Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i Four Wheeler

In The News Is It True? SUPERTRUCK CORNER Roush Bronco So, you purchased a ’21 Ford Bronco and you want to take it to another level? The Roush Bronco R Series Kit is here, and it includes Roush Performance Air Induction and Axle-Back Exhaust systems as well as five Roush-designed 17-inch wheels, and plenty more. The upgraded intake is said to deliver more airflow than the factory system and the kit includes an off-road prefilter. The 3-inch, axle-back, stainless-steel exhaust system improves ground clearance and departure angle, and adds a signature Roush exhaust note. Also included is a Roush graphics package, decals, Roush “R” hitch cover, and more. Roush treats the interior to full-depth floor liners and includes an off-road recovery kit, and more goodies. The kit can be ordered…

After 16 years an all-new Frontier hits the trails. Nissan has been a big player in the compact and midsize pickup market since the company first entered the space with the Datsun 620 in the early 1970s, so it was no surprise that when the Frontier hit the market it quickly bounded to the top of its class. For better or worse, Nissan left the Frontier largely unchanged from 2005 through the 2021 model year. Thankfully, the ’22 Nissan Frontier has been completely refreshed from stem to stern. Was it enough of a redo, however, to take the top spot in our annual test of strength and skill? Read on to find out. RTI Ramp and Track Data There’s one place that midsize pickups don’t typically shine in our testing,…

Is this Ford’s best Ranger, ever? If you’ve been a Ford Ranger fan as long as us, you probably had the same emotional response we did when hearing that the Tremor model would be making a comeback. For better or worse, Ford surprised us all when the ’21 Ranger Tremor arrived as a hard-core off-road package instead of the audiophile-geared truck it was in the early 2000s. With a small lift, impressive Fox 2.0 shocks, and 32-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires, the Ranger Tremor is the real deal when it comes to off-road capability—on paper anyway. This combination elevates Ford’s Ranger to compete in the class of premium midsize off-roaders that previously included the Chevy Colorado ZR2 and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. So, is the ’21 Ford Ranger Tremor the…

The Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year scoring method uses six weighted categories as the means of affirming a winner. The rundown is as follows: 30 percent Trail Performance (evaluating each vehicle’s performance and off-road-centric features such as traction aids, tires, and four-wheel-drive system operation in a specific off-highway environment), 20 percent Highway Performance (vehicle handling, ride quality, steering feel, NVH, etc.), 15 percent Interior (instrumentation, ingress and egress, seat comfort, storage, appearance, stance, material choice), 10 percent Exterior (styling, appearance, and features), and 25 percent Empirical Data (acceleration, braking, and quarter-mile; RTI score; pricing; fuel economy; etc.). These individual categories each contain a series of subsections to which each judge assigns a numerical value (with the exception of Empirical Data). All of the judges’ votes are then tabulated…

No matter where you find them or from whom you’re buying, like everything else these days used 4x4 axles have really gone up in price. In the past you could roll the dice that the 1970s Jeep Dana 30 you bought for $150 to upgrade the Dana 25 in your early CJ would wind up being usable. But nowadays with prices climbing three, four, or even five times higher than that for “good when running” parts, coming to the purchasing table with some knowledge and abilities to tell what is good and what is bad is something every used axle shopper should know. We didn’t purchase the Dana 30 axle shown in the lead image, but it did come already installed in an old Jeep CJ that we bought. While…

Look around Tim Jackson’s Ford F-250 for clues that it didn’t start its life as a genuine Highboy. To spoil some of the fun, this truck is a combination of two different Fords and a testament to what you truly need to get out in the dirt and have fun. Tim knows a well-appointed late-model 4x4 could get him just about anywhere with climate control and massaging seats, but for him and his friends there’s more to life—and being uncomfortable is just part of the ride sometimes. For example, Tim finds himself choosing to drive his older 4x4s over his shiny tow rig because he enjoys the challenges and the unpredictable—it’s how folks used to do it. Rumbling down the backroads in crusty trucks has its drawbacks, and Tim always…

