short vs long

[matto]

hi all,
I currently have a shorty and i'm looking to go to a long wheel base but i have never driven one are they as good off road as the shorty?

[chops]

Better! longer wheel base, more stable on steeper climbs

Gotta lift it right up tho so you don't beach yourself on the chassis

[matto]

is there any dramas with the rear tail shaft when lifting.
Do you know any tracks close to home i live in bray park

[pongo]

I asked this question ages ago. I miss my ute but my SWB is much more Funnerer( I know i know), and gets less damaged.

Id keep your old swb unless it has major issues like my ute did

Cheers

[matto]

the shorty is in good nik but i need more room. It is fun getting wheels in the air.

[Screwy]

utes are great, less panels than a shorty but a good long wheelbase

[viperguy]

ozy1 will tell u.. he has both.. but me personally i find i spend more time with fronts in the air in my shorty. but it is so nimble and has a tiny turning circle and massive ramp over after my lift. shortys also look better. but every shorty owner i know wants more length...wheelbase length that is..

[DR Frankenstine]

Shorty for sure. I had a LWB and used to end up carrying everyone elses gear. Now I can travel light and use the excuse (sorry not enough room)
The advantages of a SWB over a LWB far outway the dissadvantages.

[Suspension Stuff]

You have less troubles with driveline with a LWB and to compare the off road ability, the LWB would go further most of the time without scareing me and thinking I was going to tip over.

SWB is good for steering lock but my vote is for the LWB. You put people in the back of a shorty and go 4WDing you will scare yourself further.

You need a wheelbase somewhere in between I reckon. That's why I bought a Rangie.

[pongo]

the shorty is in good nik but i need more room. It is fun getting wheels in the air.

I wouldnt sell a good 4wd and buy another. i reckon your asking for trouble. Yeah the shorty's are short but they are great fun and the boat still fits on the roof

utes are great, less panels than a shorty but a good long wheelbase

Is that what you call that thing of yours

[ozy1]

okay, as Viperguy mentioned, i have both a LWB and a SWB, they both have exactly the same mods (6inch lift, front and rear lockers, rockhoppers), only difference is one is petrol and auto (SWB), the other is manual and Turbo diesel (LWB),

now, i love the longwheel base, it stability, in steep climbs, the weight distribution seems to be alot better, even thou the front doesnt flex as well as the rear, the weight holds the front down, allows steeper climbs,

now the shorty is good in tight areas, where a good turning circle is a must, but once you start to climb something the difference is there, the front wheel comes straight up, and if the rear wheels lock inot a ledge/step, its straight up from there (skywards) and can get verry interesting at times,

this is where im going to fix my problem, i am going to convert it into a ute and extend the wheel base, so it ends up half way between a SWB and a LWB,


i tried to find pictures of each one on the same climb, but have lost a few pics due to a computer crash,

[pongo]

I found the topic from ages ago

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... ght=battle

[Doggy]

I love my shorty and the only time I have had a problem is when I have been winching someone up a steep hill, I find that my back wheels lift off the ground ....nothing that chucking a couple of fat pr*cks on there doesnt fix

[pongo]

okay, as Viperguy mentioned, i have both a LWB and a SWB, they both have exactly the same mods (6inch lift, front and rear lockers, rockhoppers), only difference is one is petrol and auto (SWB), the other is manual and Turbo diesel (LWB),

now, i love the longwheel base, it stability, in steep climbs, the weight distribution seems to be alot better, even thou the front doesnt flex as well as the rear, the weight holds the front down, allows steeper climbs,

now the shorty is good in tight areas, where a good turning circle is a must, but once you start to climb something the difference is there, the front wheel comes straight up, and if the rear wheels lock inot a ledge/step, its straight up from there (skywards) and can get verry interesting at times,

this is where im going to fix my problem, i am going to convert it into a ute and extend the wheel base, so it ends up half way between a SWB and a LWB,


i tried to find pictures of each one on the same climb, but have lost a few pics due to a computer crash,

Did you try reversing the shorty up? I havent found a decent hill to try yet to see if it makes any difference

[GQ TROL]

Having previously competed in SWB GQ and now in a GQ extra-cab ute based on a LWB chassis.....the LWB ute out-climbs the SWB time after time.

