Ok I know that a bunch of you will gag when you read this but bare with me. I have a 95 nissan pathfinder that I have pretty much done everything to that I can except a SAS. I am actually gathering SAS parts right now but before I get it all done I would like to try the rubicon with my rig the way it is right now. I have wheeled this rig up, over, and into places that people with better equipped rigs told me I would never be able to go. So..my ultimate question is... Do you guys know of anyone who has run the rubicon sucessfully with an IFS??

Yes, I know a guy who did it with a stock Ford ranger. There are always IFS trucks around. It's really not that big of a deal. You really didn't say anything about your truck of any use so I can't give you a better answer.

My 1995 4Runner at the top of big sluice

In the group I ran with at the beginning of the month, we had a stock X-Terra with us, on 31 inch tires....he got hung up alot:D

But it made it all the way through with no mechanical failures. Although he did come down hard once and put a crack in his t-case.

Low gears and a locker or two are way more important than the type of front axle, as are the dirvers experience and tolerance for damage.

My two previous rigs (Toy mini trucks) were IFS and they both had many crossings under their belts.

Cool. Thanks for the responses guys. I'm running 33's with 4.65 gears, locker in the rear, rock sliders, beefed up steering, and soon to get a winch. I have been wheeling for 7 or 8 yrs now without ever breaking anything major so I think I will be alright as far as driving goes.

IMO, all one needs is two things: traction and clearance-- all the rest is icing on the cake. Altho, a lot of icing is nice-- that makes the difference between a forlorn, miserable experience dogged w/ this or that issue, or a breeze thru the trail. Even if ur built, ya gotta pay attention or u'll be asking for trouble. So, sure, IFS is doable-- just have the two mentioned factors in place and u'll be fine. Oh, and time-- don;t rush it or u'll end up using more time to fix that which w/ patience will otherwise work fine.

good luck

mb

One of the biggest helps is to have experience and to know your rig, it sounds like you have that and then some. The rest is the icing.

After that, go with someone that has been before and you will have an awesome time!!

After that, go with someone that has been before and you will have an awesome time!!

That's the best advise! Go with someone that knows the trail well and you'll have a great experience :cool2:

Some friends and I made it through in a 1996 Pathfinder and a 2000 XTerra, both trucks had ~3" lifts, 32" ATs, and rear lockers.

It took some time and a lot of spotting but we made it through with no major hangups or damage and had a great time.

- Matt

I made it through in my taco with ifs and no lockers and 33's. The rubicon is not all that bad. It can be done. The trail is as hard or as easy as you want to make it.

I made it through in my taco with ifs and no lockers and 33's. The rubicon is not all that bad. It can be done. The trail is as hard or as easy as you want to make it.
Have you guys seen pics of his rig? Yeah it made it a lot of different places with the IFS and no lockers (before the IFS blew up), but the body was bashed and the truck was beat. :flipoff2:

Yeah, an IFS on the Con is nothing to worry about. The trail itself is being maintained very nicely and is pretty simple to get through.

Yep we did it a couple of years back and two of us had IFS; I had a '99 Explorer and there was a '97 Explorer in the group. I ran 35" tires and was locked front and rear and had very little trouble at all on the trail (I bypassed Little Sluice and Old Sluice). The '97 was running on 33" tires with a rear locker and hung up a few times.... I don't know your wheelbase but if it's less than the 112" ours was then 33" tires should do fine; if it's near 112" then you're gonna hang up some on 33's.

I second what the others have said. Clearance and traction combined with experience wheelin' your rig and running with someone that knows the trail will make a huge difference in your experience.

I noticed that you said you had rocksliders - consider that required equipment if you want to exit the trail with bodywork closely resembling what you entered the trail with. Enjoy and post a trip report when you finish :)