Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Four Wheeler

There’s an app that you need to try. Not the fitness one and not the one that’s an alarm clock that yanks you out of slumber by reciting headline news. Those will be featured on a “Where Are They Now?” edition of something down the road. No, we’re talking about the wildly popular, extremely useful, and everlasting Four Wheeler app. We mention this because the app’s mass quantities of feature trucks, tech, road tests, products, installations, adventure and travel, news, and other must-sees are definitely what you’d want in an app or a lifestyle choice that was themed in the off-road world. Download it at the App Store.…

LEAVING THE PAVEMENT IN THE REARVIEW mirror doesn’t mean your electronics have to stay at home. It is a brave new world for anyone looking to enhance the off-road experience with screens, cameras, and things that beep and buzz. At the touch of a button, you can activate a suite of cameras to act as digital trail spotters, summon rescuers to your precise location should an emergency occur, and access a seemingly endless trove of smartphone and tablet programs to increase the utility of your rig. With so much technology, the hassle becomes keeping your devices charged up and full of power while off the grid—and there are even ways to do that. We dove deep and compiled a collection of some fascinating trail-related tech items. Read on to see…

BACK IN 1989, FOUR WHEELER CREATED PICKUP Truck of the Year (PTOTY) as a spinoff event from our Four Wheeler of the Year competition, which began in 1974 and included trucks and SUVs. By the late ’80s the SUV world had grown by leaps and bounds, so we split the test into two parts, and we created specialized scoring for each. The goal for the two tests remained the same: Introduce, disseminate, and test the latest and greatest four-wheel-drive vehicles. It’s a mission that continues to this day. We collect this info by spending almost every waking moment with the trucks for five days, driving each approximately 1,000 miles on- and off-road. Dealerships are accommodating, but they’re not going to let you do this. Our goal is to provide you…

What’s New While they have plenty of similarities, the new-for-2019 GMC Sierra’s body shares only the roof skin and rear doors with Silverado, breaking a long tradition of parts-sharing by GM. Under the sheetmetal there are plenty of similarities, including the use of aluminum to shed weight and high-strength steel for a stiffer chassis. Engine choices include everything from a 2.7L turbocharged four-cylinder and 3.0L inline six-cylinder diesel to a 4.3L V-6 and 5.3L V-8. Our Sierra AT4 tester had the 420hp 6.2L V-8 backed by a ten-speed automatic transmission, giving it the most power and most gears in the field. The GMC brand is squarely aimed at the upscale market, and our AT4 tester not only offered luxury but also some off-road accoutrements similar in nature to the Silverado…

IT’S NOT EVERY DAY THAT WE CAN CROSS OFF TWO items from our lengthy off-road bucket list in one fell swoop, but it does happen from time to time. In this case, it was an invite from our friends at Nissan to drive some international trucks and SUVs that we don’t get exposed to here in the States, sweetened with the promise of hitting the same iconic Saharan sand dunes that one might run across racing the Dakar Rally. We made our way around the world to the incredible country of Morocco. Specifically, to the city of Errachidia, which is in the southeastern Atlas Mountain region, not far from the Algerian border. Errachidia is a significant population center of just under 100,000 people spread out over a fairly desolate region…

IT REMINDED US OF A SCHOOL yard fight—the two biggest kids on the playground stubbornly standing toe-to-toe, wildly pummeling each other with haymakers, neither willing to concede defeat. That was our second long-term report on our 2018 SUV of the Year–winning Land Rover Discovery HSE Luxury. A slew of mechanical and electrical problems left us bleeding from the proverbial nose, but after several repeat visits to our local Land Rover dealership and six weeks with it out of our custody, we have met in the middle of the ring to call a draw. Now that we’ve been back in the saddle for several months, we’re glad to report that, for the most part, it’s been business as usual. Add fuel, start engine, drive, and repeat: That’s what you’re looking for…

NO JACKET REQUIRED I totally agree with you that trail food is often the best food (Firing Order, Mar. ’19)! One spring day in Wellsville, Ohio, a group of us stopped on the trail for lunch. We were muddy and a little cold, but miles from anywhere. We had chunks of smoked turkey (prepared the day before by the trail leader), homemade macaroni salad with shrimp, and homemade pies and cookies. I will take that meal, standing in the mud with my friends, over any “jacket required” joint any day! NAME WITHHELD VIA EMAIL JOSHUA TREE Living in Southern California there are many weekend four-wheeling destinations. My most recent was Joshua Tree National Park and the surrounding area. Joshua Tree is only 2 to 2.5 hours from South Bay SoCal.…