Has this old dog learned a new trick or two? Toyota’s Tacoma has been the undisputed king of the midsize class for longer than we can remember. With the current generation making its debut for the 2016 model year, the ’22 Tacoma is the oldest platform currently in the class. Nonetheless, Toyota hasn’t just rested on its laurels. Instead, the company continues to improve the Tacoma and its flagship TRD Pro model with each passing year. For the 2022 model year, the Tacoma TRD Pro gets one of the most significant updates since the current model’s launch. The high-speed, off-road-oriented truck receives new forged aluminum (and red anodized) front upper control arms, new front springs that increase ride height (now 1.5 inches taller than its counterparts), retuned Fox internal bypass…

Hardworking hardware for work and play. If you have been paying attention to the state of the pickup industry for any amount of time you will have noticed that off-road packages have become increasingly popular. These are not just the typical shocks, stickers, and skidplate packages either. Manufacturers have begun introducing trucks with more complete off-road hardware packages and customers have responded quite favorably. Ford has jumped on this trend with both feet with its new Tremor package, which first debuted on Super Duty, followed by Ranger, and now by F-150. The Ford F-150 Tremor splits the difference almost perfectly between a standard Lariat FX4 and a Raptor. The truck comes fitted with a small suspension lift, 33-inch General Grabber tires, monotube dampers, a locking rear differential, optional Torsen front…

When judging our Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year competition, we remain unbiased and avoid a mob mentality. Our expert team evaluates each vehicle based on its own merits, not on our personal likes or prejudices, and we feel as though we do a pretty decent job of this. This simple fact sets our Four Wheeler of the Year tests apart from myriad other test programs. We don’t blindly ballot for our favorite; we instead use hard numbers and data to decide which vehicle should take home the hardware. In order to give our staff’s individually preferred vehicles a chance to shine, we allow each judge the opportunity to choose which they would take home, if money were no object. In celebration of Four Wheeler’s 60th anniversary in 2022…

CHEF: Tim Jackson EATS: Peach cobbler PREP TIME: 40 minutes INGREDIENTS: 2 cans of peaches, ½ can of Sprite, yellow cake mix, and butter. HOW TO: Tim normally uses charcoal for his Dutch Oven meals but had to think outside the fire ring on this one because of burn restrictions. Instead, his camp stove and weed torch were enough to heat the cast iron. He had doubts, but the method and recipe proved successful. He chose the cobbler because “it’s really good, super easy, and you can fool your friends into thinking you are actually a talented chef.” AWARD: Tastiest Dessert After two days of trekking across the Utah backcountry, the participants of the 2021 Overland Adventure Presented by Jeep had made camp beneath Factory Butte and the only thing…

When it comes to off-road capability straight out of the box, it’s hard to match the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. The truck won the 2020 Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year award after capturing our attention with its impressive trail competence, on-road manners, and various other features. Since its win, we’ve had the privilege of spending a year with the Gladiator with the task to evaluate the truck from all angles. From extended overland travel and weekend camping trips to grueling pushes on the interstate and assorted cargo-moving chores, the Gladiator has demonstrated its utility across the board. As we prepared to bid farewell to the Hydro Blue seven-slotted four-by, we thought it was fitting to point it to the mountains for some trail exploration. As it turned out, it…

BIAS-PLY TIRES, SAFETY BEADS, AND OLD 4X4S I read your article on the 7.00-15 Coker vintage mud tires on fourwheeler.com. I have a ’45 Willys MB that was a deal I couldn’t pass up. The jeep seems mostly original with a few changes, including a swapped-in T90 transmission and a neat crankshaft-driven winch. It also has 15-inch wheels. I’d like to run a stock-looking smallish tire. The wheels appear to be 15x4.5 and I’m thinking of using them. I’ve only had the Willys a few months and haven’t really gone completely through it yet, but it does start and run. I also have a project CJ-3A I’ve been working on for a while but couldn’t pass on this MB when I found it. My real question is how do you…

