Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i Four Wheeler

OVERLANDING IS ALL ABOUT THE ADVENTURE. It is the joy of getting out there, going places, and seeing the world (or your local stomping grounds) with the help of a vehicle. The 2018 Overland Expo West show at Fort Tuthill County Park, outside Flagstaff, Arizona, gave us the chance to have our own adventure—navigating the crowds of khaki-clad overland enthusiasts and the machines they rely on. We spent two days at the show in search of overlanding creations. What we found amazed us. The event drew vehicles ranging in size from sedans to apartment units on military tires. Some machines were packed for the weekend, and others had a payload of gear to sustain a family for a trip around the globe. Strap on your safari hat and explore the…

IF YOU’RE A GEARHEAD, YOU KNOW THE NAME Aaron Kaufman. The Bearded Wonder! For five years and over 100 episodes, Aaron was the mechanical muscle of the Fast N’ Loud TV show, turning Richard Rawlings’ vehicular ideas into reality. He was Richard’s top gearhead for many years before that. At the end of the 2017 season, Aaron left the show to start his own shop, ArcLight Fab, so he could focus on his own ideas. This change led to a new Discovery Channel show for 2018: Shifting Gears With Aaron Kaufman. Four Wheeler got an inside look at the show’s first project. For the very few of you who haven’t seen Fast N’ Loud, there was some 4x4 content, but Aaron had an itch to explore that side of the…

WE TEST A TON OF TIRES HERE AT FOUR Wheeler; however, it is not every day that we join forces with editors from Jp Magazine and 4-Wheel & Off-Road for a tire-testing road trip extravaganza. What better way to get familiar with Nexen’s new Roadian MTX than to stuff all four of us in a new JL Wrangler and set off across the Oregon wilderness. The Roadian MTX is the newest addition to Nexen’s fleet of off-road tires. The tire is available in diameters up to 37 inches for 15- to 22-inch wheels, comes standard with a three-ply design, and is ready for heavy hauling with a load range F rating. When we first got a look at our four-door JL Wrangler and its set of 35x12.50R17 tires, our eyeballs went…

1-TON PARTS TRUCK Q What would be the best truck to buy and get as many good parts to build a rockcrawler with 40-inch tires? My wish list would be a 14-bolt rear axle, NP205 transfer case so I don’t have to buy an Atlas 2, and a Dana 60 front axle. I’m assuming I’d invest in heavy-duty end forgings and kingpin high-steer knuckles for the Dana 60. I’d like to run 5.71:1 ratio ring-and-pinion gears to avoid having to buy a doubler for the transfer case. I’ll upgrade the driveshafts to at least 1350 U-joints. Since my knees are shot, I’d like to have an automatic transmission with a granny-low First gear. Thanks for all you do. I’ve been an avid reader for many years. ALFRED RICCI VIA EMAIL…

ALWAYS STARTS I drive a small ’86 Isuzu pickup with a wooden flatbed on the back of it. We bought the truck about two years ago and it was originally from Ohio so the truck is rusted all over the place. The bed rattled like crazy so eventually we took a Skilsaw and cut the four bed bolts holding it on and cut the bed off. We replaced it with a wooden bed that me and my dad made out of pressure-treated tongue and groove boards. The heater in the truck wasn’t working right so we rewired it to a switch hanging from the dash so it only blows air on high. The truck also has carburetor problems so some days it will run great and others it will die…

IN 2016, TOYOTA FINALLY REVAMPED THE TACOMA PLATFORM. WHILE WE wouldn’t call it a radical departure from the previous platform, it did come to the table with updated styling and a fresh powertrain. To the delight of many Tacoma enthusiasts, the TRD Off-Road model was still the rugged trail-ready pickup that fans have grown to love. For Rodney Redmon, the Tacoma’s proven reliability and roomy Double Cab configuration made an excellent fit for his build vision and growing family. Understanding that his wheeling adventures would be more camping and expedition based, he moved forward with a build plan that could help him achieve his goals. Starting with a ’17 TRD Off-Road model, Rodney spent a year getting his Tacoma to the overland build you see here. With thousands of miles…

SO, YOU’VE GOT A MORTGAGE, MINIVAN payment, and can’t swing the loan on a new truck, but you’ve got toys to haul, work to do, and a job to get to no matter what the weather…Believe us, we know the feeling. It’s a predicament that often lands folks in vehicles that are either undersized for their needs, or so old that they’re constantly in need of repairs. Trust us, the last thing you want is an unreliable 4x4. And you certainly don’t want to task a 1⁄2-ton with a 3⁄4-ton’s job. So how do you pick the perfect pre-owned 3⁄4-ton truck? If it’s our money, the search stretches back more than a decade, and we’re going diesel. When it comes to finding the best used 3⁄4-ton truck for under $25,000,…

