Your Escalade will be as good as your Tukon was off road, I drive my Escalade through foot deep mud, and through snow that is several feet deep at my upstate NY home without any problems, don't try that with the stock tires, but with good tires you will not have any problems.

 

Won't he loose some traction in sand with AWD?

 

Won't he loose some traction in sand with AWD?

I have not noticed a difference from the Suburban's to the Escalade in traction, I only have been in the sand twice that I remember.

 

My 2000 sees sand a lot more than it should.. atleast my giovannas seem to think so. But anyhow, I surf and I'm on the beach quite often. After a few dry spells the sand gets really deep and soft. A few times I bogged down in 2wd and threw it in 4wd and crimbed right out with no problems on my Perilli Scorpion Zeros. I wouldn't say I'd go nuts in the dunes... But I have been considering lifting her and getting some of those 35" all terrain Nittos that fit 22s. The only problem I see with escalades off roads is the cost of replacing broken parts. If your running her hard off-road theres not much avoiding a broken part once in a while. If you got the cash for it and a mechanic you trust, knock yourself out.

 

If you REALLY want to go off-roading, I'd save the Escalade as a posh luxury road cruiser and get something like a HUMMER H1 or H2, a Jeep CJ or YJ, or a LandCruiser. My wife and I have our toys (my Blingscalade/family wagon and her H2 off-road behemoth) and it works out nicely.

 

I had a Denali and it was great in the sand. I would advise much reduced air pressure if you do any serious sand driving though.

 

I have my escalade at the sand dunes quite often. However you need to spinn your wheels to move the sand. If you have the AWD version, you will need to turn off the stability control, otherwise the computer will not allow the wheens to spin in the deep sand. I had to turn mine off just to pull my ATV trailer out of the sand

 

I remember reading an article where they test several trucks off-roading. There was a 2003 AWD Escalade with them and it was the only truck that got stuck in deep mud.

They also say stabilitrac actually freezed the vehicle and wouldn't let it move. They had to tow it out!

I think it is a known fact that if you want to go in deep sand or mud you'd better switch off stabilitrac.

Don't remember which site was it but they seemed professional to do this mistake.

 

I dunno about off-roading, but here in Calgary in February we drive in deep snow. Not a problem. The All-Wheel Drive is seamless in its' operation and makes the road feel like it is contaminant free.

I have found the Stabilitrak to be a little overprotective - nanny-ish - but with my Wife driving the kids around I can live with it. Being able to turn it off is a good feature.

 

Just like Sambossa said- the AWD and traction control will immobilize your truck in a low traction sandy condition. I experienced this crippling condition in a Deville one time while high centerd on a stump with one wheel not touching the ground. I wouldn't move. The OBS with the low range transfer case and locking diff can function with only one wheel on the ground. I have bent my running boards up on both sides rock climbing in Wa state where no 02 dare show its face. Fun indeed!

 

I agree, Stabilitrak, ground clearance, tires, cost of replacement parts, all these factors do play a significant part in the lower-than-desired off-road capability of the Escalade, compared to the Yukon, at least.

Regarding the broken parts, assuming that the warranty ran out on the Escalade, you can pretty much use any Denali-specified GM part that's compatible. H2 is another distant cousin...the Escalade shares the same 6.0 as the H2, doesn't it?

 

I agree with the above, one of the things that drew me to my Avalanche and away from the Escalade EXT this time around (though next time I probably will get a last series Escalade anyway) is the fact that I found it somewhat odd that the Chevy has BOTH switchable ALL/2WD AND a USABLE low range gear. It has been beyond me why the Escalade doesnt have the same system, but I can guarantee you the Escalade would find many situations where getting stuck would be a possibility with just AWD. Its just not designed for that kind of abuse. Its primary goal is to provide pavement pounders with just enough to save themselves if found in a sticky situation, and then to protect them in slippery or loose traction surfaces with the Stabilitrac.

On the flipside of the argument, my 04 Av does not have Stabilitrak, but I have found the AWD system to be adequate for most situations on pavement. 05's have it now.

 

I would like an AWD/2WD drive selector, my reasoning for it being left off the Escalades is that Cadillac probably figured that the people who would buy an Escalade didn't need the ability to choose between the modes. They probably figured that the people who wanted that ability would go the Yukon/Tahoe route.

 

See, that's what i don't get! Just below it in the luxury hierarchy, you got your fully-loaded Denali readily available, and it has an area just right of the driver's A/C vent that houses a selector switch that responds to the driver's off-roading whims. That's because it's 6.0 is coupled with a part-time 4x4 tranny, whereas in the Escalade, the same housing is an empty orifice!

OK, fine, caddy owners are less prone to going off-road for their Starbuck's, but wouldn't it be nice to have the option of having the AWD system switched on or off?

