How important is ground clearance for your fulltiming adventure?

[MrNoodly]

This whole discussion hinges on where someone wants to go. A lot of the answers seem to come from the perspective of those who want to get way out in the boonies, where 4WD, ground clearance, approach and departure angles, lockers and all that are essential. But if someone's idea of adventure is driving down a maintained dirt road and going a few dozen yards over lumpy ground to an existing dispersed camping spot, then all that off-roading stuff is mostly overkill. I think for must of us, the main concerns are getting stuck in a patch of mud or sand, dropping a wheel into a deep pothole, or worrying whether the occasional football sized rock in the road will rip open the oil pan.

Like I wrote earlier, I've seen some compact sedans in some surprising places. Rough places. It's about knowing how to pick your line and knowing your limits.

My van can go anywhere a 2WD pickup can go. A locking differential would be nice, but the cost of one, versus how often I'd need it, doesn't make sense to me.

 

[ArtW]

Very true, I speak from a perspective of not really knowing how hard these places are to get to, I used to get to some interesting spots in my old wagon

 

[Bster13]

I think for must of us, the main concerns are getting stuck in a patch of mud or sand, dropping a wheel into a deep pothole, or worrying whether the occasional football sized rock in the road will rip open the oil pan.

Bingo, that's where my concerns are.  Thanks for the summary.

 

[akrvbob]

If you want to go where the crowd is, none of this is important any van and most SUVs will get the job done.

If you want to leave the crowd behind and be mostly alone, these are the issues you need to at least be aware of. Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

x2, exactly what Bob said. if you want to go where everybody goes none of this matters, if you want to go where the path is less traveled, ground clearance, traction, tires, etc, make a huge difference. remember even maintained roads get trashed after major storms some become impassable for a lot of vehicles, and the government can't fix them all at once. highdesertranger

 

[Vagabound]

If anyone ever runs across a book titled "Changing Multiple Tires When Only One Is Flat ... For Dummies", please let me know.  Somehow, in the great world of knowledge, that one flew right past me.

Vagabound

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

I like to go to the boonies, that's where the cool people are I camp with. I have a 4x4 and I had the axels flipped for a little better clearance.

 

[accrete]

i know i'm posting in an older thread, though tid-bits of knowledge is sharing right?

I should measure the angles on our rig but i can say that we don't push it. We've never even come close to getting into trouble being mindful on the Forestry roads we travel. Measuring to the bottom of the differentials (i'm guessing that is where GM is getting their low point?) We have ~11" which makes sense as we are running a tad taller tire than stock because we have a 3" lift on the van-body to fit the larger tires under there (32" tall 265/70r 17's).

For us the big issue on the van we chose was due to the (now unavailable - last one rolled of the line summer of 2015) is the AWD. It is really to bad that more manufacturers don't offer this in a full size van like this. Here in the PNW on the wet roads it rides confidently (ice, snow, rain). Also the short/regular WB is (as others have noted) great for getting around in the city and on the trails. We regularly drive on single track roads and simply do a multiple-point-U-turn whenever needed. It would be a drag to attempt in the longer WB van.

Cheers,
Thom
OH, i found this thread as my wife and i are still researching Van 2.0