Log In | Register
Skip to main content
Topic: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review (Read 331 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 4 Guests are viewing this topic.
Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
We have had a slide in camper on a 4x4 F250 diesel since purchasing both new in 1994 and enjoyed going anywhere and everywhere in it. No dirt road intimidated me and we had some amazing boondocking camp sites. Suddenly my wife seemed to think it was too small and wanted more comfort and room so I looked into smaller class C type motorhomes and it didn't take long for LD to top my list. We bought a 1996 23.5 ft model this is only a foot and a half longer than my camper was so I figured I could go up a dirt road and turn around just about anywhere I could before. Next question was traction and ground clearance. This short LD seems to have good ground clearance under the main body and the upswept rear end hoist the holding tanks up nicely. They also have individual drain spouts instead of tied together which in most RVs end up being lower than the tanks themselves and something to get torn off going through a depression in the road. So after driving this thing 1500 miles home from where I bought it came the big test which is the last three miles to my house. This would tell me everything I needed to know about where I'd be able to take our new rig. I stopped at the bottom of the three mile dirt road into our house to calm my nerves and gave myself a 50-50 chance of getting into our driveway.
First let me describe our access road. It's a very narrow old logging road with some steep pitches that ascend through loose Rocky ground. It has very tight turns with trees right on the edge of the inside of  the turn and a fairly deep ditch along the outside cutbank that you don't want to drop a front tire into. There's a place to turn around half way up and the next place to turn around is my driveway at the end of the road so I potentially had a mile and a half backup if I couldn't make either section.
Off I went with a nervous stomach. First big question mark was a very short but very steep pitch of road that climbed over a boulder that was too big to remove so back in the early 1900s when this road was built they just put the road over it. I always had to put my truck in four wheel drive to climb it but my LD just creeped right up and over with no problem. Then came some tight turns and some fairly steep spots that have springs in the road so it's always a bit muddy in these spots. Again I crept right through and never spun a wheel. First half of the road was a done deal and I took a break at the first turn around. I was concerned about the motor getting hot creeping up this steep road in  low but it was fine, better than me even. Next came the very steep probably 10% grade with loose Rocky soil. To my surprise I eased right up it and never spun a wheel and then I was home. Victory! I'm now very sure I can just turn up any likely looking road in search of a boondocking camp site with no fear if getting into trouble. I won't be able to go where we went in the camper but for all the added room and comfort and bigger holding tanks it's a fair trade. I love my new Lazy Daze!
Discuss anything with anyone and disagree agreeably. Always be polite and respectful.
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #1 –
Congrats on your new LD!

 Good to hear you were able to successfully get it home. Curious though if you have tried driving it back the other way?
Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #2 –
Quote from: HiLola  - 
Congrats on your new LD!

 Good to hear you were able to successfully get it home. Curious though if you have tried driving it back the other way?
All downhill on the way out and should be no problem. There are a couple of permanent waterbars in some of the long steep stretches I'm going to do a bit of work on though to take some of the hump off of.
Discuss anything with anyone and disagree agreeably. Always be polite and respectful.
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #3 –
One more good clearance aspect on the LZ compared to others is the generator exhaust pipe. On mine at least it's tucked up very nicely. In other brands it seems to hang down and be the lowest part of the vehicle and is just asking to be torn off.
Discuss anything with anyone and disagree agreeably. Always be polite and respectful.
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #4 –
Quote from: Sawyer  - 
All downhill on the way out and should be no problem. There are a couple of permanent waterbars in some of the long steep stretches I'm going to do a bit of work on though to take some of the hump off of.

Good to hear! It's probably a good idea you bought a FL as a TK may have been a different story.
Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #5 –
"It's probably a good idea you bought a FL as a TK may have been a different story."
---
The late model TKs (from 2015, I think) have a single termination valve for the black and grey tanks, and the "pipes" are a lot closer to the ground than the separate valves (and tanks tucked-up into the frame) on earlier TKs; a 1997 model (or my 2003) does not have the low-hanging piping and separate termination valves.

I have not heard of any problems with the dump valve set-up from owners of newer TKs, but, IMO, the "vulnerable" configuration could be a concern if one travels roads with obstacles and/or limited underneath clearances.
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #6 –

With over 8,000-lbs on the real axle, I have never, in 23 years and 170,000 miles, experienced wheel spin, even in snow and sand.
The dual real wheels have a lot of edges and surface area to bite into the road. We have accidentally ended up on deep sand roads, pulling the Jeep and still have made it through, pedal to the metal.
We have eased our 2003 23.5' FL down a quite a few poor roads, heading toward a perfect boondocking site we found using the Jeep.  As long as the dump valves survive, the rest of the rig will follow...within reason. You do not want to high-center it.
The big obstacle is the height and width of an LD.