JUST BECAUSE THE JL WRANGLER LAUNCHED AND is the shiny new object in the Jeep world, it doesn’t mean that your JK Wrangler has suddenly become irrelevant or less capable than it was yesterday. For those of you with a JK that are contemplating a JL, or for those in the used JK market, you just might find that some fresh, quality parts to keep it interesting and relevant are all your JK needs, especially if you aren’t starting your buildup from scratch. We decided to take a ’12 Wrangler that was modified back in 2011 and freshen up some parts to give it a look and function that is more in line with today’s builds, while also adding additional capability for carrying our gear in the backcountry. For the…

’19 GMC Sierra Elevation GMC likes to call the new Elevation model “a statement in design, capability, and advanced connectivity.” That’s a polite way of saying the ’19 double-cab–based truck looks nicely badass. It comes standard with the new 2.7L turbocharged four-cylinder matched to an eight-speed trans for 310 horses and 348 lb-ft of torque. You can still opt to give your truck the 5.3L V-8; in 2019, the new 3.0L diesel six-cylinder will also be available. You can also go for the X31 Off Road package—dual exhaust, Rancho shocks, a locking rear diff, Hill Descent Control, skidplates—and the ProGrade Trailering System and Trailering App for easier connection of a trailer. THAT’S INTERESTING What are the most American-made vehicles, meaning, “high domestic-parts content”? According to cars.com, the numero uno for…

THE 2018 OVERLAND EXPO WEST WAS WHEELING, camping, exploring, and self-sufficiency, all rolled into a rooftop tent and parked in the wilderness. A record-breaking 14,000 people ventured from all corners of the globe and gathered outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, for the 14th Overland Expo West. As the sun rose over the horizon, casting a glow on Fort Tuthill County Park, the French presses and camping stove-top espresso machines came to life, drawing the overlanders from their abodes. Some crawled from tents in the dirt, others pitched forth ladders from the doorways of their vehicle-top fabric palaces, while the rest peered out from the windows of their hard-sided glamp-yachts. However they chose to spend the nighttime hours, the overlanders had congregated in the open camping areas on-site at Overland Expo West.…

IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU CALL IT OVERLANDING or something else—using a 4x4 to wheel deep into the backcountry and then having the means to set up camp and spend the night comfortably in the middle of nowhere is awesome. The beauty is that it can be done whether your budget is large or small, and the reward is huge. Here is some gear that will be helpful in your overlanding pursuits. THE TRAIL KITCHEN FROM MORRYDE Bring your kitchen to the trail with the Trail Kitchen from MORryde. This compact, modular bolt-in kitchen system fits right in the back of the Jeep Wrangler, or any vehicle with a flat floor, and takes up minimal space to provide maximum storage in the cargo area. The Trail Kitchen incorporates a sliding…

JUST LIKE WEARING A HELMET AND OTHER GEAR while riding a motorcycle, it’s a good idea to protect your rig on the trails. In the months since our ’17 Tacoma left the dealership, we’ve added many things, including 35-inch tires, new wheels, and a pneumatic locker for the front differential. As the truck began to see more difficult trails, we were reminded of how its wheelbase, approach, and departure angles could still hold it back. The ’17 Tacoma has a 127.4-inch wheelbase, roughly 2.5 feet more than a two-door Jeep Wrangler. While the long wheelbase is helpful in some off-road situations, it can make the rocker panels susceptible to damage when off-road. To keep the truck sliding across rocks and logs—and to make sure our doors would open afterward—we chose…

Bob Doherty can tell you a story of a high school love affair that ends with bright orange paint instead of a breakup. Beginning in his last year of high school, Bob and the ’69 Toyota Land Cruiser started their relationship by spending lazy days on the trail and in the sand, learning all there was to know about one another. The Land Cruiser remained mostly stock for the beginning of the relationship, but as parts wore out and broke, Bob took the opportunity to make quality improvements—the first being the engine. The stock mill didn’t break or wear out, Bob just wanted more power. His solution came in V-8 form with a 350ci ’70 Chevy small-block that had a Christmas wish list of upgrades. The engine was bored 0.030…