- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
Tan Scrambler's First "After Action" Report
I drove this Scrambler to Sicily Island ORV, and back this past weekend. I did not get any "action pictures", but if I find any from anyone else I will post them up.
On-Road
This Scrambler drove really well on-road. The engine has plenty of power, and the transmission worked fine. Driving in high winds, both there and back, I still managed 15-16 mpg at 65-75 mph. The scrambler was fairly quiet, no weird noises. The suspension, while still on the stiff side, has loosened up some. But, with the heavy full hard top, I would not want soft springs. Besides a leak at the front cowl seal, and a slight rear hatch leak, the Scrambler stayed pretty weather tight, which was a good thing, due to all the rain. As for leaks, I lost a little power steering from a wore PS pump cap, and maybe a 1/3 of a quart of oil, in 600 miles. The valve stem seals should fix the engine oil issue, and I am very happy not to have any other leaks.
I have some very slight "loose feel at high speed", not loose steering, but handling. I am sure the long shackles are throwing the caster out. I plan on putting in shorter shackles, and correcting the caster. This Scrambler, with 4" lift springs/33's/full hard top does feel a little top heavy, compared to my 1/2 top Scramblers. It's not as bad as an Isuzu Trooper, but I still wouldn't drive it like a Corvette. The full length hard top also catches a lot more wind then the 1/2 top, you know it is there during heavy crosswinds at high speeds.
I also got re-acquainted with the good old "Detroit Locker in the rear loves to fight the center hump of rutted out roads" characteristic, but all in all, not bad. I knew there was a reason I went with selectable lockers on my red Scrambler, though.
I changed wiper blades before the trip, and the factory wipers/linkage worked perfectly. All other electrical items worked perfectly, too.
Off-Road
I did not try any super hard stuff, but on the easy/medium stuff, the Scrambler worked great. The V8, automatic, Detroit in the rear/Tru-Trac in the front worked very well together. The tires did great in the mud, and cleaned out very well. I was very happy with it. It is very fun in mud/sand/dirt/general trail duty and some light rock obstacles.
The full hard top does suck on "hard" off-road trails. The limited visibility, plus the top heaviness, does not make this thing fun on sidehills. For general off road usage, the full top is fine, but for harder, off camber stuff, it would be better to leave the full top at camp.
The Tru-Trac worked very well on the easy/medium stuff. Both front tires would pull, but it was invisible while steering. BUT, the two times I got stuck, a full front locker would have prevented the issue. I had the Scrambler leaning over pretty good, i.e. about to flip, with the front driver side tire in the air, passenger front against a rock. In this situation, no power went to the passenger side tire, even when I hit the brakes. Now, to be fair, I did have the sway bar hooked up/30 psi in the tires. A more compliant suspension and softer tires might have helped. But, for general, non-hardcore off-road usage, I really was impressed with the Tru-Trac. If you want to climb rocks, get a full locker.
When I got stuck on the side hill, a did cause some slight damage, nothing major.
I hit a tree with the driver side mirror, cracked the bushing, easy fix.
I also broke the passenger side mirror bushings, while I was leaning against a tree, but it didn't hurt the mirror or arm. I took it off before heading home so that it wouldn't be banging around.
The aftermarket radio antenna also broke off, but I am glad it did. There is some paint bubbling/slight exfoiliation rust happening here. It is still solid, so happy about that. I plan on removing the loose paint/rust, spot priming and painting this area, and sticking a stainless bolt through the hole. Since I don't have a radio in here, the loss of the antenna was negligible.
The worst boo-boo, a small dent at the bottom of the fender. I am not too worried about that, since the previous owner put a few dents on the passenger side rocker, the front fender now matches.
And of course, while leaning against a tree, I scuffed the hard top. Just a scuff. Just look at that handsome guy in the reflection LOL.
Most of these "issues" happened while side hilling through tight trees, and I should have known better. The full hard top is a big hindrance in this type of environment.
All in all, I am very happy with the Scrambler. A few more small fixes, and I am going to consider it done, well at least as far as I am concerned.
One last picture, at the car wash.
