This may be the last big project I ever do. My dad passed away a couple years ago, and I just got rid of his (registered as a 42 Willys) 42 GPW. I decided for now to keep the 1982 Bronco. He said it was parked because it had low oil pressure. The motor has…
I think it was a Bulgarian designer I sometimes work with from whom I first heard this. “The more offroad capable is your rig the further you must walk to find a tractor.”
This was quite a number of years ago fishing at Coogler’s Hole. If you know where Coogler’s Hole is, “Shhhh… keep it to yourself.” If you don’t well, you gotta be invited. It don’t look like much on the map or even on aerial photography. I grew up in the desert, so getting stuck was…
I bought this for a difficult job. Some old hard offroad tires. Eventually it did “help” with it, but it certainly wasn’t a magic answer. The feet on it do not line up. This makes it impossible to push in between the rim and the bead. I pulled the two fixed feet off and milled…
Originally Posted August 2024 (Update Below) “BEST” Duramax Mechanic… Maybe not in Yuma. I asked for the best Duramax Mechanic here in Yuma on NextDoor, Facebook, and a couple other social media sites. Basically, no answer. Of course I researched local shops and read reviews. Something I often hear is “everybody makes mistakes,” or “You…
(10/3/2025) I am not as attached to this thing as some people seem to think I should be. Even though I have a sorta/kinda story about it. We owned a country grocery and general store, and we worked year around. Only days we closed the store were Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. New Years…
Well, after almost two weeks the princess is back. It was a warranty repair of course, but I had a few truck things to do the last couple weeks with no truck. Not the least of which was going fishing. Fortunately, a buddy had pity on me and invited me out Saturday (see more). The…
As some of you might know I don’t take one of my boats out that often anymore. I just have to much work to do, taking care of customers, family, and yes, still my dad’s estate. Often I satisfy that itch by tossing a couple rods in the back of the truck, grabbing a tackle…
I thought I’d written up my opinion here before of where the Carolina Cant (Tennessee Tilt) came from on trucks. That stupid exaggerated low rear end on pickup trucks. The opposite of the way a truck should look when it is running empty. I think ti came directly from off road racing trucks. Baja runners…
Part 1 – Wheel Hop Okay, that’s a new one on me. I’ve had a couple 4x4s, and driven a couple more. Never really experienced it before. I found an old thread on one of the Ford Truck Forums that dated all the way back to 2007 saying they just do that. I put a…
Retrofit Vevor 12000lb Jack on Gooseneck Trailer – Part 1
I wanted something for hauling a canoe or sometimes a ladder that didn’t need to stay on the truck. Its “okay” for the price. I think they say it’s good for 800 lbs. I’m skeptical, but it should be okay for the canoe I plan to carry on it. In retrospect I think I would…
I have a deposit on a 2024 Ford Maverick with exactly the specs I want at a pretty decent price waiting on the recall to get fixed. (The backup camera can freeze on some.) The salesman contacted me today offering me a ready to deliver a 2025 with similar specs at a “similar” price. It…
The next morning.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LATEST UPDATE: I’ve got a few trailers to move and a fair amount of stuff to haul. You may have seen some of the trucks I hauled with my old truck. Well, the new F250 didn’t come with a hitch setup, so I needed to get one installed. I was just…
I haven’t got enough miles on my ’24 gasser to really tell, but so far it seems okay. I’ve run almost 900 miles so far. 180 or so towing a Jeep JK on a trailer. I towed it over Telegraph pass and it ran great and held speed going down the long grade. Less than…
That big old wind skirt. I know many people will have an “opinion,” but I am hoping for a response with somebody who actually “did the math.” (For those who may be literally challenged that is editorial license.) I’d like to hear from somebody who got reasonable mileage numbers over at least a few hundred…
TWO STEP – Running Boards – ??? I picked up a brand new F250 FX4 (just an XL) on Saturday. My wife can’t get in without a step stool, and while she can slide out it is a long way to the ground and she says it can be painful. I find its a long…
NEW UPDATE June 29 2024: It looks like boats (vehicles used soley on water) and rail craft me in fact not be covered by these changes. I will wait and see. Politicians are good at changing things. UPDATE: After writing this short note about the new statute I posted a link to it on several…
Before Father’s Day I had been looking at a couple Yukon (Harbor Freight) toolbox benches to replace the pair of to small US General tool carts I’ve been using as tool carts at the South Bend (Grizzly) knee mill and Precision Mathews (14×40) lathe in the back shop. I added them to the shopping cart…
If you have followed any of my adventures you know I’ve been getting my use out of an 8000lb Warn winch this year. I’ve loaded a couple 3/4 ton trucks for hauling, several weeks back my sons car, and recently rescued somebody stuck in the sand so I could get them out of the way…
Did a sand recovery yesterday. I took my big old 3/4 ton crew cab Chevy diesel 4×4, and left the Jeep at home. Lessons learned or relearned… Air down BEFORE you drive up the sand dune. Check the length of your farm jack hand, and get a cheater bar if you need one. The little…
Okay… maybe that’s a bit of an over statement, but it needs to be repaired! Please follow along as I figure this out.
