Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i Four Wheeler

While working on the soon-to-be-legendary February 2022, 60th Anniversary issue of Four Wheeler, I fell headfirst into the rabbit hole of Real Truck Challenge. My fingers started involuntarily clicking computer keys, perusing the folders that garage the stories and photos of this event. And what an incredible event it was. Real Truck Challenge was a mega-popular Four Wheeler-created off-road event that took place in the Midwest at the Badlands Off Road Park in Attica, Indiana. It began in 2003 and ran through 2006. The event initially debuted under the name Real Truck Challenge but permanently morphed into Real Truck Club Challenge for Year Two when the event rules were amended to require that participants were members of a 4x4 club. However, most folks simply referred to the event as “Real…

Is It True? 1 Will Volkswagen resurrect the International Harvester Scout as an electric vehicle? Volkswagen recently came to control the Scout name when its commercial truck subsidiary, Traton, merged with Navistar in July 2021. Navistar is the company that was created when International Harvester went under in 1985 and continues to own the Scout trademark. 2 Is electric automaker Rivian planning to add more vehicles to its lineup? CEO RJ Scaringe has hinted at “big plans” for the company, including the possibility of a heavy-duty pickup, an off-road SUV, and vans. 3 Could a partnership with Foxconn, a Taiwanese tech giant, be what Lordstown Motors needs to move forward with the production of its Endurance electric pickup? The two companies have made steps toward procuring a loan from the…

The all-new ’22 Nissan Frontier is finally here and it’s the latest truck to continue Nissan’s 62 years of pickups in America. The new Frontier puts a focus on being rugged, capable, modern, and utilitarian. Just prior to the new Frontier being shipped to dealers we were invited to drive Nissan’s newest truck offering, in PRO-4X trim, and here’s what we found. First off, let’s examine what the Frontier PRO-4X is and what it is not. The PRO-4X is not a “Raptor fighter” or a Tacoma TRD Pro or Chevy Colorado ZR2 competitor. What it is, is a Tacoma TRD Off-Road, Ford Ranger FX4, and Chevy Colorado Z71 competitor, leaving Nissan with plenty of headspace if it wants to enter the market with a NISMO package in the future. Chassis…

Every 4x4 needs them, but many wheelers don’t put much thought into them until they snap and leave you in two-wheel-peel out in the middle of nowhere. Taking the time to understand a few driveshaft fundamentals benefits beginner and even advanced off-road junkies. From survivability in gnarly terrain, to the ability to cope with big power and monster tires, to offering a buzz-free ride on the freeway, choosing the right driveshaft components, materials, and builder can pay big dividends. So, when it came time for us to have a pair of driveshafts built for one of our 4x4s, we headed over to J.E. Reel Driveline in Pomona, California, with a camera in one hand and a notepad in the other. J.E. Reel has been building driveshafts and drivetrain components at…

The absolute easiest and cheapest way to increase the ride quality and performance of your 4x4 off-road is to reduce the air pressure in your tires. However, dropping from street pressure to a more appropriate off-road pressure isn’t without risk. Release too much air and the tire can separate from the wheel. This happens because the air pressure is no longer sufficient to prevent the tire’s bead from slipping on the wheel. A great solution to this problem is to swap out your standard wheel with a beadlock. As its name implies, a beadlock wheel is designed to “lock” the bead of the tire to the wheel. This means you are no longer relying solely on air pressure to keep the tire in place. In this story, we’re going to…

Looking for a step-by-step dose of motivation to bring your International Scout to another level? Take a trip back to September 1990 with us for a look at Enzo Pacino’s ’72 International Scout II and the series of upgrades that took the binder from avocado-green and rusted to Bright Red and ready to rock. Within an hour of purchasing the Scout in 1988, the dilapidated machine left Enzo stranded. In addition to the damaged front fender and nonexistent interior, the engine wheezed its last breath on the way home to Enzo’s garage. When the Scout finally arrived, Enzo and company sketched out a plan for its new life, beginning with the engine. Enzo retained the International Harvester 304ci V-8, but had the block rehabbed and then added a Competition cam,…

BRONCO BUMPER Warn has what you need to increase the capability of your ’21 Ford Bronco. Warn’s Elite Series Front Bumper boasts increased strength for protection from trail obstacles as well as space to mount a variety of Warn winches, including the Warn Zeon, Zeon Platinum, VR EVO, M8, XD9, XD9i, 9.0Rc, and 9.5xp. For even more vehicle recovery options, the bumper showcases precision-welded eyelets to accommodate shackles. There are also integrated jack points for lifting the vehicle using an off-road jack. Additionally, the Elite Series bumper has recessed light buckets for either the OE foglights or aftermarket units. Order yours with or without the grilleguard tube and rest assured, both will come with ample clearance for tires and a tough powdercoat. INFO: Warn Industries, 800/543-9276, warn.com TINY AND MIGHTY…

