So I have been thinking about this subject for a little while and thought it might be nice to put up a little post about the tools that get us to, from, and around our hunting areas. None of my ramblings are ment to be the end all be all, they are just my opinions.
First thing to consider: Will your rig be used solely as a hunting rig or as a dual purpose rig? This is important because there are many options you can do to a vehicle that will make it unsuitable for on-road use or daily driving. Such as taking the glass out of the windows so that you can hear and see better (or shoot from the truck where legal). Or you might need to dual purpose the rig to haul tools or be used as a commuter, where your going to need a bed or tool boxes or a specific engine.
Next thing to consider is the terrain you will be operating in. What types of soil, elevation change, and amount of water/mud/snow you will have to deal with? This will give you a direction for suspension, wheelbase, and tire options, which I will go into in just a little bit.
And the last big consideration is to determine how many hunters are you going to typically have with you? Are you going to be alone or are you going to be hauling the family plus some with you? This should be obvious.
Ok, on to the nuts and bolts.
The most important thing first. Wheel base. Thats right, the engine is not the most important thing in picking out your hunt rig! Wheel base is the measurement of the distance between the center of the front axle and the center of the rear axle. This is important because a smaller wheel base is more maneuverable but it increases the risk of rollover in steep terrain, while a larger wheelbase lowers maneuverability it gives you more room and stability. So it is very important to balance your wheel base around the terrain you are going to be operating in. An F350 is not real practical in the mountains while a Suzuki Samurai is of little use in the Desert. From personal experience, I believe a vehicle with a wheel base of at least 80” but no more than 120” to be the best balance, with a preference to vehicles in the 90-105” range.
Great wheelbase chart over here:http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general-4x4-discussion/457372-wheel-base-chart-inside.html
4x4. Yes. It will likely get you into more trouble than get you out of, but damn its handy when you do need it!!
Next up is suspension. There are 3 major types, leaf-spring, Coil-over, and Independent.
Leaf-spring suspensions are the old-school, tried and true, blue coller work horse. Still used on most rear suspensions in almost all pickup trucks, they are very simple, easy to work on, and can be repaired in the field with common hand tools. I have repaired spring shackles (the part that holds the spring to the frame of the truck) by wrapping a chain around the spring and frame. Cheap, tough, has the roughest ride of all 3, and the least amount of travel (in stock configurations), and utilizes a straight axle on the front end. The straight axle is beefy and tough which adds to the appeal of it. Great in soft terrain, where you will deal with lots of sand/snow/mud, good in most other terrains.
Coil-over suspensions are very technical, but they are the toughest system out there. A coil-over suspension utilizes 3 or 4 trailing radius arms that connect the axle to the frame and use big coil springs between the axle and frame. This is slightly more complex than the leaf-spring suspension, but is very tough, usually using forged componets. It has a stiff ride, but it will articulate more than a leaf-spring suspension. The biggest down side is that it is very hard to fix in the field. If a spring comes out of a bucket, you might get it back in, but if you brake a radius arm your gonna be in for a long day. Great in rough, uneven terrain, good in most other terrains, avoid deep mud as it will load your springs and hamper floatation.
Independent suspension systems are relatively new, they are the most complex, and have the smoothest ride. But they also have the least articulation and are known for being weaker than the other suspension styles. They have the most components to break, and you are not likely to fix them in the field if you have a major breakdown. Its common for a-arm bushings to wear out and squeak durring hard turns and articulation, so keep this in mind. Good in most terrains, avoid using in rugged terrain with high torque engines, you will break things.
Breaks. Disk breaks are best, and they have the least moving components to break, but as long as your breaks WORK, it doesn’t matter all that much. Check the fluid once in a while, then move on.
