Innehållsförteckning för November 2020 från Four Wheeler

50 years of range rover It’s the big half-century celebration for the world’s original luxury 4x4. That’s right, Range Rover is celebrating 50 years with a limited (only 1,970 to be produced) edition called the Range Rover Fifty. Get yours in Carpathian Grey, Rosello Red, Aruba, or Santorini Black. For a more vintage-inspired shade of Rover; Tuscan Blue, Bahama Gold, and Davos White should remind purists of the rig’s original paint palette. Electrifying Savings Let’s assume you want to buy the Lordstown Endurance electric four-wheel-drive pickup truck for its base price of $52,500. Factoring in 20,000 miles driven per year, fuel, maintenance, electricity costs, and some federal tax credits; the company estimates you could save over $9,000 in operating costs over other popular pickup trucks. WILL THE WRANGLER GET A…

“I always wanted a little Army Jeep,” reminisced Paul Dickinson. “So, around 1990, I bought a ’46 Willys that someone took the L-head out of and replaced it with an F-head.” It wasn’t long before Paul “blew that engine up,” putting gnarled chunks of metal into the oil pan and forcing him to consider his options for repowering the Willys. In went a Pinto engine and on went a new coat of paint, and it was off to the trails because Paul just “wanted to go four-wheeling!” Paul’s time in the Army enabled him to have off-road adventures across the United States, including in Washington state, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, South Dakota, Idaho, California, and Utah—to name a few. Depending on where he was traveling, the Willys…

“I wasn’t even looking for a Ranger,” said Cody Jones about his search for a used 4x4. “I wanted a completely stock ’85 Toyota pickup with EFI and air conditioning, but those were all overpriced.” Cody wasn’t searching for his first truck, nor was this his seventh or eighth. In true gearhead style, his life has been filled with a lineage of trucks and SUVs bought, driven, and sold. Working construction in his formative years, Cody used a second-gen 12-valve Dodge flatbed to haul equipment, move hay, and get to and from the high school parking lot. Meanwhile, he made a hobby out of rehabilitating Suzuki Samurais he would rescue from local pastures. Cody’s Samurais took inspiration from Tim Hardy, a veteran of Four Wheeler’s Top Truck Challenge, Petersen’s 4-Wheel…

WIRED FOR AIR I’m in the process of converting the A/C compressor on my Jeep truck to onboard air so I can fill up tires and run air tools. I have the mechanical part of it pretty well figured out, but I’m stumped on how to wire the system. How do I get it to cycle on and off so that it maintains pressure as I use it? KYLE S. VIA EMAIL Onboard air is a great addition to any trail rig, and fabricating a system is fairly easy as long as you have a compressor that lends itself well to the conversion, such as a York or a Sanden. Most fullsize Jeep trucks used a York compressor, which is kind of the gold standard for onboard air systems. You’ll…

Let me take this opportunity to give you my take on the ’21 Ford Bronco because 4,530,229 online stories have probably failed to satiate your appetite for unsolicited opinions of Ford’s new would-be Wrangler killer. Nah, just kidding. If you’re suffering from Bronco infonausea, pull a chair up to the campfire and let me wax nostalgic on something that’s the absolute opposite. Back in 2010, Jp magazine had a staff of three: John Cappa, Pete Trasborg, and myself. Each editor had certain character traits that tended to manifest in the vehicles we built. So, I devised a competition in which each of us would select one of our personal Jeep project rigs, build them up over the course of three magazine issues with the lowest budget possible, and then pit…

LEVELED TOY Tuff Country has the bolt-on solution for ’05-’20 Toyota Tacoma or 4Runner owners wishing to run with larger tires and more ground clearance. Installing the kit is said to require no strut disassembly, spring compression, or any permanent modifications to the vehicle and also claims to maintain proper geometry and alignment while delivering a comfortable ride. INFO: Tuff Country, 800/288-2190, tuffcountry.com WRAPPED UP It’s easy to cut and shape, it keeps heat where it’s supposed to be, and it’s said to help your engine make more power. Heatshield Armor from Heatshield Products features a 4-millimeter-thick aluminum outer layer and an inner layer of the company’s exclusive BioCool material. It can be installed to exhaust tubing, turbo downpipes, and any place else that generates heat. Heatshield Armor can be…

The Bronco versus Wrangler debates are red hot, so we thought we’d have a little fun with spec charts to see how the Bronco and Wrangler stack up against each other on paper. To keep things fair, we’ll look at both the two-door and the four-door versions of the ’21 Ford Bronco with the Sasquatch package and the ’20 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and Rubicon Unlimited models. Available on all models, the Bronco’s Sasquatch option is a comprehensive equipment group that adds aggressive 35-inch (315/70R17) Goodyear Territory tires, front and rear lockers, the High-performance Off-road Stability Suspension (H.O.S.S.) system, and 17-inch beadlock-capable forged aluminum wheels. It is worth noting that Sasquatch-equipped Broncos do see a small decrease in uptravel for packaging reasons. An electro-hydraulic sway bar is optional on high-capability models.…

The phrases “it’s a great trail rig” and “this is my daily driver” are not typically part of the same conversation. Making any vehicle perform really well on the trail is something we all want, but doing it without sacrificing the way it tackles the duties of daily street driving can be difficult. In the past, we’ve built and witnessed many 4x4s that quickly crossed the threshold from very streetable to trailer rig with just a few mods. Those large, luggy tires and trail-centric mods work great on the hard-core stuff, but can have an adverse effect on-road. The dream scenario is to find the zone where road and trail mods are managed not just adequately, but fluently by the rig? With new tire technology, well designed and built stock-type…

We love old trucks. They remind us of better times and adventures past, yet still sweet in our memories. Their look, feel, smell, sounds, and more all spark memories of fun and exploration. Still, old trucks are old, and are usually in need of some updating and refreshment. Nothing makes an old truck look and feel better than a new suspension lift, a fresh set of tires, and some nice new wheels. The fact is, Redferd, our Ford F-250, is in need of lots of refreshment, but the building blocks are solid and ripe for another 40-plus years of on- and off-road miles. Of course, we have to start somewhere, and getting the old truck together with parts from Skyjacker Suspensions, General Tire, and Battle Born Wheels is a great…

NOVEMBER 5-7 DEATH VALLEY EXPLORATION TRIP Where: Death Valley, California Hosted by: Jeep Jamboree USA Info: jeepjamboreeusa.com NOVEMBER 6-8 PRO ROCK HILLCLIMB FINALE Where: Oliver Springs, Tennessee Hosted by: Pro Rock Racing Info: prorockracing.com NOVEMBER 7 MUD JAM AT WOJCIK’S FARM Where: Blackstone, Massachusetts Hosted by: Wojcick’s Farm Info: wojcikfarm.com NOVEMBER 7 SASQUATCH HUNT Where: Attica, Indiana Hosted by: Badlands Off Road Park Info: badlandsoffroad.com NOVEMBER 13-15 PANAMINT VALLEY DAYS Where: Trona, California Hosted by: California Four Wheel Drive Association Info: cal4wheel.com NOVEMBER 13-15 TRUCKS GONE WILD AT TWITTY’S MUD BOG Where: Ulmer, South Carolina Hosted by: Trucks Gone Wild Info: trucksgonewild.com NOVEMBER 14 RAPTOR TAKEOVER Where: Pine Grove, Pennsylvania Hosted by: Rausch Creek Off-Road Park Info: rc4x4.org NOVEMBER 17-22 53RD SCORE BAJA 1000 Where: Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico Hosted…

FORD FAN I first want to thank you for your fantastic articles. They grab my interest and I can’t stop reading. Honestly, I read them over and over again. Anyways, I’m a huge Ford fan. I’m 51 and only on my third F-150. I started with an F-150 for my first truck after owning a ’75 Mustang. It was an ’80 regular cab Flareside with chains holding the tailgate. It was two-wheel-drive, so no off-roading. I put a bit of money into building the 302ci engine and adding dual exhaust. I had a blast with it. I graduated to an ’02 F-150 4x4 with the 7700 package. Loved that truck. I now drive an ’06 F-150 with under 90K on it, and I plan on driving it forever. NATHAN VIA…

What is a Baja Runner? Well, it’s a rig designed to be a rolling showcase of the brands Mule Expedition Outfitters offers and the work the company performs. The Baja Runner started life as a Hemi-powered Ram 2500 Tradesman and was outfitted with a Norweld tray bed; Four Wheel Campers Hawk pop-up camper; AEV suspension, bumpers, and wheels; 40-inch Yokohama tires; and a whole bunch of overlanding friendly gear. No one thought it was a good idea for us to take the Mule Expedition Outfitters’ Baja Runner down Lippincott Mine Trail in Death Valley, which is exactly what motivated us to do it. But we are getting a little ahead of ourselves, though. First, more on the Mule Expedition Outfitters’ Baja Runner. Your first thought might be, “A Hemi?!” While…

The NP435 manual transmission is one of the most popular heavy-duty “granny-geared” four-speeds that was ever offered from the factory. It came in several ½-, ¾-, and 1-ton 4x4 trucks from Ford and Dodge, ranging from the early 1960s into the early 1990s. The NP435 is the only granny-geared four-speed with an aluminum top cover, making it easy to identify. The ratios for the Ford NP435s are: 6.68:1 First, 3.34:1 Second, 1.74:1 (or 1.66:1) Third, and 1:1 Fourth with an 8.26:1 Reverse. There is a Dodge version with a taller 4.56:1 First that is much less desirable for off-road use. Transfer case adapters for the Ford and Dodge NP435 are available to mate the transmission to the Dana 18, Dana 20, Dana 300, Toyota trucks, and most of the popular…

Since Toyota first introduced the TRD Pro trim on the Tacoma in 2015, consumers have been clamoring for more and more off-road-specific models. Alongside the Tacoma, Toyota also launched a TRD Pro version for the 4Runner (which, at the time, shared suspension bits with the Tacoma) and the Tundra. Through the subsequent years, Toyota has continued to update and improve the TRD Pro lineup. The shocks changed from Bilstein to Fox, skidplates were added, and the tires were improved. More optional features were added to the list, such as a Desert Air Intake (Tacoma) and performance exhaust. However, the one thing that remained the same is the three-vehicle lineup. That is, until now. For 2020, Toyota announced a fourth member of the TRD Pro family, the seven-passenger Sequoia SUV. Following…

Many of us have a soft spot for Toyota’s 40 Series Land Cruiser, the traditional body-on-frame SUVs that were produced to compete with—and some would argue outperform—the Land Rover 109s and Jeep CJs of the day. This love wasn’t lost on Carl and Adam Van Rooy, father and son Cruiser enthusiasts from the greater Indianapolis area, but they were after something truly unique in an expedition, fishing, and leisure off-road vehicle. After turning to John Conrad of J.B.’s 4x4 in Kingman, Indiana, the trio came up with an FJ40-based project, built from the ground-up, and finished and titled as an FJ45 Troop Carrier. While the project would be based around the ’78 FJ40 John sourced in neighboring Illinois, the only real salvageable parts from the original donor were the clutch,…