A dying breed: Solid Axles

[XJ Junkie]

Of course. When last did you drive a JK?

[Quack]

Of course. When last did you drive a JK?

Comfortable at the national speed limit? Never!

[Johannes]

In one day?

Yes , in one day . Easy

[XJ Junkie]

Of course. When last did you drive a JK?

Comfortable at the national speed limit? Never!

Ok, maybe not the Defender, because that’s it’s top speed. But in a JK it’s highly doable. Probably due to the absence of leaf springs

[XJ Junkie]

Of course. When last did you drive a JK?

Comfortable at the national speed limit? Never!

Ok, maybe not the Defender, because that’s it’s top speed. But in a JK it’s highly doable. Probably due to the absence of leaf springs

[Paul#25]

Sadly you need both! Live axles are hell on any trip longer than 600km and independent is ok on most terrain!

Can’t have them both

My Disco 2 is very comfortable on the long road. Haven't done a 600km trip yet but close.

[XJ Junkie]

My Disco 2 is very comfortable on the long road. Haven't done a 600km trip yet but close.

They did get it right with the D2. Especially that fancy steering. They’ve always been impressive. Jeep owners are always impressed by the D2 steering. Compared to a D2 my Jeeps steering feels like I’m hanging wallpaper in the wind.

[Quack]

Last weekend we did a trip to Santa Maria, incidentally my IFS bakkie was joined by a Land Cruiser V8 and a Disco 2.
Both vehicles that have huge offroad cred. But on the black stuff ...

Having said that, I was at a disadvantage the whole way where you turned of at the Elephant park to Santa Maria, a sandy track of 79km that takes the average driver 4 hours, but did anyone notice?

For day to day IFS is good, for hardcore obstacles SFA is better!

Hence my comment, choose the right weapon for the fight!

[XJ Junkie]

For day to day IFS is good, for hardcore obstacles SFA is better!

Hence my comment, choose the right weapon for the fight!

For sure. But apparently there’s only 3 to choose from.

For a combo of tar & offroad, a full IS is even better than a leaf sprung bakkie.

[grips]

I still have toe find the IFS/IS vehicle that last 200k km on badly corrugated roads without a suspension rebuild.

Sole purpose of IS is comfort, real 4x4`s have SFA`s

Visit a NC town and spend a day at Fitit or Supa Quick, have a look at the type of suspension repairs these guys do and you will soon understand why 80% of the NC guys traveling dirt roads drive SFA 4X4`s. The very reason for my Cruiser buys our gravel roads does not get maintained anymore.

[dawidloubser]

What the market has shown us, quite simply, is that the the world is filled with impatient sissies that are simply unable to safely operate SFA vehicles, and are unable to cope with heightened levels of discomfort. Everybody expects every vehicle to drive like a powerful, well-handling luxury sedan.

Most people won't last one day driving a Land Rover series or a Unimog.

The combination of this market dynamic, with the vehicle handling and safety regulations trying to idiot- proof the roads (to no avail, look at the soaring SA road death tolls...) means that we're down to a measely 3 or 4 SFA vehicles, with only one of them able to withstand serious work. (No offence to the Jeep owners!)

Luckily, there are thousands of simple-to-maintain SFA vehicles on the second-hand market

[Chris Stoffel]

I concur with Dawid. If I may?

[Haggy4x4Bedinges]

Thats why I stick to my Disco 2 td5

She's slow she rattles

But she's no ifs and I am not scared to take her in the bush

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[Apocalypse]

Done long miles in the defender and Wrangler.

Cape Town to jhb many times in a defender.

1700km in a day was the most in the Wrangler . But also jhb a few times.

Wrangler is very comfortable , but the defender is okay once you get used to it.

Once upon a time i worked for Toyota and did a few long trips in a cruiser bakkie pulling a 3 ton trailer... after a while you lose all feeling below the neck and you just drove!

I’d hate to do any kind of serious mileage in the power wagon though!

[Mad Manny]

I agree with Dawid - we are getting soft.

If someone on a limited budget asked for recommendations for something like an Etios for his job as a long-distance rep, everyone would suggest he rather buy a used BMW or other more luxurious vehicle.

But 30 years ago we (all of us) drove between the major centres in things like Nissan 1400's, Toyota Corona's, Golf 1's, Cortina
's & Escoursts & obviously the Chevs of the day (2500, 4100 etc) & Volksie Beetles etc.

A mate used to drive to CT once a month in the Mini (the original, not the re-bodied BMW of today) when you couldn't buy fuel at night or carry more than 5 litres with you - he had to plan it so he could drive, stop, throw in the 5 litres, then get to Colesburg as the petrol station was opening, so he could fill up & then try make Beaufort Wes...

We all need to HTFU...