Tires. All terrains or mud terrains? Well, that all comes down to what type of soil you have around you, and if your going to be commuting much on them. Over sizing your tires are a good idea, but only one size or at most 2, over stock. Too big and you will loose a lot of torque and that is not good. I have to use my rig to commute so I run a mild all terrain, I have not gotten stuck with them, ever. I work in a slightly arid AO, lots of rock and hard ground. No need for a super aggressive tire, as long as I can maintain traction. In softer/looser terrain you can really get good results from a mud terrain that is running a lower than normal air pressure.
Ok, engines. 2 types here, gas or diesel. Most of us are going to run gas motors, since small diesel engines are so damn hard to find!! I prefer inline 6 cylinder engines, they get the best fuel economy while maintaining torque. Torque is what we use to move the trucks around at low speed, horse power is a BS number in our realm. Ignore it. V6 & V8s may have good power and sound manly, but they are gas guzzlers at low speeds. Skip them if you can.
Differentials. There are several different options here. I prefer open fronts and limited slip rear ends. A limited slip or locker can make a 2 wheel drive vehicle go almost as many places as a 4x4 can, it just takes a little more skill behind the wheel. And some momentum. Lockers in the front differential is a bad idea, it will break things more often than save you from being stuck. But a locker or limited slip in the rear can make a 4x4 into an unstoppable force! With 2 open differentials, in a worse case secienario you will only have power to 2 wheels with the 4x4 engaged. With one open differential and one limited/locked you will have 3 tires providing traction. With both locked/limited you will have all 4 providing traction at all times. This is not good if you are doing a lot of turning, as it add a tremendous amount of wear to the vehicle. You will break things a lot more often, especially if you are a little lead footed. It also increases your turning radius and makes it harder to steer since all 4 tires have to spin at the same speed.
The last thing to consider when your picking out your next rig is commonality. Is your vehicle common enough to be able to get spare parts for? Like a CJ5. Lots of parts out there for them. But what if you want to get an AMC Eagle? It would be an awesome hunt rig if your hunting with 3+ people, but good luck finding parts!!!!
Favorite hunt rig, 1970s CJ5, favorite dual-use rig, 1989-1994 Toyota PU Xtra cab.
Ok, Ive typed myself out for now. Ill add more to this as I think of it.
First thing to consider: Will your rig be used solely as a hunting rig or as a dual purpose rig? This is important because there are many options you can do to a vehicle that will make it unsuitable for on-road use or daily driving. Such as taking the glass out of the windows so that you can hear and see better (or shoot from the truck where legal). Or you might need to dual purpose the rig to haul tools or be used as a commuter, where your going to need a bed or tool boxes or a specific engine.
Next thing to consider is the terrain you will be operating in. What types of soil, elevation change, and amount of water/mud/snow you will have to deal with? This will give you a direction for suspension, wheelbase, and tire options, which I will go into in just a little bit.
And the last big consideration is to determine how many hunters are you going to typically have with you? Are you going to be alone or are you going to be hauling the family plus some with you? This should be obvious.
Ok, on to the nuts and bolts.
The most important thing first. Wheel base. Thats right, the engine is not the most important thing in picking out your hunt rig! Wheel base is the measurement of the distance between the center of the front axle and the center of the rear axle. This is important because a smaller wheel base is more maneuverable but it increases the risk of rollover in steep terrain, while a larger wheelbase lowers maneuverability it gives you more room and stability. So it is very important to balance your wheel base around the terrain you are going to be operating in. An F350 is not real practical in the mountains while a Suzuki Samurai is of little use in the Desert. From personal experience, I believe a vehicle with a wheel base of at least 80” but no more than 120” to be the best balance, with a preference to vehicles in the 90-105” range.
Great wheelbase chart over here:http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general-4x4-discussion/457372-wheel-base-chart-inside.html
4x4. Yes. It will likely get you into more trouble than get you out of, but damn its handy when you do need it!!
Next up is suspension. There are 3 major types, leaf-spring, Coil-over, and Independent.
