Off-Roading: The effects of extra weight.
 

We are going off-roading as many of you know to the Badlands off-road park in Indiana on August 4th (in case anybody wants to go). My wife's brother and his GF or sister want to come with. This is the first time my wife will be going but shes small so I'm assuming it won't make a difference in weight or handling compared to last time.

My question is, if you add, oh, 400 lbs of passenger weight in the rear seats, will this at all affect things such as braking going down an incline, compression of the springs/shocks going over rough terrain, etc. Since I've only gone once, I don't know how much weight affects the characteristics of the H3. I would say between the two of them it's between 375 to 400 lbs.

Plus, what if their sister comes, which is another oh, let's say 175 or so, how will that extra 550 to 600 lbs in the rear seats affect the braking power or traction on a slope? I'm assuming it would be positive since there will be more wieght on the tires, but may also be negative on a slope because there will be more weight wanting to pull the car down.

I know this might be a silly question but I really don't know. I'd like to bring them along but since I only have stock 32" tires, I don't know if it will be good or bad. Last time it was just me and her brother and we were able to handle everything the boys with off-road tires and MTs could handle, and didn't get stuck once (except for being propped up on a slab of concrete, but that was my fault :eek:)

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

RE: Off-Roading: The effects of extra weight.
 

Well, first out ... check the rules at Badlands, no back seat passangers bro :( You may want to give her a call and see if they will hardball that aspect before you go. I'd hate seeing 2-3 people end up sitting in the parking lot for hours while we're out on the trails.

As far as the weight goes I don't think it would be much of an issue .... I guess if you got a good tripod going and people start moving around on you real bad, yeah, I could see that becoming a problem .. I am not worried about weight, I'm worried about weight that shifts around a lot .. but even that I think will have to be quite a bit to throw a bigger vehicle off ....

RE: Off-Roading: The effects of extra weight.
 

Well, I asked Mike about that, and apparently those rules are only for rock crawlers and not SUV's, and only the harder trails as well, but I will email them and ask them. You've seen my tread on my tires so you know it wasn't all that great since it's half gone, but I think I did well for having what I had wouldn't you agree?

RE: Off-Roading: The effects of extra weight.
 

LOL, yeah, those thingsare definitely heading towards baldness :-) Don't worry, I can always pull you along the trails hehehehe

RE: Off-Roading: The effects of extra weight.
 

I just shot them an email.

RE: Off-Roading: The effects of extra weight.
 

They weren't THAT bad sheesh! They have at least 50% of the tread left. I'm planning on getting some new ones next summer. They should last that long.I'm still at a stand still though. I love the tires I have now. They are great street and off-road tires, but I would like to go a little bit wider but I think still keep the 32" diameter. I kinda like the extra clearance in the wheel wells, but those MTs are calling my name,

RE: Off-Roading: The effects of extra weight.
 

Here is the response I got:

"If you have the original hard top you are fine"

So, that about says it.

RE: Off-Roading: The effects of extra weight.
 

Wow, that's awesome, I didn't know that!! I'll have to reconsider this then ... a couple of friends of mine were wanting to go but I said no ... LOL!

LMAO, yeah, they aren't THAT bad ... but definitely a little too slick for my liking .... you got 16 or 17 inch rims on that rig? I have my original BFG's sitting in the garage if you want them .. they are for 17's though and of course they are 35's too ... lemme know, I can always take them with me up but I ain't wheelin' with em in the back LOL!

You know where to go for the MT's too .. Jordan Tire was awesome to deal with when I got mine .. can't beat the price either .... They (MT) were kind enough to send mea Tee to go with them tires too ...