Approach and departure angles with a video to show their importance

Jerry Bransford

Jerry Bransford

Too many arguments and personal attacks, I'm done.
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For those who aren't familiar with how important good approach and departure angles can be, here's a good video that show how they affect you. That's why I like small bumpers with nothing hanging off the bottom like bolt-on receiver hitches.

Breakover angle 2.JPG

There are several vehicles in this video that give a good illustration to why they're important.

 
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One of the reasons I am so happy with my Dirtworx rear bumper is that the departure angle on my LJ isn't all that great. I have proven to my satisfaction that I can drag my bumper (with frame tie-ins) down obstacles like the video shows and not get hung up. I have come down on that bumper with a teeth-rattling bang and driven away with only the paint scraped off. Oh, and a decent gas tank skid is a real lifesaver, too. Now I just have to work on the breakover angle...
 
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Great video / illustration Jerry!

This definitely would make one want to put a tummy tuck and full under armor (including a gas tank skid) high up on the list of things to do for a TJ.

It also makes me appreciate the shorter wheelbase of the TJ, at least for what I'm doing.
 
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In the video, the gentleman standing in the direct line of the vehicles descending is very unsafe. He should move over, since any driver or equipment failure can be catastrophic for him. :(
 
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Another reason you should’ve bought a Jeep.

The first TJ could have done better.

Another reason to learn how to drive.

But mostly, buy a Jeep

There’s a reason the trails in N America are now infamously called Jeep Trails
 
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JMT said:
...

There’s a reason the trails in N America are now infamously called Jeep Trails
Click to expand...

Its always interesting to me how so many of the old twisty back country roads are actually named Jeep Rd, Jeep Trail or have the word Jeep in the legal name.
 
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Honestly, what else could you even do most of these trails in? Aside from a 100% custom purpose-built rock crawler, you're only other feasible options would be an older (smaller) Toyota Tacoma, a Suzuki Samurai, possibly some sort of Toyota, or if you insisted on a Jeep, I suppose you could use an XJ or an old Grand Cherokee. But we all know that with a Jeep, you're going to have more parts availability and support than any other vehicle out there, hands down.

But even then the compact size and short wheelbase of the Wrangler makes it arguably the best off-road vehicle in the world... or at least America.

Probably one of the reasons it is a quintessential American icon.
 
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Chris said:
Honestly, what else could you even do most of these trails in? Aside from a 100% custom purpose-built rock crawler, you're only other feasible options would be an older (smaller) Toyota Tacoma, a Suzuki Samurai, possibly some sort of Toyota, or if you insisted on a Jeep, I suppose you could use an XJ or an old Grand Cherokee. But we all know that with a Jeep, you're going to have more parts availability and support than any other vehicle out there, hands down.

But even then the compact size and short wheelbase of the Wrangler makes it arguably the best off-road vehicle in the world... or at least America.

Probably one of the reasons it is a quintessential American icon.
Click to expand...

Which makes me wonder if there are similar Land Rover, Land Cruiser, Patrol Rd or Trails in other parts of the world. Globally, the word jeep is a generic name for an off road vehicle, regardless of the make.
 
jjvw said:
Which makes me wonder if there are similar Land Rover, Land Cruiser, Patrol Rd or Trails in other parts of the world. Globally, the word jeep is a generic name for an off road vehicle, regardless of the make.
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Very true.

Given what I've seen from the people on this forum with Jeeps in the UK, they definitely aren't very common over there. My guess is that if they are off-roading, the majority of it is older Land Rovers, diesel Toyotas, and vehicles we never got here to begin with.

The Wranglers definitely aren't as common there as they are here. Of course I think the JKs and the JLs are probably slowly changing that. But TJ and previous generations are scarce.
 
Chris said:
Honestly, what else could you even do most of these trails in? Aside from a 100% custom purpose-built rock crawler, you're only other feasible options would be an older (smaller) Toyota Tacoma, a Suzuki Samurai, possibly some sort of Toyota, or if you insisted on a Jeep, I suppose you could use an XJ or an old Grand Cherokee. But we all know that with a Jeep, you're going to have more parts availability and support than any other vehicle out there, hands down.

But even then the compact size and short wheelbase of the Wrangler makes it arguably the best off-road vehicle in the world... or at least America.

Probably one of the reasons it is a quintessential American icon.
Click to expand...

Nailed most of the reasons I love Jeeps ;)
 
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Chris said:
Very true.

Given what I've seen from the people on this forum with Jeeps in the UK, they definitely aren't very common over there. My guess is that if they are off-roading, the majority of it is older Land Rovers, diesel Toyotas, and vehicles we never got here to begin with.

The Wranglers definitely aren't as common there as they are here. Of course I think the JKs and the JLs are probably slowly changing that. But TJ and previous generations are scarce.
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Yep this is true, my family does all farming and land rovers like this are very popular, 3 seats in the front and you can throw the sheepdogs or livestock in the back, and they're decent for towing.

7310383-land-rover-defender.jpg


I'm not sure how much of an off roading as a hobby community there is over there, none that I was aware of besides rally driving, the only people I knew driving offroad were farmers. I didn't really see jeeps over there until recently and even then they're few and far between (maybe see one every couple weeks).
 
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tomtaylz said:
Yep this is true, my family does all farming and land rovers like this are very popular, 3 seats in the front and you can throw the sheepdogs or livestock in the back, and they're decent for towing.

View attachment 60815

I'm not sure how much of an off roading as a hobby community there is over there, none that I was aware of besides rally driving, the only people I knew driving offroad were farmers. I didn't really see jeeps over there until recently and even then they're few and far between (maybe see one every couple weeks).
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Is your family from the UK? I didn’t even know that!

I’m not really sure how many off-road designated places you’d find over there as compared to the US. Here it’s a really big thing!
 
tomtaylz said:
Yep this is true, my family does all farming and land rovers like this are very popular, 3 seats in the front and you can throw the sheepdogs or livestock in the back, and they're decent for towing.

View attachment 60815

I'm not sure how much of an off roading as a hobby community there is over there, none that I was aware of besides rally driving, the only people I knew driving offroad were farmers. I didn't really see jeeps over there until recently and even then they're few and far between (maybe see one every couple weeks).
Click to expand...
I was home sick this past February at the same time the King of the Hammers was running out in CA. One of the announcers was British and he talked about Ultra4 in Europe. So, they do have racing that includes rock crawling over there. The courses in Britain seem man-made.

https://www.motorsport.com/us/offro...ound-4-maxxis-king-of-britain-970149/3054111/
 
Seems the two TJ drivers used a lot more skinny pedal than needed. H3 look huge on the trail! I know JKUs are the same size’ish, but still.
 
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