M37 MEMORIES Just wanted to let you know I have been reading and enjoying Four Wheeler since the late ’60s, love off-road racing, and everything outdoors. I have had many subscriptions in the past, now I read it taking advantage of my son’s subscription. He has been four-wheelin’ with me since he was less than a year old and was also bitten by the 4x4 bug. He has an ’89 Comanche and also loves off-road racing and everything outdoors. I still have many older copies, some even double from subscription overlaps. I was introduced to 4x4s at about 5 years old when a friend of my father brought his M37 ex-Army truck to the ranch where I grew up. The ranch had some nice dunes spanning about 50 square miles,…

It’s finally here—time to crown our 2022 Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year. Following closely on the heels of our 2022 Four Wheeler SUV of the Year test, the program that you will see on the following pages is the culmination of hundreds of hours of hard work and several months of planning and preparing. The days spent testing are long. We are up before the sun rises and we work until nightfall, and beyond. Our 2022 judging panel was comprised of some of the most knowledgeable minds in the off-road industry, with backgrounds in off-road, diesel, lifted, new, and classic off-road vehicles. This year, in celebration of our 60th anniversary, we’ve also brought back some familiar faces from Four Wheeler’s history, which gave our panel more than 100…

A new Tundra is here! But is it enough? It’s been a good year for pickup fans as several of the oldest platforms in the segment have received major updates, but the nod for most impressive transformation must go to the all-new ’22 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Toyota has updated every piece of its flagship fullsize pickup. The truck sports a powerful new 3.5L twin-turbocharged V-6 engine, a new 10-speed automatic transmission, and it incorporates a hybrid-electric drive system as well. The new truck ditches traditional rear leaf springs in favor of coil springs and a five-link. The interior features the largest display screen in the segment and on the outside Toyota has added more off-road goodies such as an LED lightbar in the grille. It’s worth noting right off…

Big power, advanced technology, and innovative suspension move Raptor to the front of the class. It takes a lot to achieve legend status in the automotive world. Since its surprise beginnings in the midst of the Great Recession of 2009, the high-speed, off-road-focused Ford F-150 Raptor has spent the last decade solidifying its place in the annals of history. From a win at the Dakar Rally to multiple podium finishes in the SCORE Baja 1000, the Mint 400, and every off-road race in between, the Raptor has proved time and time again to be the real deal when it comes to off-road dominance. This is evidenced in our own testing as well, as the Raptor won our Pickup Truck of the Year award with its first-generation truck in 2011, its…

“We’ve been through a lot of vehicles,” Jack Peeler said. “Too many to count … and that’s only the four-wheel-drive ones.” It’s because of this that Jack and his wife, Darcie, sold their house and quit their jobs. Jack and Darcie have been traveling in 4x4s for more than a quarter century. When the two were dating, it started with a trip to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and a few games of “where does that road go?” From there, they went on to live, wrench, and wheel together in as many places as possible. For a while, that meant building various rockcrawlers. Jack had an axle-swapped YJ Wrangler that seemed to keep growing larger tires as it made its way through the Rubicon, Fordyce, and other landmark trails. Later came…

In Part 1 (Apr. ’22) of our LS engine swap, we covered what it took to get the old V-6 engine out of our Jeep JK following a head failure. Now comes the hard part of the swap. In this part we’ll dive headfirst into the empty pool that is expectations of how it should all go. For those of you who are seasoned black thumbs, nothing said here will surprise you. If anything, you’ll probably have a laugh. For those of you who haven’t yet known the joy of removing the engine that belongs in your vehicle and swapping it for what you feel should have been in there from the start, this will be a cautionary tale. There are a few tenets you’ll want to hold close. The…

With the world finally getting back to some sort of normal, our daily commute has returned with a vengeance, and we’ve been hitting the road again in search of adventure. Why does this matter, you ask? Because we’ve been spending a lot of time behind the wheel of our 2021 Four Wheeler SUV of the Year-winning GMC Yukon AT4. And if you take nothing else away from this second long-term report, know this … we’re still as impressed after more than 11,000 miles as we were the day we handed over the trophy. In our first report (Feb. ’22) we logged a ton of towing miles and we’re happy to say that in the second quarter we did just the same. Roughly 800 of the more than 5,300 miles logged…