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few worries about full size trail ability

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bigwalleye

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Thinking about getting a 70 K5 with a 454. I guess the big question is since I have only wheeled TJ's and Wagoneers have you had to may situations where the size of a K5 have limited you. The trails I do are mostly slick steep hill climbs in oregon forest. A few waterfalls to aminly hill climds. I have never wheeled around full-size so i am a little hesitant to jump on the band wagon even though they look like awsome rigs and you cant beat chevy drive train.

I want a 74 or older to prevent smog issues.

What say you????

I do have a 14b and 60frnt I will swap in or under the wagoneer depending which way I go.
 
Throw the body damage card out the window. I also tend to pick different lines than the j**p's do. K5's are as, if not more capable, and you cant beat the drivetain.
 
I would definately go with the 14ff and d60 combo on the blazer. :waytogo: they are a good rig. I wish I had another one :(
 
For the most part, I went all of the same places the smaller rigs did, but with a lot more weight, breakage, and exponentially more body damage.
 
blk87K5 said:
For the most part, I went all of the same places the smaller rigs did, but with a lot more weight, breakage, and exponentially more body damage.
Click to expand...

Seems like the full size was a far challange than the little guys
 
I do mostly rock crawling and have an easier time on obstacles than most Jeeps do. 90% of the guys in my club have Jeeps. I think it's the wheel base that helps so much. Plus I have a good crawl ratio with my 4 speed.

As for body damage.....expect some, try to protect as much as you can, i.e. rock sliders, bumpers front and rear with wrap around protection.

I would definetly rock the K5! Too many Jeeps on the trail and everyone always loves a Chevy with the group :grin:
 
Well. we will be wheeling the same area.. Browns camp im pretty sure, And yea there are some spots that are tight, Ive gotten a little body damage, but have since narrowed the front, and rear(actually in the process of narrowing the rear). Im yet to go up to browns with the new setup but, there are a few places that i can think of that its really gonna help. Body dmg is gonna happen sooner or later up there, But i wouldnt trade my fullsize for anything. Thats not to say i wouldnt like to build a jeep or yota someday, but i will always have my fullsize. Keep us posted. check out the northwest forum on here from time to time, ill post on there when we are planning on making a run to TSF, or sandlake....
 
oh yea, If you dont want to narrow your rig, then just keep some fenders, and hoods around the house to swap out, after yours get too hammerd.. I think the toll of trashed body parts i have so far is, three fenders, 1 hood, 2 doors. but all the stuff is cheap and plentiful.
 
i'm gonna let mother nature take care of my narrowing. he's already started to put the truck on a diet, why not let her finish?
 
I haven't received much body damage. One incidental dent on the passenger door, but it will pop right back out. I think it depends on the lines you choose, and obviously the difficulty of the trail.

I can only think of one time I've had to turn back because the trail was too narrow, and it would have still be damn scary in a jeep. Huge drop off to one side. :crazy:
 
is a k5 less lumbering than a wagoneer?
or are you talking that little woody cherokee thing
 
wagoneer was the blazer sized cherokee.... late 60s early 70s, woody sides, bigger tires than it's predecessors.
 
'70 K5 with a 454..
Is it in good shape or is it headed for the junkyard?
I'd say that if its a pretty clean blazer for several thousand dollars, its probably not a great idea to turn that into your beater/ wheeler if its nice..
If i could do it all over again i'd find a $1000 blazer that was already rusting apart with a few dents.. Instead of a nice $5K blazer. Especially if you know your just gonna put more dents into it. If its gonna get beat find a beater.
I never intended to start bashing my k5 when i first bought it, but i got the bug and it started getting wheeled harder.. My k5 is still my DD and not a beater, so i try to avoid body damage. I'll bring it back from the dark side one of these days, doing the bodywork and painting it.
2nd Gen parts are much more available if you're gonna bash and replace panels over and over again.
 
Well, if it'll fit through the hole it'll go through it.

I've never had any complaints about wheelbase (131" on my truck) but the front and rear overhang are a neverending nuissance. A K5 has far less rear overhang than my truck. Also, the corners are a bit of a nuissance but Jeeps have the same problem.

Other than that, I like the size. You just have to get used to it. Just like you expect to tear fender flares off a Jeep and bang up the rear corners on a Jeep expect dents on a fullsize. Especially doors if you like to do tree pivots.
 
I've wheeled quite a bit of TSF and the only place I really collected much body damage on my K5 was rock crushers (to be expected!).

j
 
Here's a link to a post I made about a trailride this last weekend.
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133679
My K5 on 38's and my buddy's F-250 with 42's, both locked f&r, basically went everywhere and more than several smaller bodied and lighter vehicles including an early Bronco and a TJ on 36's. The fullsizes both took a little body damage, but so did the other vehicles.
 
The k5 is pretty clean on 36 tsl's in good shap the engine is real strong and the body only has a few dents. He is asking $3000. I have a 84 GW on 35's with a welded rear. I blow the tranny at sand lake due to my lack of brains. I am trying to figure out if I want to put my 60 and 14b under the GW and run 39 irocks or use the broken GW to get another rig to build up. I am sure what I have will get beat up since I am not the most delicate wheeler
 
Fullsizes own in hillclimbs. I was at a place a month or so ago and had many 50+ foot hillclimbs all very steep and I just walked up every one of them in my suburban. I have 9" lift total, 36's d60/14 bolt and 4.56's and detroits front and rear. I also did not air down my tires at all, I was runnin 35 psi the whole time. The jeep, toyota and early bronco I was with used lots of throttle and bouncing to get up the climbs. I'll second the notion to get something thats already falling apart, body damage is the major issue with fullsizes.
 
Do you all wheel full size because thats what you have or did you make the switch from smaller rigs?

BOdy damage is part of wheeling to some degree
 
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