Body on Frame vs Unibody

[Kpwweb]

check out http://www.traildamage.com or http://www.jeeptheusa.com/

both list lots of trails in Moab and a lot of other places. There are trails in Moab suitable for the current EX

according to people who rock crawl in jeeps a lot trails 2 or lower should be rather doable with an EX. Clearly that means no rock crawling. It does not mean you can not enjoy easier trails.

on edit - I have been told Sand Flats Road and Gemini Bridges should be doable with the EX by a few MH owners who tow jeep wranglers and there are several other easy trails with great scenery or hiking

Good points... Forgot about the easier trails!

 

[jojotheclown]

I wonder how well the unibody would have held up when I was yanking tree stumps out of the ground with my 03 Exploder.

 

[Explorer0204]

I wonder how well the unibody would have held up when I was yanking tree stumps out of the ground with my 03 Exploder.

How about the time I had to move my 8x16 foot shed sunk in mud!

 

[colintrax]

Y'all let it go...

 

[HughCares]

Y'all let it go...

no kidding!....The more they try and stress their points, the more they must feel they are right!

 

[sloop]

the point of the thread was to discuss it - why are you trying to stifle the debate?

 

[peterk9]

Both types of vehicles have their own positives and negatives. People buy them for different reasons, usually depending on what they wish to use them for. There is no right or wrong here. It's a personal choice.

Peter

 

[dtr]

I wonder how well the unibody would have held up when I was yanking tree stumps out of the ground with my 03 Exploder.

A few posts ago I pointed out the unibody was harder to get it to do things it was not designed to do.

This is one of the points of the thread as unibody is comming and you need to express what you need the truck to do not simply say I want a frame as that is meaningless to those who will design the next unibody vehicle.

Jeep grand cherokee design proves unibody can be designed for rock crawling

Dodge Durango proves unibody with a V8 can be designed for heavy towing.

CAFE requirements are going to force unibody so plan accordingly

BTW if it is even a modest stump you are talking about quite a catapult if something lets go. You do not want to hear a story about people getting medevaced by helicopter with permanent disabling injuries while stump pulling.

Get a guy with a stump grinder to take care of it cheap. Stump grinder guy cost $35. Fuel savings per year for unibody would be many times that.

 

[1995E]

If more people bought the Explorer as a body on frame vehicle, they would have stayed with the body on frame. However, people demanded economical cars for light snow and family hauling. No need for random stump removal or other needs other than using it as a commuter vehicle. So why have a body on frame SUV if people don't actually go offroading with it. 99% of SUVs bought don't even see heavy rocks or heavy mud at all so why even bother making it for a market that does not even exist. They built the Raptor to fill in that gap. They still have the F-150 which is way more capable.

 

[unclemeat]

I bought a 2013 F-150. V 8 (5.0) 4x4, body on frame. It will tow 7400-lb right out of the box. 16 to 18-mpg. Way more truck then I need, but it is everything thath the Gen V Explorer is not.

However, Unibody, turbos, exterme fuel efficiency, and advanced engineering is the future. Doing more with less is why automakers spend so much money on engineering. The engineering is what ultimately sells the vehicles. I have a hard time accepting the new Explorer because it is not what I need in a vehicle. But, for what it is, and the market that it is competing in it is hard to find fault with Ford and what the Explorer has become.