less capable vehicle shunning

A) teach him
B) do harder trails till he gets te hint.

 

I don't think that guy could make it up most gravel driveways.

 

we have the same forester.

i credit it for my tacoma!! i took my wife's forester pig hunting. i brought it back nasty. i followed a sportmobile4x4 for miles and was dusted the entire time. my wife took one look at her car and said, "that's it, you need to get your own 4x4!"

i owned the tacoma one week later.

our forester doesnt suck that bad. i just took it slow and easy.

 

that poor forester..not so sure i would have done that same trail with ours. kudos to his tenacity.

 

HAHA my cousin has this same complex with his 2011 Forester. Its super nice and very capable for being a car. He said the only reason he didn't get a Tacoma or 4runner is because he can go the same places in the Forester AND get better gas mileage..

 

i have a so called moron friend with an old saggy stock cherokee that insists it is better off road than my ome lifted reg cab tacoma, he's been in the bush with it 2x down mild roads that i did in 2wd.. but he's certain it is better cause he's totally clueless, if i ever let him come again i plan to take him on real trails to shut him up, do same with captain subaru and he'll break, get totally hung up or just quit.

 

I have had a couple of cherokees. They are very good off road. Still have to take into account approach angle, ground clearance, locked / not locked, and so forth. But a similarly equipped cherokee will whip a Tacoma off road. Just saying.

 

Our forester doesn't get great mpg.

 

FALSE

My cousin gets between 35 - 40 mpgs, and that's with a skybox and MTB rack on top. Its a fun car to drive with a 5 speed.

 

To the OP. I used set up Jeep trips in my area and sometimes we did have to set lift / tire size rules. But that was in a group setting when you don't necessarily know all the guys coming. Just out wheeling with my buddies was different. If your buddy wants to wheel with you let him. Have fun and don't get annoyed. Its childish and ruins the trip for everyone.

 

"Thats just like your opinion man" The Dude.

 

Can't argue with that! Good movie!

 

Did you watch the video?

 

Looks like the rig is fully capable of that deteriorated road, poor driving and poor spotting are equal factors here. He won't learn if you don't teach. I see hands in pockets and walking the wrong way not looking at what the vehicle is doing (something I sure as hell wouldn't do if a lead foot maniac is right behind me!) when someone should have been guiding him in a better manner with visual and vocal commands. You should clarify hand signals and commands before entering an obstacle so both people are on the same page and in agreement. Communication is a huge factor when offroading. Without it, you break rigs, or worse. There are two sides to this and I see both at fault if you're complaining... This is my opinion. Deal with it!

I would just suggest that on days you want to do some heavier trails, tell him to ride along. Be honest and explain why. Let him drive your rig with you in the passenger seat and give advice on "line" choice from there. You learn a lot from being behind the driver seat.

You're only as good as your weakest link. IF you do your part to educate, there is no reason anyone should need to get out and spot anyone on that road.

EDIT: Another fun idea, YOU should drive HIS vehicle. Get a feel for how it acts on the trail, it will ultimately help YOU spot him through obstacles... You might be surprised at the results of your own driving skills!

 

From the camera view of where he's getting stuck about the 6 minute mark doesn't look like he's climbing much more than gravel. - Also not wearing my glasses.

 

WHAT!!!! You mean when I'm slipping on the rocks, I shouldn't rev it up and dump the clutch?
A couple times there I thought he was trying to do a burnout on the rocks.


When you do hard trails, tell him he has to ride along. Then when you do easier stuff, invite the subaru. That or he's going to end up breaking something serious out on the trail. Then you're talking big $$$$.



You like them spinning tires........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ6atGhmVU8

 

He needs to learn how to use a clutch off-road. The Subi looked like it was doing well.

 

I don't think there was a problem with his driving. From experience I can say that really is the only way to drive one. They don't just crawl along like a normal truck with a low range transfercase. If you try to idle over rocks you end up stalling out, there is not a happy medium at all. I took one on some logging roads in Maine and I needed wheel spin to go over anything. I just kept spinning a single rear wheel if I didn't floor it

It sucks when your club starts to grow up. Sadly his Subaru has reached its maximum potential, it cannot be made any more capable. If you are going to continue running the same trails I wouldn't leave him behind, you will be bored out of your mind without the challenge of trying to get him through everything. When you plan harder trails make sure he rides along, and drop the hint that if he traded for a 4runner, wrangler or a pickup that it would be capable enough to run the trail and could be built to easily run much harder ones.

 

I will say a similarly equipped Cherokee can do just as well as a Tacoma. I have owned both. My Cherokee was lifted, and I was running the same size tires I am not in the Tacoma. I have ran into some spots that I felt my Tacoma SHOULD have been able to handle, that I KNEW my old Cherokee could. That being said, a few areas I think the Cherokee would have suffered from trying, the Tacoma did with a little bit of fuss.

Ya'll know I love my Tacoma. But I gotta be honest about the trucks. IFS has its limits, and the Cherokee with a solid axle had more TOTAL ground clearance than the Tacoma has. Depending on the wheeling, ground clearance can make the whole deal.