Search results

Yeah, I'd thought about that a few years ago when EVs were starting to make inroads and the Cybertruck was "announced". I even sketched up what was a folding array of panels that could unfurl when parked. My best case design got me about 1600 W at peak sun (basically 5 ~200 W monsters that...

My 2009 Tahoe (5.7 L V8) had a mysterious "on startup" thick massive smoke cloud issue. Highly intermittent. Every time I brought it to the dealer, there was no evidence, and nothing could be reproduced. No real oil level change, nothing. So, I started remote starting the truck, with iPhone...

Looks like a big toy! Love it

I loves me my little hand winch. I have used it prolly a dozen times to successfully pull me out of a predicament. Sure, it's rough when it's just me, the truck, and the hand winch, but it gets the job done. When I have a long way to the nearest anchor, I also carry some 25' 5-ton nylon straps...

You might be amazed at what the humble mesquite or creosote bush can do for you. Bring lots of nylon pull line like this. It's cheap, lightweight, packs tight, can be sacrificed if necessary, and extends any winch's reach, whether hand powered or electric powered. Good luck! Cheers - Jon

Fair points. I've never used an anchor like you show, that seems like a terrific tool. I have only gotten stuck once in my life where I had to be pulled out by a good sam, but that was a looooooooong time ago before i had 4WD vehicles. In fact, I was doing off road exploring in a 2WD truck...

I live in Phoenix, and have been exploring mostly solo mountains and deserts throughout the southwest. Far off-pavement. Like 60-70 miles. I have a hand winch (come-along). I like good lighting. Lighting is my first choice.

I can carry two six-gal fuel cans. Generally, my entry points into the hinterlands is an hour or more from the nearest gas station. All the fuel I burn to get to that entrance I top off from the first can. Often, the first can is emptied. I stash that can off pavement for later retrieval (yes...

Going off a cliff on rope is the rappel part. The free part is where you are in a free hang with the cliff wall undercut behind the cliff top. I do rappels, and sometimes the vertical profile of the cliff face makes it a free rappel. So long as you have the right tools, and the right rappeling...

My baseline for a winch and attachment is whether you can free-rappel your vehicle with it, a la George Heyduke, in the Monkey Wrench Gang. :LOL::LOL::LOL: That book turned me on to Utah's canyon country and to real exploring. No, I've never done a free rappel with a vehicle. Just with me...

Wow! You are way more fortunate and/or prepared than I! I've got well over 1M miles behind the wheel. Won't leave the house without a spare. Carry a second spare when I may be hours from pavement and a town. (Think anywhere in Canyonlands NP, one of my favorite places.) Most of the time it's...

Looks tight! Where'd you get the fender flares from? Cheers - Jon

Thanks for the pix and memories! Love the little and big San Bernardinos and the Mojave. Is Pipes canyon road still passable from top to bottom? What about Little Morongo? Cheers - Jon

Is it fair to say that ordering the Bronco with the trailer hitch, wiring, and activation, is likely the most straightforward path to getting 'er done? I like having a hitch for the occasions where either I need it or a friend needs to get something moved. Never had more than about 2k lb in...

The nice thing about getting the NMO (New MOtorola) mount is that you can put on a real antenna, not that little stubby thing. The stubby thing is best up on the roof, but still suboptimal. It was a compromise antenna, in order to allow police and other antenna-equipped vehicles to get into low...

Umm, if your theory is correct that doesn't explain all the rodent damage that's occurred to vehicles over the past 50 or more years that I've been alive :rolleyes: I work in designing civil infrastructure (dams, bridges, airports, freeways, railroads, etc.) and wildlife is a constant...

Darned mice/ground squirrels/rodents :rolleyes: I live right against a city desert park preserve, there's every variety of animal, and I have only a carport, so I've had my challenges with critters. This is with my 14-yo Tahoe, so different materials and YMMV. A few years ago, found my truck...

Really appreciate the list and the thought you've put into upgrades over time. Like you, I don't need the vehicle to be "shiny", I need it to be as functional as practical for my sometimes epic adventures %^) I'm about to order a Wildtrak, and was contemplating getting it with the usual...

IANAL, but I work with them. I'm a registered engineer, and have to follow a lot of codes and regulations in my work. Some are perhaps wonky, but generally I see the value in them. As well, violating or ignoring them can get me and/or my firm in trouble and into civil or criminal court. Makes me...

Here's another interesting site that may have useful information on aftermarket or customized (not by the vehicle manufacturer) vehicle lighting. https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/traffic-tickets/how-to-legally-upgrade-and-customize-your-vehicle-lighting.html