I'm looking into 4x4 vehicles for myself to get myseelf into more trouble off road than I can in my ram.
So, as I looked around, I found the dakota and I would like to know, How does a 2nd gen Dakota compare to a Jeep TJ off road-wise?

I like that they have shorter overhangs than my ram and they are more compact and may fit in some places better. And I REALLY like the ability to haul a lot more in the bed than in any jeep. I wonder if I could turn a Dakota into basically a Jeep truck, just with IFS.

Also, what are some of the common issues with them?

Any Help?

 

If you're looking for offroad capabilities and after market support stay away from the dakota. While it's ok stock there is really no aftermarket for it unless you want to start doing fabrication of you own. Not sure what kind of offroading specifically you're going to be doing but dakotas are no rock climbers thats for sure also the open difs make life hard haha. I'd say go with the jeep if you're looking for a hardcore offroad vehicle a dakota would be fine for light offroading.

 

Yeah, Dakotas aren't offroad vehicles. IFS torsion bar setups are not for lifting and going offroad. Most people that build a dakota for offroad use, swap in a staight axle and then are able to lift it much easier. Obviously there are a million and one lift kits for tj's and other accesories. Just get a quadratec catalog.

I mean you can do an easy body lift and put some 33s on it and it will be fine for light offroading, but if you are serious about you will need to do some serious fab work or get a tj.

 

if you wanted something smaller for tight trails then get a regular cab dakota 4x4. but if your going for big lift jeeps are alot easier to do.
what kind of off roading are you doing the most of?

 

I sold my TJ to buy the Dakota - but that is because I actually needed to haul stuff around every now & then.

You can buy every imaginable part or product for a jeep - I don't care how wacky - someone out there sells it on ebay.

You can't find much of anything for a dakota - even places that typically make aftermarket parts for trucks seem to leave out the dak.

Its a stout truck in stock form & does as well as my jeep did how I used the jeep (very mild trails - more like rough dirt roads ).

The jeep is way better than the dakota if you plan to do any mods to it at all. The Dakota is way better than the jeep if you need to haul lumber out on the trail or want to pull a trailer.

 

I was planning on doing just various off roading but mostly desert in granite rock and sand. I would just want a vehicle that could do a little of everything without a focus on one thing.

So it sounds like a dakota is not a great choice. If jeep made an inexpensive truck, I'd buy it. But just dimensionally, I thought the Dakota might be ok. I just like the unlimited amount of things a truck can hold.

I guess then a 2nd gen Ram 4x4 1500 or 2500 with the Off Road package would be a good choice for the solid axles, slightly smaller then my current truck, and capability.

Thanks Everyone!

 

Even though the IFS sucks on a DAK I still have a blast with mine. I dont do too much wheeling, and if I decide to later in the future I will do an SAS. Other then that it is a great all around truck.

 

I mean I put mine to the test and it does fine but doesn't even compair to a Wrangler...

 

Alright, thanks. I think I'll look into the Dak's 4x4 big brother.

 

I honestly don't see a Ram even coming close to a TJ either.