To Sasquatch or not to Sasquatch, lots of Cons!

[Thechief86]

I'll be ordering a Base with Sasquatch for the gears, lockers, front diff upgrade, and better shocks. My second set of tires will probably be 33's. The Sasquatch package offers so much more than just big ass tires, and is an excellent deal when you factor in the costs of these items and installation in the aftermarket. I'd be happy with the silver steelies and some 33's, but I WON'T be happy without lockers and lower gears. I'm so excited that they are offering the Squatch with the manual trans that I can forgive them for long waits, missed deadlines and poor communication, as long as I can drive home with my Squatched 2 door manual for around $35k out the door.
It's hilarious to me to hear people whining about grey tops, crappy keypads, and blue leather interiors knowing I'll be in a fleet vehicle pizza delivery bronco with everything I love about a Rubicon for around half the price. All that other crap is just noise, lol.

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[ramblinwreck]

My point is that some of us want "show horses" but will not admit that we do.

The guy who will do much more than 99.9% of us will do, uses 16/17s wheels with 33s tires and was able to get through most any terrain on 3 continents. The video confirms that if you really want to get out there, you don't need anything more than the Base Bronco, everything else is superfluous, like a fancy watch or handbag.

You can probably use this same logic to drop from 33s to 32s, or 31s. Fact is, 35s give a significant advantage over 33s in ground clearance. Most serious off-roaders consider them a minimum sized tired for rougher terrain.

If you want to build a true overland rig to drive down mostly dirt roads in, I am sure you can get by with stock 29" tires. For everyone else, 35s are a good upgrade.

 

[BroncoJeremie]

Nah, he's right. Internationally, no one outside of the Middle East (they try so hard to look like all things American), no one runs tires over 33" and mostly on 16" wheels; 17" at the most.

Why does this matter when overlanding in Africa, Europe, Central and South America, and Austrailia? Because when you go down a tire, you won't find a replacement.

I've seen this guy, but then there's Andrew St. Pierre White and Ronny Dahl in Australia who both are pretty well known, say the same thing.

However, this is Merica! and we really don't/can't overland here in North America due to population density. Sure, you can get somewhat remote, but a Garmin InReach has help less than a couple hours out for the most part unless you're in Alaska.

For most of us in the lower 48, we have rocks and mud to contend with and big tires come in handy. We don't have open savannas in underdeveloped areas like the Cannon Stock Route in Aussie, so we're not too far away from help.

Plus, since North America has a big tire culture, replacing a 35" or 37" isn't too far fetched. Most of us won't be shipping our rigs to Africa or even running the Trans-American. Americans aren't as welcome on such journeys anyway. A Brit or Aussie may be able to get away with it without too much hassle.

At any rate, I'm getting my 35s and will go wheelin and muddin whenever I damn well please cause Roll Damn Tide! ?

Hey bud there, nah population density isn't a problem at all, maybe in the east, but I know a stupid amount of places one can go without seeing a soul, just don't go where everyone else goes and boom you find nobody.

 

[HEMI_Shaker]

Just say'en 35's for me and I am gonna mall crawl that shit hard core like a pro!

 

[WatchYourSix]

If one were to get a Bronco with Sasquatch package and wanted to to put 33s on it down the line, would that require new wheels? Or would 33s fit on the squatch wheels?

 

[Pancho Kornwallace]

If one were to get a Bronco with Sasquatch package and wanted to to put 33s on it down the line, would that require new wheels? Or would 33s fit on the squatch wheels?

Excellent question.

In my case, I am getting the base Bronco with the 30s. I will likely get a second set of wheels/tires. My incremental costs will be JUST the wheels though, because the tires will wear out half as fast, so they don't actually cost me more in the long run.

Since I will have steel wheels, I will probably get alloys for my second set, so I will have a different look and stance.

 

[GEP]

I'm surprised by the Goodyear hate. If they are anything like the Duratracs they will be pretty good.

 

[StaticAnalysis]

Ice blue low profile 35s with a bunch of gucci bags in the back

 

[CanadianHorseMan]

I'm surprised by the Goodyear hate. If they are anything like the Duratracs they will be pretty good.

No no...I don't hate. I don't know. That's why I'm asking (I hate their decision to say MT stands for Max Traction ridiculous -- it's like they're playing with our minds).

