Rob, I have the 4-channel ABS on my truck, and I would definetly order it --
And it was NOT on my list when I went shopping for the truck (I hit several
area dealers and picked this truck because it had 90% of my list, plus a
few extras).
I off-road a fair amount, and I ski, and I travel back to Montana from here
in San Diego about once a year. On a car like my little SAAB Sonett I can
feel a wheel lock up, and modulate the braking force very well. On a large
vehicle with power brakes, that's just not possible - but the ABS system
does a competent (not ideal, but competent) job.
I can also say that it has great utility off-road. Besides making it just
a little bit safer to go insanely fast on gravel roads, ABS also makes it
possible to head down impossibly steep grades with the brakes 'locked' --
your foot firmly mashed on the brake. Now, normally, the technique for such
hills is to put the vehicle in the lowest possible gear, and not touch the
brakes. That works okay for light vehicles like the Jeep CJ or a mini-truck,
but a larger, heavier truck like the Dakota or a full-size truck will get
going a bit too fast -- especially if there's a nasty off-camber, bumpy
turn at the end of the grade. Now, I'm not talking road grades here, I mean
grades only a Caterpillar, sand rail, or a Dakota with full lockers could
climb. Going down such a grade is usually white-knuckle (most roll-overs
off-road occur during such exercises). With ABS, you can brake all four
wheels at their adhesion limit, steer, and meanwhile keep your eyes ahead
on the trail.
BTW, I envy you - Victoria, BC is wonderful. Worked there for a couple of
weeks, and plan to return. Whistler/Blackcomb isn't too far either. Sigh
Jim
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes." -- Proust
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:25 EDT