I totally agree with ya on the lowered truck thing...but it's personal
taste. As for the "Mondo" tires...if you're bogging, running in the sand
dunes, or playing around in deep water...you'll need them. You can still
fit 31" tires under the STOCK suspension without hitting the fenders...a
little trimming is required though. You really don't have to run anything
more than a 33-35" tire for the average offroad trip with some
"crawling"...otherwise, the 31" tires work just fine at 10-15psi.
When I was living in California (yes...i'm a native Californian), here's the
places i've already taken my 2WD truck:
Hollister Hills - Hollister, CA (Fine tuning the suspension...and a little
fun)
Lake Pilsbury - Pilsbury, CA
Russian River - Petaluma, CA
Blue Lake - Cal/Nev border (PG&E Offroad Party)
Grass Valley - Grass Valley, CA
Lassen County - Silver Lake (40miles offroad trails to get to it...assorted
terrain)
Carson City outskirts - Carson City, NV
Arizona (Just outside of Phoenix) - Don't remember the name of the place but
very nice trails...
The suspension/body lift on my truck isn't for looks, or ego...It's a
functioning part of my weekend trips...and camping vacations.
Do you need it...NO. Is the suspension articulation better than
stock...YES. Can I take it just about everywhere ON or OFFRoad...YES. Does
it leap tall buildings in a single bound...of course not...Only Superman
(and a few R/T's can do that.) ;)
Bernd D. Ratsch
Pflugerville, TX
bernd@texas.net
http://lonestar.texas.net/~bernd
1997 Dakota SLT-CC (3.9L)
License Plate Frame: "Don't Follow Me...I'm Trolling for Toyota's"
Song for the Day: "Gonna buy me a Dodge Truck and blow those Fords off the
road....."
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-dakota-truck@buffnet4.buffnet.net
> [mailto:owner-dakota-truck@buffnet4.buffnet.net]On Behalf Of
> Shaun.Hendricks@bergenbrunswig.com
> Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 1999 5:16 PM
> To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
> Subject: DML: RE:DML Lift Kits
>
>
>
> Lift Kits aren't really necessary for offroading. What they
> allow you to
> do is put mondo size tires on your truck and not hit the wheel wells. The
> increase in tire size gives your truck more ground clearance and
> traction, so
> the theory is that they are better for off roading. The truth is, it all
> depends upon the kind of terrain you are going across. Those
> nice high ground
> clearances raise the center of gravity of the vehicle so that if
> you run over
> a rock the wrong way, or get sideways on too steep of a hill... you get to
> test your roll bar functionality. Most lifted trucks around here
> will never
> see gravel (at least here in imageville So. Cal.) so they are
> basically "for
> looks". The same can be said for lowered trucks, they are
> usually gutless,
> the owner having spent all the money on making it scrape the
> pavement, and not
> on preformance. It cracks me up everytime I see a truck "Baja'd
> out" and it
> doesn't even have a single brush scratch on it's perfect paint
> job, yeah, like
> that truck has ever been off road.
> In my opinion, 4wd is best for climbing steep hills, and
> slippery surfaces.
> Most other off road conditions can be conquered by a 4x2 with a
> Limited Slip
> Differential. 4wd is a convenience for many types of off road
> conditions, but
> a 4x2 with an experienced driver can go nearly all places a 4x4
> can. With the
> LSD, a 4x2 has just as many power wheels as a non-LSD 4x4. A 4x4
> with an LSD
> has 3 powered wheels, or with lockers can get all 4 powered.
> Trouble with 4wd
> is they weigh more, have more to break, and that front
> differential can bog
> the truck down if it gets in real soft stuff like snow.
> I can't afford the insurance on a 4x4 and I don't see myself needing to
> climb sand dunes anytime in the near future.
>
> Shaun H.
>
> ---original message---
> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 14:52:44 -0800
> From: Carlos Medina <CTMedina@email.msn.com>
> Subject: DML: Lift Kits
>
> Hey this might be a dumb question, but why would you put a lift
> kit on a 2wd
> truck? I know they look awesome, but can you go off roading in a
> 2wd truck?
> I wouldn't mind putting a lift kit, put I don't want to get stuck out
> there!!! What do they run anyway! price wise I mean??
> Just wondering!
>
> Carlos Medina
> 99 Blk Dakota Rocket
>
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