'02 Liberty vs '06 Ford Explorer

[02redKJ]

I know there are some comparisons out there but not for this particular combination, or for what I am about to ask specifically.

As you may already know, I recently bought a new to me '02 Liberty. I only had it a short time and the engine blew and it is still in the shop, so I haven't been able to try it out at all off road. Also, because of the Liberty being in the shop I was forced to buy another vehicle, a '06 4WD Ford Explorer, in order to take a family trip 1000 miles round trip.

Yesterday, my wife and I went for a little drive to the beach. An easier than walking way to the beach was to drive through about a mile and a half of sand dunes, and it drops you right off at the water front on this particular beach. I decided to give the 4WD a try and see what she could do. I was very impressed with the handling and nimble sure footedness (<Not really a word, but it fits) of the auto 4WD mode that the truck is always in. Then I stopped and put it in 4LO, and wow. it really had no trouble at all going anywhere I wanted to go.

Now, I have driven these trails in 2 previous 4WD vehicles. A 95 Chevy Suburban, and a 93 Toyota SR5 Extra cab pickup. Neither of these two did very well at all and I had no confidence that I wouldn't get stuck while driving them.

I had no thought or worry in the Explorer. Here is where the vs comes in. How will my '02 Libby compare to the '06 Explorer in the same situation?

Is this enough info? Or do you need more detail about the soft sandy dune trails I was driving on?

I hope you can help, and when I get my Libby back, I will take the same trails and report back my results.

 

[tommudd]

To be fair you'd have to drive both at the same time, with the same tires, air pressure adjusted the same etc. One set of tires may dig in a little more or have a wider foot print than the other which would make or could make a huge difference.

 

[02redKJ]

The Explorer has exact same tire size as the Liberty. 235/70 16s the tires are pressured at 35 as recommended by the door panel, and they are BF Goodrich all terrain T/As about 1/16th to 1/8th inch worn off. Pretty new, in other words.

The Liberty has same size and similar pressure, but different tires. It has General Grabber STX tires which are new.

 

[02redKJ]

Looks like I am getting the Libby back Friday, so I'll be able to test it this weekend. I am just wondering if it will be as nimble, due to similar 4 wheel independent suspension of the two, especially when compared to the two older trucks I mentioned with the 2 solid axles. The Suburban only made it about 100 yards and felt like it was sinking. This with 33" BF Goodrich All Terrain T/As on it at highway pressure. I ended up backing out and not going to the beach that way. The Toyota felt like it was sinking but allowed me to go faster, so it didn't sink. Just a bouncy ass ride! Ride 'em Cowboy!

 

[dude1116]

Looks like I am getting the Libby back Friday, so I'll be able to test it this weekend. I am just wondering if it will be as nimble, due to similar 4 wheel independent suspension of the two, especially when compared to the two older trucks I mentioned with the 2 solid axles. The Suburban only made it about 100 yards and felt like it was sinking. This with 33" BF Goodrich All Terrain T/As on it at highway pressure. I ended up backing out and not going to the beach that way. The Toyota felt like it was sinking but allowed me to go faster, so it didn't sink. Just a bouncy ass ride! Ride 'em Cowboy!

Just going to correct you and say that the Libby is IFA and SRA. Not 4 wheel independent.

I don't think you're going to have any problems with the Libby in the sand. But keep in mine those BFG will handle the sand MUCH better than the Grabbers on the Libby. The grabbers are a street tire. I have a feeling in this situation you'll like the more 4WD options that the Libby has than the Explorer. You'll also notice that the Libby is probably MORE nimble due to the small size of the vehicle. Not to say the Explorer isn't good. I have a feeling both handle that situation very well...so it's not going to be a matter of which handles better but a matter of preference of vehicle with many MORE aspects taken into consideration.

 

[02redKJ]

Really??? I thought the SRA had to have leaf suspension. I have A arms all around. Am I just stupid? LOL I can't go out and look at it. Anyway, in that respect... Having A arms all around, not just in front like the Toy and Suburban, which had leaf rear suspension.

