Off road sport trac?

[Woodlands]

I am interested in your opinions and experiences. Almost every review i read of the Sport trac rates in real low on off road and 4x4 ability. Some say it is sub par. Some have it listed at the very bottom on there list of off road ability. I even read one that said it doesnt have the ability to do anything more than drive through puddles and the occasional dirt/mud. This is stock of course.
What do you guys say? I got this truck thinking i could do some pretty cool crap with it, but everything i have read says otherwise.

 

[The Breeze]

Well I have a 2004 Sport Trac and I love it. Its only 2WD but its gone everywhere that I have wanted it to go. I just put a 3" spindle lift in the front and some shackles in the back and I have more ground clearance than I can shake a stick at. Even before when it was stock and all I had on it was some all terian tires and it did great. You just have to know its limitations. It is in no way a 4WD truck and you have to be aware of that. I have actually had a lot of people stop me on the trail and ask me how the heck I got up there.

 

[05dakotatrac]

you can go through more than you think even stock. in my signature under my post you can see what i have done so far and some of the stock options like LSD. i live out in the black hills area and have done some things in my truck that most thought i couldn't do. my buddy got a 03 tacoma and lifted 3" plus 32" tires and he still gets stuck on some things i breeze through.

there is a sticky up top of this forum board with lift options but i'll lay them out by lift amount:
1. larger wheels known fact 31X10.5 fits our trucks in stock form
2. torsion twist/add-a-leaf(or shackles) approxamately 2" lift
3. body lift 3" lift
4. superlift 4" lift (not to popular as it drops the whole front end lower to acheive lift)
5. spring over axle/solid axle swap 5"-6" lift (becoming more and more popular as long as your mechanically inclined)

obvious take the 31X10.5 and add inches appropriate to the lift you do.

 

[theluke19]

http://youtu.be/qKsUKlNJT-o

 

[OffTrac]

Are you going to be leaving Illinois to off road? If not, it should be plenty good for Illinois off road with a good set of all terrains or mud terrains.

In stock form, it's at least as good as any other SUV/small truck. The Dana 35 front suspension is strong and the rear 8.8 has a reputation as a good axle that is often sought by Jeep owners.

Ground clearance in stock form is going to be the only hangup, IMO. Fix that, and you have a pretty capable off road vehicle with a short wheelbase (for a truck). The wheelbase, bed, 4 doors, rear axle and ability to lift easily are what made the decision to buy one easy for me.

I'd say it's pretty capable.

Who are you getting those "ratings" from?

 

[Woodlands]

I dont leave Illinois often and not to off road but i do go into some pretty deep words during hunting season. I love me truck, when i showed up to the dealership to look at it, I thought it was the baddest looking thing i had seen. It was all shined up and had a pair of mean off road tires on it. I fell in love quick.
I got the reviews everywhere off the internet. Just google sport trac off road ability or capability and you'll have plenty to read.
I do plan on adding an add a leaf to the back and doing the torsion twist on the front to gain me a few more inches. Mine is my daily driver so i dont want to go crazy. I need it to stay reliable for awhile.

 

[Woodlands]

Also there are some bad looking Sport tracs on here. Like the one above my post.

 

[OffTrac]

With those plans and a good set of tires, you'll be set for getting to the good hunting spots. Just don't do anything stupid and try to cross rivers or go into mud holes you don't know the depth of. Hunting is initially why I bought the Sport Trac and got a little carried away. 32s got me to every hunting spot I ever asked it to and the tread was more important than the clearance. My dad taught me to drive off road in a front wheel drive '96 Dodge Caravan and we only got it stuck once while hunting. Good driving is more important than the actual vehicle.

The thing about the internet is there's a lot of experts with no experience. You'll find better information here about Sport Tracs than a bunch of opinions by people who saw one once.

 

[05dakotatrac]

put it this way buddy i have been to the only off road park in Illinois, cliffs insane terrain. its in marsailles near the illinois river, i took my truck there with my brother and his girlfriends jeep. i pulled her out a few times and not once needed to get pulled.

but out here where i am based is near the black hills (mt. rushmore for those who dont know) so very rocky hilly terrain and i can take most forest dept. trails listed on the MVUM. with only my 2" lift and stock tires i am much more capable on the trails here and back home in illinois. i can tell you exactly how much i spent on my add-a-leaf and torsion twist. 38 for the leafs, and 50 for the alignment thats the cheapest lift to do

 

[interscope8]

I bet those guys all drove the *eeps...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMzGFZ7jCWk

 

[OffTrac]

Haha, that video cracks me up every time.

 

[interscope8]

Haha, that video cracks me up every time.

Whenever someone says piss on the ST buy a jeep... I show them this video... and every time they have a different reason the jeeps got stuck and everytime I say it doesnt matter. The ST saved the day and in reality after a BL and my new tires get done, mine wont be that far off... I believe he had an SOA in the back of his and squeezed 35's on. Was that Rock's or Tx's??

 

[MidnightRebel07]

I did alot of offroading, deep mudding, river crossing when my Trac was stock and went thru stuff my buddy's lifted F-250 couldn't.

Here's how my Trac sits now, Solid Axle Swap and Spring Over Conversion in the rear coming soon...

Most of those "reviews were done by non-offroaders and didn't know what they're talking about, only sissy's and yuppies write reviews, real guys/ gals drive their Shi... and post on forums like this helping others to build their trucks to be more capable.

Stick around here and we'll get ya Trailin' in no time.

Humble beginings...

This picture was taken after two weeks of hard rain washed most of the mud off...

This is after my improved aproach angle.

I had to climb onto the rear tire, up the nerf bars and into the truck in this one. Can't really tell how much of an angle it is in this picture...

Older picture but good one.

Just look up John Rock's Trac or Chad551's Trac and you'll see their extremely capable.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

That was John's Trac, now belongs to TxPlates. Now it's got a V8 and will be SAS'd soon enough.

 

[05dakotatrac]

by the way woodlands sorry if any of us sound a little brash about this. many of us trac owners are avid off-roaders and like to show the capabilities of this truck. i have turned many people towards the sport trac by showing it's off-road capabilities.

 

[interscope8]

That's good, that trac right there and yours made me wanna build mine when I got it.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Who's Trac?

 

[05dakotatrac]

hes talking bout your rebel mine is nothing to cry home bout.

 

[interscope8]

Yours Rebel!! That sports bar made me drool lol! shame you got rid of it

hes talking bout your rebel mine is nothing to cry home bout.

Nor is mine, but great things have small beginnings

 

[LONO100]

POW!

any doubters!? show em these! i dont even have pictures of my rig at hollister hills, the rubicon bay, strawberry pass, among others.