Innehållsförteckning för May 2018 från Four Wheeler

editor@fourwheeler.com FIVE DAYS AND APPROXIMATELY 1,000 MILES, both on- and off-road—that’s the short story. The big picture of the 2018 SUV of the Year competition is that off-road is king. Steep, loose-dirt hillclimbs; sand; tight two-tracks; rough dirt roads; rocky trails; rock obstacles; water crossings; and slippery snow-covered forest roads are standard fare. It’s epic, and it’s the equivalent of calisthenics for 4x4s. SUV of the Year (SUVOTY), formerly known as Four Wheeler of the Year, celebrated its 45th year in 2018. As usual, it was open to all-new or substantially revised four-wheel-drive SUVs with a production run of at least 1,500 vehicles in the U.S. and a two-speed transfer case or equivalent that produces low range–type gearing. Further, all vehicles had to be on sale by March 15, 2018.…

“A REAL LOCKER IN BACK BUT NO TRUE LOCKER UP FRONT READ LIKE A HANDICAP ON PAPER, BUT THE DISCOVERY TURNED OUT TO BE MUCH BETTER IN THE ROCKS THAN EVER EXPECTED.” What’s New The new Land Rover Discovery is the replacement for the Discovery LR4 and has adopted plenty of Range Rover technology, so it’s pretty much all new for the Land Rover line—offering a host of features that not only pleasantly surprised us, but also just plain surprised us. First off, we are all-out advocates of body-on-frame vehicle architecture when it comes to off-roaders, so the fact that the HSE is the first unibody design for the Discovery line would have been a check in our “not like” column, if it hadn’t been for the exceptional off-road prowess…

editor@fourwheeler.com THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT STYLES OF UTVS and side-by-sides these days, and even within most manufacturers there is variety. Yamaha is no different, but we recently spent some time in their new Wolverine and are impressed at the blurring of lines between work and play. In case you missed it, Yamaha released their YXZ side-by-side a while back and it impressed many enthusiasts with its manually shifted transmission and performance suspension. But not everyone needs a 1,000cc toy; some need a little workhorse with some play thrown in for good measure, and that’s what the Wolverine is. However, just because the Wolverine may look like a farm, ranch, or hunting cabin work machine doesn’t mean it’s not up for a good time. We took a Wolverine on an adventure…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM FOR MUCH OF ITS EARLY HISTORY IN LIGHT trucks, GMC maintained a zone of separation from Chevrolet trucks. The brand grudgingly shared body shells but sourced or developed different engines and drivetrain parts. By the early 1970s, those days were almost gone. GM corporate bean counters had enacted badge engineering and consolidated the two brands. Each had a few unique products and options list items, but essentially were the same trucks under the skin. For 1971, the GMC 4x4 line consisted of the K1500 1/2-tons and the K2500 3⁄4-tons, each category with a choice of GVWs. No 1-ton 4x4s were available except as special-order chassis cabs. As with Chevrolet, “K” signified a four-wheel-drive chassis and “C” a 4x2. Further designations in both load categories were KS and KE. KS…

JERED.KORFHAGE@FOURWHEELER.COM “LOOKING BACK ON THE IDEAS SHOWCASED IN THE DREAM CAMPER II, IT IS FASCINATING TO SEE WHAT HAS BECOME OF THEM TODAY.” Spend any amount of time on or around 4x4 trails these days and you might hear the term “overlanding.” If we peel back the layers of roof racks, traction boards, and LED lighting, we’re left with the rather basic concept of living in (or on top of) your vehicle in the backcountry. This is nothing new; we’ve been camping in our rigs for decades—five of them to be exact, at least that’s how long it’s been since we wrote about the Dream Camper II from Chevy. This concept van took something standard for the time—a ’67 Chevy Sportvan—and made it into something that could cart around a…

SHOP BRONCO While looking at the article “1967 Bronco Sport/Utility Service Truck” [Jan. ’18] all I could think about was our shop truck back in the day. My brother David drove this while in high school for our family garage “Auto Barn.” We did 4x4, tractor, and auto repairs. I included the only picture I can find. I have been reading Four Wheeler for about 50 years now (is that even possible?) so thanks for the great magazine. NORM SHARPE VIA EMAIL Thank you for the note, Norm. We’re happy we could spur some old shop truck memories. And thanks for the very cool photo of your old Bronco! HOW YOU CAMP PART 3 In response to your “How Do You Camp?” Firing Order [Nov. ’17]…I average about 50 nights…

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR WHEN WE RECEIVE the long-awaited tax refund check from the government that we can put toward repayment of debts, savings accounts, profitable investments—or straight to the garage for 4x4 parts. We just happened to recently spend four days hunting through the aisles of the SEMA Show, searching for items we know you’ll want on your shopping list. Whether you have a few dollars or a few thousand to spend, you’ll find something droolworthy on the following pages. DANA BLUE-COATED PERFORMANCE U-JOINT What: How do you get more life out of your universal joints? Dana has the answer: make them blue! Thousands of hours of salt spray and mud testing suggest these joints are better at resisting the crusty rusty stuff than the competition, and did…

