If you are reading Four Wheeler, you probably aren’t the kind of guy (or gal) who calls AAA when you get a flat. And that is assuming that a tow truck could even get to where you are wheeling anyway. You roll your sleeves up and fix your own rig, whether that means replacing an axleshaft or just reseating a tire bead. Your vehicle probably came with a basic scissor or bottle jack; standard issue for everything from passenger cars to 1-ton trucks for decades. Venture off pavement though, or add a suspension lift and larger tires, and that bottle jack may not be of much use anymore.

In the May 1990 issue of Four Wheeler we used an object lesson to address the ongoing debate of two-wheel drive versus four-wheel drive. We put two ’90 GMC Jimmys, one two-wheel drive and one four-wheel drive, head-to-head on- and off-road. We wrote, “We wanted to know if four-wheel drive is vastly superior to two-wheel drive for all uses. Are there any advantages whatsoever to a two-wheel-drive truck? And, lastly, which is more practical overall.”

That’s Interesting
The National Insurance Crime Bureau took a look at data from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2012 and learned that 2,438 SUVs were stolen from around the New York metro area, scoring it first place in the competition, “Who Had the Most SUVs Stolen from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2012?” And 725 were never found. Least recovered were the Chevy Tahoe and Jeep Wrangler.

Andrew: “I made a New Year’s resolution.”

I’d rather light my hair on fire, fill my ears with Tabasco-infused bathroom caulk, and gouge out my eyes with a broken plastic spork than drive cross-county with a miserable, pain-in-the-ass road trip buddy. Honestly, most people make terrible road trip sidekicks. Quite often these individuals have no idea that they are the road trip equivalent of a turd in a punchbowl. There are many different reasons for this. Some travel partners incessantly complain and whine about it being too hot, too cold, sun’s in their eyes, and so on. Others have the bladder of a hamster and need to stop every 50 miles, yet continue to drink gallons of liquids, and still others insist on pulling over for every “Nothing Significant Happened Here in 1889” sign. If you have a real gem of a meat sack in your passenger seat, they’ll have all three of the above-mentioned habits and more. With someone like that in the car, you can pretty much forget about traveling significant distances in a reasonable amount of time. Any additional miles gained via passing, carpool lane, or speeding (within a reasonable limit) will be negated by this particular time burglar.

Commander Cap
The Site Commander commercial cap from A.R.E. is now available for the ’09-’13 Ford F-150 longbed. Inside the fiberglass cap is a Bedslide sliding cargo tray de-signed to provide quick access to gear. The exterior of the cap is fitted with lockable storage bins and is said to be compatible with most brands of commercial-ladder racks. Each Site Commander is painted by A.R.E using the trucks OEM color code and a standard DuPont base coat and clear. The cap comes with a three-year warranty on materials and workmanship.
A.R.E.
800/649-4ARE, www.4are.com/fleet

Every year we see more and more radical concepts from automotive manufacturers and just when we think they’re about to build one of the coolest trucks we’ve ever seen, it disappears before our very eyes never to be seen again. It doesn’t seem fair; there’s certainly enough interest in specialty or unique vehicles that we should be able to bring back some faithful classic off-road trucks as well as some modern day concepts that have been left on the back burner over the years. We’re willing to bet that you’re of the same mentality as us and want to see truck manufactures build something for those of us who like to hit the dirt in our spare time. As such, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most awesome wheelers we think the manufactures should either bring back or build, and not in the distant future – we need these like yesterday! Check out our list of eleven trucks we would want to see out wheeling in the dirt in the near future!

There’s no question the Ford SVT Raptor is one of the most popular vehicles to date, and in the off-road community, it’s the best out of the box wheeler you can currently buy. Hennessey Performance has been one of the leaders in modification when it comes to the Raptor, offering their 600 horsepower supercharged VelociRaptor to the masses. Now Hennessey Performance has just announced the release of their one of a kind VelociRaptor SUV conversion that is geared for those who need more seating room than the factory SVT Raptor can offer.

