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Rock Crawling - Please Help Me Understand the Appeal

mrjerry469

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I live in the East a lot of beach and woodland I can travel on. Would love to go West to some easy trails. The scenery is amazing I watch jailbreak overlander and some other You Tubers, but I got a bad back and leg so Can't do anything too risky .
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dgorsett

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I don’t really look to rock crawl, but I love to explore and have had to crawl to get to some area I wanted to get to etc.

So for me, it’s being able to get wherever I want. It feels pretty darn good making it over some nasty rocks, mounds, etc. and getting to some scenic area or discover something cool.
THIS

I would add< I don't really understand going to an 'off road park' either. To me 'jeeping' is a means to an end...seeing and enjoying great country.
 

DeltaBravo

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...because this is a purpose built vehicle designed for more than driving to and from work and to the grocery store.
This vehicle has the ability to do some pretty impressive things. Why not use them. Otherwise I dunno guess people should buy a Subaru?
 

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It’s a lot of fun. You can do a ton with a stock Rubicon but for $20k in mods you can do a lot more. My Bronco won’t see where my Jeep goes
 

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Sometimes it’s not just the wheeling that’s the attraction. We’ve met so many awesome people and made tons of friends off-roading. We have a group we get together with a couple times a year and wheel for 4 days in Arkansas

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flatlander40

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I think rock crawling conjures up visions of guys in hard core buggies looking for the most extreme line up a wild trail. Yes, that’s rock crawling. That’s the more extreme side.

Many years ago my family and I went to Pagosa Springs, Colorado on a family Vacation. I’m not much of a sleeper and in the early mornings while the families slept I’d take my pickup out a find any fire road close by. I would follow them until they turned to a pig tail and I couldn’t go any farther. Those were the most peaceful and beautiful mornings. Those moments are what I’m looking for in the Bronco, except I want the ability to keep going. To move onto those bigger and better places I’m sure there will be some rocks to crawl over. That will be my rock crawling.

As with anything there are many degrees of rock crawling and all of them are okay. To each his own.
 

Hoofnmouth

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Sorry if this pic is sideways not sure which way is up after this trip
I dont know how we got up some of that stuff but driving is easier than walking
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NotaVegetarian

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Sorry if this pic is sideways not sure which way is up after this trip
I dont know how we got up some of that stuff but driving is easier than walking
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Whoohoo punch it
 

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drive21bronco

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It's a skills test, with consequences. Your skills and your machine against the terrain.

A show and shine at Starbuck's is only so satisfying, anyone can sign a loan agreement and show up with something pretty for everyone to look at. If a bird craps on your hood, the feeling of defeat must be crushing.

Using a vehicle for its purpose, at extremes, is challenging. Most motorsport competition is prohibitively expensive or highly regulated today, crawling can be fairly inexpensive and sees little external regulation.

Unlikely that anyone here will convert you, though. If you don't get it, you probably never will. That's cool, there are plenty of things to do with your favorite truck that don't involve the risk of attenuating the cosmetics.
Could not have said it better
 

ekim

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Rock crawling is a motorsport just like any other (motocross, drag racing, etc.) It may or may not float your boat. You can participate at different levels with different vehicles or do it recreationally. As a driver, part of the thrill is picking good / challenging lines and making obstacles that you are not 100% sure you can make. Once you get more chops you wonder why some things seemed so challenging.

The fact that you go "slow" is misleading. You can still get your heart pumping / adrenaline flowing from the technical effort required to complete an obstacle.

Mud racing can be thought of in a similar way. I prefer rocks to mud/water. With rock crawling damage is often immediate (rock rash/etc). With Mud/Water damage is often a "silent killer" with bearings going or water in the diff, etc.

The higher level Bronco is capable enough to do some mild rock crawling, enough to get "the bug" if you're susceptible :cool:
 

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@MaverickMan this is the shit right here. My kind of off road stuff in my younger years... and the kind I wanna get back to. Granted I’ll have better gear this time around... kinda sucks walking out 3 miles to get help because you didn’t at least have a come along.
This particular day was a comealong and hilift recovery. No big deal, maybe 45 min of cranking and rigging. Still carry the same hi lift in my comanche for work. I think this was 2011 or 2012. I wonder what goat modes would have helped me here. I know the front locker would have been handy. This jeep had a welded AMC20 2.5 iron duke and a T4. Talk about weak on weak. But slap some swampers and a used 4" lift on it and have some fun.
 

tyrobronco

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This is not meant to belittle anyone’s love of this type of off-roading, instead it is a genuine question. As someone who is new to off-roading I just don’t understand why someone would want to put their $50k ride in jeopardy from driving up big rocks. I can see the appeal of everything else, especially driving sand/beach but just want someone to tell me why you like it so much.
The first difference is you refer to a truck as a $50k ride.

That alone moves you to a certain side of the spectrum.

It reminds me of a YouTube episode I watched about Jay Leno's garage. He had this salesman come in who had, I think, a 1986 GNX with like 50 miles on it. The car had sat on the salesman's lot since it was new - and never was able to sell it (mainly because he thought he had something special and was asking WAY above market price).

So Jay wants to take it out for a spin and the salesman was really hesitant because it had such low miles and Leno said, "It's just a car".

Similar story: In 2011 I bought a brand new F-150. Within 2 weeks I had the bedliner sprayed in. The guys did a phenomenal job.

So I drive it to the sod wholesaler because my lawn sucks and the guy hesitates and looks in the bed and says, "This is brand new" - to which I responded: "It's a truck".

A Bronco not going off road is like a truck that never hauls or a sportscar that never leaves the garage or a convertible that never has the top down.
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