Skyclad's Outback...here we go...

A long time since I installed my SubaXtreme lift but I would allow a full day - depending on skills and equipment available to do the job.
 
So I have had the lift in place for a few weeks now. I do love the way it looks, and I must say that I cannot notice any real handling difference.

I had a chance to go out for a little drive today, and decided to hit a short but sweet rough section. This is the same road that first piqued my interest in exploring the dirt potential of the Outback.

I even got a video to share. The wife does make a decent image stabilizing tripod. Even have a decent soundtrack with the radio playing.

 
Sweet! :thumbsup:

Although with the Alice in chains in the background I kept expecting the track to open up and you flooring itwith a few sideways drifts and so on, maybe a blast through some mud.:rock:
:ebiggrin:
 
That is classic stock Outback territory. Perfect tool for the job.
 
We did a trip to the Black Hills area of South Dakota a couple of weeks ago. I think a lifted Outback is about perfect for this sort of trip. Comfortable, plenty capable for everything that we wanted to do, and you can't argue much with averaging a bit over 25 mpg over a 5000+ mile road trip.

Here's a few pictures of Sophia (she earned her name this trip} and the places she took us.

We got stuck behind an actual cattle drive for awhile.
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On top of Elk Mountain at the fire tower.
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On Hell Canyon Road (it's not as difficult as it sounds)
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The most difficult obstacle to deal with
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This is what most of it looked like
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I will post a few pictures later when I have more time. There are a bunch from a dirt road in the Badlands that most folks do not drive on.
 
Here are the pictures from the Badlands.

I found out about a road called Sheep Mountain Road. It starts out as graded gravel, but becomes a wonderful double track in about a mile or so. The maps said "High Clearance Vehicles Only", so I figured it was worth investigation.

I do not have many of the road itself, but thought you might like to see a part of the Badlands National Park that most people do not see.

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It's actually not the horizon that is slanted in this picture...
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and here is the scenery
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I am not sure where Sophia will take me next, but I will be sure to share the tales.
 
An interesting place for sure. I was wondering about the name so I visited:
https://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm

"1) Why is it called the Badlands?

The Lakota people were the first to call this place "mako sica" or "land bad." Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. In the early 1900's, French-Canadian fur trappers called it "les mauvais terres pour traverse," or "bad lands to travel through."
 
Awesome looking scenery and it looks like you had a great trip.

Good effort going solo for your first trip!

Cheers

Bennie
 
Nice places you got there. Best thing that you can do with outback is see more remote places and still being family wagon.
 
Yeah, it is a huge change from my old exploring rig. That was a 95 Grand Cherokee with 4.5 inches of lift and 33" mud terrain tires.

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Obviously, the Jeep was much more capable off pavement, but it was not as comfortable and pleasant on the highway. Oh, it also averaged about 15 mpg...on a really good day...with a stiff tailwind.

Since I don't spend much time rockcrawling anymore, the Outback is the clear winner.
 
Grand is not comfy? Umm it must be like you driving and sitting on sofa very comfy soft and boaty feeling. How its not? Did lift made it unsoft? Outbacks are not soft machines in general.
 
Oh, don't get me wrong. The Grand Cherokee was very comfortable for what it was. It rode just fine considering it had solid axles. The lift didn't add to much stiffness. But it was still a fairly serious trail rig.

It was noisy on the highway because of the aggressive tires and poor aerodynamics. It's handling was decent...for a two story building.

Not to mention that the technology differences between a 1995 SUV and a 2016 SUV are substantial. Adaptive cruise control, lane keep technology, built in navigation...hell, the Outback can damn near drive itself. For eating up miles, the Jeep doesn't even come close. New Jeeps also make the 95 Grand look rather primitive as well.
 
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