More to the point, i drove my Escalade off-road last night, just to feel it out. It wasn't the fine sand terrain, just a couple of miles of dirt road with pockets soft sand. I was delighted to find the following:

1-I can't make any difference between the drivability of the AWD on-road or off-road. The feeling was the same, no slight pulls on the sterring wheel while cornering or turning.

2-The suspension system is a dream! On rippled dirt roads you can feel the ripples, but significantly LESS than my old Yukon, or a Mitsubishi Montero (AKA Pajero in the Middle East) or even a Ford Expedition. I drove it over sand dunes and it swiftly cruised over them like silk!

3-Switching off the Stabilitrak DOES help in forced driving on dirt roads, where you use the understeer/oversteer physics to your advantage as part of controlling the vehicle.

4-My escalade comes equipped with HID's for driving lights, but standard ones for high-beams and foglights. I found that with all three lighting systems on, there's no "significant" improvement in illuminating my dirt path at night than with just simply having the HID's on.

I'll post more remarks as i make them.

 

I would like an AWD/2WD drive selector, my reasoning for it being left off the Escalades is that Cadillac probably figured that the people who would buy an Escalade didn't need the ability to choose between the modes. They probably figured that the people who wanted that ability would go the Yukon/Tahoe route.

I guess that's one of the perks of having a 2000 Lade because I have a choice between 2WD and AWD I would never think of taking Mr. Lucky any further than the road shoulder though. I don't want to trash my paint
Peace

 

I would like an AWD/2WD drive selector, my reasoning for it being left off the Escalades is that Cadillac probably figured that the people who would buy an Escalade didn't need the ability to choose between the modes. They probably figured that the people who wanted that ability would go the Yukon/Tahoe route.

An all-wheel drive system is not the same thing as a four-wheel drive system... An Avalanche for instance has a 4-wheel-drive system, that is why it can switched off to 2WD, 4HI, 4LO. An All-wheel-Drive does not have any "modes" , all 4 wheels turn at all times...

 

See, that's what i don't get! Just below it in the luxury hierarchy, you got your fully-loaded Denali readily available, and it has an area just right of the driver's A/C vent that houses a selector switch that responds to the driver's off-roading whims. That's because it's 6.0 is coupled with a part-time 4x4 tranny, whereas in the Escalade, the same housing is an empty orifice!

OK, fine, caddy owners are less prone to going off-road for their Starbuck's, but wouldn't it be nice to have the option of having the AWD system switched on or off?

More to the point, i drove my Escalade off-road last night, just to feel it out. It wasn't the fine sand terrain, just a couple of miles of dirt road with pockets soft sand. I was delighted to find the following:

1-I can't make any difference between the drivability of the AWD on-road or off-road. The feeling was the same, no slight pulls on the sterring wheel while cornering or turning.

2-The suspension system is a dream! On rippled dirt roads you can feel the ripples, but significantly LESS than my old Yukon, or a Mitsubishi Montero (AKA Pajero in the Middle East) or even a Ford Expedition. I drove it over sand dunes and it swiftly cruised over them like silk!

3-Switching off the Stabilitrak DOES help in forced driving on dirt roads, where you use the understeer/oversteer physics to your advantage as part of controlling the vehicle.

4-My escalade comes equipped with HID's for driving lights, but standard ones for high-beams and foglights. I found that with all three lighting systems on, there's no "significant" improvement in illuminating my dirt path at night than with just simply having the HID's on.

I'll post more remarks as i make them.

I guess you need HID's on your fog/driving lights, and high beams to go with the stock HID low beams, all I can say is you can make night time day time.

 

An all-wheel drive system is not the same thing as a four-wheel drive system... An Avalanche for instance has a 4-wheel-drive system, that is why it can switched off to 2WD, 4HI, 4LO. An All-wheel-Drive does not have any "modes" , all 4 wheels turn at all times...

word. but AWD doesn't neccessarily turn all 4 wheels all the time. computers control it in most cars that i know of. 4WD is driver operated.

 

I have a 03 escalde ext. I take it elk hunting every year. I pull a trailer with quads on it back to a camp site. It is rutted and muddy in the november Utah muzzle loader hunt. I was the only vehicle out of 4 that didnt get stuck this last year. I pulled everyone elses trailers up a grade for them. We are talkin F-250 4x4s stuck in the mud ( the traction control was the weapon.) I have sense lifted it 6" and put 35" tires on it. I am going down to 33" however as the 35" ers are a bit big and rub on a turn. i'll put a pic on here.

 

Ok, can someone please tell me what is the impact of changing the tires from stock to larger ones? I've heard rumours that the Power steering and tranny breaks down if one increased the tire sizes. If true, how can i mitigate these potential pocket-diggers?

 

little bit larger tires won't affect anything except barely changing your speedometer reading. if you run huge tires without regearing (like me) you'll wear the tranny and steering components, among other things, quicker than with stock tires.

 

i was in mexico rollin in the mud n sand dunes just south of rosarito it was a blast.
i had the sweetest ride and it was covered in mud....what a blast the awd kicked ass and thats on my 22's