Four Wheeler April 2020

My gray head of hair is probably a tipoff that I’ve seen a few years. And those years sure have seen some interesting changes. I was slapped upside my gray head on this topic as I was going through some old wheeling photos from back in the ’80s. Back then, if you wanted to show your buds photos of your wheeling forays you trotted out a photo album. I was never that orderly, my photos were in a stack with a rubber band around ’em mixed in with tools in the center console of my Scout. And if you wanted photos of your wheeling exploits you actually had to bring a camera. Back then, about the time that REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, and Styx were dominating the record charts, there were…

A TALE OF OWNERSHIP Ever since I recognized myself, as a young adolescent boy stepping out into life’s playground, I have had an unrelenting, inquiring fondness for anything wheels and motor—you would probably be surprised at my personal repertoire’s variety and breadth. I remember about 20 years ago walking out front of my newly bought property and parked across the road was (unbeknown to me then) a new 38A, sitting high (in my eyes; actually sitting low in air-suspension access mode). Instant attraction, as I walked up and peered into its darkened windows and stood back again, the exquisite thought that one day I would have this “golden deer” urban creature. Ten years later, the dream was realized and I have owned the pictured one for 15 years. The history and its…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM THAT’S INTERESTING The 2019 SEMA Show may be over, but its awards will linger for a full year, including the Vehicles of the Year: the Chevy Silverado, truck; the Jeep Wrangler, 4x4/SUV; and the Polaris RZR, powersports. The ’21 Chevy Silverado HD Carhartt Special Edition may be a name too long to even abbreviate on a personalized license plate, but it’s a personalized vehicle, nevertheless. It’s a 2500 LTZ Crew Cab at its soul, outfitted with the Z71 Off-Road package, 20-inch wheels, soft tonneau, and more, along with other durability-themed odds and ends inside that are designed to speak to your demand for a work truck that was inspired by an apparel company. Maybe the other way around. It probably doesn’t matter. China got its new Jeep Commander PHEV. Fiat Chrysler said, “This…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM DIG BIG DMOS may have the solution for those that love the compact size of folding shovels but hate actually trying to dig with one. The company has introduced the Delta line of folding shovels. The Delta shovel is capable of being used as a fullsize shovel or collapsing down for work in limited space, as a hoe, or folding flat for storage. It features a 12-gauge cold-rolled blade with a 12-gauge cold-rolled steel brace. If you want your shovel on a diet, you can choose the Delta shovel in 6061 aluminum, which is available with a red or blue finish. The three-part telescoping, adjustable anodized-aluminum shaft assembles to a maximum length of 51 inches with optional adjustment lengths of 37 inches or 24 inches. The steel version weighs in at…

Dick Cepek is a household name in the off-road community; it’s also a name that’s synonymous with adventure. The company joined us on Four Wheeler’s 2019 Overland Adventure, where we journeyed with a group of participants across the Arizona backcountry from Wickenburg to Flagstaff, driving almost exclusively off-road and camping each night. We outfitted a ’17 Wrangler for the adventure with suspension, lights, and armor, but the story here is what handled contact with the ground beneath—Dick Cepek’s Trail Country EXP tires. In advance of the adventure, we visited the headquarters of VTX Wheels, where our Dick Cepek rubbers were fit around a set of 17x9 Terra wheels. The aluminum wheels satisfied our need for a respectably sporty look, and the hue matched that of a weathered American one-cent piece. The Dick…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com WHEN THE TIRE HAS “MUD-TERRAIN” PLASTERED across the sidewall, our first question for the General Grabber X3 was “but what else can it do?” We installed a set of 35x12.50R17 X3s on our two-door ’17 Wrangler and went through our typical weekend routine—driving far and near in search of wild terrain. Whether it was a high-altitude dumping of snow, beach cruises, grinding over boulders, or slick muddy ruts, we made sure to put the tires through every abusive environment we could get our tread blocks into. After nearly 8,000 miles of torture, we had a logbook filled with notes and a tire repair kit that remained unzipped. Did the General Grabber X3 mud-terrains prove useful in more than just mud? Read on for what we found. SPECIFICATIONS (AS TESTED) Tire: General Grabber…