Thelgord
06/17/2018, 01:03 PM
I am coming up on one year as a VX owner, and I had a chance today to take it out for it’s second off-road test. After nearly a year (June 30th will be one year), I have only managed to put around 3500 miles on the VX. It has been a long road to get it to anything close to resembling reliable.
One thing I have learned, Georgia sucks for off-road options. There are two off-road “parks” where you can pay to play. There is also the Georgia Traverse. The Georgia Traverse runs through the top of the state, east to west, with the highlight being a place called Tray Mountain. And Really, for most people, that’s it.
Fortunately the one thing Georgia does have in abundance is military bases with expansive training areas, fire brake roads, and lots of unmaintained roads that have deteriorated into some interesting trails. Being in the Army, I have access to all of these. Granted, you are not going to be remote by any means, but it is a chance to get out and play. There is also the chance that training (live fire or otherwise) will close certain sections to “recreational travel”. It isn’t a lot, but it is something, and I have been itching to get out and do something, anything really, with the VX besides work on it.
For a “Fathers Day” treat, my wife suggested we take the dogs and go “explore”. It was a blast. My dog, Sammy, is pooped! LOL! All in all it was good day and the VX did very well. However, I did learn a couple things about TOD:
1) The TOD works very well in sand, so long as you are moving. There is a lot of deep, soft, sand in Georgia and I was initially quite worried about how well, or poorly, the VX would handle it. We have also had massive thunderstorms lately that has turned much of the sand into a soupy mess. The TOD worked very well and did I everything (almost everything) I asked of it.
2) There was one spot at the end of a trail where I had to do a three point turn to get turned around. Driving off the trails on a military post is big “no-no”, as it should be. Unfortunately I had to make this on a slope in very deep, soft, loose sand. When I tried to reverse (which was also up hill), the rear tires spun, but not fast enough for the TOD to engage. Being in sand I didn’t want to just hammer the gas pedal and bury myself. Locking it into 4LO popped me right out. I finished the turn around and got back on solid ground to go back to 4HI. That was an interesting lesson to learn about these little trucks.
3) For some reason, my suspension works better on trails than on highway. When I am driving on a highway, or other paved surface, it can be a rather harsh ride if the road is covered in filled pot-holes. However, when I was on trails today, it was smooth as silk. A completely different machine. Once I got back on to the pavement, of course, it went back to all the normal bangs and rattles and rode, well, like a truck from the ‘90s.
Overall, I am very pleased with how well it worked. This is my first vehicle with TOD, and it requires a certain finesse to get the most out of it. It is definitely NOT like having a traditional transfer case. I don’t think I would have needed 4LO durring my three point turn to get unstuck, or may not have even gotten stuck, had the front axle been engaged fully. I may have to look into this further, but again, overall, the VX performed exactly as it should have.
I did manage to get some decent photos while out and about:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/13sq7b7k9va48sf/7518819008_IMG_0090.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lkpmaift0v4yxtz/7518819008_IMG_0088.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/oldimn6bjucrc08/7518819008_IMG_0068.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x8devi2qyhvznbv/7518819008_IMG_0069.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r0008pvujid7g9t/7518819008_IMG_0070.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3hrz5srbjen1qxm/7518819008_IMG_0071.jpg?raw=1
One thing I have learned, Georgia sucks for off-road options. There are two off-road “parks” where you can pay to play. There is also the Georgia Traverse. The Georgia Traverse runs through the top of the state, east to west, with the highlight being a place called Tray Mountain. And Really, for most people, that’s it.
Fortunately the one thing Georgia does have in abundance is military bases with expansive training areas, fire brake roads, and lots of unmaintained roads that have deteriorated into some interesting trails. Being in the Army, I have access to all of these. Granted, you are not going to be remote by any means, but it is a chance to get out and play. There is also the chance that training (live fire or otherwise) will close certain sections to “recreational travel”. It isn’t a lot, but it is something, and I have been itching to get out and do something, anything really, with the VX besides work on it.
For a “Fathers Day” treat, my wife suggested we take the dogs and go “explore”. It was a blast. My dog, Sammy, is pooped! LOL! All in all it was good day and the VX did very well. However, I did learn a couple things about TOD:
1) The TOD works very well in sand, so long as you are moving. There is a lot of deep, soft, sand in Georgia and I was initially quite worried about how well, or poorly, the VX would handle it. We have also had massive thunderstorms lately that has turned much of the sand into a soupy mess. The TOD worked very well and did I everything (almost everything) I asked of it.
2) There was one spot at the end of a trail where I had to do a three point turn to get turned around. Driving off the trails on a military post is big “no-no”, as it should be. Unfortunately I had to make this on a slope in very deep, soft, loose sand. When I tried to reverse (which was also up hill), the rear tires spun, but not fast enough for the TOD to engage. Being in sand I didn’t want to just hammer the gas pedal and bury myself. Locking it into 4LO popped me right out. I finished the turn around and got back on solid ground to go back to 4HI. That was an interesting lesson to learn about these little trucks.
3) For some reason, my suspension works better on trails than on highway. When I am driving on a highway, or other paved surface, it can be a rather harsh ride if the road is covered in filled pot-holes. However, when I was on trails today, it was smooth as silk. A completely different machine. Once I got back on to the pavement, of course, it went back to all the normal bangs and rattles and rode, well, like a truck from the ‘90s.
Overall, I am very pleased with how well it worked. This is my first vehicle with TOD, and it requires a certain finesse to get the most out of it. It is definitely NOT like having a traditional transfer case. I don’t think I would have needed 4LO durring my three point turn to get unstuck, or may not have even gotten stuck, had the front axle been engaged fully. I may have to look into this further, but again, overall, the VX performed exactly as it should have.
I did manage to get some decent photos while out and about:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/13sq7b7k9va48sf/7518819008_IMG_0090.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lkpmaift0v4yxtz/7518819008_IMG_0088.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/oldimn6bjucrc08/7518819008_IMG_0068.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x8devi2qyhvznbv/7518819008_IMG_0069.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r0008pvujid7g9t/7518819008_IMG_0070.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3hrz5srbjen1qxm/7518819008_IMG_0071.jpg?raw=1