While there are plenty of cheap off-road options on the new and used market, many don’t quite have the engineering and hardware to deal with the toughest challenges that nature can throw at you. Ideally, you’ll want chunky off-road tires, a solid four-wheel-drive system, and also diff locks front and rear, like in a ladder-frame Lexus LX. The latter setup will allow both wheels on a given axle to spin at the same speed, which helps keep a vehicle moving if one wheel loses traction. Normally, a standard open differential will send power to the wheel that loses traction, meaning the one with grip sits there uselessly while the other spins up.
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