I will tell you this. I did try something before the Jeep broke. I have a set of ramps, so I put one on front on the right side, and one in back on the left side to see how well it would articulate. I drove up to the top, about 8 inches off the ground, and the Jeep still had 4 tires on the ground. I tried the same thing with the Explorer, and I was barely able to get up to the top because one tire came off the ground about 3 inches and started spinning. I got enough momentum up and did finally make it up there though and yes, one tire was off the ground a 3 full inches, and maybe a bit more.

 

[Jo6pak]

The KJs solid rear axle has coils instead of leafs.

My feeling is the KJ will be a little better than the Ford. BUT, you will look a lot better doing it.

 

[tjkj2002]

I know there are some comparisons out there but not for this particular combination, or for what I am about to ask specifically.

As you may already know, I recently bought a new to me '02 Liberty. I only had it a short time and the engine blew and it is still in the shop, so I haven't been able to try it out at all off road. Also, because of the Liberty being in the shop I was forced to buy another vehicle, a '06 4WD Ford Explorer, in order to take a family trip 1000 miles round trip.

Yesterday, my wife and I went for a little drive to the beach. An easier than walking way to the beach was to drive through about a mile and a half of sand dunes, and it drops you right off at the water front on this particular beach. I decided to give the 4WD a try and see what she could do. I was very impressed with the handling and nimble sure footedness (<Not really a word, but it fits) of the auto 4WD mode that the truck is always in. Then I stopped and put it in 4LO, and wow. it really had no trouble at all going anywhere I wanted to go.

Now, I have driven these trails in 2 previous 4WD vehicles. A 95 Chevy Suburban, and a 93 Toyota SR5 Extra cab pickup. Neither of these two did very well at all and I had no confidence that I wouldn't get stuck while driving them.

I had no thought or worry in the Explorer. Here is where the vs comes in. How will my '02 Libby compare to the '06 Explorer in the same situation?

Is this enough info? Or do you need more detail about the soft sandy dune trails I was driving on?

I hope you can help, and when I get my Libby back, I will take the same trails and report back my results.

Vehicle weight and vehicle weight distribution are they key factors.




Suburban = very heavy(6500lbs+ in stock form),terrible offroad for anything
Toyota pickup = light weight but very nose heavy
Explorer = while not light it's far from a Suburban weight and almost 50/50 weight distribution
Liberty = same as the Explorer but a few hundred pounds lighter.

 

[02redKJ]

Vehicle weight and vehicle weight distribution are they key factors.




Suburban = very heavy(6500lbs+ in stock form),terrible offroad for anything
Toyota pickup = light weight but very nose heavy
Explorer = while not light it's far from a Suburban weight and almost 50/50 weight distribution
Liberty = same as the Explorer but a few hundred pounds lighter.

Based on this, and a really good point you made, I might add! Then the explorer and the Jeep should do better than both the Toy and the Chevy, due to even weight distribution. The lighter and shorter wheel base of the Jeep will make it even more nimble than the Ford. Is that what you are saying?

I know the tire differences will make some difference, but the tread design of the Generals looked pretty aggressive (for a street A/T tire) to me, and I couldn't afford the BF Gs that I wanted to put on at the time. It will have to wait a while for those. But then it will be even better on the sand than it is right now.

 

[tommudd]

Really??? I thought the SRA had to have leaf suspension. I have A arms all around. Am I just stupid? LOL I can't go out and look at it. Anyway, in that respect... Having A arms all around, not just in front like the Toy and Suburban, which had leaf rear suspension.

I will tell you this. I did try something before the Jeep broke. I have a set of ramps, so I put one on front on the right side, and one in back on the left side to see how well it would articulate. I drove up to the top, about 8 inches off the ground, and the Jeep still had 4 tires on the ground. I tried the same thing with the Explorer, and I was barely able to get up to the top because one tire came off the ground about 3 inches and started spinning. I got enough momentum up and did finally make it up there though and yes, one tire was off the ground a 3 full inches, and maybe a bit more.

Lots more flex from the KJ than the Exploder for sure

 

[02redKJ]

The longer wheelbase of the Explorer should help its flexability, but I believe that if they both had the same wheelbase, the Jeep would really shine. The body on frame of the Explorer has a lot to do with it, but I think the biggest thing that affects it, is the design of the suspension.