Spent a weekend in the San Juans and saw a lot of rigs that looked overbuilt for the trails

I was out near Engineer Pass and noticed a bunch of trucks with huge lifts and 40 inch tires, but they were all sticking to the main, easy routes. It felt like a lot of people are building for a look instead of actual use. In my experience, a more modest build on 33s can handle 90 percent of the trails out there with less breakage and cost. Has anyone else found that simpler setups get you further than the show rigs?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas_gonzalez1mo ago

That logic is backwards. Big lifts and 40s are about capability and safety margin, not just looks. On a shelf road like Engineer, you want all the clearance you can get to avoid body damage. A "simple" rig on 33s is one bad line away from a torn up rocker panel. People build for the hardest trail they might see, not the easy 90 percent. It's about being ready for anything.

victor_carr251mo ago

Being ready for anything" sounds like overkill for most weekend trips. Most guys I wheel with on 33s do just fine by picking good lines and knowing their rig's limits. Isn't it more about driver skill than just having the biggest stuff?

miab872d ago

My buddy built his Jeep on 35s with lockers front and rear and he runs circles around guys with 40s on the same trails, just because he actually has to pick his lines instead of flooring it over everything. I've seen a guy in a stock XJ on 31s make it through Black Bear Pass while a dude in a fully built buggy got stuck because he couldn't read the trail. @thomas_gonzalez, having more clearance doesn't mean squat if you don't know how to use it, and those big heavy tires just beat you up on the rough stuff. I broke an axle once on 37s when I could've walked that obstacle on 33s with a better line. Honestly, a lighter rig with smaller tires and a good driver will get you further than most overbuilt monstrosities out there.