“AT AROUND $30,000, THE LIGHT, NIMBLE, SPORTY JEEP WILL TAKE THE AVERAGE OWNER FAR MORE PLACES THAN YOU’D THINK, AND WILL DO IT IN JEEP STYLE, A LIFESTYLE THAT CAN’T BE BOUGHT—OR DUPLICATED.” What’s New The Jeep Compass is an all-new platform—a completely new vehicle for the 2018 model year. In fact, we doubt that anything but the name was retained, as no two vehicles could be more different. Of course we were testing the Trailhawk edition, which earned it far more points than the standard model would have received. However, it’s still the Small Wide platform that underpins the Fiat 500X and the Jeep Renegade, but with far more design acumen—in fact, it looks as good as it goes, unlike its predecessor. Jeep needed a crossover-type trucklet, and it…

editor@fourwheeler.com REGARDLESS OF IF YOU HAVE A HORDE OF MISCREANT OFFSPRING to cart around off-road or you and your closest dirt crew make up an octet, JD Fabrication has the parts and know-how to level your ’00-’06 Chevy 1500 Suburban 4x4 and outfit it with a 2.5-inch-diameter, free-bleed King bypass shock at each corner. The JD Fabrication mid-travel leveling kit makes room for up to 35-inch tires, with some minor trimming, and increases front wheel travel to 11 inches. It is designed to fit all GMT800-series 4x4 chassis as well. The free-bleed shock design eliminates all of the noise normally associated with traditional bypass shocks, yet still provides position-sensitive shock valving and a smooth ride both on- and off-road. The JD Fabrication-spec King free-bleed bypass shocks offer a 2-inch bump…

editor@fourwheeler.com EVERY YEAR, THE FLORIDA ADVENTURE RIGS (F.A.R.) PLAN ABOUT A WEEK OF adventure exploring the backroads, dirt tracks, and trails of some area in the Southeast. The trip planner devises a travel route and destinations for the group, however, drivers are simply instructed to meet at the starting point, not knowing where they will be headed over the next few days. The idea is typically to spend days seeking sites of interest and history combined with 4WD exploring. For 2017, the group consisted of a dozen vehicles and everyone carried all their supplies in their vehicle. Gas and grocery stops were made periodically, and they usually tent camped along the way. Planner Robert Keller instructed everyone to meet in southern Alabama for the latest expedition. Day 1 Crossing Water…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM LIFT BLOCK VIBES Q Will tapered lift blocks cause a driveshaft vibration? WILLIAM PEAVY VIA FACEBOOK.COM/JOHNCAPPA4X4 A Tapered rear lift blocks are often included with complete lift kits. They are generally used to help eliminate the driveshaft vibrations and binding that can surface when lifting the rear of a 4x4. These lift blocks are positioned so that they taper forward with the thicker parts of the blocks at the rear of the 4x4. In this position, the tapered lift blocks rotate the axlehousing and tilt the pinion upward. This is usually done to keep the driveshaft axle U-joint angle at about 0 degrees and in line with a CV-style driveshaft. However, using tapered rear lift blocks on a 4x4 with a non-CV rear driveshaft could lead to incorrect driveshaft…

It’s open now: the Mopar Parts Distribution Center in Romulus, Michigan, aka metro Detroit. If you find yourself at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, you might find yourself at the new Porsche Design concept store, where there will be basic info about the brand’s vehicles and products (apparel, eyewear, fragrance, and other things that do not come to mind when you think Porsche). What you won’t find: Porsches. No testdrives nor sales here. GM is adding Marketplace to some of its Chevy and GMC vehicles. This is a commerce platform for buying food, drink, fuel, hotel, and more using the in-vehicle touchscreen. “The First Super Sport Utility Vehicle”—that’s Lamborghini, self-branding its Urus SUV. Or SSUV if you’re cowtailing to Lambo. A U.S.-based Volkswagen exec has been sentenced to…

VETERAN FOUR WHEELER READERS MIGHT FIND this build nostalgic. In fact, you might even recall a very similar rig churning through the sand on the May 2012 cover of Four Wheeler. That truck was an ’01 Ford Super Duty affectionately known as “Stubby,” and it was one of the stars of the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. In 2012, BDS Suspension partnered with Ernie Vole of ROK Industry to build Stubby, and since then, the company couldn’t stop thinking about the flaming-orange shortbed single cab. Using Stubby as inspiration, the goal of this build was to bring a bigger and badder F-250 to SEMA in 2017. The shortbed single cab combination is still not an available option from Ford, which only meant more engineering magic was required in the…

What’s New Land Rover has offered its exceptionally refined 3.5L turbodiesel Td6 engine, eight-speed ZF transmission, and Terrain Response 2 system in years past. But everything else wrapped around the 245hp, 443 lb-ft V-6 turbodiesel, dual-overdrive transmission, infinitely capable T-case, and rear locker-equipped drivetrain is completely new. Tossing the classic, boxy styling much beloved by Discovery die-hards, the new Land Rover Disco is much more Range Rover, not only in styling but breeding. One look will tell you this is a Range Rover chassis on which the panels were Land Roverized, including a bumped-up rear roofline that accommodates third-row passengers’ noggins. The new Discovery hits the “refresh” button, offering luxury styling on the outside and a complete modernization for the 21st century on the inside, bringing technological capabilities lock-step with…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com WE MADE OUR ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TO SIN CITY FOR THE 2017 SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET Association Show (you know it as SEMA). Were we disappointed? Only by the willingness of our feet to spend four days walking miles among the rows of exhibitors. The Las Vegas Convention Center was filled with anything and everything involving stuff that goes vroom. Here’s a peek at what we found—from show trucks and overlanders to zany Jeeps and other automotive fun and frivolity.…

ken.brubaker@fourwheeler.com IF YOU WANT TO SEE A BUNCH OF 4X4S IN ONE place, you could go to a car dealership. But if you want to see a number of modified, conversation-starting, vastly different 4x4s, one of the places you should go is a 4-Wheel Jamboree (4wheeljamboree.com). The 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals series has been around since the ’80s, and one of its attractions is the “Show-N-Shine” area. In it are often hundreds of 4x4s of every type and size. They’re not all showy, and they’re not all shiny, though many are. We had the opportunity to attend the 2017 Spring 4-Wheel Jamboree Nationals in Lima, Ohio, and during the three-day event we gathered photos and info on some of the rigs in the aforementioned Show-N-Shine. We made it a point to…