This week, Ford truck marketing executive Doug Scott rolled into town with a little surprise for the truck people here at headquarters. After stirring up the crowd at the weekly Cars & Coffee cruise at Ford headquarters in Irvine, CA, the bold concept made its way north to Motor Trend’s Wide Open Throttle studios for a round table discussion. Scott and the Atlas and usual W.O.T. suspects Edward Loh and Jonny Lieberman, along with Truck Trend editor Allyson Harwood and Four Wheeler’s own John “Hollywood” Cappa were invited to take their place at the table and join the truck-centric discussion.

In the November, 1990 issue of Four Wheeler we published a four-page story on the 1989 All-4-Fun event sponsored by the Mile-Hi Jeep Club of Colorado. The event was based in Gunnison, Colorado, and the story included a segment about exploring Pearl Pass with a group of vehicles that included Jeep CJs (the CJ had only been out of production for three years), a Toyota 4Runner, and a Toyota Land Cruiser. According to the story, Pearl Pass had been snowed shut for the past five consecutive years and prior to that was passable only about every third year. This obviously made the trip over the 12,705-foot-tall pass a notable experience. Needless to say, the group had to bust through snow by various means including winching. The story also told the tale of a trip on the Cement Creek Trail, which boasted big rocks, killer scenery, and an old ghost town.

"What's this?" I asked when Andrew handed me a page he'd ripped out of a magazine.

We often focus so hard on the parts that make a good 4x4 we sometimes forget about the people that drive the 4x4. After all, a 4x4 is a machine that must have a person behind the wheel and that person must have the skills to make the machine work to its full potential.

Ram Zone
Zone Offroad Products 6-inch suspension kit is designed for the '03-'12 Ram 2500 4x4 trucks. The kit is said to allow room for 37-inch tires and comes with a pair of heavy-duty control arm brackets. The steering system receives a new pitman arm and track bar drop bracket, while the new sway bar links, coil springs, and brake lines finish out the front of the kit. A tapered block raises the rear and your choice of Zone Hydro or Black Nitro series shocks can be optioned at the time of purchase. Additional 2½-, 5-, and 8-inch kits are available.
Info: Zone Offroad Products
888/998-ZONE, www.zoneoffroad.com

Building a trail rig doesn't have to be a budget-busting affair. In fact, a vehicle designated to be an off-road toy can be way less expensive to create than one you have to worry about getting you to work on Monday. Probably the biggest benefit of a trail-specific wheeler is that you don't have to compromise or overspend on parts. With that said, it's important to remember that there is a difference between inexpensive and cheaply made.

I've been spoiled like a rotten little kid most of my life. I don't mean that my parents coddled me like a temper-tantrum reality TV kid, or that they gave me everything I could ever wish for. Oh no, it was quite a bit different than that under the roof of the Cappa household. I was like most kids growing up in my suburban neighborhood during the '70s and '80s. Of course I pouted when I didn't get what I wanted, got the belt when I was bad, and had to work for the money to buy and build my first 4x4. What I mean is that I have been spoiled in a different way-spoiled by open space. Having lived near the vast deserts of the southwest most of my life, I am accustomed to a certain kind of off-roading. Oh sure, I have spent plenty of time on, and enjoy the personal challenge of conquering relatively short, difficult trails such as the Hammer trails in Johnson Valley, California. But what I really enjoy is having a destination, a place to go, a "B."

Do you use your 4x4 pickup for commuting during the week and for off-roading on the weekends? If so, your truck falls into what is probably the most popular category, and it's called dual-purpose.