If they're the only option for Sasquatch, I'm hoping the Goodyears are just as good or close to as good as KO2's.


R

 

[Pancho Kornwallace]

OMGoodness guys come on! Tire noise comes with the territory of trucks with bigger tires or SUVs with bigger tires, unless you want to look like Stacy's mom driving around a Bronco on 35" or 33" all-seasons, if you can even find those. If you want to be a meme, go for it. There is literally no downside to running 35s besides the $100-$300 difference for a set of four. Plus, the 35s that come on the Sasquatch aren't true Mud Terrains. They are more like a hybrid tire which includes an outside tread pattern similar to a mud terrain but performs like an all-terrain due to extensive siping and closer inner tread pattern. They won't be super loud.

Here are the downsides:
1. Weight, including the fact that it even harder to replace a tire on your own.
2. Strain on Axles/Suspension
3. The fact that if you get stuck, it will probably be in a worse spot. The tiny tire guy will not even get to the point you got to and probably will have persevered their vehicle better over time.
4. MPG (can be ~15-20%)
5. Fuel Range
6. Finding a replacement tire fast if you need one.

 

[GEP]

No no...I don't hate. I don't know. That's why I'm asking (I hate their decision to say MT stands for Max Traction ridiculous -- it's like they're playing with our minds).

If they're the only option for Sasquatch, I'm hoping the Goodyears are just as good or close to as good as KO2's.


R

I gotcha, I am just surprised by people on here saying they'll be pulling them off immediately when we don't know anything about them. I live in Alberta and work in the oilfields and Duratracs have to be one of the most popular tires in very demanding conditions. Agree with you that calling them M/T is silly but I guess I've just been thinking they'll be a little bit more of an aggressive looking duratrac and that could be a very good thing at least for those of us in Northern climes where ice and snow performance factor in.

 

[bk1287]

Random question for everyone, are 35's extremely impractical for an every day driver?

 

[CanadianHorseMan]

I gotcha, I am just surprised by people on here saying they'll be pulling them off immediately when we don't know anything about them. I live in Alberta and work in the oilfields and Duratracs have to be one of the most popular tires in very demanding conditions. Agree with you that calling them M/T is silly but I guess I've just been thinking they'll be a little bit more of an aggressive looking duratrac and that could be a very good thing at least for those of us in Northern climes where ice and snow performance factor in.

Oh, finally someone with some snow! Do you use your Duratracs in the winter or you change them out for severe snow duty tires?

 

[tshaw2009]

Here are the downsides:
1. Weight, including the fact that it even harder to replace a tire one on your own.
2. Strain on Axles/Suspension
3. The fact that if you get stuck, it will probably be in a worse spot. The tiny tire guy will not even get to the point you got to and probably will have persevered their vehicle better over time.
4. MPG (can be ~15-20%)
5. Fuel Range
6. Finding a replacement tire fast if you need one.

I will address each of these and hopefully put your mind to rest on the issue:
1. Weight: That's what roadside assistance is for. I would also mention that if you can't lift an inflated 35" tire, you should probably rethink the Sasquatch Package in the first place.
2. Axles and Suspension will not be strained as the Sasquatch Package upgrades your suspension components along with upgrades the front axle from the M190 to the M210. The rear axle is already a Dana M210 on all trims. The 4.70 gears will turn those 35s like nothing. Most people running 35s on their trucks are still running them on 3.73 gears. The Bronco will be fine.
3. If you are on a legit off-road trail, most of them have off-road recovery services. This is also why you should never off-road by yourself and if you do, you should have a winch.
4 and 5. People don't run 35 inch tires because they care about fuel economy.
6. Most every reputable tire shop carries 35 inch tires. That's not even an issue.

 

[GEP]

Oh, finally someone with some snow! Do you use your Duratracs in the winter or you change them out for severe snow duty tires?

I run Mtn Snowflake rated tires year round. I am mostly in the city but have never needed anything more in the field. I've done Duratracs, Wildpeaks and currently the newest Cooper Discovery ATW. The Coopers are noticeably easier on gas but less aggressive but that hasn't been a problem. I'm doing less and less field work as time goes by and if its really awful I hop in a work truck when I get to site.

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