That's it for now
I drove this Scrambler to Sicily Island ORV, and back this past weekend. I did not get any "action pictures", but if I find any from anyone else I will post them up.
On-Road
This Scrambler drove really well on-road. The engine has plenty of power, and the transmission worked fine. Driving in high winds, both there and back, I still managed 15-16 mpg at 65-75 mph. The scrambler was fairly quiet, no weird noises. The suspension, while still on the stiff side, has loosened up some. But, with the heavy full hard top, I would not want soft springs. Besides a leak at the front cowl seal, and a slight rear hatch leak, the Scrambler stayed pretty weather tight, which was a good thing, due to all the rain. As for leaks, I lost a little power steering from a wore PS pump cap, and maybe a 1/3 of a quart of oil, in 600 miles. The valve stem seals should fix the engine oil issue, and I am very happy not to have any other leaks.
I have some very slight "loose feel at high speed", not loose steering, but handling. I am sure the long shackles are throwing the caster out. I plan on putting in shorter shackles, and correcting the caster. This Scrambler, with 4" lift springs/33's/full hard top does feel a little top heavy, compared to my 1/2 top Scramblers. It's not as bad as an Isuzu Trooper, but I still wouldn't drive it like a Corvette. The full length hard top also catches a lot more wind then the 1/2 top, you know it is there during heavy crosswinds at high speeds.
I also got re-acquainted with the good old "Detroit Locker in the rear loves to fight the center hump of rutted out roads" characteristic, but all in all, not bad. I knew there was a reason I went with selectable lockers on my red Scrambler, though.
I changed wiper blades before the trip, and the factory wipers/linkage worked perfectly. All other electrical items worked perfectly, too.
Off-Road
I did not try any super hard stuff, but on the easy/medium stuff, the Scrambler worked great. The V8, automatic, Detroit in the rear/Tru-Trac in the front worked very well together. The tires did great in the mud, and cleaned out very well. I was very happy with it. It is very fun in mud/sand/dirt/general trail duty and some light rock obstacles.
The full hard top does suck on "hard" off-road trails. The limited visibility, plus the top heaviness, does not make this thing fun on sidehills. For general off road usage, the full top is fine, but for harder, off camber stuff, it would be better to leave the full top at camp.
The Tru-Trac worked very well on the easy/medium stuff. Both front tires would pull, but it was invisible while steering. BUT, the two times I got stuck, a full front locker would have prevented the issue. I had the Scrambler leaning over pretty good, i.e. about to flip, with the front driver side tire in the air, passenger front against a rock. In this situation, no power went to the passenger side tire, even when I hit the brakes. Now, to be fair, I did have the sway bar hooked up/30 psi in the tires. A more compliant suspension and softer tires might have helped. But, for general, non-hardcore off-road usage, I really was impressed with the Tru-Trac. If you want to climb rocks, get a full locker.
When I got stuck on the side hill, a did cause some slight damage, nothing major.
I hit a tree with the driver side mirror, cracked the bushing, easy fix.
I also broke the passenger side mirror bushings, while I was leaning against a tree, but it didn't hurt the mirror or arm. I took it off before heading home so that it wouldn't be banging around.
The aftermarket radio antenna also broke off, but I am glad it did. There is some paint bubbling/slight exfoiliation rust happening here. It is still solid, so happy about that. I plan on removing the loose paint/rust, spot priming and painting this area, and sticking a stainless bolt through the hole. Since I don't have a radio in here, the loss of the antenna was negligible.
The worst boo-boo, a small dent at the bottom of the fender. I am not too worried about that, since the previous owner put a few dents on the passenger side rocker, the front fender now matches.
And of course, while leaning against a tree, I scuffed the hard top. Just a scuff. Just look at that handsome guy in the reflection LOL.
Most of these "issues" happened while side hilling through tight trees, and I should have known better. The full hard top is a big hindrance in this type of environment.
All in all, I am very happy with the Scrambler. A few more small fixes, and I am going to consider it done, well at least as far as I am concerned.
One last picture, at the car wash.
That's it for now