Four Wheeler December 2020
Get Four Wheeler digital magazine subscription today for a wide range of informative articles including adventure travel in the US and abroad, domestic trail rides and event coverage, comprehensive new-vehicle testing and evaluation, technical articles designed for four-wheelers of all abilities, as well as how-to installation articles, equipment guides and comprehensive product testing.
in this issue
flatbeds and custom pickup truck beds: the ultimate 4x4 body mod?
Is a flatbed or custom pickup truck bed the ultimate 4x4 body mod? Here in the farmland of northern Illinois I see them quite often. I can see a truck with a custom bed now by simply looking over the top of my computer monitor, out my office window, and past the sheep pen. It’s parked near the granary at my nephew’s farm. It’s a Super Duty and it’s a workhorse. Here in the Midwest, flatbeds and custom beds are common and sometimes are the response to a Rustbelt-rotted or work-destroyed cargo bed. Some of them are homebuilt and are a direct reflection of what the truck owner needs. I’ve seen them built out of all types of material, including steel, aluminum, and wood, or a combination thereof. Fabbing a flatbed or…
there’s a big change in store for ultimate adventure 2020!
If you’re a regular reader of Four Wheeler and have never picked up a 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine before, or visited our website, or gone on YouTube or Amazon Videos or Motor Trend on Demand, or ever browsed any form of social media, or have never visited an off-road shop where our old VHS event videos are playing, or—aw heck—if you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what Ultimate Adventure (UA) is, I’m here to tell you there’ll be one significant change coming to UA 2020. Nope, we’re not watering down the hard-core nature of the event. No, we’re not finally allowing trailers so participants can tow their 4x4s the hundreds of miles between the insane trail systems we visit. No, we’re not going to start omitting the epic…
inbox
EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM HOMEMADE OFF-ROAD TRAILER My trailer began life as a ’70s Sears, Roebuck and Co., car camping trailer. It originally came with 8-inch wheels, hand-truck-sized tires, and it rode about 6 inches off the ground. We stripped the factory suspension, dropped it onto a spare ’65 Ford F-100 chassis that was already turned into a utility trailer, installed a 3,500-pound trailer axle outfitted with a 5-on-5 lug pattern so we could run a factory Jeep Rubicon tire/wheel combo, and bolted it under the F-100 springs with factory-length shocks. We added some rock sliders to protect the sides and cut out the fender areas, adding Jeep-style trailer fenders we got from Auto Safety House here in Phoenix. After a bunch of cutting, welding, pop-riveting, floor restoration, and painting, we have one hell of an…
rpm automotive news
JERED.KORFHAGE@FOURWHEELER.COM INHOSPITABLE TERRAIN TRANSPORTER Let’s talk numbers about the Torsus Terrastorm—a trick off-road people-mover. Power comes from its 2.0L turbodiesel and is sent to either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic transmission. Ground clearance is 11.4 inches, approach angle is 26 degrees, departure angle is 20 degrees, and—depending on the package—it can splash through up to 32 inches of water. A locking rear differential, Bilstein B6 shock absorbers, and 17-inch wheels with 235/75R17 all-terrain tires are also part of the package. The Terrastorm can be outfitted for use as an ambulance, off-road transporter of goods and people to remote logging or mining operations, or the starting point for your next van-based adventure build. TRX is Almost Here After teasing us since 2016 with a concept truck wearing the TRX name, Ram has officially…
parts rack
JERED.KORFHAGE@FOURWHEELER.COM READY FOR RACK-TION Build. Attach. Set. Explore. That’s the acronym within ARB’s BASE Rack system. The fully welded aluminum design boasts increased strength while keeping overall weight low. The rack can be had with varying side rail designs—full rail, ¼ rail, trade rail, or ¾ rail—depending on your needs. ARB offers a full range of accessories to mount equipment to your BASE Rack and the system can be made 100 percent flat to transport items like plywood. INFO: ARB, 866/293-9078, arbusa.com FALCON’S NEST Roofnest’s Falcon XL rooftop tent is 60 inches wide, 90 inches long, 6.5 inches tall, can sleep up to three adults, and weighs 160 pounds. Its lightweight, all-aluminum construction keeps the tent low to the vehicle’s roof and the integrated rail system allows the tent to double as a gear-storage…
department of lumen resources
jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com When the sun goes down and the road turns to dirt, you may find yourself wanting more than what the factory lights on your 4x4 can offer. Thankfully for you, and that deer lurking in the roadside bushes, lighting technology has evolved in its cost-effectiveness, package size, efficiency, and the staggering amount of bright you can add to the front (back, or anywhere else) of your vehicle. Follow along and we’ll explore halogen, HID, and LED lights, with a few more bright ideas mixed in. Halogen Halogen lights are ubiquitous and have been used in homes and for brightening streets for most of the last half-century. They were also the automotive gold standard and remain a viable option for your vehicle. Similar in function to a conventional incandescent lightbulb, these lights run…