Tire envy starts the day you own a 4x4, and even sooner for some of us. The number one thing most people want to change on their 4x4 is the tires and wheels, which leads to likely the most common question we get: “What size tire can I fit on my 4x4?” At first, most people typically are not ready for a lift kit of any kind, they just want to fit a tire that’s a size or two larger than stock. But it doesn’t stop there. Once the new-truck smell has worn off, or more specifically the warranty (sometimes sooner), a leveling kit is added that allows a tire several sizes larger than stock. And it’s not over yet, eventually a full-blown lift follows all this madness. No one ever seems to be content with the tire size on their 4x4. People with 31s want 33s. The 33-inch tire owners want 35s, the 35-inch shod 4x4s seem to need 37s, and the 37-inch tire owners seem to think they need 40s, and so on. A lot of time, money, and effort is wasted making these small steps in tire size. But, on the other hand there is at least one benefit to this process, you learn to drive your 4x4 more accurately when you don’t have huge tires to overcompensate for a lack of driving skill. I’m a huge proponent of building your rig as you go, rather than throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it before even shifting the transfer case into low range.

Last month we wrote about the big changes that Ram has made to the ’13 ½-ton pickups. But this isn’t the first time we’ve written about big changes to the Ram. Back in the August, 1993 issue of Four Wheeler we published our impressions of the then-new ’94 Dodge Ram pickup, which was code-named the “T300.”

DeFender Flares
The DeFender XC fenders from Poison Spyder Customs are designed for the ’97-’06 Jeep Wrangler. Each fender’s wheel opening is crafted to be 3 inches higher and 2½ inches wider than typical tube fenders. The DeFender XC’s are CNC laser cut and precision brake-formed from 3⁄16-inch plate steel or aluminum. Three-inch tapered, zero, and negative flare variations are currently available, along with an optional inner fender set.
Info: Poison Spyder Customs
951/849-5911, www.poisonspyder.com

That’s Interesting
American Suzuki Motor Corp. is in the midst of shutting down auto dealerships and also borrowing up to $45 million (with the hope of $100 mil) Suzuki Motor put the U.S. distributor in bankruptcy over losses in the states.

What were you doing in March of 1984?

Taco Sliders
Trail-Gear rock sliders are designed for the ’08-’12 Toyota Tacoma. The 1¾-inch, 0.120-wall DOM tubing sliders are a bolt-on upgrade, but Trail-Gear suggests welding them on for more extreme use. Sliders are shipped raw.
Info: Trail-Gear
877/4X4-TOYS, www.trail-gear.com

By the time you read this the 2012 SEMA show will be a wrap. For those new to the scene, SEMA stands for the Specialty Equipment Market Association. It’s made of a collection of original equipment and aftermarket manufacturers. Each year SEMA has its largest gathering at the Las Vegas Convention Center where manufactures of all sizes come to showoff new wares. It’s usually a hotbed for innovative new products and this year was no exception. Gathered here is a glimpse into some of the cool new products we ran across while roaming around the show. For more information on SEMA, and to find out how you can be a part of this year’s show, be sure to check it out online at www.semashow.com.

The axle assemblies are some of the most abused, overlooked, and often poorly maintained components on your 4x4. If you have added a lift and bigger tires, it’s very likely that your axles will be the next place on your wheeler that needs attention. Interestingly enough, we all think we can get by on our factory axles, and the truth is in some cases we can. Not every 4x4 needs 1-ton Dana 60 or Rockwell axles front and rear. Aside from vehicle weight, power, and the kind of terrain planned, your driving style and willingness to make trailside axle repairs dictate how much axle you actually need. The good news is that today, more than ever, there is an unbelievable amount of aftermarket support available to increase the versatility, strength, and durability of your 4x4s axles. A little over a decade ago your options were much more limited.

Continually Disappointed
I continue to be disappointed in the content of your magazine since John Cappa became editor. First he eliminated the one-page editorials by Ken Brubaker and Sean Holman. Then, in his own Firing Order column, all we have heard about is how good he is and all about his own rigs and his work on them. When Willie Worthy left, Cappa took over the Techline column, but in the December ’12 issue, even that is gone.