Just in case we do run into heavy snow, cables are carried all winter.
Amazon.com: Security Chain Company SZ429 Super Z6 Cable Tire Chain for...
A collection of jacks and boards are carried in the LD to help get unstuck, should that ever occur.
The Jeep is equipped with a winch and full compliment of recovery gear.

Larry

As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #7 –
After reading about your driveway, I had to look and see where you lived. It does not even show a road, but that you are off 395. We traveled through there last year crossing at Laurier and returning the same way. Parked at a delightful FS campground on the river.

We have the slightly longer MB and have taken it down some roads, we probably should not have. Ground clearance is not a problem - with good wheel placement. Picked up some scratches on the sides tho. Always carry a saw and snippers.
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #8 –
Quote from: Larry W  - 
With over 8,000-lbs on the real axle, I have never, in 23 years and 170,000 miles, experienced wheel spin, even in snow and sand.
The dual real wheels have a lot of edges and surface area to bite into the road. We have accidentally ended up on deep sand roads, pulling the Jeep and still have made it through, pedal to the metal.
We have eased our 2003 23.5' FL down a quite a few poor roads, heading toward a perfect boondocking site we found using the Jeep.  As long as the dump valves survive, the rest of the rig will follow...within reason. You do not want to high-center it.
The big obstacle is the height and width of an LD.

Just in case we do run into heavy snow, cables are carried all winter.
Amazon.com: Security Chain Company SZ429 Super Z6 Cable Tire Chain for...
A collection of jacks and boards are carried in the LD to help get unstuck, should that ever occur.
The Jeep is equipped with a winch and full compliment of recovery gear.

Larry
My hope was the dual rear wheels would drastically increase traction and as you say they did the job. Interesting what you said about weight though. I made sure all my holding tanks were empty and gas tank was down to one quarter to minimize weight so it's a bit of a rigged test for when I'm fully loaded and looking for a boondocking camp site. Your experience increases my confidence though. One thing I left out of my initial review was going over multiple water bars which for those who don't know are a combination ditch and burm across the road to get water running off the road before it builds momentum and starts rutting things out. A few are fairly deep and the rear end goes pretty low when the rear wheels drop into them. I stopped in the deepest one to check how close my rear end was to dragging and there was plenty of room. The LD has quite a bit of upward sweep back there and I wasn't even close to dragging.
As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Discuss anything with anyone and disagree agreeably. Always be polite and respectful.
 
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #9 –
Quote from: Larry W  - 
Just in case we do run into heavy snow, cables are carried all winter.

If one is using cables, do you need to cable all four of the tandem wheels or is the outer two wheels sufficient?
2002 M-23 Twin King & 2016 Subaru Forester tow car
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #10 –
Quote from: Don Malpas  - 
After reading about your driveway, I had to look and see where you lived. It does not even show a road, but that you are off 395. We traveled through there last year crossing at Laurier and returning the same way. Parked at a delightful FS campground on the river.

We have the slightly longer MB and have taken it down some roads, we probably should not have. Ground clearance is not a problem - with good wheel placement. Picked up some scratches on the sides tho. Always carry a saw and snippers.
I debated on whether or not to put exact location but the paranoid side of me decided it wasn't a good idea so I just put the marker on the nearest town which is Colville. Good advice about the saw and snippers. I was pretty accepting of scratches on my camper but the LD is so pretty I want to keep it that way. Most of our boondocking is in the deserts of Utah though where that's not really a problem except one road to a campsite on Goose Berry Mesa south of Zion that we have stayed at for twenty plus years to mt bike the trails there. It has grown in with juniper trees tighter and tighter over the years and I'm not sure we will ever get into this very secluded never camped at by anyone but us spot again. Actually it was camped at by some old cowbow, we found his rusted out coffee pot there when we first stumbled onto the site or I should say my wife did when she was looking for a private spot out of the open to go pee. It's tucked back at the base of a small Hill in some junipers and completely out of site of the road. From the beginning I drove into it a few hundred feet through an open sage brush area and after we left I swept out the tracks and threw sticks across where we drove to camouflage the way in. Our own private paradise but as i say the roads so brushed in now the LD may never see it. I'm so old I'm outliving roads. LOL
Discuss anything with anyone and disagree agreeably. Always be polite and respectful.
Re: Lazy Daze traction and clearance review
Reply #11 –
Quote from: Kentuckian  - 
If one is using cables, do you need to cable all four of the tandem wheels or is the outer two wheels sufficient?
.

Cable the two outside, rear wheels.
Thin cables must be used, there isn't the clearance in the rear wheel well for chains.
To ease the installation, run the two, inside wheels up on leveling blocks, to lift the outer wheels off the ground.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze