Innehållsförteckning för August 2019 från Four Wheeler

COMMUNICATOR Rugged Radios introduces the all-new RRP696 Bluetooth intercom with enhanced music controls. It gives you the ability to shuffle through your music playlist while wheeling. The unit is based on the RRP660 Plus intercom, but the new RRP696 offers wireless music streaming from any Bluetooth device. You simply pair your device with the RRP696 intercom and everyone in the vehicle will hear the music through their connected headset or helmet. You can change the volume and skip or repeat tracks with the front-facing touch membrane controls, giving you the ability to keep your Bluetooth device secured and out of the way from dirt and debris. The RRP696 includes Voice Operated Control, which is used to adjust microphone sensitivity to cut out loud background noises. It will also lower the…

“I WAS HELL-BENT ON MAKING THIS TRUCK a personification of myself—functional, cheap, and odd.” Jeff Van Den Hende delivered on those promises, and then some, when he built his ’97 Ford Ranger. It was 2006 when he discovered the truck in San Diego, California, serving as a utility repair mule, without a single modification on its buildsheet. Jeff quickly succumbed to the bite of the “off-road builder bug,” and he began outfitting the Ranger to suit his needs. The first combination of a 4-inch lift kit, 33-inch tires, and Jeff’s right foot left a trail of obliterated spider gears in the Ranger’s wake. Staying true to the promises of “functional” and “cheap,” Jeff decided to stave off future axle-related woes by going big early on in the project—with Dana 60…

WARFIGHTING CHANGES WITH TECHNOLOGY and the particular war being fought. In the early 1980s, a push was on for a fast-moving, high-tech–capable, rapidly deployable, mechanized force. Development and operational testing of this concept eventually fell to the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington. The unit became a testbed for the idea of motorized light infantry specializing in high-tech warfare. The idea coalesced into what was called the HTLD, or High Technology Light Division, a part of which would be the LAB, Light Attack Battalion, using heavily armed light vehicles for fast-moving “shoot-and-scoot” attacks, reconnaissance, and target designation. If the old TV show Rat Patrol popped into your mind just now, that was the idea of the LAB. They considered a number of vehicle types for the LAB, including the…

WITH AGE COMES EXPERIENCE. WITH EXPERIENCE COMES GEAR. WITH GEAR COMES storage challenges. We’ve logged thousands of trail miles over the years, and our list of gear that we take on a given outing has grown quite a bit from our early days of battling at the local mudpit. Fast-forward to our latest build platform—an ’18 Jeep JL Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. Like many of you, we picked the Rubicon for its out-of-the box off-road prowess and checked the Unlimited box for the much-needed rear doors. Hauling more than just yourself off-road can make a seemingly roomy platform quickly feel small. While the cargo area of the JL isn’t bad, haphazardly stacking gear in the back isn’t a safe or useful solution. Fortunately for us, ARB has expanded its legendary cargo…

While rifling through the Four Wheeler archives one night, we turned the page to find a rig reminiscent of a John Deere tractor. From the paintjob to the 44-inch agriculture tires, it had us fooled for a few seconds, but further inspection led us to the Toyota badge and the iconic FJ40 grille. Bobby Long, of Graham, Washington, is used to quizzical eyes aimed at his rig, typically followed by questions like “Where can I buy one like this?” He usually replies, “You can’t.” In the May 1995 issue of Four Wheeler, he told us the story of his John Deere Mudder. Bobby wanted to wheel the heinously muddy trails of the Cascade Range without the fear of breaking parts or getting stuck around every turn, all while staying within…

LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP Yes, I owned an ’85 Eagle Wagon in the mid-’90s. I bought it at an estate sale with 25K on the clock and it still smelled “new” inside. The car was a very capable all-weather get-you-there vehicle. I’ve driven in snow so deep that the front bumper was hidden from view and it never failed to get me where I was going. In my opinion, the car suffered from two major downfalls. First, it did not have a two-speed transfer case, and second, it was built by AMC (the biggest issue). During the course of my ownership, every cheap plastic part that AMC under-engineered broke. The car literally nickel-and-dimed me to death, but I still loved it. My first long-distance trip shortly after purchase was from Ohio to…

EPIC ADVENTURE CAN SOMETIMES COME IN A small box. In fact, self-reliance and capability can be built into any 4x4 platform imaginable—for example, a ’17 two-door JK Wrangler. Our goal was to take the Jeep on the Four Wheeler Overland Adventure in May 2019, and it needed to have enough overland equipment to survive multiple days off-grid, while still maintaining its highway manners and trail-crawling duties. Our plan: Revive the Wrangler’s suspension system, address the Jeep’s dim lighting situation, and outfit the rig with enough armor, auxiliary fuel, and expedition gear for extended stays in the backcountry. Though its life only began in 2017, the JK had seen more than 50,000 rough miles, and its suspension was in need of an overhaul. The springs and shocks had long since given…

IT SEEMS LIKE THE FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE WORLD HAS BEEN WAITING FOR A JEEP pickup ever since the XJ Cherokee–based MJ Comanche ceased production in 1992. Over the ensuing decades, visions of what a modern Willys pickup, J-truck, or even Scrambler could be danced through our collective heads. Jeep came close a few times but never pulled the trigger, only teasing us with what-could-be concepts, like the show-stopping ’05 Jeep Gladiator, the nostalgic ’10 Jeep NuKiser 715, the half-hearted ’11 JK-8 Independence, the awe-inspiring ’11 Mighty FC, the vintage ’11 J-12, and the attention-getting ’16 Red Rock Responder. A JK-based Jeep pickup from the factory came close to happening in the later years of the JK platform, but Jeep decided to move the development so that the JL and JT could be…

WHEN IT COMES to making your 4x4 more capable, a good set of tires and differential lockers are two of the best investments you’ll make. However, these upgrades can often come at a cost to your stock steering system. Given that most four-wheel drives were never engineered to handle much over a 33-inch-tall tire, it’s no surprise that adding oversized treads and a traction aid can overwhelm the stock steering. This is one of the reasons why bent steering links and broken sector-shaft failures are commonly seen on the trail. There are actually a few options for improving any given 4x4’s steering system, but when it comes to balancing on-road handling and off-road performance, you’d be hard-pressed to beat a hydraulic-assist steering kit. The big draw of a hydraulic-assist steering…

F-SERIES NON-SWAP Q I have a ’72 Ford F-250 with good 4x4 axles and a blown motor. I also have a ’80 Ford F-250 that has a good motor, but the front axle doesn’t have functioning four-wheel drive. Should I just swap the ’72 axles into the ’80 F-250? If not, what do you suggest I diagnose first on the ’80 front axle to get functioning four-wheel drive? Thanks for any help you can give! ERIC MCGREW VIA EMAIL A Unfortunately, the ’72 Ford F-250 front axle won’t be a good swap into anything, including your ’80 F-250. The axle is better left in the ’72 F-250 where it currently resides. It features undesirable closed steering knuckles and drum brakes. The closed-knuckle axles house smaller, weaker U-joints than the comparable…

Black Appearance Package for the ’19 Ford Ranger Ford said that more than two thirds of ’19 Rangers are leaving the lot with an appearance package. We’ll do the math…carry the 1, add the 7, divide the Y…two thirds equals a lot of them. And there’s a new package in town: Black Appearance. As you’d gather, it’s black in appearance—at least for the grille, wheels, running boards, bedliner, valance, mirrors, and so on. Add it for $1,995. Jeep’s Electric Compass and Renegade & The Wrangler Rubicon 1941 The Geneva International Motor Show is where Jeep went debut-crazy and brought its Renegade and Compass PHEVs as well as a heritage-themed Wrangler. Let’s start electric: The plug-in hybrids feature rechargeable batteries mated to a 1.3L engine. Jeep’s saying the Renegade should see…

IF YOU OWN A 4X4, WE KNOW YOU’VE THOUGHT ABOUT SUSPENSION UPGRADES. Whether your dreams include building your rig monster-truck tall or simply replacing the shocks and springs under your work truck, we have something for you to check out. Explore the next few pages and read up on all 43 of the kits designed to lift, level, or completely overhaul your rig’s suspension. TERAFLEX Lift Lines: The Alpine Rogue Trail Suspension is one step above the company’s Alpine Cross-Trail System. The system is available for JL/JLU Wranglers and can be configured as a short-arm (2.5- to 3.5-inch lift) or long-arm (3.5- to 4.5-inch lift) setup to clear, as claimed by the company, a 39-inch tire. TeraFlex SpeedBumps in the front and Falcon progressive rear bumpstops cushion high-speed suspension movements,…

AIR LIFT COMPANY’S LOADLIFTER 7500 XL brings 7,500 pounds’ worth of load-leveling capacity to the freshest heavy-duty offerings from Ford, Ram, and GM. With our ’17 Ford F-350 being prepped for regular towing duty, we decided to give the LoadLifter 7500 XL a shot. Just three hours later, the complete, bolt-on package was installed, and we moved on to outfitting the truck with Air Lift’s WirelessAIR air spring controller. If you plan to move any substantial amount of weight with your rig, you owe it to yourself to consider Air Lift’s LoadLifter 7500 XL system. “IF YOU PLAN TO MOVE ANY SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WEIGHT WITH YOUR RIG, YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO CONSIDER AIR LIFT’S LOADLIFTER 7500 XL SYSTEM.” SOURCE Air Lift 800/248-0892 airliftcompany.com…

FROM THE DIZZYING EXPANSE OF TAN AND BROWN RISES HAMMERtown, a temporary oasis where upwards of 50,000 off-road racers and 4x4 enthusiasts come to play for a week each year. While the engines thundered around the racecourse, we donned our desert dust goggles and toured the suburbs of Hammertown, where we found rigs from across the country and met the folks brazen enough to build them. Read on for snapshots of life on the lakebed and the machines that bring thousands of us together every year.…