Rock crawling questions

[johndeerefarmer]

I got to drive a BL on 33"'s yesterday and it drove great. Took it down a gravel road and played with "rock crawl" mode a bit.
So the 35's are about 1" taller than the 33"s so you gain 1/2" of ground clearance.. If I jump up to 35"s what can I expect? more steering kickback on rocks? harder to steer? rougher ride?
A small increase in ground clearance isn't worth it if it has worse steering?

Second question pertains to line of sight. With my XP Turbo I can see the left front tire and place it on rocks where I want it. With the Bronco I can't see anything. I might could if I pulled off the fender flares. How do your navigate if you can't see the front tires?
If I went with the BL I could get the 360 camera system.

Finally how wide is the BL (tire to tire) on 33's vs 35"s.

Thanks

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[campbebc]

 

[R.A.N.M.J.]

When we were at the Off-Roadeo my wife and I measured clearance with a lazer tape.

The clearance difference between the 33's and 35's were 1.1 inch. But, that being said, we asked if they were aired up the same and told yes, however, we weren't allowed to test it. So, taken with a grain? Yes.

We did get to drive both 33's and 35's on different days, and we were clearing stuff in the 35's that we drove over the day before that we scraped on, even with the guides directing us.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

When we were at the Off-Roadeo my wife and I measured clearance with a lazer tape.

The clearance difference between the 33's and 35's were 1.1 inch. But, that being said, we asked if they were aired up the same and told yes, however, we weren't allowed to test it. So, taken with a grain? Yes.

We did get to drive both 33's and 35's on different days, and we were clearing stuff in the 35's that we drove over the day before that we scraped on, even with the guides directing us.

Any difference in feedback to the steering wheel from the rocks?

 

[Drex]

If you are going to be forced to go somewhere (where there was no other line or way around and jet-packs are not available) where the extra 0.6 inches would make the difference between getting there, even with some scraping and not getting there. (Just to clarify; Badlands absolutely cannot get over the obstacle, but 0.6 inches of extra clearance will..., a very small amount of places I would gather), then sure, get the more expensive, heavier tires; lose braking ability, acceleration, fuel economy, and so on.

Or admit to yourself that it would be for cosmetic reasons and weigh the costs of the negatives against your vanity.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

If you are going to be forced to go somewhere (where there was no other line or way around and jet-packs are not available) where the extra 0.6 inches would make the difference between getting there, even with some scraping and not getting there. (Just to clarify; Badlands absolutely cannot get over the obstacle, but 0.6 inches of extra clearance will..., a very small amount of places I would gather), then sure, get the more expensive, heavier tires; lose braking ability, acceleration, fuel economy, and so on.

Or admit to yourself that it would be for cosmetic reasons and weigh the costs of the negatives against your vanity.

I have no interest in cosmetics. 33"s look great on the BL. Main concern for me is ride comfort when on rocky trails and feedback to the steering wheel from those rocks

 

[Drex]

then air pressure in the tires is more important if they are in the same load catagory

 

[Dirtyjed]

The difference between a 33 and 35 is very noticeable on the trail.
Also just because a tires sidewall says a number, doesn't mean (aired up at ride height) that tire is actually that tall.
I rock crawl a lot and over the years have noticed a huge difference from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Yes bigger tires will drive "different", but in my opinion you don't really notice it until you get to the 40"ish sizes.

As far as line of sight, you really can't compare a full bodied rig to a sxs. That's like me comparing my future Bronco to my truly. After awhile you will get a feel for your vehicle and "know" where it is. And who to trust as a spotter.

 

[Pressurized]

The difference in the tires is 2" and the clearance increase is 1". That's theoretical of course... Actual tire sizes do vary between manufacturers. And as someone that does quite a lot of heavy rock crawling, 35's are notably more capable than 33's.

If you are getting the lockers in the BL or WT package already, then the difference is there, but not nearly as big as not having the lockers.

 

[Arokcrwlr]

Tire size does make a difference. If you plan to rock crawl go with Squatch - you'll be glad you did. Steering feedback is imperceptible between a 33 & 35. I actually think the bigger tires feel better on the trails - kind of like riding on marshmallows. On my EB, I went from 33s to 36s to 38s - each size upgrade made a huge difference in capability.

 

[R.A.N.M.J.]

Any difference in feedback to the steering wheel from the rocks?

Not that I could tell. There were a couple of times where I got up on an rock a little quicker than I thought I would on the 35's. May have been that I wasn't driving as slow as the day before.

I also had the good fortune of driving a 4 door and a 2 door, both on 33's.

Wishing I had gotten the 4 Door instead of the 2 door after directly comparing them. There were a lot of times the 2 door didn't feel quite as stable. Didn't get to drive a 2 door on 35's though.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

If you are going to be forced to go somewhere (where there was no other line or way around and jet-packs are not available) where the extra 0.6 inches would make the difference between getting there, even with some scraping and not getting there. (Just to clarify; Badlands absolutely cannot get over the obstacle, but 0.6 inches of extra clearance will..., a very small amount of places I would gather), then sure, get the more expensive, heavier tires; lose braking ability, acceleration, fuel economy, and so on.

Or admit to yourself that it would be for cosmetic reasons and weigh the costs of the negatives against your vanity.

My view - I’m not doing extreme rock crawling trails, but that TFL video showed the type of situation you could encounter on an otherwise easy trail. The question you have to ask yourself is: is $4500, plus “hey, once you add the automatic, you have to add the 2.7 because you can” worth it, or are you willing to accept occasionally sliding over a random obstacle?

Interestingly Tommy’s inner conflict on manners and ride on 33’s vs height of 35’s is kind of where I am at.

In my equation I am staying on two door Badlands 33’s w/ 7MT. And will decide later if I need to go to 35’s. If I was four door the equation may be different.

Of course I am never going to get the two door at this point so who knows.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

My view - I’m not doing extreme rock crawling trails, but that TFL video showed the type of situation you could encounter on an otherwise easy trail. The question you have to ask yourself is: is $4500, plus “hey, once you add the automatic, you have to add the 2.7 because you can” worth it, or are you willing to accept occasionally sliding over a random obstacle?

Interestingly Tommy’s inner conflict on manners and ride on 33’s vs height of 35’s is kind of where I am at.

In my equation I am staying on two door Badlands 33’s w/ 7MT. And will decide later if I need to go to 35’s. If I was four door the equation may be different.

Of course I am never going to get the two door at this point so who knows.

Tommy claimed the 35's ride worse than the 33's and worse than whatever is on his jeep. Everyone on this forum says the 35's ride BETTER than the 33's.....

 

[darkscion0]

Go look through the threads of people upgrading to 35s on this forum. Lots of info there and most say that there's little to no change in road manners going to 35s. Most just claim a loss of 1 MPG.

Tommy claimed the 35's ride worse than the 33's and worse than whatever is on his jeep. Everyone on this forum says the 35's ride BETTER than the 33's.....

 

[okbob]

With the exact same tire but in the two different sizes, you won't be able to tell the difference on a 21' bronco with IFS imo on the road. Crawling, no difference either other than ground clearance.

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