"Earle Horton" <NurseBustersNoSpam@msn.com> wrote in message
news:444ff209$0$14941$a82e2bb9@reader.athenanews.c om...
> Widen it by about a foot, put four doors on it and a mini pickup bed.
Donīt
> forget independent suspension. Then it will be a Hummer.

Maybe an H2, but not an H1... The H2 and H3 are just posers... The original
H1 had certain advantages for certain types of terrain... Maybe not for what
*we* use a 4x4 for, but for certain terrain, it has advantages... With the
geared hubs, the entire driveline is moved upwards quite a bit, giving it
16" of ground clearance... Regardless of what we might put as lift kits on
our Jeeps to raise the body, our true ground clearance will only be half of
the increase in tire diameter increase... The differential on our Jeeps
tends to be the lowest point that we have to worry about with respect to
ground clearance... If you've ever driven along a road that was covered with
very thick snow, stopped, and looked back at your tracks, you'll likely see
three grooves in the snow -- left tires, right tires, and a semicircle
groove where the diff plowed through... For my XJ in it's current
configuration, that means that I have a 9" clearance underneath the diff, at
least 14.5" along most of the rest of the undercarriage, and 23" until the
bottom of the doors (which is more a measure of water fording without having
to dry the carpet out than anything else)... My Dodge pickup with stock
tires has an 11" clearance underneath most of it and 17" until the bottom of
the doors... In loose snow, the truck will be plowing a pretty wide path at
11" from the pavement due to the IFS crossmember / frame (that actually
looks like it would protect the diff)... The XJ would plow a bit deeper in
spots, but other spots higher, so it's probably a toss-up on which might be
better... I suspect that since the XJ is lighter, it would be better in that
it would more likely not sink as much as the pickup... On the other hand, if
I really get stuck someplace and am forced to sleep in the vehicle, I prefer
the Dodge... <grin>

 

"Earle Horton" <NurseBustersNoSpam@msn.com> wrote in message
news:444ff209$0$14941$a82e2bb9@reader.athenanews.c om...
> Widen it by about a foot, put four doors on it and a mini pickup bed.
Donīt
> forget independent suspension. Then it will be a Hummer.

Maybe an H2, but not an H1... The H2 and H3 are just posers... The original
H1 had certain advantages for certain types of terrain... Maybe not for what
*we* use a 4x4 for, but for certain terrain, it has advantages... With the
geared hubs, the entire driveline is moved upwards quite a bit, giving it
16" of ground clearance... Regardless of what we might put as lift kits on
our Jeeps to raise the body, our true ground clearance will only be half of
the increase in tire diameter increase... The differential on our Jeeps
tends to be the lowest point that we have to worry about with respect to
ground clearance... If you've ever driven along a road that was covered with
very thick snow, stopped, and looked back at your tracks, you'll likely see
three grooves in the snow -- left tires, right tires, and a semicircle
groove where the diff plowed through... For my XJ in it's current
configuration, that means that I have a 9" clearance underneath the diff, at
least 14.5" along most of the rest of the undercarriage, and 23" until the
bottom of the doors (which is more a measure of water fording without having
to dry the carpet out than anything else)... My Dodge pickup with stock
tires has an 11" clearance underneath most of it and 17" until the bottom of
the doors... In loose snow, the truck will be plowing a pretty wide path at
11" from the pavement due to the IFS crossmember / frame (that actually
looks like it would protect the diff)... The XJ would plow a bit deeper in
spots, but other spots higher, so it's probably a toss-up on which might be
better... I suspect that since the XJ is lighter, it would be better in that
it would more likely not sink as much as the pickup... On the other hand, if
I really get stuck someplace and am forced to sleep in the vehicle, I prefer
the Dodge... <grin>

 

"Earle Horton" <NurseBustersNoSpam@msn.com> wrote in message
news:444ff209$0$14941$a82e2bb9@reader.athenanews.c om...
> Widen it by about a foot, put four doors on it and a mini pickup bed.
Donīt
> forget independent suspension. Then it will be a Hummer.

Maybe an H2, but not an H1... The H2 and H3 are just posers... The original
H1 had certain advantages for certain types of terrain... Maybe not for what
*we* use a 4x4 for, but for certain terrain, it has advantages... With the
geared hubs, the entire driveline is moved upwards quite a bit, giving it
16" of ground clearance... Regardless of what we might put as lift kits on
our Jeeps to raise the body, our true ground clearance will only be half of
the increase in tire diameter increase... The differential on our Jeeps
tends to be the lowest point that we have to worry about with respect to
ground clearance... If you've ever driven along a road that was covered with
very thick snow, stopped, and looked back at your tracks, you'll likely see
three grooves in the snow -- left tires, right tires, and a semicircle
groove where the diff plowed through... For my XJ in it's current
configuration, that means that I have a 9" clearance underneath the diff, at
least 14.5" along most of the rest of the undercarriage, and 23" until the
bottom of the doors (which is more a measure of water fording without having
to dry the carpet out than anything else)... My Dodge pickup with stock
tires has an 11" clearance underneath most of it and 17" until the bottom of
the doors... In loose snow, the truck will be plowing a pretty wide path at
11" from the pavement due to the IFS crossmember / frame (that actually
looks like it would protect the diff)... The XJ would plow a bit deeper in
spots, but other spots higher, so it's probably a toss-up on which might be
better... I suspect that since the XJ is lighter, it would be better in that
it would more likely not sink as much as the pickup... On the other hand, if
I really get stuck someplace and am forced to sleep in the vehicle, I prefer
the Dodge... <grin>