Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2018 i Four Wheeler

IN MANY AREAS, FOUR-WHEELING IS PART OF the daily grind more than a recreational pastime. While farm equipment is meant to live in the dirt, many farmers often use more conventional trucks and SUVs for light-duty work. A great example of this can be found with our friend’s ’00 Jeep Wrangler. The compact wheeling rig is perfect for toting small trailers and servicing many of the minor to-dos on his family’s 400-acre farm. The Jeep is a work in progress, and as such, it sometimes leaves him spinning in place. While we contend that differential lockers would certainly help his TJ’s off-road performance, a sturdy front winch and bumper setup could earn its keep quickly. Not looking to sell too many cows to purchase a new winch and bumper combo,…

OVERLANDING RIGS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND sizes of 4x4s, from Jeeps towing single-axle trailers to Land Cruisers with roof-mounted tents to pickups custom-built with camper-style bodies. All have a common denominator synonymous to overlanding: being self-sufficient and self-contained, allowing one to spend days, weeks, or even months exploring trails and roads less traveled. More adventuresome four-wheelers with the overlanding lust and a globe-trotting mentality are willing to go a step further in their pursuit of the ultimate 4x4 rig that provides security, dependability, and comfort under extreme conditions, be it the burning heat of the Sahara or the sub-zero climes of the Arctic—and everything in between. Those are the very attributes of the EarthCruiser we had the opportunity to drive during a recent visit to, of all places, Bend,…

SINCE 1908, GMC HAS BEEN providing customers with products intended to do work. Namely, trucks and sport/utility vehicles, and in those 109 years the end goal hasn’t changed much, although the product has evolved significantly. GMC is poised as General Motor’s high-end luxury truck name with the Denali as its premium level trim package. GMC Denali trucks sell with the highest average transaction price and high levels of brand loyalty (so for a more discriminating consumer who prefers GM products). The figurative elephant in the room, and the main focus of this article, is the new-for-’17 Duramax diesel found in the Sierra HD 3⁄4 and 1-ton trucks. Data shows that 90 percent of Sierra HDs are sold with a Duramax, and 60 percent of ’17 Sierra HDs sold are Denali…

YOU’VE SEEN IT BEFORE—A VEHICLE ROLLS overon an obstacle and instantly the trail and interior are littered with tools, spare parts, cheese puffs, and other cargo. Not to mention, all those things narrowly missed hitting the occupants in the head. At the other extreme, you’ve seen campers and overlanders packing their vehicle to within an inch of being The Beverly Hillbillies truck. That’s why we’re introducing you to some awesome cargo-management products that will get your gear and other bring-alongs tucked away, and in some cases, locked away. You might just be surprised by how much more you can pack when you organize with intent. ROUGHRIDER TAILGATE SHELF Product in 15 words or less: Tailgate storage, be it bin or shelf. Reasons you need it: The heavy-duty unit for the…

JK CENTER STEER ICON Vehicle Dynamics introduces the 100 percent bolt-on Centerline Steering Stabilizer for the ’07-current Jeep Wrangler JK. The new Centerline Steering Stabilizer is said to provide consistent steering damping via a through-shaft design. Features include nine levels of adjustability to custom-tune your desired steering feel. Each kit includes high-clearance mounting; a rotatable reservoir; a clear anodized 2-inch-diameter 6063 aluminum shock body; 5⁄8-inch chrome-plated, hardened-steel shaft; and a high-temperature long-wear seal pack. The CNC-machined billet aluminum 13⁄8-inch tie-rod clamp and rod end house FK bearings. INFO: ICON Vehicle Dynamics, 951/689-4266, iconvehicledynamics.com BRIGHT BOLT BREAKING Thanks to a built-in LED light, you can now see exactly where you spray Liquid Wrench Pro Penetrant and Lubricant. The new FlashSight LED light is located directly above the spray nozzle, improving lubricity…

OF ALL THE AUTOMOTIVE HOBBIES, THE OFF-ROAD SECTOR HAS SOME OF THE MOST INgenious people. Just look around on a given trail ride at all of the incredible DIY builds and one-off fabrications. When it comes to building a vehicle that doesn’t have a lot of aftermarket support, the ability to think creatively can come in extremely handy. Take Robert Wyrick’s ’01 Toyota Sequoia, for example. While the fullsize SUV might be the least likely Toyota 4x4 for the average off-road enthusiast to build, it actually brings a lot to the table. Fit from the factory with a healthy V-8, ample room for cargo, and decently sized wheelwell openings, the body-on-frame Sequoia has good bones. Robert not only saw the potential, but his day job at the local auto salvage…

