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Grand_Mufti
Dodge Dakota
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9/19/2004
00:18:51
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 Subject: 2WD off roading?
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I have a 1998 Dakota Sport and I would like to lift it. I am however concerned that my truck is 2WD. Is it worth lifting my truck and using it in off road use? Will I get stuck all the time? I've been told by a lot of 4x4 owners that they don't use their 4WD except for big hills. Other than that they say they off road in 2WD. I've also been told that on 2WD vehicles, the vehicle can't handle a 5.5" lift. I don't know how true that is but I heard it nonetheless. I have a friend with a 2WD explorer and he says it's great off roading in it. Although you can't do what a 4x4 can you can still have a lot of fun. Anyone here lifted their 2wd? Off roaded it? Fabtech 3in" or Tough Country 5.5"? What are your experience with 2WD off roading?
Thanks!
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chaximus
Dodge Dakota
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9/19/2004
06:40:01
|  RE: 2WD off roading?
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I had a 2000 sport 2wd and i was in your position at one time. I did lift the dak with the fabtech 3" and PA 3" body lift as well. I added 2 inch lift shackles to the rear to level it off (don't like the prerunner look). 4wheeling with the dak was "OK" but it didn't go where i wanted it to go. I went ahead and added a powertrax no-slip locker to the rear and you wouldn't believe where i could go in 2wd. I also had bfgoodrich M/T's on 15x8 black rockcrawlers. The fabtech kit performed great except for just one thing: the bumpstops on the A-arms would ALWAYS hit the frame on little potholes or bumps. My willingness to explore MORE areas forced me to trade for a 4x4 jeep which my dak could never keep up with.
Is it worth off roading with: YES
Can it go everywhere a 4x4 goes: NO but if you are a smart driver and you have the neccessary accessories, you'll go pretty far.
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MattE
Dodge Dakota
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9/22/2004
12:48:25
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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I have an 04 Dodge Dakota 2wd with no LSD, and i have been able to go some places a 4wd cant which is kinda cool, and its all stock.
you cant go rock crawling or deep deep mudding in a 2wd but you can do alot in it (you really cant go rock crawling in a dakota anyhow, wrong size wheelbase)
but overall the 2wd dak is still a great offraod machine, even stock, im planning on getting a 3" body lift, 31.9" Mud tires and 2" coil spacers for the front to even out the slope and raise the front.
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Scott1981
Dodge Dakota
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9/22/2004
13:56:16
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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i agree with most of what has been said. a locker will make the biggest difference, infact a some locked 2wd's can do farther than a unlocked 4wd. I used to play around offroad with my 2k nissan frontier that was 2wd, sure the 4x4's outdid me but i still had a blast. i have pulled probably about 4-5 trucks out of mud,sand ect over the 4 years i owned that truck and 3 of those were 4x4. i say lift it, lock it add some decent tires and skidplates and have a good time.
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TheRumbleFish
Dodge Dakota
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9/24/2004
22:53:45
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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Hey Chaximus... where did you find lift shackles?????
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chaximus
Dodge Dakota
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9/27/2004
20:51:59
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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I don't quite remember where i purchased those shackles. I think it was truckinsuspension.com or something. I know they have a bad history with lift kits but these shackles were perfectly fine.
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dan
Dodge Dakota
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10/20/2004
23:43:15
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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hey chaximus
are you the one with the copper dakota? and if you are how did you get your stock rims to fit with a 3"fabtech lift? also did you add a leaf with the shackles?
thanks
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chaximus
Dodge Dakota
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10/21/2004
16:19:02
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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Yes that was my truck (wondering where you saw it). I used 2" wheel spacers to fit my stock wheels. In case you don't know what these are, they spacers that you put on before the wheels. This is do-able but you'll blow your ball joints shortly after due to added stress to the joints. Mine blew about 12k after installing the spacers. I later swapped the stock wheels for AR black steel wheels that had 4.0 backspacing. These didn't fit with the fabtech kit either but i had the brake lines relocated (where it connects to the caliper) and all was good.
As for the add-a-leaf, yes i used it in conjunction with the shackles. The fabtech kit gave my jeep a pre-runner look and i'm not into that style so the shackles raised the rear about 1" higher and smoothed out the ride.
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chaximus
Dodge Dakota
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10/21/2004
16:23:50
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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uhh...sorry if i said "jeep" in that post. I currently own a 2000 wrangler that i got for my 2000 dakota :) It's a habit....err..jeep thing :)
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dan
Dodge Dakota
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10/21/2004
23:44:23
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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thanks for answering. i have to make a decision if buying from fabtech would be my best bet concidering i need front suspension work and new shocks. is there any good deals for suspension lifts?
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chaximus
Dodge Dakota
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10/22/2004
16:24:49
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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Fabtech would be the best way to go but not the only option though. You can do with coil spacers if you want to go the cheap route. Coils spacers just sit on top of the coils and it doesn't change the ride characteristics. I used the fabtech kit cuz it was the only lift kit (at that time, but i don't know about now) available for my 2k dakota. You can also go custom if you can find a shop to make you a set of front coils, and grab some longer shocks from anyone who can provide them. You'll probably need longer a-arms if you do go with longer coils. As for the rear, finding a add-a-leaf kit is easy or getting new springs would be sweet (alot of $$ though). So basically you have a few options and determining which way you want to go depends on your budget and of course, how you want to wheel. Tire size should be considered when deciding too.
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Chad
Dodge Dakota
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10/26/2004
12:24:32
|  RE: 2WD off roading?
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You can't go hardly anywhere in a 2wd truck, you're wasting you're money buying wheels and tires and lift for them. Why don't you take the money you would spend on that and buy a 4wd truck.
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chaximus
Dodge Dakota
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10/26/2004
18:16:38
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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Well if you think of it, spending around $1500 on a liftkit, locker, and new tires will get you around ALOT just like a 4x4 would. Buying a new 4x4 would cost $8k or up depending on new/used condition. I rather go with $1500 and take on the challenges 2wd has to offer.
by the way, my 2wd dakota that was lifted 6 inches, locked in the rear, and bfg mud terrains out wheeled my buddy's jeep too many times. It's worth it..and worth that great feeling of beating a 4x4.
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help me out
Dodge Dakota
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10/27/2004
21:29:00
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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all thing being equal the 4x4 wins.the unlocked 2 wheel that can go were 4x4s cant...???well?
lock you rear axal and have a ball.dont invest alot of money because eventaly youll want 4 wheel drive.hey i picked up a very sound no rust,mostly completly rebuilt over the last 5 years,77 cj 5 4x4 origonal 3 speed 258 inline 6 for 1000 bucks .for off road shes all you need.
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help me out
Dodge Dakota
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10/27/2004
21:29:22
| RE: 2WD off roading?
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all thing being equal the 4x4 wins.the unlocked 2 wheel that can go were 4x4s cant...???well?
lock you rear axal and have a ball.dont invest alot of money because eventaly youll want 4 wheel drive.hey i picked up a very sound no rust,mostly completly rebuilt over the last 5 years,77 cj 5 4x4 origonal 3 speed 258 inline 6 for 1000 bucks .for off road shes all you need.
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