I recently had to install new axles on a trailer in order to get working brakes on the trailer… Don’t lecture me about how you could have done this or that and not replaced them. They were oddballs and I wasted a couple weeks looking for other solutions. The u-bolts that came with the new…
I was thinking about trading in the tow vehicle, and scrapping the truck on the trailer, but I’ll probably keep driving the Chevy and fix up the Dodge to sell as a runner. Every vehicle I sell will be one they don’t. (RANT!) Does the local car dealership owner come to your church and put…
Well… nothing much to get excited about. I got the old axles off. Okay they are heavy. Maybe solid. Never expected that. The old spring stacks are also much taller than the new spring stacks. I’m going to see if I can use the old springs and hardware, but the tires and wheels are slightly…
For the last tournament we fished I towed the ProCraft out to the lake with my Jeep. Its within the tow capacity (just barely), but I would rather use my truck. The AC wasn’t working in the truck, and its warming up here in Arizona. Anyway, the Jeep towed it just fine, except the hitch…
I may be pulling a 351W engine out of an 82 Bronco soon. It was parked back in the late 90s or early 2000s with low oil pressure. This will make the 4th or 5th time that engine was out. First time it jumped time at just over the 26K warranty. Dealer pulled it and…
I’m looking for an old strap I bought about 30 years ago. I actually bought three of them. I know. I know. You want to tell what you use. You can if you want. I may even have some of what you use, but for the purpose of this post I just don’t care. I…
In an online group somebody posted a picture of a pickup truck parked on the ramp at a local fishing hole. This is what I had to say. Its not the first I’ve seen people do that at the “primitive” launches. Most of the time I just go around, but a few times I’ve given…
A couple years ago I needed a rack on the Jeep to haul my Uncle Paul’s Canoe back from Ohio. It worked okay. You can read about it here: Trail FX Rack Installation The Trail FX Rack did the job like I said. It was okay, but I had to cut the stock plastic bumper…
The 2017 Jeep JK started to develop a little vibration, but very little. At first I thought it might have just thrown a wheel weight (2), but on the way back from our high desert quail hunt it got worse. It didn’t feel dangerous (3), but it was starting to feel more like something was…
I guess there is some big Jeep event going on in the Phoenix area right now. I saw a picture posted on social media with a caption that read, “At work during the week of the Jeep Invasion and I’m trying to avoid ducks.” The photo showed a jeep with a cardboard sign on the…
After 6 years the original battery in my Jeep finally died. Dang it! Only six years! Seriously I’ve bought a fair number of new vehicles in the last 25/26 years, and this is by far the longest the original battery has last in any of them. By about double. Arizona is hard on batteries. Most…
Ordinarily I am not a fan of unboxing videos, but due to obvious box damage this one is EVIDENCE!!!
VIDEO: Replacing the 2017 Jeep JK Bumper – New Winch Bumper
Originally Posted on July 30th 2021 Installed the TrailFX rack on the ’17 Jeep JK with the help of my son. We were not aware that it requires the removal of the bumper to install or do a sheet metal installation through the tail light hole. We pulled the bumper and bolted it to the…
