Four Wheeler February 2016

Quitting time! I swiveled my chair and squinted through the window of my office on the 11th floor. I could just make out a hint of the I-405 freeway and a stagnant line of automobiles not going anywhere fast. Resigning myself to yet another 4-hour commute home, I loaded my backpack and headed for the elevator. In my pocket was something brand new. It was February 2007, and I was one of the few early individuals to have an iPhone. At the time I was moonlighting as a partner in a software technology company, and although I wasn’t a gadgety guy, one of the other partners definitely was. The first day they became available, he moved heaven and earth to get us all iPhones. I stepped inside the crowded elevator and instinctively…

CHRISTIAN.HAZEL@FOURWHEELER.COM EDITOR’S NOTE: Every now and then I ask for reader input in the Firing Order editorial column. Here’s a few blastfrom-the-past letters from when I asked readers to share their shop photos by sending images to me at christian.hazel@fourwheeler.com. SPIFFY BIFFY I had recently purchased a standby electric generator. I was looking forward to the return of my contractor, the completion of insulation, and covering the walls after the electric incinerating toilet was installed. Now, this is a good time to tell you the value of insulation in the Northeast. With only about 80 percent of the walls insulated and two layers in the loft, I used one-fifth the electric power than I did in February of the previous year without insulation, despite the subfreezing temperatures. I think this bodes well for…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM THAT’S INTERESTING The Audi Q7 has a redesign coming in 2016 and will be lighter than the previous model. Audi also has a new Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz GL competitor coming: the Q9. Except it is a couple years away. As we went to press, Volkswagen was facing accusations that it has tweaked software in its diesel vehicles in order to have them emit lower emissions and squeak by in testing. VW was said to be holding onto $7.3 billion in order to fix the cars and meet standards. The U.S. Army and Marines Corps have given Oshkosh $6.7 billion to build the replacement for the Hummer. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (they call it JLTV) will probably have a GM Duramax V-8, and there will be both two and four-seaters. Platforms will be…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM UNDER ARMOR There’s nothing worse than taking your newly built JK into the rocks for the first time and hearing that sickening “crunch” followed by leaking fluids. Now you can add 3⁄16-inch-thick laser-cut skidplates to the underside of your ’07-current JK Wrangler thanks to Rubicon Express. The skidplates install with no cutting or modifying required and feature a nice powdercoated finish to resist corrosion. INFO: Rubicon Express, 800/776-0767, rubiconexpress.com EZ ROCKER REACH For a vehicle with such a large footprint there really isn’t much space inside a JK Wrangler to mount many aftermarket accessories. And even if you do find space on the outside for things like lights, compressors, or anything else you may not want running all of the time, finding free spots for rocker switches can be frustrating. Daystar’s APillar Switch…

editor@fourwheeler.com LIKE A CANNONBALL INTO A KIDDIE POOL, THE ORIGINAL Ford Super Duty made such a splash 17 years ago, that the truck market was forever changed. Breaking the heritage of sharing their cab with the F-150, the Super Duty truly brought a vehicle so large and so much more capable to market, that it was its own class of truck. With 44 configurations and GVWRs all the way up to 19,000 pounds in the F-550, the Super Duty had the heavy-duty truck market covered. For its entire lifespan, the Super Duty has been refined and improved to ensure it remained relevant in hotly contested truck space. It’s remarkable to note that Ford claims a full 43 percent of the registrations in the 8,500 to 14,000-poung GVWR segment, while nearly 65…

editor@fourwheeler.com IF THE SIGNIFICANT OTHER HAS TIGHTENED UP THE 4X4 PURSE STRINGS AND THE ONLY THING collecting in your pockets is lint, then we have the cheap tips you need. We also threw in some problem-solver components that have made our garage wrench, fabricator, and off-road–centric lives easier. 1. Mini-Station Welding on the ground is uncomfortable and not ideal for throwing down a good weld bead. Build or buy yourself a thick steel welding table. We’ve been using this portable Miller (millerwelds.com) F-Series ArcStation for several years now. When not welding, we use it as a workbench we can keep close to our project. The thick steel top can take a beating and there are several different clamps available that interface with the tabletop. 2. Wheel Evaluation You can quickly and easily check the condition…