GameboyRMH said:
If Black Bear Pass is the worst it has to offer, anything with full-time 4WD and an offroad-worthy amount of ground clearance will do it no problem. Stock 4Runner, Xterra, or Frontier/Navara would do it.
Yeah. I'll admit a have a desire to do the TAT in the 'wrong' vehicle for fun. But when the consequences are getting stuck and needing to get pulled/winched out, that's one thing. When the consequences are being stranded on top of a mountain or going over the edge, that's a different story.
docwyte
UltraDork
7/15/19 12:40 p.m.
In reply to ProDarwin :
Vehicle recovery on the Colorado high passes in some places is non existent, in others eye wateringly expensive. Not only that but there isn't space for it to sit there, if it does, nobody else can go past in either direction.
I get trying to do something in the "wrong" vehicle for fun but it's not just you up there. Having a vehicle plug up a trail in both directions for a day(s) really can mess everyone else's trip up too.
docwyte said:
In reply to ProDarwin :
Vehicle recovery on the Colorado high passes in some places is non existent, in others eye wateringly expensive. Not only that but there isn't space for it to sit there, if it does, nobody else can go past in either direction.
I get trying to do something in the "wrong" vehicle for fun but it's not just you up there. Having a vehicle plug up a trail in both directions for a day(s) really can mess everyone else's trip up too.
Yeah, we are on the same page here, perhaps my post above did not convey that.
For anyone who has Motor Trend On Demand, go watch the Dirt Every Day guys...they do some stuff like rock-climbing in trucks I can't even believe. They did a "cheap Jeep" challenge with XJs, and one had a locker, one had a winch, and one had a lift/big tires...they all had various levels of getting stuck but then getting unstuck and making it up the trail. IMO if you had all of those combined (locker/winch/small lift/decently big tires) you could conquer almost anything. As long as you don't care too much about your rocker panels, of course.
And if you were gonna do it in the "wrong" vehicle like a Safari Porsche or something...doing it in a convoy with actual trucks behind you would probably help.
I'm not sure if this is the "wrong" vehicle or the perfect vehicle.
manual, 4x4, diff lockers front and rear. Room for cargo/converting rear into a camper even?
https://columbus.craigslist.org/ctd/d/hamilton-fs-1990-daihatsu-hijet-climber/6982830617.html
I don't think that even makes it up some of the passes in CO. Not because of lockers etc but the tiny engine running out of HP.
In reply to bmw88rider :
Convert it to electric, and lose the “power loss at altitude” thing, while also lowering the CoG thing?
That would be the only way. IIRC that has about 40 hp provided none of them ran away.
This idea has somehow popped into my head again. There is a chance I will be laid off this year, or maybe furloughed. My company is also offering significant amounts of unpaid leave this year.
Anyone else feeling adventurous?
Dear GRM staff,
I'm bumping this as there's been discussions regarding a lifted Prius as a project car. I'm confident that with the right tires this ambitious undertaking could warrant significant attention nationwide and provide for incredible content.
This is exactly the type of thing I'm building my ambulance for
captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:
Dear GRM staff,
I'm bumping this as there's been discussions regarding a lifted Prius as a project car. I'm confident that with the right tires this ambitious undertaking could warrant significant attention nationwide and provide for incredible content.
I would be very tempted to do a Prius TAT trip (as part of a group). I wonder if the differential itself is shared with any other Toyota products that might have a Torsen available? Or maybe one could put a phantom grip/springy-block-thing-LSD in one?
In reply to ProDarwin :
Knowing that the hybrid system is part of the CVT transmission, I suspect that you're only chance for a differential change would be the front differential from a highlander hybrid, and I don't believe that it has any sort of highly capable differential in it.
I suspect that the capabilities are fully going to be dependent upon body lift, suspension (there are surprisingly are rally coilovers for Priuses) and the biggest aspect, tires. Tires should be a large part of the storyline, they will also be what makes the project financially viable as an intelligent tire distributor, that has the utmost confidence in their product, would want to offer a set of five tires (including a full sized spare) to be utilized on the project as they would obviously be reviewed with regards to their capability of taking a vehicle that is thought to be mundane to go out on an adventure that some would think is insane.
With the GRM community's strange affinity for the second generation Prius and GRM's history with the Gambler, it really is an oddball fit to me and a story that I'd absolutely love to read.
I haven't personally taken apart a Prius CVT, but as far as I can tell, the last step inside is still a traditional ring gear with open diff. Its everything before that is different.
I found a picture taken by a potato in 1750:
In reply to ProDarwin :
The idea of an LSD'd Prius has me giggling uncontrollably on the inside.
The TAT is on my bucket list. It is the reason I built the Samurai and the XJ. It will happen, but it will be a few more years. I don't want to have to rush through it.
A lifted Prius on good AT tires could probably manage 60-75% of it. There are parts of it out west that get pretty difficult and the mud in the midwest would bring it to its knees. I'm fairly certain my XJ with a locking rear dif and an LSD front dif will require some rerouting to avoid the worst of it. The recommendations I've read say locking diffs, 3+ inches of lift, and 33-inch tires. They also strongly recommend a winch and travel buddies.
If you want to try something a little closer to home, hit the Smokey Mountain 1000. It's 1000 miles of back roads and forest service roads in NC, SC, TN, and GA. I've covered some of it in my Ridgeline. None of it was horrible but 4wd is reassuring to have.
You also might want to look into the Kentucky Adventure Tour. It's another 1000 mile loop. From the information and videos I've seen, 4WD is required. The local guys I've chatted with say the Ridgeline won't make it.
There are many good videos on Youtube that will give you an idea of what to expect. If it's anything like the South Carolina Adventure route, the easy parts are the longest but the hard parts take the longest. That's the times you need the 4wd and high ground clearance.
This is part of the SCAR. It wasn't the worst of the day. A Prius wouldn't have made it without landing in the ditch. A reroute would have meant backtracking about 10 miles.
I've driven most of the SCAR at this point. I will be finishing off the Smokey Mountain 1000 next and then moving on to the KAT. I really enjoy the challenges and the scenery, not to mention the solitude.
I hate learn me threads, but I am also very interested in the Trans America trail. I'd love to see a thread on such an adventure. I'd be all in on something like it when I retire in 10 years or so.
Toyman, thanks for posting those. They seem like interesting routes, and closer to home so can be used as a bit more of a 'shakedown' run.
I like the idea of the SM500 to begin with:
https://advrider.com/f/threads/smokey-mountains-500-jeep-route.1450014/
You don't do the TAT if it's raining. Large sections of the East/MidWest are impassable due to mud, no matter how many lockers/4wd you have.
In reply to ProDarwin :
The SM500 and the SM1000 share a lot of the same roads. I'm all for doing a meet-up and spending a long weekend out on the trails with anyone that's interested.
Another trail is the Georgia Traverse. It's also on my shortlist.
In reply to docwyte :
This is why I want to be able to take my time on the TAT. A 24-hour layover can make all the difference in the roads. If it is actively raining in the east and midwest, the top 6" of the road will be slop. 24 hours later it will still be wet but probably passable. It also keeps from destroying the roads and causing them to be closed.
I would bet that most of the mishaps and broken parts occur when people are in a hurry because of a deadline.
This thread makes me want to find a early 2000's g500 project.
In reply to yupididit :
I'm thinking a 4x4 conversion on the RV may need to happen someday.
The SM500/1K might be a good soft-roader enduro challenge.
