Off-road opinions and thoughts.

[Fix4Dirt]

Adding a hitch under the front bumper of a off road vehicle is a bad idea. You take away too much approach angle from a vehicle that doesn't have much to begin with.

i suppose with mods it could work a but better but the out of the box ones ive seen online are too low imo. winch bumper or bust!

 

[Metta]

View attachment 430636
right here under the bumper

Ah the skid plate yet, but the relocation of the pipes?

 

[239]

This is my 2000 on 32’s. It has lift keys and lift shackles. It’s going to be about 1” higher soon as I’m throwing on some old man emu springs and lift spindles. The torsion twist is nice but I want a softer ride.

 

[Metta]

This is my 2000 on 32’s. It has lift keys and lift shackles. It’s going to be about 1” higher soon as I’m throwing on some old man emu springs and lift spindles. The torsion twist is nice but I want a softer ride.
View attachment 430653
View attachment 430654
View attachment 430655

View attachment 430656

Wow that’s awesome! That looks very high with only shackles and the keys looks brilliant!

How hard are the keys to change?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Wow that’s awesome! That looks very high with only shackles and the keys looks brilliant!

How hard are the keys to change?

imo keys do the same as the twist- increase preload on the bars.iirc he has a 2wd so he can use lift spindles, and with 2wd no cvs to bind so tt can be up to 3" if you can handle the ride

that being said, keys aint hard you need the unloader tool iirc

 

[Mbrooks420]

Riding at full droop sucks. Street queen stuff.

 

[239]

Wow that’s awesome! That looks very high with only shackles and the keys looks brilliant!

How hard are the keys to change?

I paid a shop to put the lift keys on about 3 years ago. They told me the hardest part was getting the tension off the torsion bars and the original keys were stuck on the torsion bars pretty well. I think tightening the stock bolts will give you the same effect as lift keys and you can avoid the extra work.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Riding at full droop sucks. Street queen stuff.

kiddin!

 

[DemonMudder]

I paid a shop to put the lift keys on about 3 years ago. They told me the hardest part was getting the tension off the torsion bars and the original keys were stuck on the torsion bars pretty well. I think tightening the stock bolts will give you the same effect as lift keys and you can avoid the extra work.

Well, as long as you have the torsion bar remover tool, it's mostly pretty simple. We had to unload the tbars to throw on a 6" lift kit for my moms silverado, really wasn't bad when we got the tool to relieve the tension. Just take note of the amount bolt turns so you can put it back how it was before. The tool is like $40-60, it's not terrible and its worth using, tries adding lift keys to mine before we had the tool, was told they didn't fit, they looked identical to mine, but I just said screw it and maxed out my oem keys. Worked for getting my 32s on

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I paid a shop to put the lift keys on about 3 years ago. They told me the hardest part was getting the tension off the torsion bars and the original keys were stuck on the torsion bars pretty well. I think tightening the stock bolts will give you the same effect as lift keys and you can avoid the extra work.

youre 2wd right?

 

[DemonMudder]

View attachment 430660kiddin!

And that is a big no no, do NOT make your X look like this!! Especially with those RC car tires!!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

And that is a big no no, do NOT make your X look like this!! Especially with those RC car tires!!

well if its squatted wven worse!!!! was just talkin bout driving at full droop

 

[DintDobbs]

@BKennedy @Fix4Dirt Forgot to specify, my front hitch receiver is flipped, so no more clearance lost than with a skid plate. The Curt sits back in there pretty far, so as to hide completely behind the bumper cover (right about where the little air deflector goes around the radiator). I have the newer bumper with round fog lights, so the bar hardly hangs lower than my fog lights, if at all. That could pose a bit of a problem for @Metta if he doesn't have the low-hanging fog lights to begin with.

Ultimately, it's down to the individual to decide - to me, the lower clearance is OK for the peace of mind of protecting those little cooler lines.

@Metta, let us know what you decide to do. Those Coopers are lookin' mean!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

@BKennedy @Fix4Dirt Forgot to specify, my front hitch receiver is flipped, so no more clearance lost than with a skid plate. The Curt sits back in there pretty far, so as to hide completely behind the bumper cover (right about where the little air deflector goes around the radiator). I have the newer bumper with round fog lights, so the bar hardly hangs lower than my fog lights, if at all. That could pose a bit of a problem for @Metta if he doesn't have the low-hanging fog lights to begin with.

Ultimately, it's down to the individual to decide - to me, the lower clearance is OK for the peace of mind of protecting those little cooler lines.

@Metta, let us know what you decide to do. Those Coopers are lookin' mean!

oh alright, yeah then its alright! could also be used to push a boat into a tight space ive got a bumper from rockranger so i assume it would hang too low for me, but having it would be nice for moving trailer around!!! those cooler lines must be protected from the evil mr rock! (not sure if it was you whos aid that)

 

[DemonMudder]

I mean, definitely works as some protection. But at the same time, it's easier to get caught on something with that front hitch versus a skid plate, though the hitch will take the brunt of it better!! Pros and cons to both situations. For example needing to remove it to work on something, skid plates tend to be easier to remove than a whole dang hitch

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I mean, definitely works as some protection. But at the same time, it's easier to get caught on something with that front hitch versus a skid plate, though the hitch will take the brunt of it better!! Pros and cons to both situations. For example needing to remove it to work on something, skid plates tend to be easier to remove than a whole dang hitch

^^^this! though i will admit ive used my rear hitch as a skid many many times, especially when mine used to be afflicted by the sag!

 

[239]

youre 2wd right?

Yes 2WD

 

[Metta]

Little update guys - photos to follow next week. New discs and pads fitted, and some odd ends repaired. Front bash guard is arriving Tuesday / wed next week. Decided to not go off roading till they arrive.

She now however has 12 months MOT! Wooohoo.

Now I would like some extra advice on rear toe hooks that would essentially bolt onto the brackets that the toe bar will be removed from? If anyone can help that would be awesome again I am from the UK. I’m going to try the rear air shockers off road since I’ve managed to fix a leak on the pipes that was causing it to loose pressure over a few days.

@Fix4Dirt @DintDobbs @Fix4Dirt

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Little update guys - photos to follow next week. New discs and pads fitted, and some odd ends repaired. Front bash guard is arriving Tuesday / wed next week. Decided to not go off roading till they arrive.

She now however has 12 months MOT! Wooohoo.

Now I would like some extra advice on rear toe hooks that would essentially bolt onto the brackets that the toe bar will be removed from? If anyone can help that would be awesome again I am from the UK. I’m going to try the rear air shockers off road since I’ve managed to fix a leak on the pipes that was causing it to loose pressure over a few days.

@Fix4Dirt @DintDobbs @Fix4Dirt

imo since ya have a tow bar which i asume is a hitch i would just put a D ring shackle in its place plenty of attatchments availabke on sites like amazon, imo not even worth the while to remove it to put tow hooks where the hitch bolts to. and anyways the hitch protects the bumper imo. (for those of ya in pst, yep... im at at 1 )

 

[Metta]

imo since ya have a tow bar which i asume is a hitch i would just put a D ring shackle in its place plenty of attatchments availabke on sites like amazon, imo not even worth the while to remove it to put tow hooks where the hitch bolts to. and anyways the hitch protects the bumper imo. (for those of ya in pst, yep... im at at 1 )

Do you have any photos bud? My idea was the toe bar actually sits low down, so ideally I wanted that removed the rear bumper is scabby on the chrome and I’ll eventually have a proper off road rear bumper put on in the future

And would you just put the d ring where the bolts would go for the tow bar?