Its great for stability, both up and down hills, and isn't so long that its a hinderence in the tight stuff. Benefit of the ute, is you just lean the tray against a tree, go full lock and it just pivots around the tree with no problems.

[Suspension Stuff]

I am learning the hard way that the Ute is a better option.

[Beastmavster]

You need to lift the LWB a hell of a lot more to get same ramp over angle, then are very compromised due to COG on side angles.

Having said that, no question climbs in a SWB can get a bit scary..... especially when you get 1/2 way up then start to struggle. It's always scary to start sliding backwards, hit the brakes and start to tip further backwards.

Strange thing is with a similar wheelbase a LWB zook somehow feels "safe" in the same circumstances so maybe it's a perception thing based on that huge bonnet blocking your vision.

But you definately do reconsider some of the steep climbs in the shorty that you wouldnt in the LWB.

But excluding climbs I've seen my SWB outdo LWB's again and again even with my rear difflock off versus their LSD's.

Each has it's benefits and I wouldnt say one is better than the other overall... just in certain circumstances.

[k1barh]

[/quote]Having said that, no question climbs in a SWB can get a bit scary..... especially when you get 1/2 way up then start to struggle. It's always scary to start sliding backwards, hit the brakes and start to tip further backwards.
I’ll be honest
okay I’ll be truthful
All right then what happened was I tried to climb a rather steep hill (in of all things H4) and at about half way the front offside wheel lifted about 1/2 a metre in the air, I never noticed whilst I was driving and just kept on giving it stick but my mate (who was at the top of the hill) near on shat himself because he thought I was going to roll down the hill needless to say I survived (and so did the SWB MK ) so what I am saying is that it is all a matter of point of view and I reckon the SWB will climb everything a LWB will as long as you drive sensibly

[waxhead..]

How hard are you driving? IMO for a social club driver, keep the shorty, My old man is on his 8th patrol, he has used them all, he drives a New LWB daily, but has just bought his first shorty, for play, I would far rather be driving the shorty off road, as it is more nimble, and just more fun, the wheel lifts are fun, you dont feel as though you are driving a bus through tight tree turns with 7ft of interior room behind you that you dont really need.
If you drive comps and stuff, sure a mid-long WB patrol ute would be the go. But for fun, I would always choose a shorty.

[pootrol]

every one keeps saying the shortys are fun they lift the front etc.isnt that the opposite to what u want.i thought the idea was to get max traction with all tyres down.i see that as a hinderance as if a shorty is lifting doing the same hill climb a lwb does id go and keep tackling tracks unil the lwb started lifting the front...........on a hill like that i guess a shorty will be on its roof at the bottom

[JemmyBubbles]

They're not THAT short. Compare them too a swb spook. YIKES.

If you need more room then the answer is simple LWB. They personally are unapealing to me and I do find the benefits of the SWB handy at times. Nimble, Tight Turning Circle and the sweet looks far outweigh the bad.

Simple truth is LWB are more comfortable, stable and roomy. Those two extra doors make such a difference when you are hauling inlaws, friends or whatever around.

You get used to the wheels in the air/hinge action after a while. With more seat time you start to get a feeling for how to alleviate some of it.

[waxhead..]

As I said, as a hard, social club driver, do you want to go out and walk over all the tracks without any thrills.
I said wheel lifts are fun, as in the shorter wheel base makes the majority of tracks far more entertaining, with the real risk of a spill, or flop, and you have to pick your lines.
I drive a swb spook off road and love it, I flop it all the time, but I don't care when I do, and normally do it fooling around. It has been built for club outings and is great at that. My brothers spook on the other hand is huge and built for comps, hence us now stretching the wheel base.
Not to get off topic, but I think it all comes down to how, and what you want to drive, and how much room you need.

[JemmyBubbles]

at last post...


MY hat goes of to spoook drivers.