LEATHER GRIPPER PRP introduces its new line of steering wheels. Like all of PRP’s products, these steering wheels are said to be specifically built for off-road use. Each steering wheel is made from high-strength aluminum with a matte black finish and comes with a PRP emblem plate. They are available in flat and deep-dish models with either a suede or leather grip. You can choose from red, blue, silver, or orange stitching. The steering wheels feature a six-point bolt pattern, which is said to be the most common for off-road quick-release adapters. INFO: PRP, 800/317-6253, prpseats.com FJ80 BYPASS ARB 4x4 Accessories now offers BP-51 adjustable internal bypass shock absorbers for the Toyota Land Cruiser 80 Series. They are said to be engineered to be a bolt-on installation on the FJ80.…

LONG BEFORE PEOPLE WERE STRAPPING TENTS to the tops of their 4x4s and toting fridges in the bed of their pickups, if you wanted to live off the grid in something other than an RV, you bought a van. While high-top sleeper vans have long been replaced by the painfully practical minivan, the Ford E-series platforms have become the go-to for those looking to build a van for off-road adventures. Take Adolfo Zesati’s ’02 Ford E-350, for example. Living in Southern California, Adolfo has access to thousands of acres of prime wheeling and camping destinations. When you factor in his love for outdoor adventures and surfing, it quickly makes sense why the fullsize Ford van fits his needs perfectly. While the all-black van (cleverly plated as “DBATVAN”) is fully outfitted…

What’s New The ’19 Silverado is all new from the ground up. The new frame is fully boxed and is 10 percent stiffer, but it weighs 88 pounds less than the previous frame. The frame isn’t the only place weight was shed with high-strength materials; the Silverado is 450 pounds lighter than the outgoing model. The bed floor is high-strength steel, while the swing panels (doors, hood, and tailgate) are made of aluminum. The 5.3L and 6.2L V-8 engines equipped with Dynamic Fuel Management are backed by eight-speed and ten-speed automatic transmissions, respectively. Buyers can also choose a high-output 2.7L turbo four-cylinder, 4.3L direct-injected V-6, 3.0L straight-six turbodiesel, or 5.3L with Active Fuel Management. Eight trim levels are available for the new Silverado, including the LT Trail Boss that we…

“THE REBEL IS ABSOLUTELY CAPABLE OF SERIOUS TRAIL USE.” What’s New Ram has a reputation for innovation—from the EcoDiesel engine to the eight-speed automatic transmission to the multi-link coil rear suspension. The all-new ’19 Ram 1500 builds upon these features rather than going back to the drawing board. Like the other trucks in our test, the new Ram has shed weight in an attempt to improve fuel economy. In this case, the ’19 Ram 1500 is 225 pounds lighter than its predecessor and has an increased payload and towing capacity. There’s a choice of three powertrains for the new Ram 1500. The base engine is a 3.6L Pentastar V-6 that features a standard mild-hybrid system called eTorque. Our tester had the familiar 5.7L Hemi V-8, which is also available with…

IT’S HUMAN NATURE TO FEAR THE UNKNOWN. A LOUD CRASH IN THE NIGHT, A RUSTLE in a dark alley, or for Jeep purists, a new Wrangler with even more technology than the last. The ’18 Jeep Wrangler JL was a highly anticipated platform. While fears of an independent suspension and Unitbody construction swirled online for years, the transition from the JK to the JL would be less traumatic than the Dark Web would lead you to believe. Like with virtually every Wrangler platform before it, there’s always a vocal branch of the Jeep community that believes the all-new iteration will never live up to its predecessor. That’s one of the reasons adventures such as the Nitto Tire 2018 JL Experience garner so much attention. As was the case with the…

RAMCHARGER REWIRE Q What’s the easiest wiring harness you’ve used to rewire an old 4x4? My ’75 Dodge Ramcharger needs a new wiring harness bad. I’m tired of fixing something on every trip. @B5RTSHAKER VIA INSTAGRAM @CAPPAWORKS A If the plugs and connectors in your Ramcharger are in bad shape, you may need to try and find a good used harness. If your plugs and connectors are usable, you have some options. If you have more time than money, you should be able to go through the entire harness and find the bad spots. Repair anything that looks chaffed, burnt, or hacked into. The second option is to go with one of the many different universal wiring harnesses available. Companies such as Painless Performance (painlessperformance.com), Kwik Wire (kwikwire.com), and Rebel…

