, during a trip to the landfill the other day, I got a weight on my 80:

6,080 lbs.

That's with Slee bumpers, a winch, a heavy and full cargo box, and a full tank of gas.
Yeah, it feels like it weighs 6,000 pounds.
Yeah, it is big compared to cars and small "SUV's." But put it next to almost any "full size" SUV, and it's not really big at all. I doubt it is actually much larger than an XTerra (although I'm certain it outweighs it by a considerable margin).

I haven't taken my 80 on any hardcore trails (yet), but I take the family (wife and 2 kids) out far away from the pavement as often as we can get away. Short of its slow but deliberate progress over high passes, I LOVE the way my 80 takes the family everywhere we could possibly desire to go. I know my 80 is happier cruising and crawling accross the backcountry, loaded down with kids and coolers, than it is on the highway, anyway. My heavy duty OME springs have something to do with it, but I seriously doubt that I could do the same thing in an XTerra with as much comfort and enjoyment.

A quick dash to the Uintas last weekend (no, didn't leave the asphalt):

You will be advised to replace the factory rack on your 80 before attaching anything to the roof, however.

And the cargo area is large enough to double as a playpen/confinement for the youngin's:

Besides, if you go for the XTerra, you won't have as much to talk about on IH8MUD.

Hayes

 

[MDarius]

I see your kid has good taste in beverages.

 

[concretejungle]

drive an isuzu trooper and then the 80. The 80 feels like a sportscar.

 

[firetruck41]

Hayes, sweet! You got your kid drinkin' beer and playin' with gas-o-line!

 

[informationjunky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHHEUQK8rhU look at about 5:40 into video

Near the end you can see me and landspeeder on a fairly off camber section (and it had rained earlier)...no problems... of course it didn't hurt to have Powderpig spotting!

 

[devo]

info-j,
did you get to use your Devo sliders?
nice action footage.

devo

 

[informationjunky]

info-j,
did you get to use your Devo sliders?
nice action footage.

devo

They have a few "flat" spots in the tubes now....holding up great! or should I say they have been holding up my cruiser great! Heard you trying to give the exon executves a bonus...Steve told me about your recent gas bill
!!

 

[kennyv0826]

There are only 2 disadvantages to an 80 in my humble opinion. The main drawback is poor fuel economy which results in less miles per tank than is desirable, but that can be fixed with an auxilary tank to give a acceptable range.

The other drawback is that since it is fairly large, tighter trails will pose body damage issues.

I knew about both of these things when I sold my SAS Pathfinder and purchased my 80. I don't regret it a bit

If you want a seriously tough rig, get an 80. Don't bother with the Xterra (unless it's the newer one with good engine & the rear locker). And if you get a 4 Runner look for the rear diff lock option that was available during the years you're considering. Neither will be as capable as an 80 though.