off road areas in socal with a 2wd silverado
 

I recently purchased a 2003 Silverado 5.3L 2WD with a 5 inch lift. I
know having a 2WD there is limitation as far as going off roading comes
to, but i wanna see what this truck is possible to do. What places
would you reccomend to go to near Long Beach area?

off road areas in socal with a 2wd silverado
 

Howdy argen,
El Mirage OHV area.

Frank X. Morris http://community.webtv.net/Sulkhalil/ChimeandFriends

off road areas in socal with a 2wd silverado
 

"argen" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I recently purchased a 2003 Silverado 5.3L 2WD with a 5 inch lift. I
> know having a 2WD there is limitation as far as going off roading comes
> to, but i wanna see what this truck is possible to do. What places
> would you reccomend to go to near Long Beach area?
>
I see stock 2 wheel drive trucks in the desert all of the time. You'll have
to use power for hills and to clear some obstacles that a 4x4 can crawl over
and your brakes will take a beating where a 4x4 can use low gears to check
the speed but a majority of the roads and trails that I've seen are
completely doable with a 2 wheel drive truck and in your case clearance
isn't an issue. Tires are your biggest priority and you'll need a winch to
tackle anything extreme. I have a stock SUV with only the rocker panels
removed for clearance and I rarely scrape the skid plates. I've thought of a
lift but after 50,000 miles (5,000 miles off road) I haven't run into
anything that I couldn't handle and I've been on a lot of back roads in the
SW desert. I don't go looking for rocks to climb but it's inevitable at
least once on 40% of the trips we take.

Check out Delorme for off road mapping software or go to your local BLM for
area maps. Delorme also makes a series of off road atlases by state and
California is broken up by North and South.

Bob Walker

off road areas in socal with a 2wd silverado
 

On 15 Apr 2006 13:19:16 -0700, "argen" > wrote:

>I recently purchased a 2003 Silverado 5.3L 2WD with a 5 inch lift. I
>know having a 2WD there is limitation as far as going off roading comes
>to, but i wanna see what this truck is possible to do. What places
>would you reccomend to go to near Long Beach area?


Install some 4.88 or 5.13 gears since you do not have a low range and
the deeprs gears will improve traction too. (see link below) Also
install a selectable locker in rear like a Eaton E-locker or a ARB. DO
this and with some good driving, you will be surprized as to where you
can go with a 2wd truck. ALso a few hunderd lbs of ballast located by
tailgate will help a lot too.

http://forum.snoman.com/viewtopic.php?t=63
-----------------
The SnoMan
www.thesnoman.com

off road areas in socal with a 2wd silverado
 

Thanks for the tip Frank. I just checked El MIrage on the Internet and
it does look like something my truck could handle.
Thank you!!!!!!!!

off road areas in socal with a 2wd silverado
 

Howdy argen,
I have driven the area in 2 wheel drive vehicles for years. You have
very easy to very tough so you will find the right conditions for your
vehicle. A couple things to take along. Highlift jack, compresser, basic
tools and water. Others may have ideas on what else to bring. On
weekends there are a lot of people around and the BLM rangers patrol the
area. Bring camping gear so you can make a weekend of it.

Frank X. Morris http://community.webtv.net/Sulkhalil/ChimeandFriends