Anyone have any info on comparing off-road ability of a 4x4 Silverado vs a JK-X? I'm thinking the shorter wheelbase would make a huge difference on the JK.

 

When you say off-road, are you talking about mud, rocks....?

The breakover angles are not even comparable. Also, the solid front axle provides much greater flex.

 

^ x 2. Definitely an apple to oranges comparison.

 

Search for a recent thread where a Silverado owner is buying a JK. Some good discussion there.

At least two problems with any full size PU.

1. Size specially when you add sufficient lift for large tires
2. Highly oversprung rear suspension limits rear traction

 

I have wheeled dozens of times with a friend of mine at work. He has a 1500, reg cab/short bed 4x4. He has the same 35" Km2s as I do. It struggles on the rocks for sure. Independent front suspension is a killer on those. It really can't get into too much trouble due to it's low limits. Some things it does effortlessly. It has a hard time crawling up rocks for sure.

He has 3" torsion keys and is enough to clear his 35s with minor cutting. So no huge macho lift on it

 

what is there to compare while I do like trucks there are totally different vehicles

 

my friend has an 08 4dr chevy 1500, with 4x4. we love to go hunting and used to use his truck all the time. then i got jeep, now he just uses the truck to pull the camper up there. its amazing how many more trials we have acess to with the jeep. his truck couldnt make the turns in the tight trails.

 

Let me shed a little light on this, at least as far as ON road driving goes.

I was in an accident a month ago. As a rental vehicle I was given a Brand new Chevy Silverado (non 4x4)

Basically anytime I had to turn around, or pull in or out of a parking stall, basically anything, it required a 3point turn. The JK just....does it. HUUUGE difference in wheel base.

I noticed it was about the same amount of ground clearance between the vehicles, the Silverado has a huuuge interior with alot of space. I find the JK has a nice amount of space as well, at least in my opinion it is.

One thing that really irked me about the Silverado was how tired it made me when I drove it. Literally. It takes a lot of muscle to turn the wheels in that vehicle! I'm a big guy and just going through neighborhoods and whatnot where youre turning and working your way around the roads, It just wiped me out. The JK however has a very tight steering wheel that reacts quickly, and doesnt have any "weight" behind it that requires much strength.

The Silverado I drove was a crew cab 4 door. I didnt like having the bed on the back of the truck since I was so used to my JK. When driving around and changing lanes and whatnot, I had to take that into effect. I'm so used to the JK where the back windshield is basically the end of the Jeep. On the silverado, you still have like 5 feet of vehicle behind the rear windshield.

All in all. The silverado is a beast, a great big truck with alot of muscle. But not my cup. I like the quicker, more agile vehicles, that are pretty effortless to drive that I can dip dive and dodge around traffic with.

Again, this is purely a review based on my onroad experience.

 

A Truck is for hauling dirt and rocks and a Jeep is made to drive over the dirt and rocks. A stock X will go places off road a truck (silverado) could only dream of. If you want the most capable off road vehicle, the Jeep X wins easily.

But if you get the silverado, let us know. I might need your help hauling some cow fertilizer into my father in laws garden. I hear trucks are great for that.

 

Well, the reason I was looking for comparisons is, my Mrs and I had a JK-X, an Xterra and a Camry. We sold the Camry and used the garage space to park our boat. Last week I traded the Xterra on a 4x4 offroad Silverado. The condition was the JK is now totally hers. So, before I challenge her to some off-roading, I wanted some opinions on the 4x4 truck. I think she has the advantage in wheelbase, tighter steering, agility and better under armor. The Chevy has under armor for all but the fuel tank. The independant front suspension is definitely a loss in clearance over the JK's front axle. I think in a mud pit the Chevy will win, but in the trails my Mrs may be performing a rescue on the truck.