Size Matters

Dirt Rider

Well-known member
Well I thought I had researched the Coyote Flats trail in the eastern sierras as much as I needed to, but failed to notice anything about what size vehicles should go on it. So off I went with my buddy in his jeep and I in my 92 W250 with FWC camper. Well all I had read made it sound pretty mild, but maybe in a jeep. The turns were tight and rocky, with only a single track up and down with very little room for passing. And rocks every step of the way. By the time I got to camp every carefully packed item in the camper was on the floor. The place is beautiful and worth the trip, but not in something like mine. I about fried my brakes coming back down, it is steep, I maxed out my articulation and put the old girl through its paces big time. On a side note I was very impressed with my load range coopers, aired them down to 30 psi and beat the crap out of them on a lot of sharp rocks, very impressed. not sponsored by Cooper, bought with my own dime. something that disappointed was the Preece air tank setup, it barely filled one tire and the gauge was all over the place, thinking its time to go the compressor route. I have been to a lot of the eastern Sierras and will be back again. Just not Coyote Flats.

back of truck.jpgtruck and jeep resized.jpg
 

billiebob

Well-known member
yep, small offers a lot of plusses but a bit bigger often justs makes the challenge bigger.
the only negative I see is the Club Cab extension of the wheelbase....
W250, FWC is an awesome combination.

When skinny counts... even that JKU can be kinda big.... and long.

I had an LJ, I hated the extra 10" wheelbase, never needed the extra 16" of storage, within a year it was sold and I was back in a short TJR.
With the exception of that LJ, I have 30 years of YJ and TJ and TJRs.... I won't consider a JK cuz they are wider.
Jeep guys have heart palpitations when they see this,,,, AEV HighLine flares cut to fit 33x10.50R15s on the stock Jeep 15" dimpled steel rims.

IMG_2193.jpg

And todays ride, cut Rubicon flares cuz 185/100R16s look silly under the factory flares. Running 6.5" x 16 steel rims. I love skinny.

DSCN2900.jpeg

If I wanted a full size pickup.... and I do.... I'd pick a stock W250 on gas like yours.
 
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MOAK

Adventurer
This is really cool; someone with an honest report about the very limited capabilities of a full size vehicle being used in the back country. After owning TJs and a TJR at 60” wide, I now have a mid size wagon at 63” wide and will never go any larger. What cracks me up is that the new wranglers, JKs and up are a whopping 68” wide. Good luck getting them through trails that were cut when 58-60” was the standard size of horse/mule/ox drawn wagons. Bigger is better? Nah, very rarely.
 

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