Preping for off-road

[Triathlete]

Sue, the vx run was never considered or meant to be an "easy" run. It was meant to be easy enough not to damage a stock vx, but challenging enough to give those new to off reading a good sense of what the vx is capable of.
That said, most people want some level of challenge...Hurrah Pass is basically a scenic dirt road. Great for sight seeing but very little challenge.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsz3II8J4V0

[Triathlete]

And of course it all comes down to perseption. What is easy to one may be difficult to another

[circmand]

yeah, since I don't have a VX anymore, maybe I should change my screen name to that!

get another VX. They are getting really cheap now

[VXorado]

Hey everybody - thanks for the responses. So, armed with the new info I have a couple of follow up questions;

1) Compatible Trooper parts I'll try and get; half shafts, ABS module, wheels and skid plates. He also has a newly rebuilt engine with only 20k miles on it. Thankfully I don't need an engine but if someone else does let me know.

Trooper half-shafts will technically fit a VX but have a smaller CV race than the VX. If you install the Trooper half-shafts on the VX green cup, you could cause some wear to the green cup. Several of us have switched out the green cup/inner shaft to a Trooper cup because of the large availability of Troopers parts. For mild off-roading, it maybe better to pick up an aftermarket half-shaft made by Surtrack which I believe has the same race size as the VX.

2) I think the Trooper wheels are 16" so if I can get those in the deal I'll look at putting some 31's on them. Does anybody know if they are the same offset as ours?
There's a lot of different wheels and packages made for Troopers. There's even wide fender options that probably have specific wheels. Chances are, the rims will be very similar offset to the VX. You can always measure the backspacing to get an idea before you purchase the Trooper rims.

3) I was looking at the Rocky Road sliders unless I make my own. I prefer to have them bolt on. I really don't want to weld to the frame if I can help it and according to Rocky Road theirs bolt on. (Like your idea on the hitch Joe but I'm going to fabricate my own hidden hitch style).
Rocky Road makes good quality sliders. They are notorious for being a bit slow filling orders, so order them sooner than later.

4) It looks like the opinion is split on the hand brake. I want to confirm the concept though. My understanding is that the rear left wheel is the drive and the rear right is the slip? In other words, if all four wheels are stuck in the mud then the left rear will spin and the front right one? Then, if the left rear experiences "resistance" the diff engages the right rear? I know that's a bit simplified and obviously depends upon good clutch packs and components.

All I can say is the stock hand brake works great for tricking the LSD. If you want better locking, nothing beats an ARB locker. I used the hand brake for years before upgrading to the ARB.

I replied above. Good luck with the mods. Moab is a great time and worth making the trip.

[VX KAT]

Sue, the vx run was never considered or meant to be an "easy" run. It was meant to be easy enough not to damage a stock vx, but challenging enough to give those new to off reading a good sense of what the vx is capable of.

Sorry, my bad on terminology...I know it was meant to be doable by a stock VX (vs. easy)....but I have to say some undercarriage scraping to a stock VX is possible. Oh, and I took a 2" chip out of the lip of my stock rim in that boulder field that first year too .

And of course it all comes down to perseption. What is easy to one may be difficult to another

Often it all comes down to ..... clearance!

[JoFotoz]

I'd second the suggestion that you get a Surtrack half shaft spare..
..rather than a used Trooper one.

The fit on the Surtrack races/Cv is OEM standard......
..... and given you are not going to be pounding the Pearl ( )..
.. should be plenty strong enough for you.

As for the hitch..not sure how a home made 'hidden hitch' variant will help back end protection..
...plus that will presumably involve cutting cladding.

Cheers

Jo

[ahdoman]

Jo - I know the hidden hitch will not help rear end protection, I just don't want to spend the money on a another hitch option. I'll take my chances on the "butt drag" since I like the look of the hidden option so much better. The cladding trim is so minimal.

[ahdoman]

Scored big today! I got the skid plates and 4, 16x7 wheels (with proper offset) from a trooper and the guy threw in a high lift jack all for $100! Now I just need to figure out what the largest size tire is I can fit. Thanks everyone for your input.

[bartmanS4]

Scored big today! I got the skid plates and 4, 16x7 wheels (with proper offset) from a trooper and the guy threw in a high lift jack all for $100! Now I just need to figure out what the largest size tire is I can fit. Thanks everyone for your input.

Nice! That's a great deal! Five months to Moab woohoo!

[Triathlete]

With no lift the largest tire you can run with no or very minimal trimming (unnoticeable) is a 31x10.5 (265/75/R16).
It will also depend on the tire choice...some more aggressive tires run a little bigger.