Four Wheeler November 2016

’Im excited to announce that Four Wheeler’s Real Truck Challenge competition is slated to return in the fall of 2017! This incredible off-road event will offer the opportunity for you to have some fun showing off your driving skills and your rig’s functionality in a grassroots, friendly, and exciting event. “What the heck is Real Truck Challenge?” Well, Real Truck Challenge was a popular Four Wheeler–sponsored annual Midwestbased off-road competition that began in 2003 and ran until 2006 (search “Real Truck Challenge” at fourwheeler.com to read about past events). It initially debuted under the name Real Truck Challenge, but morphed into Real Truck Club Challenge beginning in 2004 when the event rules were changed to require 4x4 club membership. Formal names notwithstanding, the event was most often referred to simply as…

KEN.BRUBAKER@FOURWHEELER.COM MUD CHAINS We had a trip go south after a rainstorm one time, in the desert of all places. My brother and I (we’ve had many off-road escapades together now that I look back at this story!) went to Utah for a spring break trip in ’95. While camped at the end of the road/most remote-end place we could get, we woke in the middle of the night to a nasty thunderstorm and did some quick calculations on how many dry washes that could flash flood were between us and home and promptly threw all our gear in my ’82 K5 and peeled out. By daybreak, we had crossed the washes we had worried about and climbed some rain-slick rock ledges but were at the bottom of some shelf road climbs…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE MANUFACTURERS That’s Interesting The ’16 Mercedes-Benz G550 4x4² will have a 416hp 4.0L biturbo V-8, ladder-style frame, and portal axles, among its offerings. Jaguar Land Rover opened a plant in Brazil, its first in Latin America. Volkswagen has opened the new Pacific Northwest Distribution Center in California, a $6.8 million facility, and will invest $4.5 million into a new training center, also in Cali. The automotive industry’s Sexiest Man Alive 2016 is Mike Manley, the head of Jeep and Ram. Oh, wait, not that. Rather, he got the top spot on the Auto Express Brit List, which names the most influential British execs in the automotive industry, globally. There’s a new intake system that you might spot on vehicles such as the ’17 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra Denali HDs equipped with…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM 1-TON COVER The factory stamped-steel differential covers found on 1-ton Dana 60 axles are marginal for real off-road use. Fortunately, Rancho now offers a RockGEAR heavy-duty differential cover for the common Dana 60 axle. It’s made from high-strength nodular iron and features an oversized fill plug. The external ribbed construction is said to improve approach and departure angles. Every Rancho differential cover is finished in classic Rancho red powdercoat and comes with a limited one-year warranty. All Rancho diff covers include full-color, detailed installation instructions. INFO: Rancho, 734/384-7804, gorancho.com TJ BLOCKER TJ BLOCKER OR-Fab now offers Full-Width steel front bumpers for ’97-’06 Jeep TJ Wranglers. They are manufactured from laser-cut 3⁄16-inchthick steel, formed in a CNC press brake, and hand welded. The Full-Width bumpers are available in two styles: one with a 2-inch-diameter…

editor@fourwheeler.com THERE’S SOMETHING VERY FITTING ABOUT A Jeep event in Butler, Pennsylvania. After all, it’s where the Jeep began. Yes, Willys-Overland, of Toledo, Ohio, is most famous for mass producing the standardized World War II jeep and turning it into an American icon. Still, we shouldn’t forget that the Bantam Car Company of Butler, Pennsylvania, created the jeep template and was the first to turn a vague idea into reality. That’s just one reason Butler is such an awesome place for a big Jeep event. It started in 2011 when the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau had an idea to do a big Jeep event. They had a five-year plan, and every event they did exceeded the previous. For 2016, the event was handed off to the Friends of the Bantam…

editor@fourwheeler.com AN AUTO MANUFACTURER DOESN’T ROLL 75 YEARS ON INERTIA ALONE. There have been plenty of one-hit wonders in the American auto industry, and the World War II Willys-Overland model MB 1⁄4-ton truck could have been another. A combination of correct choices, hard work, timing and luck created the foundation for a brand that has stood the test of time, time after time: Jeep. Yes, we know Willys-Overland didn’t invent the type of vehicle that became known as the jeep, nor did it produce the first one. What it did was make the lowest bid on a large production contract for a standardized model, win it, and then ran with that ball for a cosmic touchdown. The standardized WWII 1⁄4-ton had DNA contributions from many sources, not the least of which was…