Have you wondered what 1,000 lb-ft of torque feels like? The ’19 Ram HD can answer that if you get the 400hp high-output 6.7L Cummins diesel. In fact, the truck will also answer the question of what the ability to tow 35,100 pounds and have 7,680 pounds of payload feels like. There are actually two versions of the Cummins; the other is worth 370 hp and 850 lb-ft of torque. The high-output model has new cast-iron cylinder heads and a new block, coming in lighter in weight than the previous one. The high-output engine has the Aisin AS69RC six-speed automatic; the standard-output Cummins has the 68RFE six-speed. There’s also a new TorqueFlite eight-speed auto trans paired with the 410hp 6.4L Hemi. Additionally, the new Ram got new front and rear…

EACH JANUARY, AS WE PENCIL IN THE CALENDAR, we scan the globe for off-road events with badass reputations. Over the years, Four Wheeler has featured most of them, but there is a long-running debate on which is the toughest, meanest hombre on the block (or at least on which ones land in the top 10). For example, the U.S. has King of the Hammers, Mexico hosts the Baja 1000, and South America is the adopted home of the Dakar Rally. We headed across the Pacific to Southeast Asia for what we considered a little event with a big reputation, the Rainforest Challenge (RFC). What we found was a very unique, formidable event. We arrived in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to a gala parade celebrating the RFC, grand presentations…

WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING A TRAIL RIG, pairing the right axles to the vehicle is incredibly important. While tire size is generally the first thing to come to mind when matching the right axle assembly to a given vehicle, there’s quite a bit more to think about. Axle width, available aftermarket parts, vehicle weight, and, of course, your powerplant are all major parts of the equation. With plenty of aftermarket axle manufacturers offering bolt-in heavy-duty axle assemblies these days, upgrading your 4x4 has never been easier. However, if your vehicle doesn’t have great aftermarket support, or you don’t have the coin to go all-in on a fresh set of axles, then you’ll likely find yourself on the same parts journey we embarked on. With plans of running 40-inch-tall tires,…

What’s New For 2019, the TRD Pro package gets all-new Fox internal bypass shocks. Each shock features a 46mm piston and the front shocks, which have 11 bypass zones, are surrounded by TRD-tuned coil springs. Out back, the shocks have 2.5-inch piggyback reservoirs and 12 bypass zones. The TRD Pro model has an extra 1.5 inches of front and 2 inches of rear wheel travel compared to a non-TRD Pro Tundra. Other TRD Pro features include 18-inch BBS forged aluminum TRD wheels, tuned dual exhaust, TRD-engineered 1⁄4-inch skidplate, Rigid Industries LED foglights, paint-matched bumpers, TRD Pro–stamped bedsides, a 2-inch lift, and a unique grille, among many other things. Ramp and Track The desert-inspired suspension on the Tundra TRD Pro provided plenty of articulation, scoring 460 points on our 20-degree RTI…

IN MILITARY SLANG, “RETREAD” REFERS TO A person who left the service but came back later. An example could be a soldier from World War II who reentered the military for the Korean War. Here’s a truck that left one form of service for another, so maybe it also fits that definition. From the day it was born in 1946, the first-generation civilian Dodge Power Wagon was built to work. That’s why when you look back at its history, you don’t see many photos with a Power Wagon parked beside a creek, a tent, and people fishing nearby. Mostly, you see them dirty, dented, and overloaded—being ridden hard and put away wet. Most of you know the civilian Power Wagon had roots in the World War II military WC-series 3⁄4-ton…

Peter Jenkins remembers his fascination with amphibious war vehicles began when he saw video footage of a waterborne Jeep aiding Marines in battle on a remote Pacific atoll in World War II. All eyes seemed to be drawn to the DUKWs, known for ferrying soldiers ashore during the D-Day landings, yet Peter remained focused on the smaller, more-nimble hybrid Jeep crafts. These “Sea Jeeps,” formally known as GPAs, were not successful while in service—underpowered by the Willys L134 “Go-Devil” straight-four, they often found themselves unable to keep up with larger amphibious vehicles in the surf. Powerplant and seaworthiness aside, in the March 1973 issue of Four Wheeler, Peter recounted the story of acquiring and restoring his veteran GPA. After bargaining with two owners and a journey across England rife with…