SINCE 2014, CHEVY TRUCK OWNERS HAVE been plagued with an ever-changing stock suspension. With no discernable rhyme or reason, GM has used three different versions of the same suspension using different materials for the control arms and knuckles. Further, the cast-steel aluminum and stamped-steel pieces all use different ball joints and various other differences from each other. These variances have made designing aftermarket suspension lifts quite difficult. Consumers, retail stores, install shops, and suspension lift manufacturers have had to wade through each of the OEM systems to ensure the parts install correctly and are safe to use for the specific truck they are working on. It’s all a real pain. CST Performance Suspension decided to change that and solve some other issues as well. CST decided that enough was enough.…

NOW, BEFORE YOU ASK, “WHY WOULD I WANT A receiver that is rated to tow much more than my pickup is capable of?” consider that there’s nothing wrong with having that extra capacity. No drawbacks whatsoever, except for a higher cost, but there are several useful advantages. Well, at least with the Torklift SuperHitch Magnum 30K there are, and we don’t know of any others with such a high rating. Let’s use a pickup truck fitted with a slide-in truck camper as an example. Since larger campers usually require an extension to clear the rear overhang, there’s a lot of leverage and forces involved. With Torklift’s SuperTruss receiver extension sticking out 48 inches (the SuperTruss is available in lengths from 21-60 inches), the Magnum 30K is still rated at 12,000…

THAT’S INTERESTING Want a Jeep Wrangler, but really only want one if you can pay at least $178,000? Well, technically, calling the Rezvani Tank a Wrangler is only 0.00006 percent correct. It’s a “rebodied” one, and then the rest lives up to its Tank name, via standards and options: 500hp V-8, two choices of off-road packages (includes Dynatrac axles and Fox shocks), thermal/night vision, tow package, ballistic armor…and on. Read more at rezvanimotors.com. -> The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calculated U.S. fatal traffic crash data for 2016, and the numbers are up 5.6 percent since 2015. Distracted-driving fatalities are down 2.2 percent, but drunk driving is up 1.7 percent. Motorcycle deaths jumped 5.1 percent. -> Porsche Passport—it’s a new subscription dealio for access to Porsche vehicles via an app.…

WHERE DO YOU TURN WHEN YOU NEED SOME wheeling destination inspiration? Asking for advice when planning a 4x4 trip often generates similar responses. Off-road enthusiasts will sing the praises of trophy destinations like Moab or the Rubicon, but sometimes we just want to explore a trail that isn’t world famous. We’ve shaken the dust off some lesser-known destinations across the U.S. Read on and find everything from rolling forest roads and scenic drives to mud bogs and rockcrawls. Be sure to do your homework and check out the contact info and links we provided to make sure your plans aren’t foiled by seasonal closures, restrictions, or a permit requirement. Now get out there and explore! Black Hills of South Dakota What: Thanks largely to the work of local 4x4 clubs,…

BRENT AND AMBER REDERICK HAVE OWNED A number of 4WD rigs, and each has been built to tackle Southwestern trails and get them off the beaten path for remote camping. When they found they no longer needed their ’04 Chevy 2500 Duramax diesel pickup for tow duty, they set out to convert it for backcountry duty. They knew they wanted a more robust front suspension and axle setup, so a straight-axle swap seemed obvious. The Redericks decided on gaining 3 inches of lift height using a conversion kit from WFO Concepts. The setup uses a radius-arm link suspension. It’s designed to work with ’01-’10 Duramax trucks using an ’05-’12 Ford Super Duty Dana 60 front axle from an F-250 or F-350 model. The kit comes complete with suspension links, frame…

THEY CALLED IT THE “SIX-PACK” BACK IN ITS DAY. IMAGINE A BOOMING ’60S CATTLE ranch, where it’s theend of a workday and the herdsmen gather at the stable, tossing tools and hay into their battered single-cab longbeds. Those standard-issue work trucks are dusty and bear the dents and scars of a life on the ranch. Jonathan Ward and the team at ICON built this project around the idea: “What would the boss drive?” Jonathan is plenty familiar with restoring old 4x4s. He routinely restores old Toyota FJ and Ford Bronco models, but he occasionally takes on a project that requires him to monkey with what is considered “conventional.” Jonathan calls these builds “Reformers,” his title for vehicles plucked from the dreams of customers and painted straight into reality. The ’65…

YEAH, WE KNOW. “DOGFACES” ARE ARMY AND Marines are not, but what do you call a Marine Corps Jeep that looks like a bulldog? The Jeep Forward Control debuted as a civilian model light truck for the ’57 model year in two ratings, the 1⁄2-ton FC-150 and the 1-ton FC-170. They were innovative, unique in the American market, and Jeep had high hopes for them. After a brief sales spurt, they didn’t set any sales records. There were many reasons for that, mainly the FC being a little ahead of the market trends and perhaps a little off target. By the early ’60s, the FC’s future was not bright, and Jeep had placed their bets on a new line of SUVs and trucks to be called Wagoneer and Gladiator. The…