Bumpstops are something every suspension relies on. These parts don’t have a fancy job, all they do is stop the upward movement of the suspension when you hit a big bump. Still, that simple job is very important and is often overlooked even in suspension lift kits that are otherwise complete. We’ve been working on fixing the suspension of a Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ for a friend and while doing this we noticed that the front bumpstops could use some reengineering, strengthening, and extension. What we did was simple and the ideas we used can apply to bumpstops on many vehicles, from those with mild suspension lifts to those with more custom suspensions. In this story we’ll show how we lowered the bumpstops and how we made them stronger. This…

Upgraded lighting on your 4x4 can make a world of difference in how well you see the road or trail forward and behind in the dark of night, inclement weather, and dusty conditions. However, as it is with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Top-shelf aftermarket lighting is not cheap, and neither are the high-quality bumpers used to support those lights. It doesn’t matter whether you’re driving an older rig or something like a high-performance Ford Raptor, high-quality aftermarket accessory products are a good investment. With that in mind, when it came to taking the lighting character, versatility, and output up a few notches on a ’20 Ford Raptor, we decided to opt for high-performance bumpers and lights that would match the high level of performance…

When overlanding or camping, power generation is always a top priority, especially when you stay in one spot for an extended period. You could idle your 4x4’s engine, but of course that will reduce range. You could carry extra fuel or even a generator or auxiliary battery packs, but those affect payload and storage capacity. Everything has trade-offs, but for those already equipped with a dual battery or house battery system, our vote is for a quality solar setup. In a previous issue we covered the install of an American Adventure Lab auxiliary battery and compressor system in our Wrangler JL, managed by a REDARC battery controller (Smart & Seamless, Sept, ’21). This dual-input REDARC BCDC1225D charger allows for the auxiliary Odyssey PC1100 battery to be recharged via either the…

CUMMINS R2.8 FOR TOYOTA FJ55? In 1988, I purchased a ’69 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ55 when I lived in Wyoming working for the Indian Health Service. It got 100 miles per quart of oil at the time, but it would go anywhere under any conditions, and cost me only $600, plus a lot of parts to repair it. I rebuilt the venerable but somewhat underpowered F engine in about 1992. That was 30 years ago. It has served me well but is showing its age. My brother opened a shop where people rent space and work on cars to do restoration work. My wife was giving me the “do something with his vehicle or I’m going to call St. Vinnies to come pick it up” line. I just can’t let…

RARE V-DRIVE BARN FIND Saw your V-Drive article (Trail’s End, Apr. ’18) after coming across this barn find today. It’s a ’78 Chevy G30 with 74K original miles, a 400ci engine, and the VX4 system. I was on a ranch just south of Missoula, Montana, purchasing some farm implements when I mentioned that I was looking for a vintage van to take across the country. The family member I was talking with said his dad passed away and they had his old G30 for sale that’s 4WD. He was the original and only owner. I’ve been buying and selling most of my life and have never heard of the V-Drive system. There was no Internet on the ranch, but I knew it had to be rare, so I rolled the…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com SPONSORED BY Blake Brown remembers his father’s Ford Ranger. His dad bought the single cab shortbed new in 1985 and Blake learned to drive it around the farm. Years later, when Blake was grown and with a job, he set out to find that exact truck. After searching the classified ads across the United States, Blake happened upon a similar ’85 Ranger in North Carolina. The truck was nearly identical to the one from his youth, wasn’t running—but was perfect—and he bought it sight unseen. Wanting to keep the Ranger mildly built and as close as possible to the one his dad owned, Blake first tackled the engine. One cylinder wasn’t firing, so he pulled the entire block and had it completely rebuilt. With the 2.8L V-6 back in…

The camping, the vehicles, the gear, the challenging trails, the camaraderie, the isolation, the clutch pedal, the beauty of our land. Wait … the clutch pedal? Yep, when we were offered the chance to participate in the inaugural 2021 Centerforce Adventure Run, which was only open to 4x4s with manual transmissions (mostly), we jumped in headfirst. Centerforce’s Adventure Run took us on a fabulous three-day, two-night adventure filled with fun trails and roads, great food, and great camaraderie among several industry insiders, the majority of which were rowing gears in manual transmission-equipped 4x4s. The Centerforce Adventure Run proved that the manual transmission is alive, well, and has fans. The trip started in a parking lot in a northern suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. Our guide was off-road icon Trent McGee, who…

There are lots of reasons why most lifted leaf-sprung vehicles offer a ride similar to that of a go-kart with concrete in the tires. Thick, highly arched spring packs, add-a-leaves, and multiple shocks can all make your spine sorry you ever lifted your 4x4. But there are ways you can eke out a better ride without losing your load-carrying capability or reliability. For this story, we took one of the worst-riding truck suspensions of all time, a lifted ’90 F-350, and turned it into a comfortable cruiser without sacrificing any of its functionality. This F-350 highlights many of the drawbacks to a smooth ride a vehicle can have. The shackles on the front leaf springs are forward of the axle, like on a Jeep CJ or YJ. Because of this,…