BrianSD_42
New member
The Prius is a great daily driver!
Off Roader AND Daily Driver???
- Thread starter adkinsadam1
- Start date
the great him
Elite Member
i DD mine and wheel it when i get the chance. i try not to break things as it is my DD, but i have put my fair share of dents(ok all the dents) in it off road. i try to keep to more trails and exploring/overlanding than i do actual hard core wheeling, but im not afraid of wheeling it hard if the need/desire arises, even at 280k miles
adkinsadam1
New member
What do people mean by "wheeling"? Do they mean running trails and passes that are 4wd roads? Or specifically finding rocky terrain to drive over?
NateMob
New member
My "wheelin" is seeking out rocky trails and trying the most difficult line that i think is possible. Lots of photos of our trails in my build thread. I cant speak for everyone else, some just take their trucks on fireroads and call it offroading.
thebrandon
New member
I do some light wheeling with mine, mostly for camping or some what technical trails. It is my daily driver so I try not to abuse it off road, but like the fact that it can take me just about anywhere I want to go.
IBallEngineer
New member
I think wheeling is many different things, to many different people. From what you've posted I believe you'll be fine with a dual purpose vehicle that suits ALL your needs. I know this isn't a 3rd gen, but this was my daily driver for 14 yrs and I towed a travel trailer 300 miles to wheel it, then towed back home. It's not my DD anymore, the 3rd gen took that job, but I'd still wheel it anywhere, or drive it anywhere.
A little broken, 300 miles from home
The last picture was taken when my fuel pump started failing while going up the south bound side of the Grapevine on I5 in CA. But the dog and my son were happy as can be, pump cooled off and we drove her home. Good times.
adkinsadam1
New member
98OzarksRunner
New member
My "wheelin" is seeking out rocky trails and trying the most difficult line that i think is possible. Lots of photos of our trails in my build thread. I cant speak for everyone else, some just take their trucks on fireroads and call it offroading.
I can see how you wouldn't consider this real offroading. After all, they're just running some fire roads - any Prius could do that. Bunch of wusses.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wWJzwUDpDvY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Last edited:
NateMob
New member
Calm down sparky, no reason to get butt hurt. And no, i wouldn't consider a "fire road" that could be done start to finish in 2lo as wheelin'.
98OzarksRunner
New member
Understand. Just sounded like a snarky 'real wheelers do rocks' kind of thing. Not everyone is interested in that - I much prefer the 'access' I get to remote places than the adrenaline rush of rock crawling (and I've done both). Most of the fire roads (forest service roads) I've been down require 4WD at least now and then, though, granted, a lot could be done in 2WD with a locker (until you get to the 18" rock steps). From what the OP said, it sounds like he's more interested in that sort of thing than hard-core rock crawling.
KidVermicious
New member
They mean lots of things. Some people mean driving on graded dirt roads and splashing through mud puddles. Some people mean crazier stuff like this. It sounds like you're somewhere in the middle, which is where most of us are. I like to think I wheel my daily driver pretty hard, but there's definitely guys on here who push their daily drivers harder than I'd feel comfortable with.
Here's a good rule of thumb - if you're not forced to use a bunch of wheel spin and RPMs to get past obstacles, then you aren't forcing things and your truck is probably well within the safety zone. You likely won't break anything drastic, and you'll get to work on Monday morning just fine.
But any sort of offroading, even graded gravel, is "severe service" according to your factory maintenance schedule, which means more frequent maintenance. Stuff is going to wear out faster, which is going to mean more time messing with bearings and tie rod ends and ujoints and all that. In the end, you're going to have to feel out how that impacts you, and whether you'd rather sink your time and money into mods/repairs for your daily driver or payments on something else so you don't have to worry about it.
KidVermicious
New member
Pictures never tell the whole story, but from I can see I'd call that mildly technical wheeling, and I wouldn't be afraid to take that on with a daily driver. As long as you're driving with more finesse than skinny-pedal, that sort of obstacle shouldn't present a challenge or a risk of breakage to a stock truck.
NateMob
New member
Sorry if it sounded like that, and I respect what you are saying and how you use your truck, along with the OP, and anyone else that gets out and enjoys themselves. Rocks, mud, high speed running, trail riding, even good ol drives through the country side.
Gerdo
New member
That is Cliffhanger in Moab and that is the point that I turned around.
If this is what you mean by 'off roading' maybe not.
Psshh. What a poser shot, probably a grocery-getter.
:toilet:
JB.
New member
My nearly stock truck with (sliders and tires) is a DD and has 122k miles. Nearly 7k of those have been accumulated off-pavement with a whole lot of exactly the kind of thing you pictured.
No expensive damage, tracks perfectly without ever having had an alignment, and steering wheel play is still well under tolerance. The key to making it last, imo, is to let the tires and the fluids take the abuse (oh yeah, I should mention that you can't be too sensitive about the pain. Mine looks just fine, though, unless you examine closely).
Get a compressor so you can air down the (preferably LT) tires and do the severe service maintenance. That will take you a long way.
Last edited:
Similar threads