Leaf-spring suspensions are the old-school, tried and true, blue coller work horse. Still used on most rear suspensions in almost all pickup trucks, they are very simple, easy to work on, and can be repaired in the field with common hand tools. I have repaired spring shackles (the part that holds the spring to the frame of the truck) by wrapping a chain around the spring and frame. Cheap, tough, has the roughest ride of all 3, and the least amount of travel (in stock configurations), and utilizes a straight axle on the front end. The straight axle is beefy and tough which adds to the appeal of it. Great in soft terrain, where you will deal with lots of sand/snow/mud, good in most other terrains.
Coil-over suspensions are very technical, but they are the toughest system out there. A coil-over suspension utilizes 3 or 4 trailing radius arms that connect the axle to the frame and use big coil springs between the axle and frame. This is slightly more complex than the leaf-spring suspension, but is very tough, usually using forged componets. It has a stiff ride, but it will articulate more than a leaf-spring suspension. The biggest down side is that it is very hard to fix in the field. If a spring comes out of a bucket, you might get it back in, but if you brake a radius arm your gonna be in for a long day. Great in rough, uneven terrain, good in most other terrains, avoid deep mud as it will load your springs and hamper floatation.
Independent suspension systems are relatively new, they are the most complex, and have the smoothest ride. But they also have the least articulation and are known for being weaker than the other suspension styles. They have the most components to break, and you are not likely to fix them in the field if you have a major breakdown. Its common for a-arm bushings to wear out and squeak durring hard turns and articulation, so keep this in mind. Good in most terrains, avoid using in rugged terrain with high torque engines, you will break things.
Breaks. Disk breaks are best, and they have the least moving components to break, but as long as your breaks WORK, it doesn’t matter all that much. Check the fluid once in a while, then move on.
Tires. All terrains or mud terrains? Well, that all comes down to what type of soil you have around you, and if your going to be commuting much on them. Over sizing your tires are a good idea, but only one size or at most 2, over stock. Too big and you will loose a lot of torque and that is not good. I have to use my rig to commute so I run a mild all terrain, I have not gotten stuck with them, ever. I work in a slightly arid AO, lots of rock and hard ground. No need for a super aggressive tire, as long as I can maintain traction. In softer/looser terrain you can really get good results from a mud terrain that is running a lower than normal air pressure.
Ok, engines. 2 types here, gas or diesel. Most of us are going to run gas motors, since small diesel engines are so damn hard to find!! I prefer inline 6 cylinder engines, they get the best fuel economy while maintaining torque. Torque is what we use to move the trucks around at low speed, horse power is a BS number in our realm. Ignore it. V6 & V8s may have good power and sound manly, but they are gas guzzlers at low speeds. Skip them if you can.
Differentials. There are several different options here. I prefer open fronts and limited slip rear ends. A limited slip or locker can make a 2 wheel drive vehicle go almost as many places as a 4x4 can, it just takes a little more skill behind the wheel. And some momentum. Lockers in the front differential is a bad idea, it will break things more often than save you from being stuck. But a locker or limited slip in the rear can make a 4x4 into an unstoppable force! With 2 open differentials, in a worse case secienario you will only have power to 2 wheels with the 4x4 engaged. With one open differential and one limited/locked you will have 3 tires providing traction. With both locked/limited you will have all 4 providing traction at all times. This is not good if you are doing a lot of turning, as it add a tremendous amount of wear to the vehicle. You will break things a lot more often, especially if you are a little lead footed. It also increases your turning radius and makes it harder to steer since all 4 tires have to spin at the same speed.
The last thing to consider when your picking out your next rig is commonality. Is your vehicle common enough to be able to get spare parts for? Like a CJ5. Lots of parts out there for them. But what if you want to get an AMC Eagle? It would be an awesome hunt rig if your hunting with 3+ people, but good luck finding parts!!!!
Favorite hunt rig, 1970s CJ5, favorite dual-use rig, 1989-1994 Toyota PU Xtra cab.
Ok, Ive typed myself out for now. Ill add more to this as I think of it.
