Posted by Fat Boy on May 17, 01 at 16:14:55:
In Reply to: How posted by qdude79 on May 16, 01 at 14:04:44:
I own both a '99 Jeep Wrangler (Sahara) and a '94 GMC K2500 6.5L turbo-diesel Suburban. I've also owned (and wheeled) a solid-axle '89 K1500 Suburban, so I know where-of I speak.
What can I say about the Sub? A Jeep it ain't. My Jeep can run circles around my Sub off-road. Just by it's nature (smaller, lighter, better power-to-weight ratio), the Jeep can go places I'd never be able to take the Sub.
BUT... That is not to say the Sub is "bad" off-road, only that it pails in comparison to the best out there. I've found that my biggest problem with wheeling the Sub is the rear departure angle. When approaching a hill or coming to the bottom of a ditch, I often scrape the tow-hitch. Three or four times now I've had to re-wire my tail-lights and/or trailer-lights because the wires got caught on something, or they got pinched between the hitch and a rock or log. The break-over angle hasn't really been a problem. I have dragged the t-case a couple times, even high-centered it, but it's held up just fine.
For off-roading, my old solid axle '89 V1500 Sub would also eat up my newer '94 K2500. It didn't have any more ground clearance, but the wheel travel was amazing (in comparison). It also just "felt" tougher.
The Sub does have some advantages over the smaller Jeep. It can get through mud-pits that would swamp the Jeep because it always hase one end or the other out of the hole. It's heavy, so it has more grip on the ground (assuming there's traction to be had).
I've used my Subs to pull Jeeps out of mud-holes... Never seen a Jeep pull a Sub out of the pits.